Friday Assignments

Congratulations, everyone — the yearbook is headed to the printer. What were a few of the last-minute changes? A change of uniform:

Today, we will settle on our PBS Kids Design Squad entry and make the supply shopping list. We will divide up into two teams: Anya, one team will be making your design; Nikita, Jay, and Erion, you three will combine your designs into one.

Each team should answer the following questions from the entry page (first answer them in a blog post; next week, we will include them when we upload our entries):

• Tell us about your team.
  (What's your team name/story? Who's on your team?)
  
• Describe your project.
  (What activity did you build big and why? How did you build it?)

If we have time, we will watch a TED video about a 14-year-old Malawian boy who built a windmill to power his family's home. Now at 24, William Kamkwamba, who spoke at TED, shares in his own words the moving tale of invention that changed his life.

Friday's Assignments

This week, we begin writing our articles for the Hillwood yearbook. Once we finish our yearbooks, we will return to the Build Big Contest.

Click through a few pages from last year's book. What might we do differently this year? Who will design the cover?

Hillwood Academic Day School by Hillwood Uppergrades 2009-2010 | Make Your Own Book

Here is our current list of assignments and story ideas:

1) Rubina:
• Miss Schmitt and music at Hillwood
• Miss Lydia and Spanish at Hillwood

2) Anya:
• Zach, Hillwood's mascot and friend
• The Grantzes
• Lindsey Z.'s secret philanthropy organization

3) Nikita:
• Jessica and science with the upper-graders
• DESIGN SQUAD Challenges

4) Jay and Erion:
• Miss Tom and the second to fourth graders
• Miss Dawson and the kinders and first graders (include the big news of Miss Dawson's engagement)

5) Angela
• The Hillwood Herald
• Rubina's mom and art at Hillwood

6) Jennifer
• Fundraisers at Hillwood (Pennies for Patients and the Walk-a-thon)
• The December Talent Show

7) Faryn
• International Day
• Camp Hillwood

8) Zeke
• Hillwood's outings in San Francisco, from Beauty and the Beast to protesting fast-food in the city
• Big current events from throughout the year (Japan earthquake, what else?)
• What is the typical day like at Hillwood?

Assignments, for September 17

Click to find out what your assignment is this week. Feel free to begin your assignment early or to peruse the assignments of your fellow classmates.

Also, if you have a laptop, please bring it in, even if you are not sure that it will work on Hillwood's wireless setup.

On Tuesday, the President of the United States gave his back-to-school speech to the nation's students. You can watch a video of the speech from the White House, or wait until Friday, when Rubina posts her news article about the speech on The Herald.

News of the U.S.

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/

The Miniature City of San Francisco

PBS Kids: Get Ready to Interview the DESIGN SQUAD's Adam and Judy

You will be doing the Moon Walker Challenge (remember to watch the video and follow the project instructions — and to link to these pages). You will also be writing a bio about either Judy or Adam. Review your interview questions, as well.

Adam and Judy have helped with several of the show's episodes, and together, they created several challenges for kids. Click to the PBS Kids site, and play around on the website. 

Read the ABOUT page, and write a story about what the DESIGN SQUAD website is trying to do. In your article, you should introduce who Adam and Judy are. Include the information that they will be coming to Hillwood either in person or by iChat to be interviewed. 

If you finish early:

• Make an Animota video highlighting your DESIGN SQUAD work.
• Or make a Halloween picture using Picnik. (See image of Clinton, the albino cat, above.)
• Use the website Flower Power to make an illustration, or image, for The Herald. 

Review Baloonimals iPhone and iPad App

Student: Zach

Play around with the Balloonimals app on both Ms. Moorhead's iPhone and the iPad. Then read how the app was made on the ToyLab website. Consider what thought and engineering went into developing this app. Also, read this review on Wired.com's GeekDad website.

For your assignment, explain what Balloonimals is, how it was made, what Toy Lab had to consider in developing it, and what do you think of it. How do you think Hillwood's kindergarteners might respond to it?

Saturday Is Coastal Cleanup Day

Student: Anya

Join SF Environment for Coastal Clean Up Day on Saturday September 25th. Do your part to keep San Francisco's coastal and bay waterfronts clean. Read the California government's page on what students can do to help. Also, read this general page with information and include information about volunteering to help clean up in your post. You can include more information from the video from the Marine Research Institute (below).

According to SF Environment, in 2009 more than 80,600 volunteers worked together to collect more than 1,300,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes, and waterways. How can the Hillwood community help this year?

Remember to include images, embed code for the video, and links to your article. Also, do not forget to include labels in your post.

San Franciscans Top List of Nationwide Recyclers and Composters

Student: Camryn

Mayor Gavin Newsom says congratulations to San Francisco for having the highest recycling and composting rate in the nation at 77 percent. Watch the video below, then write a news story about it.

Include information about the city's goal of zero waste by 2020. What does such a goal mean? The mayor is asking for all of our help. What more can we do? Link to these handy flyers for the blue and green bins as resources to help Hillwood's neighbors and friends become recycling pros!

Dead Whale on Ocean Beach

Student: Clara

Read this article on SFGate, the local paper's website, about the dead whale that washed up on Ocean Beach this past week.

Write a news story about the event. Remember to include the five W's of a good news story — who, what, when, where, and why — or, in this case — how. Consult Wikipedi to discuss what type of whale was killed.

Remember to include links to any source you use, photos, and labels.

A Fun Example of Stop Animation

Student: Jay

What is stop-animation video? Watch Pac-Man Stop Animation, a super-geeky Web video and an homage to the yellow man, for a quick example. The movie employs a movie theater and about a hundred gamers in monochrome T-shirts. By planning well and sitting very still, they’ve been able to replicate a full Pac-Man game, complete with a maze, ghosts, fruit and a hilarious a cappella soundtrack. On one level the movie looks a lot like people in colorful shirts sitting in a movie theater, yet it’s amazing how this performance also deftly captures the feel of 1980s graphics. It turns out that stop animation is an apt analogy for video-game animation, except here the students replace pixels, and the theater your favorite tube television.

Your article is really about stop animation — what is it and how does it work? Include the video below and up to four images as an example of how it works.




Source: VSL

Does Exercise Make You Smarter?

Student: Rubina

Read this article on The New York Times website. Does exercise make young students smarter? Write a news story that explains how exercise can affect a student's mind.

If you have time, make a Wordle that describes your article. Use a picture of Hillwood students exercising or playing to also illustrate your story. You can look at images on the Hillwood website.

Consider the Timeline of Technology in Schools

Student: Faryn

First off, make sure you are on a Macintosh for this assignment. Then, take a look at the timeline of technology in a classroom on The New York Times website. Click through the timeline, and take notes — either in paper or on in your actual blog post — and collect screen grabs about what you see and read. (Ms. Moorhead can show you how to take a "screen grab.")

Once you finish with your report, write a visual news story about the evolution of technology in the classroom. What was the first so-called technology? What are the most surprising elements in the time line?

You will need to write at least one paragraph introduction to your story — what are you setting out to do with your story? Then, move into the five W's of your story.

Include at least five images, and do not forget to list sources and labels.

President Obama Gives His Back-to-School Speech

Student: Rubina

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama gave his back-to school speech to students. You can read his prepared delivery here, and you can search for the video of his talk here.

Write a story explaining what the president would like American school children to know. Also, who introduced the president this year?

Remember to answer the five W's of a good news story. Also, include images, sources, and -- if possible -- embedded video. Consider linking to web pages about the president, written by The New York Times (such as this timeline). Additionally, include a link to The Herald's 2009 story about the president's speech, written by Brigette.

Add the phrase "yearbook 2009-2010" to the "labels" of this story. Your coverage of the president's speech will almost certainly be included in the yearbook this school year.

Also, you have the top news story of the week — the president's address. As you watch the video, mark down the time of your favorite part or the most important part of the President's speech. You will share this portion with the class, along with your study tips from last week.

Constitution Contest — Here's How to Enter

Students: Erion and Jennifer

Today is an important day in U.S. history — the U.S. Constitution was created. To help celebrate the occasion, ConstitutionalFacts.com has a contest open to students. Go to the website, read about the contest, and tell Hillwood Herald readers about it. Answer the five W's: who, what, when, where, and why. Also, how many people entered the contest last year and how many were from California. Ask Ms. Moorhead to help you link to the contest entry form. Also, give at least two ideas for what a student could draw for the contest.

Remember to include links, sources, and images with your blog post.

The Constitution — What Happened on This Day in History?

Students: Jay and Alysen

On September 17 something big happened with the U.S. Constitution. Read this article first, and then watch the video clip below.

For your assignment, write what happened in history today for the U.S. Constitution. Remember to include your sources and to embed the video below. (Ms. Moorhead can show you how to do this.)

Congress Is Back in Session: Go to the Source

Student: Faryn

Watch the video below and then write an article that explains what "primary" documents students can use to research the start of Congress. Look at some of the primary materials, or documents, that the Library of Congress has scanned for the public to use. Here is another U.S. government resource. Ms. Moorhead will help you understand these in class.

Once you have a good sense of the video and one or two primary documents, write a news story highlighting the video, one or two primary sources, and why primary materials are better then, say, Wikipedia.

Summer Break Ends — for Congress, Too

Student: Anya

It's back to school — er, work — for Congress this week. Write a news story announcing that Congress is back at work and what does that mean? You will be answering the W's of a good news story through Congress:

• Who: Congress (and "who" specifically for California?) Use the U.S. government's website for kids to write this story.
• What: Congress — the 111th Congress, second session — is back to work this week. What does that mean? Hint: Read this article on Kids in the House for help in explaining what Congress does.
• When: This week.
• Where: Explain — and show — where. Use both words and pictures to do this.
• Why: Again, use the U.S. government's website for kids to help you answer this portion of your story. What is the job of Congress?

Just for fun, link to this Congressional crossword puzzle on Kids in the House.

Also, embed the following videos:

First the iPad, and Now the Kno

Student: Zach

Last week, you played around with the iPad. Now, consider the Kno. While you will not have this device in the classroom (it's not publicly available yet), contemplate what it might mean for the realm of education.

Watch the video clip below, read the company website, and watch additional videos on the site (especially the clips with "student reactions"). Then read this article on TechCrunch, and write a news article about this device and what it might mean for your education. What would you like to see this device do? What features would you want? Think big -- and don't let what you know about today's technology hold you back. What would you do if you were an engineer or developer?


Kno Movie from Kno, Inc. on Vimeo.

Hello World! A Lego Printer that Works

Student: Nikita

Watch the video below. The printer in the video was built from scratch by Squirrelfantasy, a member of the B3ta forums, which is a geeking engineering group online. Here’s his description from the YouTube page:

Lego felt tip 110″ printer connected to an Apple Mac. This is not a kit you can buy and does not use mindstorms. I designed/built/coded it all from scratch including analog motor electronics, sensors and printer driver, the USB interface uses a “wiring” board.

Use the above description to write a news story about this videoclip. Include information such as what do you like about it and what skills would be involved in building a printer with Legos. Also, tell readers what "Hello World" means. Hint: Consult this Wikipedia page for a definition. Remember to include the five W's of a news story: who, what, when, where, and why.

Embed the code for the video into your post. Ms. Moorhead can show you how.