Dean Kindig and Moira Prister

Tutors too expensive for summer reading help? Consider the Red Apple Reading Program.You get a free 30-day trial, so use it all June and see what you think! Watch a quick video to check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa1JS4MlsLAANB6tS_uONTw

Then sign up here. You want Level C.

http://www.redapplereading.com/pricing

You have the ideas. Create your own book and then have the school order it for your class!

https://www.createspace.com/diy?ref=1383688&utm_id=6072

Using Video To Enhance Your Sustainability Lessons!

Dean Kindig (dkindig@harleyschool.org), Learning Resource Teacher

Kids love to be stars.  Making videos that document your sustainability lessons goes a long way to facilitating parent-child communication about this important topic, which bears huge benefits for you, your students, parent engagement, and Mother Earth.

• Set up a YouTube Channel.  (Go to www.YouTube.com , click upper right, add account)

Mine: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrAsWpg6-2zNP_qBaDV0WEw/videos

• Set up a Vimeo Channel.  (Go to www.vimeo.com , click Channels, Create New Channel)

Mine: https://vimeo.com/user21526935/videos

• IPad: Run the camera that comes with iPad, slide the setting to Video instead of Photo, press the red button, and press again when done. Press the image at bottom right to view, and the box with the arrow at bottom left to upload to YouTube or Vimeo (Name it by YYYY-mm and Title, and remember to choose Unlisted before uploading so they’re not searchable by the general public). You’ll have to specify your channel once, and then it remembers. When the video is uploaded, you are sent an email and link which you can forward to group lists. Remember to send them to your principal, superintendent, even local TV. In your sig line on your email, have links to your YouTube and Vimeo channels.
•  Using a Video Camera: We sold DVD videos of our class plays for $10 (they cost less than $1 to make) and gradually bought 4 video cameras (2 cheap SANYOs that take MP4 videos only, a SONY Handicam, and CANON Vixia HFR400 for Hi-Def). I keep them all charged, ready to go. Now, you can get a pretty good video camera that takes HD video for $137.
• Editing Video: If you edit Hi-Def video, you need a program that’ll handle it. I used Adobe Premiere’s school version but then discovered Wondershare Video Editor (download latest version). You’ll pay about $40 to activate it after trying it out for free. Paying for it removes the watermark over your video. It does everything the powerful editors do (cut out scenes, add titles, do cool transition, run credits) and will export directly to DVD, MP4 file on your computer, and YouTube.
• Editing Video quickly: YouTube’s own editor isn’t completely intuitive, but you can watch this instructional video (7 min. 49 sec.) on YouTube if you have to edit out a section!

• Do Not Photo List: Not everybody wants their child in videos. Know whom to avoid in your videos, and know whom to edit out! We went back to parents who’d put their child on a Do Not Photo list, explained how Unlisted videos worked, how the child’s last name is never used, and most were fine with it.

• Name the states: http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/states

• Name the states in 60 seconds! http://www.sporcle.com/games/miyomiyo1/blitz_states

• Name the states from their Capital! http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/states_bycapital  – We have a 2nd grader who’s done this in 10 minutes.

• Can you name the US states for each letter of the alphabet?http://www.sporcle.com/games/GAJM41191/States_of_the_Alphabe

• Can you name the next bordering state that begins with that letter without hitting a trap (WITHOUT BACKTRACKING)?http://www.sporcle.com/games/sproutcm/please_dont_say_alaska

• Words inside state names: http://www.sporcle.com/games/LTH/its_all_inside

http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/uscapitals

Kiran got 48 capitals typed in in 10 minutes. He knew the other 2, but ran out of time. I double-dog dare you to try and beat it!

https://www.pinterest.com/dmilka/2nd-grade-music/

My student teacher, Courtney, has a game where her student goes around what is essentially a Monopoly board, with Post-Its that have this week’s spelling words on them. The student rolls a die with 1-5 on the faces, with “Dance Party” on the 6th face.

If the student rolls 1-5, they move the number of spaces and spell the word after looking at the word.

If the student rolls, “Dance Party”, they turn on the song and dance for 10 seconds. It’s adorable…

I was fascinated by memory powers ever since seeing Harry Lorayne perform. I even bought a book, Good Memory, Good Student to see if I could teach some of his memory principles to my students. I found a PDF of one of his books that looks like it includes most of Harry Lorayne’s mnemonics:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B70SBgtqVzJyZjRidTNsMC1WTVE/edit

Peg and Link could be taught to 3rd and 4th graders with some success. We’re learning all the states and capitals this way in Third Grade.

http://lemonlimeadventures.com/sensory-hacks-focus-fidgety-child/

This was sent to me by my good friend and previous Computer Coordinator at Harley, Jim Tiffin. Some good ideas in here which we can use in SSP…they might help you in class or at home, too!

I’ll add inexpensive fidget tools here:

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/klixx.html

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/tangle-therapy.html

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/isoflex.html

Noise Reduction Headphones:

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/kids-noise-reduction-earmuffs.html