M9-Internet+Tools

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=**//Flutter By, Butterfly//** =


 * //We are studying the life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly right now. I have decided to create some new resources and tools to use with this exciting unit. It's one of my favorite units of the year. //**



The first thing I am creating is for our bragboard--our largest bulletin board in our classroom, on which I put student work. This website blows up any picture or coloring sheet to the size you want it. I am making a butterfly coloring sheet into 24 pieces--one for each student to color. They won't see the whole picture until it is colored and put together on the bulletin board. Besides the beauty of the picture, and the fact that the kids created it, I want to further acknowledge the "family" we have created this year and how when we work together, we can make something much bigger than the individual pieces. I think this will be the perfect showcase for all of those ideas I want the kids to walk away with.

Website: []

The second thing I did was a crossword puzzle on http://www.puzzlemaker.com. We always discuss the difference between butterflies and moths. I cringe when I hear the kids tell me during our first KWL that butterflies come out of cocoons. By the time they leave me, they know the difference between a chrysalis (butterfly) and cocoon (moth), at least on a very simplistic level. I believe this crossword will further embed the basic differences between butterflies and moths.

I saved it to a MS word format.

My third project was done at Textorizer 2. We always make scrapbooks at the end of the year, and in the back is a letter from me to each child. I think this is a beautiful way to create my letter, and am going to include this one in their scrapbooks this year. Ideally, I am going to take a picture of each child with his or her butterfly on his or her finger. I am going to run these through the textroizer and see if I can individualize the letters.

Again, I saved to a MS word file for convenience. My example:

I also created a newsletter to send home letting parents know we are starting a new science unit, using LetterPop.com

**__Reflection:__**
I absolutely adored this module. I am still playing and finding more internet resources and tools. The big thing is time--time to search, time to learn to use the tool, and time to create. And finding ways for the internet tools to enhance learning instead of being a distraction. I also signed up for http://letterpop.com because I want to use it as a resource for sending home class newsletters. I am in a low-income school where a lot of students don't have internet access so we still send home note after note.

I wanted to share a website I use frequently with units--math, science, social studies, holidays, just about anything. BrainPop Jr. and BrainPop are both great short videos to enhance learning and get attention. I usually use them as an introduction. I am fortunate enough that my school pays for my subscription. Check them out!