These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

This is a jumbled post that is meant to share ideas...just give names of apps, books, and games that are at the top of my favorites list in the classroom. Some are at the top of my teacher list, but the majority are favorites of my students as well.

 

 

Decide Now is a customizable spinning wheel app. I use it to call on students. I am currently working on a Q & A spinner set up to resemble the current pop phenomenon know as Trivia Crack.

 

 

This book is wonderfully useful because it gives ready-made anchor charts for a variety of reading strategies, but I love to reference it when creating my own charts.

 

 

 

This app is called Classroom Timer Lite.  I can't remember if it was free or not.  I subscribe to an app called Apps Gone Free which offers me daily deals, so I think I found the timer through that.  If it did cost money I know it was cheap because I normally don't spend much on apps.

 

 

 

This classroom management app is a fantastic tool. I like it because it helps students stay on task. It does not make them stay quiet.  My classroom is rarely quiet because students should be talking, questioning, and discussing. This app allows you to customize your noise level preferenes.

 

 

The following is a list of apps that my students use in the classroom:

• Kids Discover (several topics and titles)
• Baloney! (multiple subjects and grade levels)
• Crazy Machines (science and engineering)
• iTooch (multiple subjects and grade levels)
• Far Faria (books)
• Frontier Heroes (history)
• Geography Drive (social studies)
• Mr. Nussbaum (multiple subjects and grade levels)
• My Talking Pet (I use it for creating talking characters)
• New-o-Matic (current events)
• Puffin Academy and RAZ Kids are programs purchased by my district
• Reading Timer
• Stack the States (social studies)
• Word Wizard (spelling)
• World Atlas

Anomia is a great game to build vocabulary and get the brain revved up for learning.  I use it at the start of class each day. Sometimes we share our ideas orally, but usually students write their ideas in their Reading Notebooks.

 

 

I love using the app Plickers to quickly assess students using multiple choice and T/F questions.  It is paperless and engaging with immediate feedback for students and teacher.

Corkulous is Fabulous

 

 

The other night on Twitter I found a recommendation for Corkulous, a creation app. I checked it out and immediately started planning ways to use it in my classroom.  There is a simple, free version. I prefer the pro version for $4.99 because it offers more creative design elements. This app is very easy to use and offers a simple tutorial.

 

For my first board, I decided to set up a review of expectations for Mystery Book Clubs.  The students were preparing for their first meeting and I set this board up as a checkpoint for students to make sure they were prepared.  I put three blue notes displaying the three main parts of our book club contract.  I put a visual of their Detective Case File. I listed some possible jotting ideas for them.  I connected my iPad to the Smart Board and walked students through the display as the focus of my minilesson. They were hooked!  New technology will hook them every time, my teaching pirate friends!

 

The students had genuine conversations about the topics I posted on the board. I recorded the names of two students who did not complete their reading. Before the minilesson ended, those students had finished their reading (I know it wasn't appropriate book club procedure, but they accepted responsibility and wanted to join their clubs).

 

Then the magical unicorn of teaching ran across the front of the room in all its glory...one student asked, "can we add something to your board ?"  YES!!!! So you can see in the picture above that we added in some yellow arrow reminders for Block 2 and a purple note at the top complimenting one of the groups. I know the next time book clubs meet the other clubs will be trying to get their group to earn a purple note on the corkboard!  I in no way planned that, but the students took ownership and created their own activity!

 

The corkboard display was equally as successful in my second block.  These students were also interested in adding elements to the board. They wanted to let Block 1 know that everyone in this class was prepared (a little friendly competition never hurt). They really wanted to know how to add the design elements onto a board.  They wanted to know what each piece of material was in the design file. When they saw that photos could be added, they said we should put pictures from clubs doing the right thing as examples.  So you can see above that we added those in with yellow explanation tags.

 

I think Corkulous is going to be a hit with my third graders. I already emailed our technology coordinator asking if we could add this app onto our school iPads. The students are itching to use them to create a project.  They are hooked!

UPDATE:  Each time I use this cork board, the students find more information to add on to it. 

 

I Can with iPads

I was featured as a guest blogger for my school district. Here is what I submitted:

http://cmsteachingandlearning.weebly.com/1/post/2014/01/i-can-with-ipads.html

Welcome to Opal's Party

Did I teach like a pirate? No, I taught like a superhero for this lesson! A pirate superhero--argh! My lesson was on pirate overload!

I used the Chef Hook. I also changed the lighting and added ambiance in the classroom using music. I recreated a scene from the book.  When my students entered the classroom this past Friday morning, they felt like they had entered the book Because of Winn Dixie.

 

I set up the party that Opal had in Gloria Dump's backyard. I had the pictures of dogs that Sweetie Pie brought for decorations. I had Miss Franny Block's Littmus lonzenges (butterscotch candies). I made Gloria's Dump Punch (using the ingredients listed in the book). I even brought Otis' big jar of pickles. I used lights for candles inside of brown bags, just like they did in the book. 

 

On the Smart Board I played the soundtrack from the movie. The students were amazed and their comments were priceless.  One girl wanted to go get her sister from another classroom so she could see it. A parent asked what was happening today and a student told her all about the party from the book--perfect retell.

 

Being able to actually participate in Opal's Party was a wonderful experience for my students. One student said, "this looks exactly like the mental movie in my head!" Another boy was drinking his Dump Punch and he told me it tasted just like the punch in the book!  A boy was sucking on his Littmus lozenge and he said he could really taste the sorrow. What better way to show children the purpose of a skill or strategy than for them to experience it? 

 

During the party, students took turns making jottings on the Smart Board. They shared their thoughts about the book using empathy, envisioning, predicting, and character traits.

Flying Books

I want to be selfish and take the iPad cart at my school. I want to take all 30 devices and hide them in my classroom and never give them back!  My students were rock stars today!  They were creative and innovative and artistic and focused and successful.  You just had to be there to experience their joy. 

 

Today both of my literacy blocks created projects using the free app, Flying Books. I heard about this app from a fellow Twitter teacher. 

 

Students create electronic books by using photos, typing the story, and then narrating it. 

 

My students chose a piece of writing from their Writing Notebooks. Some students drew their illustrations and then photographed the drawings. Other students used peers and props from the classroom.

 

The students acted like movie directors when they used their friends to act out parts of their stories for the photos. The students worked on this project for about 90 minutes. Every child was able to share a finished product with the class.