5th Grades, use these sites for your country research.

1. Yahoo! Kids
2. National Geographic
3. Infoplease 
   
4. Worldbook 

Some students have still not finished their websites.  While I can appreciate taking the time to do a great job, it will be in the best interests of everyone to make sure their websites are finished tonight or the weekend after the retreat.  On Monday we will be starting our final writing project.  It won't be too hard, but I would rather students didn't have to worry about completing two writing projects at the same time right at the end of the year.

Check with your child and if they haven't turned in their website yet, consider encouraging them at home to finish as I support them here at school.

Student websites were due this Monday and most students have completed theirs.  About a third of the class is still working to create a great product.  If a student hasn't turned in their website yet, that's okay!  We talk about how some people need a bit more time (for a variety of reasons) in order create a great product.  When they receive feedback on their website, we recognize that they didn't meet the deadline, but separate from that, we can also recognize the quality of work they created regardless of its timeliness.

Click the big orange "Student Websites" button on our classroom website to see a list of completed websites and check out what different students have created.

Finished websites receive written feedback from me in the form of a rubric, which is based around the expectations of the project.  They also receive a more personalized audio recording from me about what works on their website and what could be improved.  The audio recording is emailed to each student's school email account.

All students are welcome to take the feedback they receive and improve their work.  If they are interested in this, they should turn back in their rubric as well as a write up of what changes they made.

Parents, tonight your child will be presenting you with a Gatekeeper Contract as part of our Relationships with Integrity curriculum.  Look it over with your child, sign it, and have them bring it back tomorrow.  Thanks!

To officially "turn in" your website, click the "Student Websites" button in the right hand column of this blog.  Then enter your website address and website title.

Remember, your websites are due this Monday, May 21st.

This blog post explains all the tactics Apple uses in its email to get you to buy their products.  They are trying to get their customers to take action, just like you are trying to get your readers to take action.

What can you learn from Apple?  How can you apply these lessons to your own website? 

1.  Fully explain two causes of the Civil War.  
2.  In the Gettysburg Address, why did Abraham Lincoln say our country started in 1776 and not 1789?  ­­­­­­­­­­­

This next week will be devoted to designing your websites.  In the video below, I give tips on 
- creating drop down menus
- using multiple columns
- uploading pictures
- using html to upload Youtube videos, and
- creating better looking links

Most of you won't have a need for this, but some people may wnat to create an infographic for your persuasive website.  If this is you, check out  easel.ly.  

Parents, we will be having a Civil War field trip Thursday, May 17th.  I've meant to send permission slips home every day this week and keep forgetting.  I'll get them home today, and I was hoping that you could get them back to me tomorrow or Monday.  I'd like to get all the details nailed down as early as possible because I'll be gone at a conference the two days before the field trip.  Thanks! and sorry for getting them out later than I intended.