Virtual Field Trip of the South

Thanks to iPad technology we were able to take a Field Trip through the South.  We discovered so many new things and made so many new connections with our learning.

This is how it worked!

Mrs. Geldes created QR codes for different places to visit.  Then she put the codes all over the school for us to find.  

Here is one of the QR codes we used.

Mr. Catlett brought in a couple of iPads along with Mr. Kaulk, and Mrs. Sudduth.  Each group was given an iPad to use for the scavenger hunt.  With iPads or iPod in hand, we started the QR code scavenger hunt of the South. 

 

 It was so much fun finding the codes and scanning them.  Each code gave us a new place to visit.  At each stop we had to write down the place we visited and where it was located.  We used this information the following week.

On Monday, Mr. Catlett and Mrs. Feldmann made this project even more engaging by showing us Google Earth.  We took some time to review the webpage of places we visited.  Then we picked 1 place out of the 10 that was the most interesting.  We jumped on to Google Earth and flew to our destination.  In most cases we were able to use street view to explore the actual place.  It was as if we were standing in front of the actual buildings and historical sites.  It was amazing!  This virtual field trip was such a learning experience for all of us and we can’t wait to do it again.  We were able to see and discover so many places in the South that we didn’t know about before.  Thanks again to Mr. Catlett and Mrs. Feldmann for helping us with our Virtual Field Trip!

 

**TEACHERS!!  More information on how this was created is on Mr. Catlett’s blog.  Check it out if you want to create a QR scavenger hunt of your own!**

Our First Mystery Skype!

Thanks to Mr. Haney's class we were able to have our first Mystery Skype!  It was so much fun and we learned many new things.  We started our Skype by giving a quick preview of our classroom.  This gave us the chance to wave to our new friends in a different state.  Then we got down to business.  Our goal was to guess what state Mr. Haney's class was from, and they were trying to do the same.  Each class took turns sharing interesting facts about their state, places to visit, important people from our state, climate, land forms and other important information.  When we were done sharing our information we could only have one guess, and.....we got it RIGHT!  Here are some pictures of this unforgettable learning experience!  Thanks again to our new friends in Mr. Haney's class.

    
Reflecting our our learning!  Some of our thoughts........
 
  "I enjoyed it because of the way we gave facts to each other.  One of the facts was almost the exact same fact! I can't wait to do it again."

"I enjoyed hearing their accents, it was interesting"

"The Skype was really fun.  I liked how it was a mystery and we had to ask all of those questions.  I liked the end when they guessed our state and we guessed their's."

"I never knew [the state] had over 300 caves and Elvis Presley was born there."

Geometry EVERYWHERE!!!

Today the students searched our building for different examples of geometry.  The students were asked to take a picture of intersecting lines, perpendicular lines, parallel lines, line segments, acute angles, obtuse angles, right angles and a point.  They had a blast and I was amazed at what they found.  They are so creative and observant.  Take the time to look through some of the pictures and see what they found.

Intersecting Lines and Acute Angle

Parallel Lines and Intersecting Lines

Smarties can make intersecting lines!

Can you find the intersecting lines?

                                                     

Perpendicular Lines

Perpendicular Lines on the Wall!

Obtuse Angles in the office 

Point inside of a point

Can you find the obtuse angle, intersecting lines and acute angle?

Even our favorite dog helps us with geometry.  I spy and acute angle.  Do you?

About Mrs. Geldes

I am a 4th grade teacher at Two Springs Elementary.  I attended Dana College in Blair Nebraska and graduated in 2005.  I earned my Master's Degree from Wayne State in May 2010.  I am the oldest of 4 and I am originally from Bellevue.  My husband Pete and I have been married for 3 years and we just celebrated our son Thomas' first birthday.  I enjoy working with my students and helping them discover a passion for learning.
I am a PC person simply because that is mostly what I have had access to.  As of now I don't really have a preference.  As long as it will get the job done I will use it :)  I try to use various technology tools in my classroom.  Recently I have used Glogster, Twitter, Flubaroo/Google Docs and various Microsoft programs.  I am always wanting to learn about more technology and find ways to use it in my classroom.
I would like to use this Blog to communicate with parents.  I think it will be a great way for parents to know what is going on in my classroom.  I would also like to become comfortable with blogging so I can help my students create their own blogs.  I believe that blogs are a great way for students to get in touch with other students around the world.  In the last few weeks as I have developed my PLN through Twitter I have discovered how useful a blog can be.   

4th Grader Raps about Place Value

Here is a fun way to help you with place value!

Ultimate Dog Tease

A little humor is a great way to start off the week!