Connecting Across the Country Via Skype

Last weekend, I emailed fellow Wonderopolis Wonder Lead and kindergarten teacher, Jon Fines to see if he would have time to Skype on Monday or Tuesday.  My students had been working on some Thanksgiving readers theaters and I wanted to give them an authentic audience to watch them perform.  He said he would love to connect with my second graders and have his kindergarteners watch us.

On Tuesday afternoon we made our Ohio to Montana connection.  We shared our readers theaters with Jon's class and they shared a poem and sang a song to our class.  I had previously shared with my students that Mr. Fines plays the ukulele.  They were very excited to hear him play for us.

After our connection, Jon and I decided to try virtual "buddy" reading with our classes.  I'm excited to model and practice this next week when we return from Thanksgiving break.  How engaging and motivating will it be for a couple of my second grade students to Skype a couple of Jon's kindergarteners in Montana and "buddy" read with them a few times a week?

If you are engaging your students in Skype or any other technology, below are some great past Wonders to visit.  Specifically, Wonder #670, Do You Have Good Netiquette? is a great Wonder to use before Skyping or talking about leaving comments on any website.

• #63 How Does the Internet Work?
• #206 What Is a Mouse?
• #292 What Is the Smallest Computer?
• #420 How Do Touch Screens Work?
• #468 Do You Need a Pen To Have a Pen Pal?
• #670 Do You Have Good Netiquette?
• #710 How Does Technology Change Lives?
• #754 What Does It Mean To Go Viral?

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Engaging Families in Thanksgiving Seasonal Wonders

Next week is a great time to spend learning and wondering as a family.  Below are several Wonders from Wonderopolis.org to share while spending time with your family.

#45 What Is a Totem Pole?

#46 What Is a Cornucopia?

#53 Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?

#407 What Does It Mean To Be a Native American?

#417 Is It Thanksgiving Without Cranberries?

#418 Why Is It Called "Black Friday"?

#419 How Long Do Leftovers Last?
#781 How Big is Plymouth Rock?

If you are an educator, be sure to share these Wonders with parents.  I will be sharing them with families via my classroom blog and our class Twitter account.

If you are a parent and are looking for ways to interact with your children while they are out of school next week, check out this post, Using Wonder to Engage Children Over the Summer.  The activities can be used anytime, not just during the summer months.

Check out my fellow 2012 Wonder Leads and how they infuse Wonder in their own homes, and nurture their students to wonder at home:

• Wonder what causes excitement when reading? by Melissa Edwards (@EdwardsWONDER)
• School - Home - School by Jon Fines (@WonderLeadJon)
• Extending Wonder Over the Weekend by Maria Caplin (@WonderLeadMaria)

You can read more about using Wonder and Wonderopolis in and out of the classroom by going to the Wonder Playground at Wonderopolis.

Using Wonderopolis to Help Meet CCSS Informational Text 3

The lesson below is an example of a Common Core State Standard lesson using Reading: Informational Text-Key Ideas and Details for grades K-5, Standard Statement 3.  Below I have included a vertical progression chart of this Standard Statement.  I have also created a K-5 vertical progression guide for Informational Text here.

Reading: Informational Text-Key Ideas and Details (RI.3)

K	With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
1	Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
2	Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
3	Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
4	Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
5	Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

Before reading any further, please check out Wonder of the Day #188 Are Frogs and Toads the Same?

This Wonder could easily be used to meet Reading Informational Text Standard Statement three for grades kindergarten through fifth grade, and beyond.  

In order to help meet this standard, I would start by tying it into my daily routine.  I would post the Wonder when students arrive to my classroom and have them write about the wonder in their wonder notebooks.  I would then read over the information in the Wonder with students.  When working with text, I don't believe most primary students are ready to work with the text on the first exposure, therefore we would revisit the text during our reading workshop mini-lesson, either later on the same day, or within a few days of our first exposure.  Depending on how much experience students have had with this standard would depend on what kind of activity we would do.  You could orally have the students share the connection frogs and toads by turning and talking, create a class "t" chart, create venn diagram as a class or with a partner, or have students work in groups to write about the connections.

With older students, after modeling and working with this standard whole group, you could have students choose a different Wonder from the list below and have them work in a small group or with a partner to practice the standard.

Wonders that could be used to meet Informational Text-Key Ideas and Details, Statement Standard 3:

#726 Who Invented Potato Chips?

#707 What Is a Parasite?

#660 Can Dogs and Cats Get Along?

#657 Where Is the Milky Way?

#628 How Does Dynamite Work?

#624 How Does a Submarine See Above Water?

#619 Who Came to the Boston Tea Party?

#608 Can You Only See the Moon at Night?

#589 How Do Seeds Sprout? 

#584 Who Discovered Electricity?

#544 How Are Slugs and Snails Different?

#530 What Is a Dromedary?

#505 Who's on Mount Rushmore?
#478 What Is Fool's Gold?

#437 How Are Sleds and Sleighs Different?

#351 Why Is the Liberty Bell Cracked?

#276 Does Matter Really Matter?

#274 Who Made the American Flag?