Monthly Archives: October 2010
Teaching Geography with Twitter
“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.”
Stacia Tauscher
Last week I could not give classes in the computer lab at school because Secondary students were sitting for their IGCSE exams. Luckily I was able to use the brand new netbook in Junior 5. My idea was to show them all the different things they have been working with this year. Currently they are blogging with students from Switzerland. This group loves to create online content because they are very creative.
I bought a world map and hung it next to our projector. Then I opened my Twitter account and posted:
Everytime we received a new tweet they clapped and one student was in charge of adding a pin to our World map. It was just amazing to see how they enjoyed this simple activity that brought the world to their classroom.
Today I will be repeating the same activity with Junior 1, 2 and 3.
Join our project by sending a Tweet to @jenverschoor and tell us where are you from.
Check the different countries that have joined us.
Places learnt on October 28
Hi from Green Bay, WI!! @@smkohl Canada
Hi! I’m from Bahía Blanca, Argentina.@barbaratp1978
Hello from College Park, Maryland USA @ssharp66
Hi from wet and windy Liverpool, UK! Have a great geography lesson 
) @eslcourses
Hello from Rosario, Argentina! Enjoy your lesson! @Mtranslator
Hello from Louisville, KY… Home of the largest baseball bat in the world… @JeremyRenner
Hi from Istanbul, Turkey! 
@IsilBoy
Hi there! I’m not far from Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England – enjoy your lesson! ) @Amandalanguage
Hello from Cambridge, England! @ericbaber
hey everyone. I’m Emma, from Windsor in the UK (near London). Enjoy Geography via Twitter – very exciting! @EHerrod
Hello! I’m in Perthshire in Scotland, UK, where it’s very rainy & windy today! @cgoodey
Hello! I’m from the UK (Cornwall) but I live in Spain – in Barcelona @dudeneyge
Places learnt on November 2nd
Hi, students of @jenverschoor! My name is Neny and I’m from #Salatiga city in #Indonesia. It’s in #Java island.
“Hello to Jennifer’s Geography students. My name is Candace, and I am from Alberta, Canada. No snow yet, but it should be arriving soon. I would love to be added to your map. Enjoy Geography class — what you learn will last a lifetime!”
cecilialcoelho @jenverschoor Hi Sabrina! I’m from Recife, a city in the northeastern coast of Brazil!
teadira @jenverschoor Hello Sabrina, nice to meet you. I am from Venezuela, and you?
lydbury @jenverschoor Lydbury North in Shropshire. Put SY7 8AU into maps.google.co.uk and there we are
cgoodey@jenverschoor Hi Sabrina & everyone! I’m in the middle of Scotland in the UK where it’s very windy, rainy and dark at the moment!
helen100463 @jenverschoor hello from Grenoble in France to Geography students in Buenos Aires
nenyish Hi, students of @jenverschoor! My name is Neny and I’m from #Salatiga city in #Indonesia. It’s in #Java island.
itesl_institute @jenverschoor Hi Students!! Have fun using twitter in your class with Jennifer!!
danuzag @jenverschoor I am from Rio De Janeiro in the Southeast of Brazil! Hello!
eannegrenoble @jenverschoor Hi guys – I’m in France, not far from Switzerland , see the mountain behind my house http://twitpic.com/33bp00
ssharp66 @jenverschoor Hi from College Park MD
Places learnt on November 4th
cliving@jenverschoor Hello from Spencer, Indiana, USA. Here’s what our wood looked like two weeks ago: http://flic.kr/p/8QEziP
Shaunwilden @jenverschoor Good afternoon, I am in Oxford, England where night has just fallen and so its very dark outside
alanmills405 @jenverschoor Basingstoke.Mediumsize town just to the south west of London. Known as Donut City because of its roundabouts (traf circles)
cgoodey @jenverschoor Hello Junior 5. I live in Perthshire in Scotland, UK, and I’m just home from work. Enjoy your lesson!
Power Point presentations created by students
Halloween games for young learners
Halloween wraps fear in innocence,
As though it were a slightly sour sweet.
Let terror, then, be turned into a treat…
Nicholas Gordon
My students have been working really hard this semester therefore I allow them to play online games during our computer classes. Amazingly I become a learner because everyday they teach me something new. Last class they wanted to show me the Halloween games they play at home. Below you will find an interesting list of online Halloween games my 5th grade students love playing.
Enjoy these spooky Halloween games!!
Please take a look at their glogs and the wonderful games they added.
Cool websites to teach writing
Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
As a language teacher I really find it difficult to motivate my students to start writing in class. The Internet is a resource that complements the dynamics of my class. It is easy to access, up-to-date and immediate source of authentic materials. Since I started introducing technology and using a wiki with Middle school my classes have definitely changed. Please check below the cool sites we have been using this year.
- Writing Fun A MUST for teachers. This website motivated my students to enhance their writing skills.
- The Writing Site Check this website with a great variety of tech integration ideas.
- iWrite Provides several examples for students to learn how to write effectively.
- Writing Fix Practice Prompt Recommendations.
- Writing Exemplars I make my students search for writing samples created by other students worldwide.
- Interactive Scoring Another website that provides writing samples to use with your students.
