Christie Withrow

July 12, 2009

SLM521-Webcams-elective #6

Webcams

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/butterflies/cams.php#

Ø Students in second grade can study the life cycle of butterflies. They can use the webcam to actually tune in daily and watch a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. The webcam would be useful if the school can’t have real caterpillars in the classroom. Several instructional activities would include journal writing and activities to learn the names of cycles, make observations and hypothesis, and sequence events.

http://kids.discovery.com/cams/horse.html

Ø Students in third grade can study the migration out west, and how animals like horses helped with the work long ago. They can use the webcam to look at Appaloosa horses from Saddlebrook Ranch to get their imaginations a boost. They can write a research paper on when Appaloosa horses first got here. They can write a story as an adventurer who owns a horse. They can contrast the reasons horses were used back then to reasons horses are used today.

http://www.webcam-list.com/

Ø Students in fourth or fifth grade can study a country. They can click on any country and view what that place looks like via webcam. This is amazing because students can take fieldtrips from within their classroom. They can write a report about when the country was founded, what type of government they have, flag, food and population all to be included. The webcam adds intrigue to their report because they will feel like they are actually there.

http://www.webcam-list.com/USA/webcams_free_live_stream/

Ø Students in fourth or fifth grade can study a state in the United States of America. They can click on any state and view what that place looks like via webcam. This is amazing because students can take fieldtrips from within their classroom. They can write a report about the weather of that state, because they can keep a record of the weather everyday or hour via webcam. The class can also get a pen-pal class from another state and write letters back and forth. Webcams would allow students to meet other students their age and compare their schools together.

http://www.abirdseyeviewof.com/

Ø Students in any grade can study the setting of a book. Then, they can get a bird’s eye view of that setting on a webcam. For example, “A Little Princes” by Frances Hodgson Burnett or “Thieves of Tyburn Square” by Elizabeth Fry are two books set in London, England. Students could then go to the webcam and see a bird’s eye view of Trafalgar Square in London. They can describe the setting and give details about the place and time. The webcam is better than pictures in the book because it is digital, which adds movement and reality for the eyes of children.