Mr. Mundorf’s Class

The first ever Horizon Report for the K12 sector describes the continuing work of the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Project, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies that will likely have a significant impact on K-12 education. Click here for PDF and here for web version.

The UDL Real World Wiki

UDL Videos

CAST UDL Lesson Builder

CAST Teaching Every Student: Supporting educaors in learning about and practicing Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Day 2 Reflection: 3-2-1

What is UDL? (CAST)

What is UDL? (Edyburn)

UDL Guidelines 1.0

The UDL Real World: My Classroom Experience with Universal Design for Learning

Using Flexible Technology

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Day 1 Reflection: 3 – 2 – 1 (Thanks, Grace!)

• List three of the biggest challenges that the intersection of learner diversity and high expectations presents for you in your role as educator, administrator, para-educator, etc.
• List two personal beliefs that guide your response to these challenges
• List one barrier in your classroom/school/system culture that is the greatest obstacle for addressing these challenges

 http://jmundorf.edublogs.org/2008/09/13/the-united-states-constitution/

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was first observed on May 30, 1868, in order to commemorate those fallen in the American Civil War. It was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action. Passed by Congress as a national holiday in 1971, Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May each year.

History of Memorial Day                                 

A Memorial Day Tribute

The History Channel - Memorial Day Page (Includes maps, images, videos, quizzes, and other activities)

Memorial Day Activities

Thank you Mr. Carper for coming in to share your knowledge about The Underground Railroad.

Click on the music for a printable/viewable version of Follow the Drinking Gourd.

 Click here to listen to Richie Havens sing Follow the Drinking Gourd.

NASA and the National Park Service collaborated to create a fascinating video about the Underground Railroad.

  Slaves traveling the Underground Railroad, usually on foot, depended on celestial navigation to find their way northward. They continually looked to the Big Dipper and the North Star for direction. The purpose of this video is to increase student awareness of the Underground Railroad and the role celestial navigation played in the Railroad’s success. The video also highlights the importance of modern Global Information System technology in reconstructing historical topographies and finding the exact route of the Railroad. By combining amazing historical facts-such as the use of handmade quilts for communication with mathematics, remote-sensing technology, earth system science, and astronomy, the video presents an educational experience that is dynamic, moving and broadly cross curricular.

Check out these video clips from the NASA/NPS Underground Railroad: Connections to Freedom and Science DVD

• Follow the Drinking Gourd: Using the Science of Astronomy in History
• The Importance of Waterways in the Success of the Underground Railroad
• Slaves and the Use of Horticulture Along the Underground Railroad
• The Science Behind the Maps of the Underground Railroad
• Navigating to Freedom With the North Star
• Exploring and Preserving the Underground Railroad With Modern Technology
• Archeological Research and the Underground Railroad Today

*Internet Public Library Kidspace: Stately Knowledge

*Explore the States

*ClassBrain’s State Reports 

*Fun State Facts from the U.S. Census Bureau

*50States.com

*State and Local Government Links

*Phil’s Place — Tourism Page

Assignment - Travel Agent Project

www.antiochne.edu/acsr/challengebank/files/geography.doc 

(thanks for the great idea)

My friend Carmen confided in me that her parents are getting divorced. She is very sad about their decision. I want to be a good friend to her, but I’m not sure what to say. Do you have any advice?

Day 2

A Nation at War

The Human Face of War

Reconstruction

The Challenge of Freedom

 www.cityofmarcoisland.com/

Mr. Hoffman is a 6th grade teacher in New York; he has an AWESOME website!

Here are some strategy and logic games his class recommends:

Rush Hour - http://www.coolmath-games.com/rush/index.html

Bloxorz - http://www.coolmath-games.com/0-bloxorz/index.html

Whizzball - http://kids.discovery.com/games/whizzball/whizzball.html

After you play the game, write a review and share your high score. Enjoy!

Underground Railroad - http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/fl/books/bke/imaps/index.html

Secession - http://wps.ablongman.com/long_divine_appap_7/23/5933/1518969.cw/index.html

My mom asked me to watch my younger brother while she ran a quick errand. Two of my friends stopped by and want to play video games. I’m not supposed to have friends over when my mom’s not home. If they leave before she gets home, she will never know. What should I do?

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/index.html

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/mythmachine.htm

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/letter_generator/

http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/acrostic/

http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm

http://www.smokeybear.com/kids/forest_story.asp

http://www.mrmclaughlin.com/aspfun/article.htm

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/solosports/create_story.html

http://www.planetanimals.com/story.htm

http://www.apollowebworks.com/russell/java/madlibs/madlib1.html

The History of Earth Day by Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

This game tests your knowledge of how consumer choices affect the environment. As you answer questions and ’shop green’ the Envirometer gauges the cumulative impact of your choices. The centerpoint on the Envirometer represents the impact of an average American household — at the end of the game you can compare this average to your own impact on air quality, water quality, natural habitats, and the sustainability of our climate.

The Traveler IQ Challenge

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

To Play
1. Go to http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

2. Scroll down a bit.

3. Choose the desired challenge: World, North America, USA, etc.

4. Click start.
- At the top of the map, you will see your prompt / location.

5. Click the map.
- You have 10 seconds to click where you think the location is on the map.

6. View your score.
- Your score will be calculated based on the amount of time it took you and how close you got.

**Thanks to Tammy Worcester’s Tech Tip of the Week for this awesome website!

Our class wastes so much paper each year! In science class, we learned that paper is one of the most common trash items. So we’ve decided to use both sides of our paper and then recycle it. Earth Day is just around the corner. What are some other things we can do in our classroom to help protect the environment?

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_divine_appap_7/23/5933/1518969.cw/index.html

Classroom notes: Chapter 12 Outline - Causes of the Civil War

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/civwar.html

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/civilwar.htm

http://www.pocanticohills.org/civilwar/cwar.htm

http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/264/27/

Last week I wrote about the vast number of visitors to our classroom blog.

A week after I started tracking our blog with ClustrMaps last year, I began tracking our blog with Google Analytics. Well, it’s been a year since I started using that program and I have some interesting statistics to share with you.

• 9,193 visits came from 57 countries/territories and 44 states in the USA.
• Pages on our site were viewed a total of 29,348 times.
• Average of 25.12 visits per day.
• Average of 3.19 pages per visit.
• 2,782 absolute unique visitors.
• Average of 5 minutes and 16 seconds per visit.

Here are two graphics I thought you would find interesting:

 Update - Google Analytics Summary - Mr. Mundorf\’s Class (PDF)

WOW! What a great weekend of NCAA Tournament games! Who do you think will win the 2009 NCAA Men’s Tournament? Any predictions on the Women’s Tournament?

Tell us about the game you watched. Share your observations and insights.

Extra Credit - Complete the following activities over Spring Break.

The Road to the Final Four and 2009 NCAA Tournament

 NCAA Final Four Logo - www.ncaa.com

My new friend Ben invited me to go to Busch Gardens with him and his family during Spring Break. My parents say I can’t go because they’ve never met his parents. I really want to go! What should I do?

Matt Steven is blind, but that didn’t stop him from being a hoops hero.

Article by Rick Reilly and  Photo by Chris Gardner/For ESPN The Magazine

“A few seconds left. The game teeters on these two free throws. The shooter gulps. The packed gym goes silent, save for the tapping of a white cane on the back of the rim. That’s right. The shooter’s brother is under the hoop, rapping a cane on the rim. That’s because the shooter, Matt Steven, is blind.” http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3967807&type=story

A year ago I created an account with ClustrMaps to track the traffic on our classroom blog. It’s hard to believe a year has elapsed since then, but here we are on March 24, 2009, and ClustrMaps has provided us with a myriad of statistics about visitors to our blog.

Below is a map of the visitors to our blog, as well as stats about visitors, location of visitors, and number of page views during the past 365 days.  

Over 4,500 visitors. 

Visitors from 61 countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Virgin Islands, U.S., Germany, Philippines, India, Turkey, Greece, Republic of Korea, Italy, Netherlands, Thailand, New Zealand, Spain, Vietnam, Malaysia, Ireland, Switzerland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Czech Republic, Singapore, Poland, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Norway, Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ukraine, France, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hungary, Guatemala, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Finland, Egypt, Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Indonesia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Burkina Faso, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Bulgaria, Taiwan, Mexico, Guam, Jamaica, and Romania

Over 20,000 page views.

I’m curious to know what you think about these statistics. Impressed? Unimpressed? Please share your thoughts.