Ububtu Project - Better Sharing Tool

Wow,

I've come across an incredibly simple online sharing tool for you guys to use to share your brainstorms and notes for the next sessions. You can still use Google docs. to store you finished pieces. This requires no sign ups, no passwords just one simple link. It is like a sticky note board for ideas. Groups would just need to copy their URL link into an address bar to get to their specific corkboard.  You would all then use this same link at anytime to get back to the corkboard. This 1 min video expalins how it works. The links below are set for for each of the 12 teams. I think this is FAR easier than google docs for online collaboration, especially during the brainstorming stage.




Team 1 http://corkboard.me/w2fOfq9MZP

Team 2 http://corkboard.me/R97qHea75X

Team 3 http://corkboard.me/xISlwYSaQ7

Team 4 http://corkboard.me/Rc1fQ1pAtm

Team 5 http://corkboard.me/mOLMuW3tOY

Team 6 http://corkboard.me/YajwaBWn7Z

Team 7 http://corkboard.me/R1zeAIemy6

Team 8 http://corkboard.me/S9pI8aexs0

Team 9 http://corkboard.me/iBvaVCQvIV

Team 10 http://corkboard.me/wbSBqnMv0m

Team 11 http://corkboard.me/IRoBA3uaxw

Team 12 http://corkboard.me/hRG7AWxmk0


Ignore what it says about limited support in the Explorer browser, it works fine. You can post images by copying the URL (web address of the image)in a sticky note). Try it out and let me know what you think.

Ubuntu Project - Research Person

This is the feedback  I received from KIPP teachers. 5 out of 6 teams are on the same page. One team  has work to do !!!

Teams


CHECK
1.Team D.E.K.A. Princess Diane (theme:All great leaders give back) Mr. and Mrs Bill Gates, Extreme Make Over, Home Edition, ?????, ????

CHECK
2.Team Lions Adolf Hitler (theme: Leaders all start with potential but can abuse their power and be evil -twist The worst leaders) Voldermort from Harry Potter, Darth Vadar from Star Wars, ????, ????

CHECK
3. Team The Scarificers (relates to team theme) Mother Teresa's Mother (theme:Always a mother behind every great leader) President Obama's mother, Animal mothers, mothers in history, some of team's own mothers)


CHECK
4. Team Bursting Stars MLK Jr (theme: optimistic attitude) Demonstrated by : Rosa Parks, People with Diabeties, Hurricane Katrina/Saints NFL team, Abbey's Dad (not giving up when her dad lost his job)


CONFUSION - Team name is Team Determination but they thought they were looking at The Tinman...they do agree on the Role Model part though...
5. (Team no Name yet!) The Penguin (theme: The Role model) Sea Turtles, Parents, Yourself, ???

CHECK
6. Team C.U.P.P. Ruby Bridges (theme: Inspired first step) Baby's Firt Step, Women voting, Neil Armstrong, Edmond hilliary

Coming Next Week

• Charlotte Doyle
• BBC Readers' Theatre Scripts
• The Ubuntu Project: Session 2 - Research
• Living Wax Museum Preparations

The Ubuntu Project - Session 1

Enjoy highlights below. Please comment on what you learning experiences you gained from the session today, (both students at KIPP and at LATIN).






Use the info. below to access the google doc. accounts for collaboartion. Remember- Everything you write is recorded and teachers from both schools are online each evening checking all the accounts and your interactions. Use polite persuasive ideas to when communicating. Remember KIPP students will be online live Thursday wit hthe ir teachers from 5:45pm- approx. 6:45pm. It is purely optional for you to be online at that time.

The Ubuntu Project - Letters from KIPP

I received the first reply to your letters from KIPP over the weekend. Others to follow.

Dear Breck Stenson and Cady Hammer


My name is Joy Washington and I'm a 5th grader at KIPP charlotte. I'm glad that I'm working with you. The biggest goal at KIPP is to prepare us for college, I found out that is your big goal to.

One of your questions was what big projects do you have this year? Well, so far we will have two projects in history class, one is a slave diary we will make. The second one is we are going to act out the civil war. The amount of home work that we have is about two assignments in each block. Since we have four blocks that's eight assignments altogether. We stay in school from 7:30am to 5pm. When school is over I am VERY tired, but it's worth it because I get the education I need.

I have a few questions for you and they are, what colleges do you want to end up in? What are your activities at school like? What do you do each day to get better? I hope to see you soon!!!

From, Your friend Joy Washington at KIPP

Tomorrow, we will work on 'Conclusion' and refining your ideas for the Ubuntu Project. This is the last week with no H/W sheet. Have you balanced your workload other the course of this project effectively so as to comfortably meet Friday's deadline?

Ubuntu Project - Research Person

How can you personify your ideas in order to come up with a creative choice for your leader?

Ubuntu Project - Examples of Creativity

The Ubuntu Project

By Thursday, bring in your choice for the greatest leader in history.

Rmember the different levels of thinking...

1) The Obvious

2) The Unlikely

3) The Abstract

Who will you nominate?

The Ubuntu Project - Research

Use this link to investigate and learn about  KIPP school.

http://www.kippcharlotte.org/

 Find:

• Five things our schools have in common
• Five things the students have in common
• Prepare three questions that you would like your group leaders to ask when they meet up with the KIPP students.

If you want to understand the true value of an excellent education for those who don't take it for granted, follow this link and watch the video.

http://www.kippcharlotte.org/aboutus.htm

This video below gives a little history about the organization



H/W is due for Tuesday

Geographical Features

Feel free to add your typed grographical features to the blog text for comments/suggestions.

Tomorrow, I  will be putting somebody's work on the blog as a mentor text for others to see. Will it be yours?

Geographical Features Mentor Text

What lessons can you learn for the mentor text on geogrpahcal features below written by Robert fuller last year? What techniques can you extract from his writing and apply to your own?

The flapping wings of the brown pelican, Louisiana’s state bird, fill the air as it soars over the ravishing, earthy scented marshland looking for a place to land. Imagine a boot-shaped fertile land of damp, breath-taking marshes, and the ground is partly underwater. The state of Louisiana is truly that place. Louisiana’s unique setting causes a number of this beautiful, marshy wonderland’s terrain features. Because Louisiana sits in one of the closest areas to the equator, it receives ample sunlight. The three states that border Louisiana are Alabama, Texas, and Mississippi. Additionally, this spectacular haven is located in the Southeast region and in the East South Central sub-region. Louisiana overlooks the Gulf of Mexico, so this paradise receives an abundance of dreadful storms during hurricane season.

One simply could not speak of Louisiana without mentioning its bustling cities. Not only is Louisiana home to numerous thriving metropolises, but nearly 75% of Louisiana’s population lives in urban or suburban areas. New Orleans, the most densely populated city in this beautiful state, is the 38th largest town in the United States. Baton Rouge, the second most populous boomtown in Louisiana, has reigned as the state capital since 1882. The third significant city is Shreveport; furthermore, it is the cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana meet.

Because of all its marshes, lakes, and rivers, the state of Louisiana is often thought of as sodden wetland. In fact, Louisiana is one-third water. The rustling Mississippi River depositing into the Gulf of Mexico impacts both the geography and industries of Louisiana. The mouth of the river has changed the shape of the land in the south of Louisiana and improved the fishing industry. For example, New Orleans sits on land created by silt that the Mississippi carries. This beautiful state has countless lakes, including the rippling, 600 square mile Lake Pontchartain. The Louisiana coastline stretches 397 miles along the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico ranks as planet Earth’s 5th largest body of water.

Louisiana cannot boast of the lofty mountains of Alaska, but soggy textured bayous, a common feature in Louisiana, are unique in the nation. A bayou is a slow moving body of water connected to a river, ocean, or lake. Either saltwater, freshwater, or brackish water, a mixture between the earlier two, can be found in a typical bayou. Historian Harnett Kane described bayous as, “A place that seems often unable to make up its mind whether to be earth or water, and so it compromises.”¹ Few people live in bayous, but they remain a beautiful part of the state.

The low land is another factor that renders Louisiana’s geography unique. Although Driskill Mountain, the highest elevation in Louisiana, is just a hill at 935 feet above sea level, the peak stands as sky scraping to Louisiana as Mt. Everest is to Nepal. Additionally, Louisiana’s low point, New Orleans, is actually nine feet below sea level. This statistic explains why hurricane waves are a quandary in the city. Sadly, citizens are forced to make levees, walls made to regulate a body of water. The average elevation in the Pelican State is a lowly 90 feet. Wetland to the south, flat plains in the middle and a few lush forests to the north combine to give Louisiana very little altitude. The brown pelican flies down into a bayou, and lands on a bald cypress, Louisiana’s state tree. The only noise is the buzz of a honeybee, the state insect.

¹Louisiana by Suzanne LeVert

Now - How good will your geographical features component be?

State Report - This Week

Will you have a minimum of 5 stickers by the end of this week?

State Report Websites

State Report Websites

Use 'only' these sites below to do your State Report online research. If you find a site on your own that you think is better, share it with me first, and I might add it to the list. There is advice under each website to save you a little time.

State Report Websites

1. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition: http://school.eb.com/elementary  [ID=latin, PASSWORD=hawks] You may copy a picture or map from this site. Type the name of your state in the Search box and click Go.

2. NETSTATE.com

http://www.netstate.com/states/index.html  Click on your state.

Advice: (Only good for basic facts about the states)

3. IPL Kidspace: Stately Knowledge: http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/stateknow/  provides basic facts and links to other sources about each state

Advice: (Use the links at the bottom of each state page for detailed information on specific topics)

4. Infoplease: The Fifty States: http://www.infoplease.com/states.html  Choose state from the list below the map.

5. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/us.htm .

(Advice – Good for geographical features and commerce and industry)

6.  http://www.usworldbook.com/

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_carolina#Geography
You will need to type in YOUR STATE NAME

Regions Research 2011

Enjoy the winning  Animoto videos from the two classes.







 
Th links beloware  to all other videos you created. I saw some wonderful creativity on this project. Well done to all of you!
 
http://animoto.com/play/rRRhvtM7ZJHBQ9OS15A1oA  - The Southwest
http://animoto.com/play/jnNNU9gmznBKl04rwtSYwQ - TheTV Show Debate
http://animoto.com/play/qTWqSXTkSqK1HHW6YjJODA - Jebidiah's Journey
http://animoto.com/play/dhlkFVExaVrztc9qdEOIFA - We're All in This Together
 http://animoto.com/play/1t05WpclQwSh6BMl7CLcWA Amazing Race 

http://animoto.com/play/FKGLMWORKxRIZbk1cFs9rg  Man -v- West
http://animoto.com/play/8I20uCypVvs06US81z5Drw Judge Judy
http://animoto.com/play/8q8BdZStJy70qXjnIpTlAw Run for the Cure
http://animoto.com/play/9adKDktkLmu2ApPZC2zFfA Iron Chef
http://animoto.com/play/lS1WvPf2XQ5KNAvhmkMDOA Deal or no Deal

Poetry Parties

Congratulations on your wonderful presentations in each of the poetry parties this morning.


Feel free to give 'kudos' to your fellow classmates through 'comments' complimenting them on some of the poems you enjoyed the most.  Enjoy the animoto videos below.

Buxton Class


 
Graham  Class
(The camera we used for this animoto did not take good video shots, so the quality and sound will not  be as good.)