tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37937880175371208532024-02-18T19:50:42.480-08:00Teaching TorchEducation and CreativityBenjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-30944380366238233492023-04-08T19:41:00.000-07:002023-04-08T19:41:14.094-07:00Power Panthers with Pilot Pens<p><span style="color: #343541; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a few months from now, I will be cheering my students on as they cross the stage at their eighth grade promotion ceremony. I will be frantically signing yearbooks and cards to get one last word of encouragement in with them. And for this critical job, I will be using none other than my favorite pen, the Pilot G-2 bold. Even though I may not be famous, original or notable for my work, Pilot Pens should sponsor me as a professional educator because I am a great promoter, and together we can make a difference on future generations, changing the world. Let’s Power Panthers with Pilot Pens!</span></p><span style="color: #343541; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji"; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m headed into my 15th year of teaching writing and the G-2 bold is definitely my pen of choice. This is a well-made pen that is super reliable. As a writing teacher, I believe that I would be a great promoter for Pilot Pens. I am involved in sharing about my craft on Twitter and at my educational blog at TeachingTorch.com. I would happily dedicate a post to the exceptional quality of the G-2 for educational purposes.
Each year, when sharing my passion for writing with my students, I am also sharing my love for the G-2. When I hand a G-2 to one of my students, I see a spark of joy ignite amongst feelings of fulfillment as they are introduced to this finely designed instrument. That is why I believe it would be incredible to be able to present a G-2 pen to each of my eighth graders this year at their promotion ceremony. This could be a compelling event that will shape their futures as writers, and together we will be making a difference.
Although sponsoring an ordinary middle school writing teacher is a small gesture, it makes a bold statement. The G-2 pen is not the flashiest, most expensive or trendiest pen out there. Likewise, the job of a teacher is not celebrated in our culture the way professional athletes, musicians and celebrities are. This is the perfect time to inspire students everywhere by lifting up the extraordinarily powerful act of learning to write. The future of education, learning and writing is in the hands of educators. I hope that you will join me to power our panthers with Pilot Pens.</span>Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-91386844963161382852021-10-17T11:18:00.005-07:002021-10-18T19:53:36.669-07:00Narrative Writing Notebook Handouts<p>"The most valuable thing that human beings own is a story." - Jason Reynolds</p><p>Narrative writing is one of the most valuable endeavors that we do with students. The following resources are handouts that I use with students to help develop their valuable stories during throughout the writing process.</p><p><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Narrative-Writing-Handouts-Half-page-for-INB-7348248">Narrative Writing Handouts</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Narrative-Writing-Handouts-Half-page-for-INB-7348248" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="590" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8Ur66j4F47KHaVWKV4ER9P3A_PoBc2_BAtCMw8RJxx9jo-SQ1NmFcj5jjzot38VNl36pozOCjq4kRewyM8SdR1gYlTgEErNQDH6BV7R9BUzNiT4P8MKeCvFnjYtzYCBSq1Fig_Dyq7I/s320/thumbnail+pic.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-72918477126166764122020-02-15T10:39:00.001-08:002020-02-15T10:39:19.720-08:00ELD Writing Levels Poster<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have created a student friendly writing rubric poster that is available for purchase at my Teachers pay Teachers Webstore. This rubric is based on the ELPA21 writing rubric descriptors so it is huge aid for students in any ELD classroom. <div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ELD-Writing-Levels-Poster-5133580" target="_blank">PURCHASE THE POSTER FOR YOUR CLASSROOM FOR JUST $1 HERE.</a></div>
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Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-14437112922835930412016-02-06T15:00:00.001-08:002016-02-12T19:04:18.363-08:00Student Blogs Using Kidblog.org - ORA Winter Institute Workshop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Welcome to Student Blogs with <a href="http://kidblog.org/">kidblog.org</a> at the Winter Institute. B</span>elow you will find the links we will be using during our workshop:</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">1. Post a reason to use student blogs in class on our <a href="http://padlet.com/benjamindalgas/blog" target="_blank">Padlet Here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. Join our Kidblog <a href="https://kidblog.org/enter-code?role=student" target="_blank">Class Here</a>. <i>Join Code</i>: <b>4c7yfmq</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Creating a good </span><a href="http://myhero.com/" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">digital library</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> for your class is a powerful tool</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. Check out how the<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yf8O5r6Tw6ZbD4Lypu6PvEXbG9V_56wepOiyIwl3TG4/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"> Guest Journal Strategy</a> works here.</span></span><br />
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Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-58159140539932792542013-01-24T17:00:00.000-08:002013-01-24T17:06:35.162-08:00Students Can Create Awesome Robots Using Incredibots 2D Physics Playground<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://incredibots.com/index.php" style="background-color: white; color: #0f6fb1; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: initial;" title="">Incredibots</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> is a "physics playground" designed for creating two dimensional(2D) robots. This flash-based web app allows you to create 2D robots, games (</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; position: relative;">challenges</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">), and play an expansive user-created library of bots. This year I began teaching a robot building unit in my technology classes using </span><a href="http://incredibots.com/if/game.php" style="background-color: white; color: #0f6fb1; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank" title="">Incredibots 2</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">. Students were hooked right from the start, because many of them already had a love for physics games. Not only was the unit super engaging, but also it covered several of the </span><a href="http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students" style="background-color: white; color: #0f6fb1; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: initial;" title="">national technology standards <em style="position: relative;">NETS</em></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">, with a strong focus on creativity and problem solving skills. This post is an outline of how I taught this unit, broken down for you in 4 nice 'n tidy steps.</span><br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">1. Tutorials: Learning How to Use Incredibots<br />2. Writing Robot Plans<br />3. Creating Robots in Incredibots Sandbox Editor<br />4. Sharing Robots on Edmodo</strong><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5;"><b>1. Tutorials: Learning How to Use Incredibots</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHq5mv7nMSXy2CVEjCAgmnrPcEvggsbkXAJuqZ3EfwpV8Q4UF-KKVaMrSjH2_UG7DkeDW4pdpUmGDmAIWE5hm8id2u_6IYCyljgzzbup-TN40FP3KGDth-o8CUoVDrT8uYfG6-ugg7ac/s1600/tutorials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHq5mv7nMSXy2CVEjCAgmnrPcEvggsbkXAJuqZ3EfwpV8Q4UF-KKVaMrSjH2_UG7DkeDW4pdpUmGDmAIWE5hm8id2u_6IYCyljgzzbup-TN40FP3KGDth-o8CUoVDrT8uYfG6-ugg7ac/s320/tutorials.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Incredibots includes 10 step-by-step tutorials designed to teach you how to use the main tools in the physics engine. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">The key to these tutorials is making sure students read the directions carefully. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">After completing all 10 tutorials, students should be able to have all the understanding they need to develop their own basic robots using in the sandbox mode.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Tutorial 10 was the most difficult for my students to complete, but is a necessary tutorial if you plan to have your students create challenges. </span><br />
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2. Writing Robot Plans</h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The next step is writing robot plans. This </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">gets students thinking about what tasks they hope their robot will accomplish and how they will build thier robot. I've found that writing a plan gives students a stronger sense of purpose once they begin experimenting with the physics sandbox.</span><br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JM6K0cEQD-gYXNUDZ5tyZQPdS-XLpl28WhlusMBtRCc/pub" style="background-color: white; color: #0f6fb1; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank" title="">Read Some Example Plans Here</a></div>
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3. Creating Robots in Incredibots Sandbox Editor</h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">Once students have submitted their plans to me, they begin building their robots in the Incredibots sandbox editor. As they build they are partnered up to share ideas and solutions to the problems they encounter. Oftentimes I will feature or demo student robots to the class to discuss these in a whole group. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Below are examples of a few of the robots created by my students. </span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">ATV Robot: <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bw-R_94X0Eu0ZG5IbzEtRzg4Rk0/edit">(Download)</a></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1LyGbKFzRHmVYwv8-yfDt0HDaYrABo6k-22Otc_8Lc5JcL3D85av15qm7a_En8R99dP9-iQHwy6A1_2gAteNDI6eRm6-NjRQ1PdKxek1b1BNEmkSF8tlyMGzrlMpHUOKK7gseFUV9Cw/s1600/ATV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1LyGbKFzRHmVYwv8-yfDt0HDaYrABo6k-22Otc_8Lc5JcL3D85av15qm7a_En8R99dP9-iQHwy6A1_2gAteNDI6eRm6-NjRQ1PdKxek1b1BNEmkSF8tlyMGzrlMpHUOKK7gseFUV9Cw/s200/ATV.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The ATV bot is able to lift objects and dump them into a cargo tank. It can also drive forward and reverse and control a cannon. Cannons and thrusters are extra features that are not included in the tutorials, but students' will quickly discover many uses for these if given a chance to experiment with them.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Multiplayer Boxing Robots: <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bw-R_94X0Eu0VXlZWWhEcVlIems/edit">(Download)</a></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxHupVpEcx_2ECHoKfrGdnIH78hgHF8HX832MQYd-K4_uoxlYQamlwJPsyFVlY-6ePwobBtF5Al9vaHBdH1xYKwQrohwQjCXfMXlgMeovuW7CS-XOG19-POX5sux-zq0c12mDRF5bi-I/s1600/multi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxHupVpEcx_2ECHoKfrGdnIH78hgHF8HX832MQYd-K4_uoxlYQamlwJPsyFVlY-6ePwobBtF5Al9vaHBdH1xYKwQrohwQjCXfMXlgMeovuW7CS-XOG19-POX5sux-zq0c12mDRF5bi-I/s200/multi.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Load this as a challenge. One of my more advanced students created this robot. After students had finished creating their robots, I asked them to create challenges. Challenges are basically robots with win/loss conditions. In this challenge the game ends when the first robot is knocked over.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">There are also a ton more example robots that you can test out on the incredibots </span><a href="http://incredibots.com/if/viewrobot.php" style="background-color: white; color: #0f6fb1; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: initial;" title="">featured robots page.</a></div>
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4. Sharing the Robots on Edmodo</h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Creating 2D robots is one of the most engaging technology projects that I have ever taught. Things get really exciting when students get the chance to test their classmates' robots. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">To do this, students post their robots on </span><a href="http://www.edmodo.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #0f6fb1; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank" title="">edmodo</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">. This allows them to share their robot file that can be loaded in incredibots. After testing each robot, students are asked to give encouraging feedback and thoughtful suggestions to their peers.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I hope you enjoy teaching this unit as much as I did. Thank you Incredibots!</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 23px;">Standards: </strong><strong style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 23px;">NETS: </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 23px;">Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration</span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 23px;">CCSS.ELA.2 :</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: Georgia, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 23px;"> Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.</span></blockquote>
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Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-66252207185084521052012-02-12T16:07:00.000-08:002012-02-15T17:58:50.551-08:00"Does Dad still dance in the kitchen?": Writing a Letter to a Future You<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I came across this really neat video infographic about the fears and excitements of growing up. The video inspired a writing lesson in which I asked my students write a letter to themselves, ten years in the future. One of the current skills we are working on in reading is making predictions, so it fit right in.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: blue;">Warm Up:</span></i></b></div>
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I started the lesson by students showing, "Growing Up" by the Infographics show. During the video I asked students to list examples of fears and excitements about growing up mentioned in the video.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WgwboxatZPw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Mini-Lesson: Mentor Text</span></i></b></div>
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After discussing the video, I shared with the class a letter I wrote to myself 10 years in the future.</div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Dear 39-year-old me, </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I can’t even imagine how the world has changed in ten years, and maybe you have changed a little too. Oh, if you haven’t figured this out yet, I’m you, Ben Dalgas, at 29 years old. Speaking of, where are you in the world? Are you living in your much loved city of Salem or have you traveled on to new parts? Perhaps you have a new home in Mexico, Guatemala or somewhere new… Indonesia?</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Okay, so let me get to what is really on my heart, I want to know if your love has grown. Do you love Amy, Neli, Flora, your students, neighbors, family and world more than I do? Has your love grown for others?</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I wonder what challenges you have faced. This year when Flora was in the hospital my faith and love was deepened. The experience of our smallest child suffering was so challenging. It brought us to tears, our knees, and prayers of gratefulness. What losses have you grieved? Is your love stronger now?</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So, whew, that was kinda tough to get through, but I kinda wonder, what is Neli like now that she is 13? Does she have all the qualities of Amy? Caring, loving, empathetic. It is not too difficult for me to imagine because most things I learn these days are from 11 and 12-year-olds. </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Let me tell you, these students are true, real and gaining wisdom each day. What I love is to see their friendships grow. I wonder are these students still friends today? I hope so. </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Do their lives still connect and are they still sharing stories? Do you still hear from them? If you have the courage to ask, ask them something I wonder each day… is what I’m teaching them today, making a difference in their life? Was our class meaningful and important to them?</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I’m sorry if I’m so full of questions for you… It’s truly just hard not to ask. I know that I probably will not hear from you, but that’s okay, I’m just excited some day to be you. Thanks, for taking a moment to listen to a younger you.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Ben Dalgas 2/8/12</span></blockquote>
<i>Writing Activity:</i><br />
Finally, I asked students to write a letter to themselves, 10 years in the future. I gave them something similar to the prompt below as a starting point.<br />
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Write a letter to yourself 10 years in the future. Here are some things you might include in your letter:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Fears you have about growing up. </li>
<li>Experiences you are looking forward to.</li>
<li>Questions you have for your future self.</li>
</ul>
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I really enjoyed this activity because it allowed us to write about what really matters in life, without seeming superficial. Some of my favorite lines from students were, "Am I still daddy's little girl?" and "Does dad still dance in the kitchen like he always did?" I hope this writing activity is as fruitful for your class as it was for ours. Enjoy.</div>
</div>Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-3739094118003410742012-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:002012-01-16T17:36:48.161-08:00How to Make a Cardboard Pocket Journal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of the most practical and valuable tools in life is a good notebook or journal. A pocket journal is an ideal option for this, but these handy notepads cost the same and sometimes more than a standard size 100 page composition book.<br />
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However, with cardboard, paper, yarn (or twine) and a few basic tools you can create a pretty decent pocket journal. Watch my video tutorial below to learn how. <br />
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<br /></div>Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-13413152619840422982011-09-05T14:28:00.000-07:002011-09-05T14:30:17.237-07:00Prezi Updated - Presenting Class Rules and Routines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last year I began the year using <a href="http://prezi.com/">Prezi</a> a free zoomable presentation online software, to present classroom routines. Since then, Prezi has improved and added features to the software. A few of these features are new templates that help you get started with creating a presentation as well as a simple tutorial. They've also added the ability to save your Prezi as a .pdf and make copies of other prezis you like amongst the shared library. This opens up the opportunity to easily use others presentations as a template for your own.<br />
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So, with all these improvements, I felt that I should make some improvements to my own prezi's.<br />
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Here's an example of one of the prezis I made to present class routines:<br />
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I also created one to present stamina for independent reading:</div>
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Finally, here's one I created to introduce a new class I will be teaching this year: Digital Media Literacy. </div>
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Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-61084455267725315582011-08-30T13:59:00.001-07:002011-08-30T13:59:54.827-07:00Reading Survey Template<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you have a google account you can use your account to create forms for students to complete as a way to gather information, do formative assessments, practice a skill, or evaluate the class. I used google forms throughout the year last year for all of these purposes. This year I think I will begin the year using a reading survey in order to gather information about my students as readers. If you are interested, feel free to use the template below.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/previewtemplate?id=0Ag-R_94X0Eu0dGVTVW9KU2Y0UGU3SWpReFo4ZDB3QUE&mode=public">Reading Survey Template</a></div>
Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-56525096545572077422011-08-30T07:29:00.000-07:002011-08-30T07:32:55.498-07:00Blackout Poetry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Blackout Poetry is a form of poetry that begins with the newspaper and a marker as inspiration. Through selecting words and thoughts from an article and blacking out what remains, a poem is created. This technique for writing poetry could be used as an extension to articles read and discussed in class, a tool for teaching word choice, as a strategy for teaching free verse poetry, or an activity in identifying key words. Below you will find a few resources related to blackout poetry.<br />
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<a href="http://newspaperblackout.com/">Newspaper Blackout: </a>A website dedicated to Blackout Poetry that allows anyone to contribute their poems.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.austinkleon.com/">Austin Kleon</a>: Author of the book "Newspaper Blackout."</div>
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Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-81678125983845134162011-08-24T13:31:00.000-07:002011-08-25T11:22:55.001-07:00Simple English Wikipedia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8we2J44RvDcXbFdKEQz4z59IJYDuPQ5kURPJScHUR8knXMoSUn4NX-my9ulE_TJ7MMYWvSpn5AizzdL-ckF3rK0WGwWLSYjpgaMiY_R_Dnmn2AXd7J9Ofx5g9PYv5t_MsjHxgUWuJ98/s1600/Simple+English+Wikipedia.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8we2J44RvDcXbFdKEQz4z59IJYDuPQ5kURPJScHUR8knXMoSUn4NX-my9ulE_TJ7MMYWvSpn5AizzdL-ckF3rK0WGwWLSYjpgaMiY_R_Dnmn2AXd7J9Ofx5g9PYv5t_MsjHxgUWuJ98/s1600/Simple+English+Wikipedia.bmp" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Simple English Wikipedia</a> is a version of Wikipedia designed to use basic English vocabulary. This site could be a great resource for low level readers, English Language Learners, kids and adults.<br />
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A few other online encyclopedias that I have used in my classroom in the past are:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.worldbookonline.com/wbdiscover/home" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(51, 51, 153) !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">World Book Basic</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.worldbookonline.com/" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(51, 51, 153) !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">World Book Advanced</a><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(51, 51, 153) !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Wikipedia</a><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><a href="http://www.infoplease.com/" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(51, 51, 153) !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Infoplease</a><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><a href="http://www.factmonster.com/" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(51, 51, 153) !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Fact Monster</a></span></div>
Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-7818920237225041982011-04-04T17:38:00.000-07:002011-08-14T22:23:05.624-07:00Using KIDBLOG.org as a Literacy Tool<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;">I have found that using student blogs in my classroom has increased student engagement and interaction in reading and writing. There are many free services out on the web to provide teachers with a blogging community/platform for students, however I have found that</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kidblog.org/">www.kidblog.org</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;">is the safest and the simplest.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;" /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.learnitin5.com/">Learn it in 5</a> creates videos to explain using online tools. This tutorial explains how to set up a kidblog class account in 5 minutes. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_KtWSaVdzkI" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif; font-size: small;" /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;">If you are interested, I would love to share with you more ideas related to blogging with students or help as a guide to answer any questions you may have as you begin your blogging adventure.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, arial, 'nimbus sans l', sans-serif;"> www.kidblog.org<span id="goog_1787321239"></span><span id="goog_1787321240"></span><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/"></a></span></div>
Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-71110842656986014992011-01-23T19:34:00.000-08:002011-01-23T19:41:04.507-08:00Tagxedo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Create beautiful word art with <a href="http://www.tagxedo.com/">Tagxedo</a>. This can be a great way to discover and share the central ideas of any text. I made a sample here of my Action Research Project, <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/20039995/Audience-and-the-English-Language-Learner">Audience and the English Language Learner</a>.<br />
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</div>Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-49171036931985988202010-11-28T19:05:00.000-08:002011-08-14T22:25:05.810-07:00Super Teacher Tools: Flash Classroom Jeopardy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="54" src="http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of my closest mentor teachers always said that we learn best when we are playing. I have found that Jeopardy is a favorite game for review and skill practice. In English Language Development (ELD) class I generally use this game to review vocabulary and grammatical forms. It works best when I have table groups or partners on individual teams. Asking students to discuss and evaluate their answers with a teammate increases the level of thinking.<br />
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I've found that using a class set of personal whiteboards for students to jot their answers lowers their affective filter because they can easily make adjustments to their responses. I ask them to show their whiteboards after each answer. Not only is this game a great way to reteach and reinforce material it is a great tool for formative assessment. </div>
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Click here to access download link and game creation instructions for <a href="http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/">Super Teacher Tools Flash Jeopardy Game Maker. </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/pics/jeopardy-screenshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Additionally, Super Teacher Tools makes other <a href="http://www.superteachertools.com/">flash Smartboard games</a> you may want to try out.</div>
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Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3793788017537120853.post-6604017434429922152010-08-24T10:40:00.001-07:002011-08-14T22:26:01.763-07:00A Prezi of My Class Routines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.prezi.com/">Prezi</a> is a great tool for creating compelling animated presentations. There are many great examples of how educators have been using this for a variety of applications. I am excited for students to be able to use it to share their knowledge and demonstrate learning. I am putting it to use on my first day for class routines. Let me know what you think. <br />
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<div class="prezi-player">
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<style media="screen" type="text/css">
.prezi-player { width: 550px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; }
</style><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="500" id="prezi_kmhlmo43g6so" name="prezi_kmhlmo43g6so" width="550"><param name="movie" value="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf"/>
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/>
<param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"/>
<param name="flashvars" value="prezi_id=kmhlmo43g6so&lock_to_path=0&color=ffffff&autoplay=no&autohide_ctrls=0"/>
<embed id="preziEmbed_kmhlmo43g6so" name="preziEmbed_kmhlmo43g6so" src="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="550" height="500" bgcolor="#ffffff" flashvars="prezi_id=kmhlmo43g6so&lock_to_path=0&color=ffffff&autoplay=no&autohide_ctrls=0"></embed></object></div>
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<a href="http://prezi.com/kmhlmo43g6so/mr-dalgas-class-routines/" title="">Mr. Dalgas Class Routines</a> on <a href="http://prezi.com/">Prezi</a></div>
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Benjamin Dalgashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16403118582987285131noreply@blogger.com0