NEW STORYBOOK ONLINE TO VISIT

Something NEW this week – we invite you to try out the first early reader Storybook we are piloting. The first complete book is in the Islands section under Chumash History. It is in English AND Spanish, so try it out and let us know how you think this style and format will work for younger readers, or ESL developing English skills. Send feedback to camp2campinternet.net if you have comments to offer.

You can access the new bi-lingual Storybook directly at

http://www.rain.org/campinternet/writedowns/meet_the_chumash/index.html

USE YOUR DIGS – these are excellent content and comprehension exercises that can be made use of every week.

You have DIGS open for student use in Islands, Backcountry, Southwest, America’s Original Promise and GIS – use them any day, M-F, anytime 8am-3pm. These allow students to research one or more questions, post answers – and – teachers can use these as a graded assignment by printing the results each Monday afternoon.

SPECIAL EVENTS - TWO NEW GROUP PROJECTS are ready for ALL Campers – we need your input!

1. FIRST - Post your SCHOOL INTRODUCTION (as a class or as individuals) in the FIELD REPORT room for your Expedition track. Menu to select your room from is at http://www.rain.org/campinternet/nfieldreports/  Tell us about your school, your community, your class, and special projects you have planned for the school year.

2. THEN - See the first GPS school project “Where is Your School?” in Field Reports – GIS. There is a form to fill out to enter your site data, and a way to then copy and paste that report into the work room to share your findings with one another. You don’t need to have  GPS as there is an online lat/long calculator. This event will be open all month and will add-in changes Animal Sightings. Room for postings is at http://chat.rain.org/cgi-bin/nph-gis-fr .

THANK YOU to the Classrooms Participating in the Peace Poem Project!

Today is the closing day for this special project and thereafter you will be able to view the poems, sent in tow languages and from two countries, in a pdf file at

www.campinternet.net/peacepoemproject

Planning Ahead – Your First FAMILY NIGHT – October 24th

One of the most valuable activities a Camp Outpost classroom can do each year is open their classroom for a Family Night. Teachers, we invite you to plan ahead for which Family Night sessions you can co-host by making online computers available to your students and their families – in your classroom, at your computer lab, or even at a local public library.

The FIRST FAMILY NIGHT of the year will be a Family Video Night and is scheduled for October 24th . YOU PICK THE FILM YOU WANT TO SHOW and we will help create a flyer for you to send home to invite your families.

Send the title of the film and date/time/school/teacher name to camp@campinternet.net ASAP so we can work on a flyer for you.

You are welcome to select any educational video to show to your families, and before the film begins that night, we will ask everyone attending to post an introduction about themselves, the title of the film they will be watching, and two questions they hope to answer by the end of the film. Each teacher needs to prepare a set of six or more questions each film viewer can select from and provide it as a hand out to your attendees before the film begins. When the film is over, bring them back online and have them answer the questions.

We suggest starting the film as early as possible to ensure follow-up time online. And we have a list of suggested films – or- if you purchased a Camp supply pack, then you may have a video already. We ask that the films relate in some way to the Expedition track your class will be studying for the school year if possible.

If that October date cannot work for you, there are other options. You can loan a video out to families on a rotation basis and send the list of questions home to be filled out and brought back. You can then post on their behalf online. Or, you can select another night and we will open the online event room for you for a private session. Another option is to select a PBS, Discovery or History Channel show related to your Expedition and use that for the Family Viewing feature, sending home a list of questions as above, and then gather and post their questions and answers as a follow-up.