Christine's+Wiki

Hi there!

My name is Christine Capaldo, and I teach fourth grade in Arlington. This September will be my sixth year there, and I have taught fourth grade the whole time--I love it!

I am taking this course both to earn PDP's and also to learn how to incorporate more technology into my everyday teaching. I have been teaching for nine years, and though I feel that I learn more and more about the profession every year, technology is the one area where I feel I need more experience. This past school year I created a classroom website that I update weekly, and I show my students sites to help them review skills in the area of math and grammar. However, I'd love to find ways to use the internet and other computer programs in my lessons.

Thank you!

Assignment 2:

In fourth grade, we study rocks and minerals as one of our major science units. Because we have limited samples for the kids to look at and explore, it’s nice to be able to go online and show them pictures of the types of minerals we are discussing. Even the samples we have aren’t organized very well, and since I’m not a petrologist, it’s not always easy for me to determine the type of rock or mineral in my hands! Therefore, Google Squared would be a great tool to help the kids review and learn more about the various names/types of minerals and rocks. They can clearly see which rocks are sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic, and they can also identify the rock by comparing it to the pictures posted on the chart. Specifically with minerals, which I have shown here, results from various tests can be seen so students can see if they were accurately able to determine the cleavage, luster, hardness, etc. The pictures are also very clear, and the descriptions are thorough.

http://www.google.com/squared/table/agAk3g1pa3ylN4Qvk8dI7mUQ

Assignment 3: Great job! Erin Because I am such a planner! : media type="custom" key="10018045"

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Assignment 4: www.xtimeline.com

I would use the Timeline website. In my classroom, while we are studying biographies, we create "Bottle Buddies" that we present to the class. Those are done individually as an at-home project. However, I would use this website for the group project that the kids do in class in their guided reading groups.

-As students read their book, they are responsible for taking notes throughout. In particular, they focus on specific dates and important events in the person's life. -Students would be directed to www.xtimeline.com. I will instruct them to explore the site, reviewing timelines already created about famous and important people. -I will then walk the students through an example of the "Create a Timeline" process using information from my own life! -Students then use the website to create a timeline about the person they read about. Example: media type="custom" key="10057533"

Assignment 5:


 * 1) [|www.flashcardfriends.com]: I would use this in my classroom to help the students prepare for their vocabulary and social studies quizzes. Not only does this save paper, but it also is interactive. The students can quiz themselves and work with others to practice what they’re studying.
 * 2) [|www.aaamath.com]: This is another excellent math site that I would introduce to my students. It reviews almost any math concept right online. This is beneficial for students who need extra practice on concepts that have already been covered, because they can review at home as well as in school.
 * 3) Into the Book ([]): I loved this site. Though we use different names for the reading strategies listed here, the activities would absolutely help the students review these reading skills. In particular, I really liked the inferring activity. It guides the students through the thinking process in figuring out what is happening in the story.

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