Johnston's Journal

TIPS FOR FINDING CURRENT EVENTS: Kid friendly news sites: The New York Times blog for kids: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/ Time for Kids: http://timeforkids.com/ PBS for kids: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/ Weekly Reader: http://www.weeklyreader.com/subcategory/74 Smithsonian Mag: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/?source=kidscastle.si.edu DOGO News: http://www.dogonews.com/ Nick News: http://news.nick.com/ Additional tips: Before you start reading the first article you come across, check the length.  Is it something [...]

Miss Walker shared the video below with the 5th grade teachers, and I wanted to pass it along to you.  It’s a funny video made by a teenager not too much older than you.  Take a look at the video and share your reaction. What do you think he means by “first world problems”?  A [...]

Title: Underwater “Indiana Jones” trying to save the oceans Source: BBC News, October 16, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15330457 Who: Enric Sala, a Spanish marine biologist What: Sala is trying to study the behavior of ocean animals and save many of them from extinction.  He says only 1% of the world’s oceans are protected, and he thinks at least 20% [...]

Last Friday was Grand Day at Trinity, and we were fortunate to have so many grands and special friends who could join us during the morning.  As the students showed their grandparents around the classroom, it was fascinating to watch them try to explain blogs, Prezis and iMovies to the older generation.  Very quickly, the conversations [...]

Steve Jobs, the inventor and co-founder of Apple Inc., once said the following when speaking to students graduating from Stanford University in California: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and [...]

I have to be honest - I haven’t been very good about blogging on a regular basis so far this year, and I’d made the  assumption that since I hadn’t, my students probably hadn’t either.  I consider myself a pretty tech-savvy person, and I genuinely enjoy exploring the digital tools available to us courtesy of the World Wide Web, but somehow, [...]