Tupelo Distance Education - aired May 6

May 6, 2020

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>>> good morning and welcome back to another edition of distance learning 101.

I'm gregg ellis and i'm honored today to be joined by anna taylor and what you have in store for us today?

>> today, you're going to be kind of like my student.

>> oh no... here we go again.

>> and we're going to do a read-aloud.

>> awesome.

>> we're going to listen to a video that talks about the needs of the plant.

There are five different things that a plant needs to live.

>> this would be an actual demo -- >> yes... we always have an opening.

You'd want to put some movement to these, because... with the little learners, it's very important, they're all kinesthetic learners.

They learn through movement.

We need to get them up and moving so they can retain that information.

>> all right.

>> it's like a one syllable word instead of multiples.

>> yes... that's our video.

We'd review those things with our students.

All right... what are the five things the plant needs to live?

>> you didn't tell me there was an order.

[laughter] >> i just put my order in the song -- all right... so... once we've done all that, we talked about what a plant needs.

We might make an anchor chart in our classroom.

We'll go ahead and start reading our book.

One thing that's very important while you're reading a book to a younger child, is to ask higher order thinking questions.

Like, open-ended questions.

Questions they can't answer with yes and no.

It helps them connect to the text, it helps connect to their world.

Problems, when they run into them and... [talking simultaneously] >> really have to think about it.

>> right.

>> these kids can't read -- >> that's correct, someone will read it to them.

>> they have to be very involved and help with these types of things.

>> right.

We'll go ahead and get started.

I'll model this.

The title is... the tiny seed.

And... there's an illustrator.

We'll talk about his cool illustrations a little later in the lesson.

This is a tiny seed... it is autumn, a strong wind is blowing that blows the seeds high in the air and carries them far across the land.

One of the seeds is tiny, smaller than any of the others.

Will it be able to keep up with the others?

And where are they all going?

Gregg, where do you think they're going?

>> hopefully to the ground somewhere if the wind is carrying them.

>> let's see.

It's very pretty colors.

One of the seeds flies higher than the others.

Up, up, up it goes.

It flies too high and the sun's hot rays burns it up, but the tiny seed sails on with the others.

Another seed lands on a tall, icy mountain.

The rest of the seeds fly on, but the tiny seed doesn't go as fast as the others.

Let's look at this -- it says that it lands on an icy mountain and the seed can't grow.

Why do you think the seed can't grow?

>> a couple reasons.

It's too cold.

It's not in soil, it's in ice.

>> exactly.

So... we know by our song, one of the needs of the plants is soil.

>> we've had plenty of space.

>> exactly.

Now they fly over the ocean, one seed falls into the water and drowns.

The other seeds sail on the land.

The tiny seed doesn't go as high as the others.

One seed drips down into the desert, now the tiny seed is flying very low.

Think about the needs of the plant.

Why can't this seed grow that landed in the desert?

>> not enough water and it's mostly sand.

I would think it's the water.

>> there's no water.

There's not much water in the desert.

Finally the wind stops and the seeds fall gently down on the ground.

A bird comes up and eats one seed.

The tiny seed isn't eaten.

It's so small, the bird doesn't see it.

It's lucky.

Now... it's winter.

After the long trip, the seeds settle down into some soil.

They look just as if they've gone to sleep in the earth.

Snow falls like a soft white blanket.

The tiny seed lays very still and a mouse doesn't see it.

>> the tiny seed is almost like rudolf here.

>> now, it's spring.

After a few months, the snow's melted.

Birds fly by, the sun shines, rain falls and the seeds grow, they start to burst open a little.

Now they're not seeds anymore.

They're plants.

Birds take their roots down into the earth.

A big fat weed takes all the sunlight and rain away from one of the small new plants.

That little plant dies.

The tiny seed hasn't begun to grow yet.

It'll be too late, hurry!

Finally, it, too, starts to grow into a plant.

The big fat weed has taken the space away, the rain away, the light away.

That's three needs of the plant that that weed has taken from that one.

It can't live.

>> big bully.

>> yeah... weeds are bullies in the garden.

Warm weather brings the children out to play.

Oh no, he breaks one of the plants, now it can't grow anymore.

The tiny plant that grew from the tiny seed is growing fast.

Its neighbor is growing even faster.

The other plant has seven -- look... a bud and now, even a flower.

What's happening?

A kid breaks off the flower.

What do you think is going to happen?

>> maybe, takes it to his mother?

[audio is crackling].

>> a boy has picked a flower to give to his friend.

Have you ever given anybody a flower?

How does that make you feel?

Happy?

It's summer, now the tiny plant from the tiny seed is all alone.

It grows on and on and it doesn't stop.

The sun shines on it and the rain waters it.

It grows taller and taller and is taller than the people.

It's taller than the trees -- it's taller than houses and now a flower grows on it.

It's the tallest flower i've ever seen -- it's a giant flower.

>> a tower flower.

>> it is a tower flower.

All summer long, birds have never seen such a big and beautiful flower.

Now it's autumn again, the days grow shorter, the nights grow cooler and the wind carries leaves down to the ground.

The wind blows harder, the flower has lost almost all of its pedals.

[audio is crackling].

The wind shakes the flower and this time, the seed pod opens.

The part in the middle of the flower that holds all the seeds.

Outcome little tiny seeds that quickly sail far away in the land.

Where do you think they're going?

>> it's a cycle.

It's the lifecycle of a flower.

All right... so... every story has a beginning, middle and end.

What i want you to do -- you might have to help your child, grab a piece of paper.

You'll have three sections.

If you fold is and let them make the creases, that really helps their fine motor muscles and those are the muscles we need where it's time for writing, they're very important.

So... do that and then... in the third section, i want you to draw a picture of something that happened in the beginning of the story?

>> what we're going to do first is take a little break -- when we come back.

You get to see my beautiful drawing.

We'll be right back.

This is distance learning 101.

>> this distance learning makes me feel so much better.

>> to be honest, i don't want to go anywhere else.

>> such a fun place.

>> it's so fun and the kids just make your day.

>> it's amazing what i hear from parents about the kids -- that have had children that both do this together.

You guys are doing a fantastic job.

>> thank you, we love our team.

>> now you're going to make me draw -- >> i am.

This is something we'd do in our classroom.

It detects the comprehension of the story.

We just read the tiny seed.

Now... i want you to draw one of the things that happened at the beginning of the story.

We'll draw on the first section of your paper -- something that happens in the beginning of the story.

We'll look back at those pictures to try to refresh our memory.

There's another -- if you don't want to do a drawing activity, you can go ahead -- i chose pictures in our book.

I was reading them on note cards.

You can pick a few things that happen in the book and have your child see things that happen.

The seeds in the air.

One dropped in the water.

One dropped in the desert and then, the tiny seed eventually grows into a big flower.

On the back of these... you can write the numbers of the order they're in.

One, two... three... four.

You can also make it into a mask.

With our number recognition and number order.

>> you're incorporating math, music, everything together.

That's really cool.

>> our children learn in different ways, different mediums, so... we like to accommodate all of our learners.

>> so... i have my first drawing.

Do not laugh.

>> i love your seed.

I think you did a great job.

I would stop you there -- we'll go with the first one.

Now... when we're looking at our drawing, what did you draw?

>> we talked about the wind carrying the seeds.

We have a bunch of seeds.

I have my little seed, just flying along.

>> exactly.

What can we say about that drawing?

What could we say?

If we were going to sum that drawing up into one word?

>> of the five things that -- >> no... just what would we say about your drawing?

>> it's sad.

[laughter] >> what about -- when i looked at it, i think of seed.

It standards as a seed.

So... if you were a pre-ker, we're talking about words.

So... we'd take that word, and we'd stretch it out.

Seed.

Seeeeeeed.

What was the first sound you heard?

Ssss.

Write an s.

>> on here?

>> under your picture.

There you go.

So... if your learner is a beginning learner, they could write an s to represent seed.

You're having them write about what they've drawn.

>> you could even build on the word... eeee, what comes next.

E.

Write an e.

And the final sound... you put it together and get seed.

That is something you can do -- now... >> what happened in the middle?

>> we look like a lot of shark teeth.

>> we know that some of the seeds didn't make it because they got burned.

>> mm-hmm.

What happened to this seed?

>> this seed has lost its flying ability to make the wind -- it isn't even the right, this seed, unfortunately, is becoming -- it's going to be -- in the middle of the story, one of the seeds fell into the ocean.

>> let's see about the end of the story.

What happened at the end?

>> it has to have that.

>> to have it, a kind of, beautiful flower and everybody always came to see the beautiful flower.

>> exactly.

A beautiful, colorful flower.

That's what happened at the end of the story.

Whatever you'd like to represent.

Now... while you're doing that -- i'm going to talk about a science experiment you can do with a seed.

So... it's really easy, all you need are two beans.

I have lima beans, two baggies and two paper towels.

We know that -- -- you tell them what shape to draw and they'll cut the shapes out to draw a flower.

>> awesome.

That was a lot of fun.

>> now, mrs. stafford, if you're watching, i don't want you to be jealous -- >> i think you did a fabulous job.

>> i'll be accepting this for the mural sometime, any day.

>> i think you did great, gregg.

>> thank you, you did too.

Thank you for joining us today and sharing your classroom.

I know you miss your students.

>> i do.

>> it's awesome.

We're able to still give them things to do.

>> yes... >> all right... i'm gregg ellis, we hope you come back and watch us again.