Krebs' Class Blogs

Constructing, creating, communicating, collaborating, and thinking critically in grade 5.

Monthly Archives: December 2011

December 22, 2011
by Denise Krebs
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Our U.S. Presidents

Eighth graders are learning about presidents. Fifteen 8th graders and 44 presidents. Collectively we know much about our presidents–who was the first to do something unique, who graduated from college and served in the military, who died in office, and more. Together we are smarter. Here is a link to our U.S. president wiki.

The following videos are what we have called our presidential puppet show, featuring facts about each of the presidents. (We tried using a green screen for the first time. It’s not perfect, but we learned a lot, so please bear with us.)

Presidents George Washington through James Buchanan
edited and compiled by Justin

Presidents Abraham Lincoln through Calvin Coolidge
edited and compiled by Chandler

Coming soon – Presidents, Part III

December 19, 2011
by Denise Krebs
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7th Grade Genius Hour

Seventh graders have a three-hour block where they will participate in Genius Hour and share their creative productions. We will start after lunch and finish by dismissal time.

The rules are simple:

  1. Be a genius! That is, be creative and productive.
  2. Record your learning in a way that it can be shared digitally (video, photos, blog post, or something else)
  3. Check the rubric, for you will be asked to honestly evaluate your own work.
  4. Be ready at 2:10 p.m. to present to the class what you have created and produced.

Students, as you prepare, consider these possibilities for Genius Hour:

  1. Ask a question you care about and find the answer.
  2. Check out what’s been happening in current affairs and how can you add to the conversation.
  3. Have you been learning anything in some class that sparked an interest?
  4. Continue what you were learning for genius hour last time. Step it up a notch.
  5. Keep your ideas small enough for a two-hour time slot. (For instance, don’t think of World War II for your topic, but perhaps you want to learn about the KA-BAR knife adopted by the Marines in November 1942.)

Here are some websites that you may consider for presenting:

Good luck, everyone!

December 18, 2011
by Denise Krebs
5 Comments

History Genius Hour


The end of a semester calls for our next genius hour. Eighth grade history students will pick any topic or time in history they would like to explore, research, or compare with another time. They can choose a topic about which they want to question, read, or present.

The rules are simple:

  1. Be a genius! That is, be creative and productive.
  2. Topic: Anything in United States history.
  3. Record your learning in a way that it can be shared digitally (video, photos, blog post, or something else)
  4. Check the rubric, for you will be asked to honestly evaluate your own work.
  5. Be ready the next day to present to the class what you have created and produced.

Since our high school is taking semester tests, we again have been given some longer time frames to work with. On Tuesday, students will have two hours for genius hour activities. On Wednesday, we will have one hour for presentations.

Students, as you prepare, consider these possibilities for Genius Hour:

  1. Ask a question you care about and find the answer.
  2. Check out what’s been happening in current affairs–maybe Occupy Wall Street since we made our wiki.
  3. Did you learn something about one of the presidents that sparked an interest?
  4. Keep your ideas small enough for a two-hour time slot. (For instance, don’t think of World War II for your topic, but perhaps you want to learn about the KA-BAR knife adopted by the Marines in November 1942.)
  5. Make something to show something you’ve learned or you are passionate about in history.

Resources – Check out Iowa AEA Online for great history sources.

Here are some websites that you may consider for presenting:

Good luck, everyone!

December 6, 2011
by Denise Krebs
2 Comments

Happy St. Nicholas Day

Today is St. Nicholas Day, the day when St. Nicholas traditionally left gifts in shoes. Yesterday in the announcements, the students were told to leave their shoes by their lockers.

I don’t think we have done this before, but the students seemed to know they didn’t want to miss out. Some of them didn’t have PE shoes here, and with the snow, they couldn’t go home barefooted. They got creative. They made cardboard shoes, they shared a pair, someone even used mittens and labeled them shoes. 🙂

This morning they weren’t disappointed, for St. Nick had arrived, and no one received coal.

Here is the poem that was left with the chocolate coins:

We remember this saint, such a holy, good man.
Be like him in charity, do all that you can.
Call him “Santa” or “Saint,” they both mean the same,
For his nickname is Claus, short for Nicholas’ name.
Giving gifts was his custom–we still do today.
Deeds done in Jesus’ name forever will stay.

Happy St. Nicholas Day to all!

December 3, 2011
by Denise Krebs
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Iowa


Hello, Jack and all the 4th graders in Pennsylvania. We hope you learn much about all 50 states this year. Here are some things that my students have written about Iowa.  Have fun learning!

All About Iowa

Grace’s Post
Paris’s Post
Shiann’s Post
Vanessa’s Iowa Photos
Life Science Photos

Iowans in History

Click on each part of the name for a different post about these Iowans in history.
Billy Sunday
Buffalo Bill with video
Jesse Hiatt
Robert Lucas
Billy Robinson
Ringling Brothers
Robert Gordon Cousins

The History of Our Local Area

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