Waliacam Wiki Project

We're very excited to be involved in the Waliacam Wiki Project, which allows our students to get involved in authentic reading and writing opportunities. The children can learn from other students in other schools in Wales, Australia, and the United States. Ancaster Meadow is one of three Canadian schools involved in this project.

Involvement in this Wikispace is also great because the students can gain a more global perspective but in a safe Internet environment, for only those schools that have asked for and been granted permission to participate in this project can view information from other schools and post to this Wikispace. At different times throughout the year, we will be taking screenshots of some of the activities that our students complete as part of this Wikispace project.

Miss Dunsiger showed her class the Waliacam Wiki on the SMART Board today. The students were amazed to learn that people in Australia would be sleeping at the time that we are in school. One student commented, "This means that we will be sleeping at the time that they are in school." Being involved in this Wikispace certainly gives a much deeper and more meaningful understanding of the concept of "time."

The students also loved seeing the different schools in Wales, Australia, and the United States. They commented on the environmental differences that they saw (even just the difference in greenery in the different places) and the school differences that they saw too (one school almost resembled a wooden cottage versus a brick building).

As part of this project, we also have different activities to complete. Our first activity is a Wordle one. Here is a screenshot of some Wordles on the Waliacam Wiki (click on the JPEG image to view it in a separate window):

As a class, we discussed what fairytale we thought the top Wordle was about, and we talked about the evidence in the Wordle that supported our guess.

We then completed a Wordle of our own (in black at the bottom) about a back-to-school book that we read this week. Here is the link to a bigger version of our class Wordle: title="Wordle: Wordle 1"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/1121603/Wordle_1"
alt="Wordle: Wordle 1"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">. See if your child can use this Wordle to discuss the characters and events in The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson. You can also visit the Wordle Website together, and make a Wordle about one of your favorite books. E-mail us the Wordle (aviva.dunsiger@hwdsb.on.ca), and then we can post it on the Waliacam Wiki too.

Have a great weekend, and we look forward to seeing you again next week!