Handprint Flower Project (Upcycling from Pinterest)

The idea of this project was found on Pinterest! Pinterest is a great way to get new, cute, fun, and creative idea to do in the classroom. Students get bored doing the same thing everyday. If teachers can plan a productive day of fun to do a project, students would have something to look forward to each month or possibly each week. The project I upcycled came from http://www.littlesoaringeagles.blogspot.com/2013/04/if-you-want-them-to-learn-you-have-to.html.

This blog has plenty of cute creative ideas she has done in her classroom and is now showing the world on her blog. I have taken her project and made it a little different. Also, I have a lesson plan for the students and parents to follow and I have a rubric attached on the lesson plan as well. You can find the lesson plan and rubric on https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxgSa6nBGSe6a0o1ZW0xZ3EwcGs/edit?usp=sharing.

This project was created for the Arkansas Standard - LS.2.1.4 -

Locate plant parts:

- leaves

- stems

- flowers

- roots

For this project you will need:

Colored paper (yellow, brown, and green)

Scissors

Glue or Tape

Color Pencils

Preparation:

Cut out all the parts

Four yellow handprints

Two brown handprints

However long you want your stem

A couple leaves

Flower Center

First Step:

Glue or tape the stem together

Second Step:

Add the leaves somewhere along the stem

Third Step:

Put both brown handprints together to form a shape similar to a flowers' roots

Fourth Step:

Add you brown handprint roots at the bottom of them stem

Fifth Step:

Put your four yellow handprints together

Sixth Step:

Add the flower's center

Seventh Step:

Add your flower to the other end of the stem

Eighth Step:

Label you flower with leaves, roots, stem, and flower

Then if you want, you can get a poster board and do a background for the flower; such as the weather or whatever the student thinks of.

Finally that's the end and you're finished!

Future Classroom WebTools

Countdown-Online Clock

Countdown.onlineclock.net

The purpose of this tool is to be able to set a timer. This tool was very useful, even though it’s not too user friendly at first. If you play with it for five minutes, you’ll get the hang of it. Also, being able to change the size and color is very helpful. You can make it bigger for students that can’t see in the back or change the color if you have a student that is colorblind.

Invention at play

Inventionatplay.org

The purpose of this tool was for thinking games and puzzles. I am definitely not their number one fan. First of all this website is kind of confusing (if it confused me, what would it be like for elementary students). Secondly, it’s all shifted to the left side of the screen and it’s tiny. When I got to “Puzzle Blocks” the puzzle wasn't set up to where a new user knew how to use it.

Animoto

Animoto.com

The purpose of this tool is to customize a video. I like the website, its set up very nice and user friendly. First thing you see on the website is a slideshow they have as an example with a “Get Started” button next to the slideshow. You definitely don’t have to scroll or click around like you’re lost; it leads you to where you want to go. Once you start scrolling, it has sections telling you what you could do on the website. The second section on the website has three easy steps, 1. Insert photos & videos, 2. Customize your style, and 3. Share & enjoy.

Self-Destructable Text Notes

Linkstore.ru/sn

The purpose of this tool is to tell your students something and them having to pay attention because the note will disappear after a while. It’s very nice that you can set a password and it gives you a link for your students to go to to see the note. A downfall I found (or haven’t figured out) is how to set how long it can be seen. If I used this in my classroom, I would make this a habit for the students to do and it would be their “Bell Ringer.” This was also user friendly with easy directions for use.

Fill Any PDF

Fillanypdf.com

The purpose of this tool is to create an interactive PDF. I found this very interesting. You can clock certain words or sections so students don’t get ahead or see the answers. You can also add text to the PDF, if you forgot to put something or to add a little extra. You have the option of putting a check mark or a wrong symbol.

Comicbrush

Comicbrush.com

The purpose of this tool is it’s supposed to kind of make a comic book page. I didn't like this website, it doesn’t seem student or educationally appropriate. The set up was confusing. To do anything you had to sign up through email, which I wouldn't want my students to do. So I wouldn't use this in my classroom.

Timezon

Snapengage.com

The purpose of this tool is to enable virtual teams to communicate. This would be very cool to have in a classroom, but I couldn't figure out how it worked. The homepage was set up very nice, but I didn't know where to go to set it up. I clicked around for a while and felt lost. I did like the idea though.

Pixton

Pixton.com

The purpose of this tool is to create a comic strip. I would use this tool, but I wouldn't allow my students to. I could make the comic strips school related or just funny one that are appropriate. The reason I wouldn't let my student use this tool is because I feel like students would make it into a tool used for bullying. All in all, I would use this in my classroom.

Bubblus

Bubbl.us

The purpose for this tool is for brainstorming topics or ideas. It could be very useful, but it needs some tweaks. You can only add bubbles to the right or down. So you can’t go up or to the left, which isn't helpful. If that got fixed, I would definitely use this tool in my classroom as an assignment. I would have them do their brainstorming and when they are finished, print of the brainstorming cloud and turn it in.

Quikmaps

Quikmaps.com

The purpose of this tool is to make a map. This could’ve been very fun. As a new user, I didn't know if I was doing something wrong or if the website was malfunctioning. I could’ve had students tell me directions of how to get to school from a location or how long it would take to get to school from that location. All in all, I actually couldn't get it to work.

The BAD Part of Social Networking

I haven't seen very many problems with social networking. but I guess that's only if it is used right. Social Networking is meant for posting statuses and pictures on some, and keeping up with friends and some people you don't see very often. People now use it for bullying others through a computer screen. I know not all cyber bullying gets reported and some people end up dead from committing suicide, and others suffer from depression and anxiety. I personally don't see the benefit from bullying others. How can that make someone feel good about them self? Another thing commonly found on social networking is sexual predators. Even though to sign up for most websites it says you have to be 18-years-old, but it's not hard to lie. Knowing that younger children can lie and say they are older, it should be obvious to people that older people can say they are younger. I don't think everyone completely understands that. An old many can have a page set up to look like he is a teenager, he could use younger pictures of himself or even just get pictures of someone else off the internet. Then they go and add all the young girls, some they probably know and others off of those girls friends' list. Soon they will message them and have a little chat going, probably saying things along the line of "I like your smile I see in your pictures" or "you're very pretty," trying to get some emotional connection. If a girl goes for the bait the man will keep escalating until probably trying to get pictures or meeting with them. If girls aren't careful now and days they could bring a sexual predator to the house just by "checking in" on Facebook. When girls are younger they are wanting attention and their hormones are crazy and they are just starting to like boys and so on, so it's easy for some guys to get the attention of younger girls and if they meet up with each other the girl could get kidnapped then raped and/or killed. Parents should check their children's social networking sites probably once a day or at least as often as the child uses it. Also. make sure there is no suspicion of the child deleting things such as messages because they could try to hide a guy they like from you.

If you want to read more of effects of social networking I recommend:
http://socialmediatoday.com/karenn1617/1745751/effects-social-media-how-we-speak-and-write
or
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/4/800.full

About Me

Hello! To start off my name is Amber Jo Webber and I'm a freshman at Henderson State University, majoring in early childhood education. I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was in the ninth grade, but I debated what kind of teacher for awhile. It started out as a special education teacher because I knew a few special needs children that would come to my church and I bonded with them, but a couple years later I just knew I didn't have the patience that is needed to work with special needs children. Then I changed to an early childhood teacher and I have no problems with this (that's why I ended up choosing it in the long run), but I struggled with wanting to be a high school teacher. So before finally locking in the decision to be an early childhood teacher, I wanted to be a family and consumer sciences teacher. The only reason I wanted to be a high school teacher would be the possibility of being a coach for cheer and dance, but I came to the conclusion that that shouldn't choose my career. 

To tell you about my life, it was definitely hard and I wouldn't wish it upon anybody. For awhile nothing bad had ever happened to me. I was just some girl that was an Army Brat that came from Alaska in second grade. Well in the summer of ninth grade the first bad thing happened to me on June 16, 2009, I was woken up by my brother, Brent, while I was sleeping at a friend's house. He gave me the news that my mother had passed away. Heartbroken because she was my ROCK that was there no matter what, I cried about it for months and to this day I still get very teary eyed when I talk about her. She was an incredible woman, she ran the nursery at my church, volunteered for anything and everything in my church and throughout the community, substituted at the elementary schools (because she never went to college), to be honest I still don't understand how she did it all. The final really hard thing I had to go through was on January 13, 2011, I was in the second semester of my sophomore year and I had cheered at a football game the night before, over the night I asked my grandmommie (my mom's mom and she lived with us) to borrow her little space heater. The next morning I went to return her heater and I found my granmommie dead, I didn't know what to do so in panic I ran out screaming so the rest of my family went to see what I was screaming about. Seeing two of my brothers react the way they did, I soon told myself that I was going to have to pull myself together. So I knew I had to call 9-1-1 and calmly state the situation and then I had to call my dad because he had already gone off to work. Eventually we started having close friends coming to check on us and I had hidden myself upstairs because my dad informed me that they would be transporting the body soon and I couldn't bring myself to be able to see that. Though these were only two deaths as some people would see, they have effected me dramatically and I had to grow up and be the mom of the house at times. My dad, all three brothers (Matthew, Brent, and Ryan), and I came together to support each other and build the strong relationship we have today.

My Mom

My three brothers

Brent, Ryan, Matthew, and me

My dad