Typing Practice

Hey all! Happy Thursday! I have found even MORE great web resources to utilize with my students. Below, you will find websites that help students improve their typing skills. Feel free to check a few of these out:
The Frogs Are Off Their Diets

Dance Mat Typing

Save The Sailboats

Spacebar Invaders- My favorite!

SpellingCity.com

Ok, I found another AMAZING resource for those students who would like additional practice with their word study list each week. This tool, SpellingCity.com, can be utilized by students each week for additional practice with the words they are studying. All students have to do is click on the link, type in the words from their word list, and begin working on games and activities using those words. The website will quiz students, teach them using flash cards, and will help with with vocabulary as well. If you have a few minutes, go check out this great new tool. It is DEFINITELY worth the time!

Wordle

Wordle Example

I find Wordle to be a great resource for making a collage using text. It is very user friendly and the possibilities are endless! I made a quick Wordle using words that I think of when I reflect on the new resources I have found over the past few weeks. Here's the link to the Wordle I created: Web 2.0 Wordle

Kerpoof

Have your kids check out Kerpoof! It's a fun and interactive site where children can create movies, cards, drawings, and story books all ONLINE! It is very easy to navigate and definitely user friendly. It's free to sign up. Here's just one quick thing I made using the site. It's a picture I threw together real quick to show you a small glimpse at what this website has to offer.

Sqooltube

Another resource I find to be rather useful is Sqooltube. Sqooltube is an online database filled with educational videos from k-12. I use this resource mostly when planning science lessons. This site has all sorts of good clips on it. Sometimes, I will show the Bill Nye videos as part of our review before our tests in science. Videos are a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom and engage students with additional examples of science concepts. Below, you will find the link to the videos on Changes in Matter, the chapter students will be tested on this Thursday.

Physical/ Chemical Changes pt. 1

Physical/ Chemical Changes pt. 2

Physical/ Chemical Changes pt. 3

A Great New Website...

It's Pinterest! By visiting http://pinterest.com/ you will find a great new addition to your already growing set of resources. This site is not necessarily a teaching/educational resource as much as it is a bookmarking/organization resource. This AWESOME site allows users (anyone with a valid email address) to basically "bookmark" or save favorite sites and images to different "pin boards." I would compare pin boards to a virtual file folder or clip board where you can organize your different sites into varying categories. Common pin board categories include: Recipes, For the Home, School, Crafts, Family, etc. I have been on the site, "pinning" tons and tons of new resources. I find this site to be very user friendly and the best part is, when you pin a website, it saves to your account NOT YOUR COMPUTER. This means, I can access my favorite websites/images from any computer with an internet connection. How awesome is that? Please go check out this site and let me hear your feedback on the pros and cons.

Walk-A-Thon

Wow! The Walk-A-Thon was a great success. With the help of our wonderful students and families, Gorrie CRUSHED our goal of $25,000 by raising over $30,000 this year! The monies raised with go towards making Gorrie an even more amazing school than it already is! I wanted to give a special thanks to Melissa Borchard for organizing the event and putting hours and hours of her time in to making it a great day! Also, Cynthia Heil and Pat Ashby for taking time out of their schedules to come in and create our class banner with the kids. Pat also helped get our Little Buddies banner put together as well. I really appreciate our help and support throughout the year!
The weather held up and the kids had a very nice day. Here are some of the pictures I was able to snap.

Go Animate Videos

So, here is the newest addition to the websites and resources I have found for our class. These videos were made from a website called, GoAnimate.com. The website was very user friendly and best of all...FREE to join. All you need is an email address, and you can get access to a free account. The free account only allows certain features, but overall, I enjoyed the time making these videos and it took very little time to do. I have not done a ton of research as to what else is on the site, so use at your own discretion.

In History, we are currently studying the routes European explorers took to get to the New World. Here are two videos that will help students with reviewing the important information for John Cabot and Juan Ponce De Leon. Hope you enjoy! I would love to hear some feedback on the effectiveness of the videos.


GoAnimate.com: Ponce De Leon by ncatania



GoAnimate.com: John Cabot by ncatania

Forces and Motion

Here are some fun and interactive links to support the understanding of forces and motion!

Further Reading: Forces and Motion

Forces and Motion Spy Game

Force Quiz

Further Reading: Friction

Friction Spy Game

Friction Quiz

Tropicana Speech

I wanted to let you know that I added a new page that explains how the Tropicana Speech Competition will work this year. It outlines the requirements, due dates, and provides some pointers in completing the speech. Please refer to the "Tropicana Speech" page for more details. I will be introducing this assignment on Monday with the students. Stay tuned for more details....

My Next Project...The Voki

Below, you will find an interesting new addition to our blog...A Voki. A Voki is an interactive avatar that can be customized with voice, looks, and sayings. So, here is my first Voki! He doesn't have a name yet, but I would be happy to take suggestions! It was so easy to get this Voki created. All I had to do was start a new account on Voki.com and in a few simple steps, I was ready to post! The problem came when I tried posting the Voki to my blog and I wasn't able to do so. After many trials and errors, I have FINALLY figured out what I was doing wrong. For the future, it will be VERY easy to get a Voki avatar added to a post. I look forward to experimenting with different characters, formats, etc. Enjoy!

Beginning of The Year

Beginning of The Year

Check out the Slideshow I created with a few of the pictures I have from this year. This slideshow was made using Animoto, a free moviemaker website application. Overall, the program was pretty easy to use and all I had to do was choose my pictures, a template that was already created, and add the song of my choice (from their online library). I don't LOVE the application, as the Free version only allows a 30 sec. video to be made, BUT uploading this video was really simple. All I did was click the Blogger icon, and VOILA... the video was embedded in this post. Enjoy!

Expect Some Changes...

As many of you know, I am currently taking classes to receive my Master's of Education from The University of Tampa. As part of my studies, I am going to be journaling my successes and struggles as I ATTEMPT to integrate more and more technology into my batch of resources. Most of the work will be done updating and enhancing my blog in a way that makes it more interactive for both parents and students. My hope is that I can find a way to get my students more involved. I hope you will continue to support my blog as I work to improve it throughout the next few months. Keep an eye out for new features and gadgets throughout the site. I enjoy gaining ANY and ALL feedback on what you think works and what is useless (or boring). Thanks for taking a ride on this educational journey with me! I look forward to building my academic toolbox as I work through these next few months.

First Day Jitters

Here are some of the letters the students wrote during their first day of fifth grade.

All- American Student Update

Gorrie Movie Night

• Who:  Gorrie Students and Their Families (Students must be accompanied by an adult.)

• When:  Monday, September 26th at 6:15pm
• What:  Invited to Attend the Movie Dolphin Tale, which is a 2-D, PG rated movie   

• Inspired by the incredible true story of Winter, a dolphin who was rescued off the Florida coast and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, after her tail became caught in a crab trap.  This uplifting family-oriented adventure details the unique bond between an injured dolphin and a young boy.  When Winter loses her tail in a tragic accident, her young friend convinces the locals to build her a prosthetic replacement, inspiring hope and courage in handicapped people across the globe.   
• Where: Westshore Plaza Movie Theater (Capacity:  391)
• Cost: Children $7.00 and Adults $10.00
• Why:  To earn entries in Westshore Plaza’s “Earning for Learning” program!

**Those Students Who Attend Will Receive A No Homework Pass**

Some Great Science Vids

Here are some Energy resources for your children to take a look at!

Schoolhouse Rock- Energy Blues

Bill Nye (part 1)

Bill Nye (part 2)

Bill Nye (part 3)

Potential and Kinetic Energy Song

ENJOY!

Family Dinner Night

Gorrie is hosting a Family Dinner Night at Westshore Mall in the Food Court on Monday, September 19th from 5:00-6:00pm. What a wonderful opportunity for you to meet your child's classmates and teacher! After dinner, please take your receipts to the Guest Services desk located near Macy's. We will receive one entry for each receipt. Thank you in advance for your support!

All- American Student Week 2

Congrats to you!

All- American Student

I am so excited to present the work of our first All- American Student for this year! All- American Students are chosen at the end of each week and are only eligible if they meet specific criteria. They must attend school all week on time, turn in all homework and assignments on time, not receive any conduct slips throughout the week and act as a model student for their peers. When chosen at the end of the week, these students earn the privilege of posting their favorite memory of the week on our blog. In return for completing this task, I provide them with a coupon for a variety of different rewards in our class. Below is a memory from our first All- American Student. Enjoy!

Scholastic Books

At Meet Your Teacher, you received a Scholastic Book Order Form. Please help make our classroom library more interesting to students by ordering a book(s) for your own child. For every book you order for your child, I receive points that I can use to get books for our class library. In addition, if we can 

collect $250 in book order by the end of September, we will receive an additional 5,000 bonus points 

(which means we can order a huge amount of books). When I use the points to order books, I will ask the class for their input as to what books to order for our library. Thanks!

Our First Week

We have officially finished our first week of the school year! Over the course of the week, we went through my Classroom Procedure Manual and Behavior Handbook and together, we created our Class Constitution, which all students signed to ensure they understood the rules and procedures in our class. Along the way, the students also participated in activities to get to know each other better and establish a sense of community within our class. We also began instruction in all content areas. Please make sure you visit my "Announcements" tab to view assignments for the week. Also, please be sure to have your child fill out their reading logs, including a parent signature, and turn them in on Monday.

Additional Supplies Needed!

The science teachers have met and have asked their students to please purchase an additional spiral notebook to be used in conjunction with the new National Geographic Textbook Series we have adopted this year in Hillsborough County. Please have this notebook to school NO LATER THAN Thursday, August 25th, for our first day of science instruction. Thank you in advance! I look forward to a great year!

Welcome Back 2011

Hello! Welcome to our class blog! This website it used as a tool to communicate our studies, achievements, homework assignments, important dates, etc. to students, family, and friends. I update this site on a regular basis by posting pictures of what the students are working on and what is going on in our classroom. I look forward to meeting you all at Meet The Teacher this Friday August 19th, 2011 immediately following the Info Fair from 12:30-2:00pm! I have been working hard to get our classroom ready for your arrival! Here are some sneak peek shots of the room thus far. Please collect all of your supplies and bring them to school on our first day. Feel free to look around on our class blog to see what we will be working on this year. See you Friday!

**Parent Post: Homework Tips**

Parent Post

Homework Tips

Parents often ask how they can help their child(ren) with their homework. Here are some tips:

• Have a weekly meeting with your child (preferably Sunday). Use a family calendar and the child's planner to set a schedule for the week. Include upcoming test/quizzes/projects, and events such as practices and appointments.
• Set a timer for your child; have him/her estimate how long each assignment will take and set the timer for that amount of time. Timing each assignment helps to keep the child on task.
• Review your child's planner EVERY night.
• If homework is taking more than 1 hour per night, it could be because he/she 's not finishing work in school, finds the concepts too difficult, has difficulty concentrating, or is disorganized. Try to figure out what exactly is the problem.
• The primary role of a fifth grade parent is to:  be available if he/she needs help, check over their completed work, and provide them with encouragement and support. Your child should be moving towards independence before they move into middle school. This is a big step from last year for most of you, so it will take some time to adjust. 

Adios Summer...

Whoah! With a blink of an eye, the summer is coming to an end once again. There has been a lot going on since my last post. I travelled to Canada and Chicago to visit friends and took a cruise to Mexico and Grand Cayman for some rest and relaxation. I attended a professional development training, began studies for my Master's Degree and did some research for the next school year. I am excited and ready for the year to begin and look forward to meeting my new (maybe not so new if I had you in third grade) class of students! I hope you relax and enjoy these last few weeks of summer and are ready for another great school year at Gorrie! See you soon!

A Special Thank You...

Dear Parents,

I give you back your children, the same children you confidently entrusted to my care last fall.  I give them back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible, and more mature than they were then.

Although they would have attained their growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure and privilege to watch their personalities unfold day by day and marvel at their overwhelming development.

I give them back reluctantly, for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a crowded classroom, we have grown close, have become a part of each other, and we shall always retain a little of each other.

We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together this year.  I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give them back I must.  Take care of them, for they are precious.

Remember that I shall always be interested in your children and their destinies, wherever they go, whatever they do, whoever they become.  Their joys and sorrows- I’ll be happy to share.




Enjoy your summer and thank you again for all that you do!


Sincerely,
Mr. Catania

Universal Trip

 

Parents -

Just a reminder that the students will be attending Universal Studios on Monday.  They need to be at school Monday morning between 700-715 am as buses will pull out at 730. Please report to Mrs. Baker to check in for attendance purposes.  Please remind the students to wear their green 5th grade shirts on Monday and to be sure to load up on sunscreen as the weather forecast is shooting for sunny weather. Also, please DO NOT bring any electronic devices (i.e. Ipods, game players or cell phones). They will be left on the bus unattended while we walk throughout the park.

Also, the students will be receiving $20 in Universal Studios money to be used to purchase food and/or drinks throughout the day.  However, if your child would like to purchase souvenirs at the park or you think they might need more than $20 for food/drinks, you might want to send them with some "just in case" money.

We should be arriving back at school around 500-530 Monday evening.  So, for those of you who are unable to chaperone, please make sure you or someone will be at Gorrie to pick up your child by then.

Thank you so much and I'm looking forward to Monday!

Art Projects

Here are shots of some of our students' projects they created in art class this year.

Tampa Yankee Field Trip

More Pictures!!!

Student- Led Conferences