Below are instructions on how to create your wordle book report.  I have also posted the instructions in edmodo for you.  Be sure to follow each step and go all the way through the instructions so you don't lose any of your hard work!  

How to make a wordle

 

Step 1:         go to wordle.net (NOT .com)

Step 2:         click “create”

Step 3:         where it says “paste in a bunch of text,” type in your answers from the book report form- be sure to check your spelling

Step 4:         click “go”

Step 5:         choose the colors and layout you like by scrolling down and clicking “randomize” until you see a look you like

Step 6:         click “save to public gallery”

***These next steps are VERY important.  Follow exactly or you will lose all your work.***

If you are creating your wordle at school, follow the “AT SCHOOL” instructions.  If you are working on it at home, follow the “AT HOME” instructions.

AT SCHOOL

Step 1:         go to the “file” menu

Step 2:         click “save as”

Step 3:         choose the V: drive

Step 4:         choose ROstudent24

Step 5:         choose Library

Step 6:         choose Wordle

Step 7:         SAVE

AT HOME

Step 1:         go to the “file” menu

Step 2:         click “mail link to this page”

Step 3:         put in [email protected] as the recipient (who it’s going to)

Step 4:         put your name in the subject line so I know who it’s from (it’s okay to erase whatever is automatically there)

Step 5:         you’re done

This is an example of a new format we're going to try out for book reports this year.  My example took about 5 minutes to complete and is extremely incomplete in terms of the book report aspect. I think you all will have a great time with it, but we need to really make sure the quality of the information is way better than what I threw together here.  We'll talk in class and go through the specifics next week.

We are featuring our fourth grade "I am" poems on the poetry page right now.  Click here or on the tab above that says "Poetry Page."  Be sure to come back here and leave a comment after you read the poems.  We love feedback!

This month we will be exploring poetry.  We will be reading it, writing it, and listening to it.  Keep an eye out for some of the highlights on here!  In the meantime, checkout these fun sites and start writing today!

http://www.squidoo.com/k12interactivepoetry                 
http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm

Take a look at our fourth grade movie stars and their new movie explaining genres.  You've got to look at it, listen to it, and love it!  Be sure to leave them a comment and tell them how much you learned.

Words to blog by...
I found these blogging guidelines on a cool classroom blog  from New Zealand and I thought they were very good.  It gives us a good place to start and then we can modify them and make our own list.
Room 7 Bloggers:

* Think before they post. Once something is posted, it can be online forever.

* Don't post anything they don't want others to know—or that you wouldn’t say to them face to face.

* Respect their friends too—that ‘funny’ photo of them might not be so funny for them, and they might not be very happy if it is posted for everyone in the world to see.

*Treat others as they would like to be treated.

* Respect other people’s content. For example, a photo that a friend took is their property, not ours. It can only be posted online if they say it can be.

* Keep their personal information private. They don’t share personal details like their name, address or phone number with people they don’t already know in real life.

I found a really cool new site that I think you all will like for our book reviews.  It kind of has a "facebook" feel to it and it can link to our site here.  I've put a tab at the top of our page (right after "our blog") that should take you right to it.  Then, when you are done at the book review site (rooseveltlibrary.phile.com), there is an arrow in the top left corner to bring you back to the Roosevelt Library website's home page.

In order to make comments on the site or post a book review, you will need to login with your first name only and the following email "rolibrary+your name@gmail.com"- Put your first name only where I wrote your name, everything else in the address should be identical.  This will make it go through my library account, so it will mean that I will see and approve everything.  Before you post anything I will approve the email for you.  It should be pretty quick.  See me at school if you have any problems with this.

Remember the Google logo contest from last year?  It's time again.  Check out some of the submissions from last year by clicking on this link.  If you want information, contact Mrs. de Vries in the library.  

Check out the Scholastic.com student writing contest.  They are currently holding the 5th Annual Dear America Student Writing Contest.  You can win a 4-day guided tour for two along the New England Coastline and an autographed class set of "Dear America: Like the Willow Tree."  Check out the scholastic link for details!

Fourth grade has been learning about copyright law and ownership of printed materials.  It seems like the more we learn about it, the more questions we have.  I have posted a video below that we will watch, review, and discuss.  Then, we'll see what new questions we have.  We thought it was interesting that the day after we first started talking about copyright law, there was an article in the New York Times about the copyright law suit that has been brought against Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling.  That will be interesting to follow in the months ahead. 

One of the things I like about being a teacher is the constant learning...on my part!  I have been trying to learn more about copyright law and creative commons.  I have understood the basic idea of copyright law, but a lot of the time I think the students and I are in that shadier in between area where we aren't selling images and the images are being used in an educational setting.  In the past I've believed that made us fall outside of the tighter restrictions of the law (or I've chosen to ignore the nagging feeling otherwise).  The more I learn and understand, the more I feel like I can explain it to you all in a way that makes sense.  Click on this link to see what I've been reading that made it clearer to me.  Hopefully we'll get the laptops back soon and can do some exploring and playing with images to understand the legalities better.