Sunday, August 5, 2007

Week 9 #20

The Rainforest Grew All Around-Trailer

I can use this as a hook when I share materials to tie in with a second grade unit on rain forests.

This was another lesson that took longer than it needed too because I got caught up in watching videos and then in searching for themed videos. Not only did I find the Rainforest video, but I also found a great short video on penguins which my first grade teachers could use during their January penguin unit. Every year they ask me for something and I could never find anything at that level on United Streaming, etc. Lately, they've resorted to using March of the Penguins, but this would be even better as a hook, since it gives a quick overview of habitat, predators, and different species.

I found YouTube easy to use, though I don't like all the hype. The star rating system and ability to comment on the videos, as well as the options to save, load, post, etc. made it very interactive. I found that I looked at the picture on the left first, then at the running time, stars if any, and tags.

Ideas that I could or already do use on my web site: pictures of covers of books I'm reviewing, what's new column (LibraryThing widget), just a few, clearly labeled tabs. The featured video with an option to vote is intriguing. Maybe a featured book each month and as students read it they could comment...

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