Tag Archives: Animals

Jul13

#ISTE2015 Take-Away: Build Your Wild Self

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This week I’ve been reading many posts from educators who are reflecting on #ISTE2015 (or #notatISTE15.) Most are finally getting the chance to decompress as they try to process the massive amounts of information with which they were presented during those intense conference days.

As I participated in ISTE Live I gathered a plethora of articles, tools, strategies, videos, and other resources and added them to my ISTE2015 Symabaloo.  Like those other educators, I’ve begun revisiting those links and contemplating how this new knowledge will transform my instruction.  After all, that’s the whole point of ISTE right?  The big takeaways (at least for me) were the 4Cs (creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking,) global learning, equity of access, makerspaces, resilience, passion, and project based learning.  It’s not about a tool or gadget or website.  The whole point is to transform education through technology.

Screen Shot 2015-07-11 at 7.49.19 AM

Mrs. S- The Ho-condo-fro-ingo-monitor from http://www.buildyourwildself.com/

Sometimes though, these tools are just plain fun!  So I have to take a few lines to share this. At some point, someone shared a website called Build Your Wild Self.  Published by the New York Zoos and Aquarium this website allows you to generate an image that combines your physical attributes with the body parts of various wild animals.  You can then download the image, share the image, or download a pdf version that describes your special features.

For example, here’s me as The Ho-condo-fro-ingo-monitor.

“Red river hog ears-­ Your red river hog ears have long black and white tassels. They can fluff out as a defense mechanism to make you look bigger and intimidate predators.

Anaconda snake tongue- ­ Now you can smell with your tongue! Your forked anaconda tongue collects odor molecules from the air and brings them back to tiny grooves in the roof of your mouth, letting you “taste” the air.”

Giant tree frog arms, Chilean flamingo legs, Green Tree Monitor tail.  Then choose the perfect environment in which to release your wild self.  Awesome right?

The site isn’t without it’s glitches.  I found that as I was creating my wild self the preview image that I clicked on didn’t match what showed up on my wild self, but I was going to click on them all any way, so I could forgive this glitch.

I don’t know what it is about them, but I love tinkering on avatar creation websites.  Although this site doesn’t necessarily generate avatars as such, I defy you to visit this site and NOT end up revealing your wild self!

Jul17

Summer Reading: 8 Class Pets +1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos

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8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = Chaos by Vivian Vande Velde.  Illustrated by Steve Björkman. Humor/ Fantasy.

http://www.vivianvandevelde.com/bookDetail.cfm?BookId=49

When a squirrel, being chased by a dog, becomes trapped in the elementary school, there are chaotic consequences as all of the class pets team up to help him escape.

Themes/Content: Animals, class pets, teamwork, perspective (character), voice (character), alliteration, poetry, art,

Recommended for: Grades 4 and up; read aloud, teaching perspective, teaching voice, any teacher who has a classroom pet, animal lovers, beginning chapter-book readers, fictional tie-in when studying animal behavior

My Two Cents:  I decided I needed to review something for the younger crowd and this book will surely please our fourth graders.  Vande Velde crafts a hilarious story and commotion ensues as each critter adds to the tale .  Not only does she expertly capture the point of view, but each pet’s voice is based on that animals behavior in nature.  Björkman’s black and white illustrations are scattered throughout.

This book would make a great beginning of the year read aloud.  It would be even more effective if you are able to read the characters in different voices.  Your students will laugh out loud at the crazy antics of the animals and there is just a little twist at the end that will give them one more smile.

Similar/Paired Books from EHUE Library:

  • Birney, Betty G. Friendship according to Humphrey. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2005. Print.
  • Caudill, Rebecca. A pocketful of Cricket. New York: Henry Holt, 2004. Print.
  • George, Jean C. How to talk to your dog. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. Print.
  • Hatkoff, Isabella, Craig Hatkoff, and P Kahumbu. Owen & Mzee : the true story of a remarkable friendship. New York: Scholastic Press, 2006. Print.
  • Hollander, John. Animal poems. New York: Sterling, 2004. Print.
  • Jenkins, Steve, and Robin Page. How to clean a hippopotamus : a look at unusual animal partnerships. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. Print.
  • Judge, Lita. Bird talk : what birds are saying and why. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2012. Print.

Favorite Quote: (Spoken by the school of neon tetras) “We’re in a school.  We’re in a school in a school. We are tickled by that idea.” (Vande Velde, Vivian. 8 class pets + 1 squirrel ÷ 1 dog = chaos. New York: Holiday House, 2012. 23. Print.)

The Final Word(s): A clever and fun read aloud! 🙂