Virtually
traveling across America for the
National
Education’s Association event,
Read
Across America, eighteen West classes videoconferenced with
partner classes across the United States to celebrate reading.
The annual event is sponsored by TWICE,
Two Way Interactions in Education. Our computer teacher Debbie Fallon,
library media specialist Emily Smith, and library aides JoEllen Smith
and Jean Cooke supported classroom teachers as they collaborated
with their students to prepare outstanding, creative presentations
promoting literacy for our partner classes. Connecting using
interactive video with classes in Indiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Michigan,
Kansas, Texas, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, classes exchanged reading
activities and information about each other’s schools and
communities.
For
example:
-
Mrs. Avgeris' third grade class celebrated Black History Month by
researching a famous African American in history. Their
choices were Sports, Film, Literature, Education, and Inventors.
The students presented their African American by describing how
the positive and negative moments in their lives encouraged them
to make the world a better place to live in. They conferenced with Mrs.
Seraphinoff's class in Michigan.
-
Mrs. O'Connell's
second graders videoconferenced with Mrs. Anderson's second
grade class in Evansville, Indiana. First, a few students in
Mrs. Anderson's class read a Dr. Seuss book and shared a song.
Mrs. O'Connell's class then acted out the story The True Story
of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. The children were in
costume and made props such as the three houses and the jail.
After watching and performing, the two classes took an
opportunity to ask each other questions about the weather,
school, likes and dislikes, and favorite books and movies. The
children thought it was so cool that they all liked similar
things. They also enjoyed discussing the time change since this
part of Indiana is an hour behind New York. It was a wonderful
experience. The classes are now trying to work out a
pen pal system!
|
