Thanksgiving is HERE!!!

It may just be me, but this school year is beginning to fly by! Before we know it Christmas will be over and we will all be dreaming of those glorious snow days! But for now, let's slowwww down and focus on Thanksgiving. I'm so excited to spend time this week with my family thanking God for the wonderful ways in which he has blessed us. I'm also excited to spend two full days at school breaking the normal routine and making history come to life with my precious first graders! Tomorrow we will begin by creating a scaled version of the Mayflower. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces, and hear their cute little grumblings as we sit in our Mayflower playing cards, pretending to sleep, sitting on our chamber pot, and eating our meal of dried beef and bread (that I have let sit out all day on purpose...yuck!) Tuesday we will work together as a class to prepare our entire Thanksgiving feast before eating together. Yay! I can't wait! 

Of course though I can't leave out technology... Although I did consider it as the pilgrims did not have google or twitter.......... But there are just too many awesome resources to use! Here are a few of my favorites for you to share in your classroom! I apologize for not providing direct links... Just copy and paste the URL under each screenshot to access the sites. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/voyage/

http://www.plimoth.org/learn/MRL/interact/thanksgiving-interactive-you-are-historian

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/first-thanksgiving/

P.S. YouTube has Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving and a few other great movies if you are in need of some downtime in the busyness of your day! 

Earth's Orbit and Google Maps

Siri and Google maps have become one of my new best friends when I'm driving anywhere! Well last night I found another reason to love Google maps! As I was checking out a location I accidentally zoomed clear out of the map. I noticed what looked like the sun shining on part of the Earth... As I continued to zoom out, I realized I was correct! The map of the Earth showed the exact time of day according to the Earth's orbit!! How cool!! 

This intrigued me and I began to think of some excuse to share this with my students, but first I wanted to make sure it was accurate. So throughout the day I checked the Google map app... And this is what I found...

8:15 am

 4:15 pm

9:15 pm

I have explained the Earth's orbit to my students before, shown videos, made earth and sun hats to act out the Earth orbiting, and so on. But THIS I think will finally get through to them. Seeing the real Earth, not just a video someone made, makes it so much more meaningful and makes the concept come to life. What I have posted are screenshots of Google Maps. Feel free to use the pictures if you'd like. I would suggest though , if you have access to an iPad or IWB in your classroom, using Google maps with students so that they can move the Earth themselves and better explore the orbit. Keep in mind this is a great way to introduce and teach time zones as well! Check out Math is Fun for more time zone and orbit models.

Marzano and Technology

Education researcher Dr. Robert Marzano is widely known among educators for his nine research--based  instructional practices. Dr. Marzano is the author of many books relating to different aspects of the art of teaching and learning. His first book which outlined the nine instructional practices is entitled Classroom Instruction That Works. Recently, Howard Pitler, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn, and Kim Malenoski authored the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works. In this book, the authors provide examples and technology methods to use that correlate with each Marzano instructional practice. I highly recommend using this book as a resource as you integrate technology into your classroom. In relation to TPACK, technology should be used to serve an instructional purpose, not only skill and drill. If Marzano practices are being used in your school, aligning technology to these practices will ensure that you are using technology for a purpose. In addition to the book  Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works, bookmark the wiki Technology That Works as a resource for planning technology integration. This wiki has very basic, yet insightful resources in aligning technology with Marzano's instructional practices. The wiki is updated frequently as readers are asked collaborate by adding their own technology integration ideas and experiences to the wiki.

Reading Rewards and Student Reflections

I recently learned of a very simple and free online reading program called Reading Rewards. Reading Rewards is an online reading log and reading incentive program for students of all ages. Students log in to their personal account from home or school and simply enter in the book name and amount of time they spent reading each day. As the amount of time they spend reading grows, students earn miles that can be spent to purchase real, customized rewards created by the teacher. In addition to logging reading time and earning points for incentives, students also engage in comprehension by blogging and discussing about the books they are reading. For a more complete overview of Reading Rewards, watch the video below for more detailed overview of Reading Rewards.



5 Steps to Great Student Reflections 

1. Model, Model, Model: For students that are new to blogging - model, model, model. No matter the age level, conduct several mini-lessons in which you are modeling how to write a detailed book review and response that will engage the reader and lead them to want to read the same book.

2. Discuss appropriate and inappropriate responses to other's reviews. For example, appropriate responses may include thought provoking questions that lead to a deeper understanding of the book, or comparisons between two books. Inappropriate responses may include "I want to read that book", or "That is a cool book". You may consider allowing students free reign in the blog without instruction for a few days. Then, print out a portion of the transcript and ask students to highlight appropriate and inappropriate responses in different colors.

3. Lead the Students by posting a discussion or reflection type question every so often. The wonderful part of blogging is that we can encourage students to be self-directed learners as they express themselves through reflections. However, we all need a starting place at times. For example, post a discussion statement such as "Imagine you were the main character in the story and you had a superpower. What would your superpower be and why?"

4. Connect Discussions to Standards: Ask students to create reviews that correlate to the comprehension standards being taught in class. These reflections could be used as an informal assessment of student's knowledge of the text and how to interact with it.

5. Encourage Student Writing by being ever-present within the blog. Although the discussion is primarily between student peers, the teacher's presence within the blog will hold students accountable to writing appropriate and thoughtful responses, as well as provide validation for students in their writing. Point out well written responses and insightful statements.

Student blogging through Reading Rewards holds the potential for your students to use 21st century skills of creating, collaborating, thinking critically, and communicating with each other. By guiding students through this process, they will be better prepared to interact appropriately and educationally online.

Fire Safety

October is Fire Safety month and there are so many fabulous resources available to teach this important topic. My students have enjoyed reading and analyzing non-fiction text about firefighters and fire safety. If you have not downloaded or used Storia by Scholastic on your class' iPad, computers, or IWB, stop what you doing... and download it now! These interactive ebooks have made non-fiction come alive to my students! It has also helped me stay current with new books without having to wait for the books to be shipped to me. When reading Storia books on the IWB, my class is able to write on the book adding character's thoughts, circling pictures that help us understand vocabulary, and so much more! In addition to fire safety books available in the Storia store, Scholastic is highlighting several awesome resources for grades K-12 regarding Fire Safety. Click on the screenshot below to check it out.

 

Has your class met Sparky??? Sparky is the mascot for the National Fire Protection Association. The NFPA has a website created just for kids to explore fire safety with Sparky. YouTube is flooded with fire safety videos for kids of all ages. Touch the image below to view some of my favorites.

 

 

  

Click here to download the free Sparky app from the Apple App Store.

 

Sparky the Firedog is not just for young children! If you teach 3 - 5 grade, visit Sparky's Schoolhouse to download a free eBook and free science and math interactive whiteboard lessons.

 

 

And of course we cannot forget about Brainpopjr during Fire Safety month!

 

 

Feel free to comment with other fire safety resources you love to use! :)

 

Loving QR Codes!!!

My first graders are now trained in using iPads! What a learning experience for them... and ME! We made it through and we are all super excited to use these incredible devices to take our learning to the highest level possible! I have wanted to try a QR code hunt for so long, and we took our first one this past week! My students LOVED going on an acorn hunt in search of codes to scan. Through the hunt they were able to practice the mental math skill of counting on to solve addition problems. The codes I created were differentiated by either black codes (sums to 10) or brown codes (sums to 20). Partners were given a certain color to begin with, and were allowed to try the other codes if finished early. Every student was incredibly engaged and had meaningful practice!

Here's a few shots of our hunt...



Why not give this a try in your class? You will love it... I promise!

 

Simply print out the acorns, post around the classroom, and scan codes!

Author Interviews

By making books come alive, children are more likely to fall in love with reading. My students have always loved Jan Brett and Eric Carle books, but when I show them videos of the real live author speaking about their books, there is a sense of connection they begin to feel with the books. Reading Rockets has a library over 100 interviews with well-known authors about their lives and books they have written. This would be a great addition to any book study. Besides enjoying listening to the author's interview, think of ways to use the video to encourage higher level thinking in your classroom! Such as, before watching the interview brainstorm questions that you would like to ask the author. Maybe these questions will be a part of the interview, maybe not - you'll have to watch to find out! Or, after researching the author through watching the interview and reading their bio on Reading Rockets or other websites, set up and video mock interviews with the "author" (aka. one of your students). Ask students to create questions that may not have been in the interview, but was learned through their research. I'm getting excited. :) Hopefully by April my first graders will be ready for such an activity!

Mastery Connect

I just completed a project for my Integrating and Implementing Technology class about Mastery Connect. This formative assessment and collaborative tool is absolutely outstanding! Besides creating two of the best Common Core apps for teachers, Mastery Connect is redefining the way in which teachers collaborate and assess standards. The following video is the main part of my project in which I guide you through the free options of using Mastery Connect. If you would like a simple instructional guide to begin using Mastery Connect click here.

 

Visit Mastery Connect to create your own free account, or view pricing and plans for your school and district. For the school districts using Mastery Connect, there are added questions that correlate with NEWA MAP test items, benchmarking tools, and so much more!  

 

Besides collaboration between educators, the goal of using Mastery Connect is provide a way for teachers to formatively assess students, provide immediate feedback, and plan for immediate intervention or corrective activities. This is known as Mastery Learning, originally developed by Benjamin Bloom in the 1970's. The diagram below shows the process of using formative assessments to improve student learning. Please click here to read a short article about Mastery Learning and Bloom's process.

 

Graphite.org

Do you ever become overwhelmed with the plethora of websites, apps, and programs to choose from when using technology in your classroom? I do!!! Have you ever thought you found a fabulous website to use with your class, however you just couldn't decide the best way to use it? I have!!! Would you like a solution? Yes, please!!! Graphite.org is an outstanding free site in which apps, websites, and digital curricula are rated and described by teachers, for teachers. The screenshot below shows a sampling of the multiple ways you can search for technology. Check it out and join for free today!

Hello Dropbox!!!

I am all about finding anything that can help simplify the crazy world of education (and life)! Dropbox does just that! How would you like to be able to create a document on your computer and yet access it on your tablet or smartphone? What about downloading a document, video, picture, pretty much anything, to your tablet and being able to print it from your computer? Dropbox is the answer to all of this, plus more! I have spent many frantic minutes (that often feel like hours) searching for my lost jumpdrive with all of my important things on it... however since converting to Dropbox I can save and open without the fear of losing my precious, tiny jumpdrive. Not only can I use Dropbox, but so can my students. Students can easily save to a Dropbox account when working on documents or certain creation apps on the iPad. Now, when students work on a project in the computer lab and do not finish, instead of trying to save to the network or a jumpdrive, we can easily save to Dropbox and they can complete the assignment in the classroom or even at home. This also allows me to check over and grade their work on my own computer, at my convenience. Dropbox does have a storage limit for the free version, so take that in to account as you plan student use of it. For more information about Dropbox, see the video below. If you use Dropbox either for personal, professional, or classroom use I'd love to hear your ideas!

Kahn Academy

As an early childhood educator I have only heard of Kahn Academy, but have not been able to use it in my classroom. Kahn Academy is a great example of the new trend in education of Flipping the Classroom. When a classroom is Flipped students watch lectures and instructional videos online presented either by their teacher or another source, such as Kahn Academy. During class time, students are then engaged by practice activities and group projects instead of lectures. Flipping the classroom allows teachers to provide more individualized instruction and as the video below states, teachers become more of a coach in which they can go into further detail in explaining misunderstood parts of the curriculum. This past Sunday Kahn Academy was featured on 60 Minutes on CBS. Follow this link to watch and learn how Kahn Academy is changing the way innovative educators are teaching in their classrooms.

Symbaloo for Classroom Management

Classroom management in technology usage is an important, yet sometimes overlooked part of TPACK. Without proper and effective management, precious teaching and learning time can be wasted. I have used Symbaloo to organize and keep track of my favorite links personally for a while. However, it never occurred to me to use Symbaloo as a classroom management tool. A colleague shared with me a few weeks ago how they use Symbaloo in their computer lab. Her Symbaloo account holds each grade level's personalized webmix and is set as the homepage on all the lab computers. When students sit down at the computer and open Internet Explorer all they have to do is find their grade level's webmix tab and they are ready to begin. Brilliant!! The more I thought about this brilliant idea my mind wandered to additional ways Symbaloo could be used for classroom management. Here are a few webmix ideas that came to mind:

1. Grade level (Thank you Kris Davis!)
2. Subject Area (Reading, Math, Writing, Science)
3. Class Period (For upper grades)
4. Leveled Work for Students (For differentiated work)
5. 4C's - Collaboration sites, Communication sites, Creation Sites
6. Sites for Homework (Simply place a link to your Symbaloo or embed it on your class blog or website)

In the past I have wasted so much of my planning time adding links to the desktop on all the computers in the lab or my classroom. Or I have had to bug someone with an administrator account to add links to the desktop for me. My problem is now solved... and it is so simple! When I find websites I want my students to use frequently, I simply login to my account, add the link to a tile... and I'm finished! The next time students open the web browser whether it be on the computers in the lab, computers in my classroom, or the iPad, they can easily access the links.

If you are not familiar with Symbaloo check out the video below for a quick overview.

                                                  Video from Youtube

Barnes and Noble Online Storytime

One of the greatest parts of teaching first grade is teaching young students to read...and even more than that is teaching students to LOVE books and reading. My previous post was about Storyline Online in which famous actors read animated books online. Well what about the author of the actual book reading to students? Barnes and Noble is making this possible on their website... for free (one of my favorite words in education)!!! I have yet to share this website with my students, but I cannot wait to return to school and share with them this jewel! Listening to the actual author read the book aloud will surely excite and motivate all students. As with Storyline Online, this too would be an excellent choice for a listening center or class activity on the Interactive Whiteboard. An example of the retelling can be found below. Enjoy!

Storyline Online

Storyline Online is one of my student's and my favorite websites. This is perfect for a listening center, technology center, or a whole group time-filler on the class interactive whiteboard. The Screen Actor's Guild Foundation hosts this website with videos of real actor's reading famous children's books. Each retelling includes illustrations and animations, along with discussion questions and a downloadable activity guide. Storyline Online also has a channel on School Tube where the books can be viewed. Below is the introduction video from School Tube. Check it out!

AbcYa + Spelling Words = Excitement!

Looking for a way to spice up your student's spelling practice and provide typing practice?? Look no further! AbcYa has been one of my favorite (free) websites for a long time. Throughout this amazing site, there are SEVEN different ways in which your students can practice typing and reading spelling, high-frequency, and vocabulary words. They are:

1. Magnets: Students are shown a blank refrigerator door. A magnetic alphabet can be moved one letter at time onto the refrigerator to spell tons of words!
2. Word Search Creator Jr.: Perfect for grades K - 1 as the instructions are read to the students throughout the creation of the word search. Preferences such as naming the puzzle, choice of upper or lowercase letters, size of board, and print out or play on the computer are included in setting up the puzzle. Allows for up to 10 spelling words to be entered.
3. Word Search: Exact same set up as the Jr. version, however instructions are not read, and up to 15 words can be entered. Suggested for grades 2 - 5.
4. WordClouds: Word clouds are awesome! Students can type in spelling words, arrange the cloud, and print out as a way to take words home with them to practice!
5. Crossword Puzzle Maker Jr.: Create a puzzle by typing your own words in, OR by copying and pasting words from a Google Doc or MS Word Doc (super cool!!!). Once 5 - 10 words are typed in, students write clues for the words.
6. Crossword Puzzle Maker: Same set up as the Jr. version. This however allows 10 - 20 words to be used. Print out or play on the computer after creation!
7. Friendly Letter Maker: Grades 3 - 5. We all love to write letters. How about writing a letter that must include spelling words? Letters could be printed out, shared with others in the class who are asked to locate spelling words within the letter.

Communication101... Meet Remind101

Have you heard of or are you using Remind101?? Remind101 is a powerful tool that allows teachers to communicate with parents, students, sports teams, pretty much anyone via text message without ever exchanging phone numbers. Text messages can be sent to registered phone numbers through either the Remind101 website, Android device app, or iOS devices app. Reminders such as when homework is due, test tomorrow, science fair project due in a week, can be instantly sent right to the devices people use constantly! One of the best parts... it is FREE! To begin using Remind101, set up a free account through the website or app. After setup, your group will be assigned a phone number and message for you to give to anyone whom you would like in your group. These individuals will simply text the phone number the code, and voila! they will be added to your list. You will not be able to see their phone number, they will not see yours.

Four basics about Remind101:

1. Manage up to 10 different groups/classes
2. Messages can be seen as a text or email
3. Schedule messages to be sent at a later date or time
4. View the history to view when messages were sent and to how many

View the Remind101 blog for 25+ ways to use with parents and students

ThingLink

One of my new favorite sites for student creation and collaboration is ThingLink. ThingLink is a free site and iOS app in which you select a picture to upload from your computer, import from Facebook or Flickr, or from a web URL. Images come to life as you and others can "touch" the image, adding comments, videos, links, and more to the image. In the spirit of Instagram and Flickr, others can follow you on ThingLink as well. What an incredible tool for students to collaborate by sharing research on a topic, or for teachers to network in sharing their professional ThingLinks. My first creation on ThingLink is a resource for my first grade cubs to use in researching the needs and lifecycle of Apple Trees. Feel free to touch the image and add a comment or link! :)

Pete the Cat does VoiceThread

VoiceThread is an incredible collaboration tool for students of all ages. I plan to use VoiceThread in many different ways this year with my first graders. However, before I can turn them loose independently with VoiceThread they must be taught how to correctly use the program, as well as appropriately discuss within a thread. After reading many Pete the Cat books this week, I decided to practice using VoiceThread with the entire class. The kids were so excited and caught on so quickly. For our first experience, the students used the VoiceThread app on the iPad and simply passed the iPad around the circle taking turns recording their thoughts. This worked very well as they were each able to listen to what they said and either save or discard after their recording. After listening to our class VoiceThread, feel free to add your own response about Pete the Cat!

Welcome to my new blog!

Wow, I am super excited! For a while I have had the desire to begin a blog designed for teachers. Honey Bunch Blog Design did an INCREDIBLE job and I am so thankful my Google search took me to them! :) My goal for this blog is to act as a resource for teachers in locating helpful websites, blogs, and ideas as they transform their lessons and entire classrooms into 21st century learning environments. Check back often to view projects and activities that my wonderful first grader cubs complete in my classroom.  Thanks again Honey Bunch for helping me reach one of my professional goals!