How Can We Reduce Garbage?

Did you know???

Garbology (http://www.naturebridge.org/garbology.php) is an exciting and interactive website that answers the question, "Where should my waste go?" It helps elementary-age students better understand how they can reduce trash and stop polluting. In addition to the interactive game, the “For Teachers” section includes nine lesson plans and five fact sheets.  The “For Students” section includes a waste assessment and seven useful handouts. The “For Families” section will inspire families to reduce and recycle.  You'll find lessons and activities to extend your Garbology experience, from how to pack a waste-less lunch to getting the dirt on composting. Plus, read the Trash Talk blog for stories of Garbology in practice.

Looking for High Interest Informational Text?

Did you know??? 

There is a child-centered website called Youngzine (http://www.youngzine.org/) that provides informational articles, images, and videos about world news, science and technology, society and arts, movies, and books. School-age children are encouraged to respond to the content and may submit articles, short stories, and book reviews. All content is reviewed by Youngzine’s editors and updated every two weeks. The site is geared toward students in grades K-8.

 Tip: Do you and your students discuss current events? Use Youngzine as a springboard for these weekly or daily discussions. Students can post comments and reflections in the comments section.

Dress Up Your Lessons in a Tagxedo!

Did you know???

There are some great, free word cloud Web 2.0 tools available online to enhance teaching and learning in your classroom!  My favorite at the moment is www.Tagxedo.com. Tagxedo turns words -- famous speeches, news articles, student generated lists, slogans and themes -- into a visually stunning word cloud with words individually sized appropriately to highlight the frequencies of occurrence within the body of text. What I love the most about this tool is that the user gets to choose the shape of the word cloud.

I have been using Tagxedo with all of my classes this year as a brainstorming tool.  For example, in third grade, we are doing a research project on Georgia habitats.  To kick off the unit, we brainstormed words related to Georgia habitats and created the following Tagxedo:

To use Tagxedo, the user simply clicks on create, chooses a shape, and types or copies text into the text box by clicking the load button.  Click submit, and watch the magic happen!  You can then play with font, color, and other style features to make your Tagxedo exactly what you want.

Other possible uses of Tagxedo or other word cloud tools include:

•  Brainstorm a topic or create a discussion either inside the  class or online                       
•  Teach vocabulary                                                                                               
•  Use them in reading activities to promote comprehension                                                                    
•  Students can use them to feature important ideas from a  discussion or a video content                                     
•  The entire class can use word clouds to react to a certain topic                                                           
•  Have students create word clouds that generate understanding of a concept, standards or vocabulary word.         
•  Illustrate classroom thoughts or views using a word cloud to survey students.                                              
•  Create a class word cloud that highlights class expectation