Monday Made It #2

WAHOO!  I finally have a Monday Made It related to school.  I've been trying to get started on some projects now so that when August rolls around I can still enjoy my summer.

For this project, I decide to make our lunch count check-in using SMART notebook.  The kids absolutely love moving their little number as I display the count on our projector for everyone to see.  This not only holds them accountable for making their choice, but then I can also take attendance while still handling the morning madness!

The background is called Waves and the font is LD Elementary.

Enjoy,

Week 2: Tune into Technology

I know, I know, it's not Thursday, but it's the first chance that I've had to sit down and focus on my blog.  I'm liking up with iTeach1:1 and Learning to the Core for a second week of integrating technology.  Here it goes....

Week 2 Theme: Integrating Technology into Math

Here's two easy ways to integrate technology into your daily math:

1. Sumdog - I've talked about Sumdog earlier and it's one of the easiest ways to incorporate technology into math.  I've been using Sumdog as a tool for summer math practice, but I'm excited to have my new students use Sumdog during the school year as a math station.

2. ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard- It's Monday morning and you're fresh off the weekend only to discover that you have a student with not one, but two broken wrists.  What are you to do?  Don't laugh....it happened!  Enter the app, ShowMe.  I had the student use the ShowMe to complete our math lessons without missing a beat.  He enjoyed using the app and so did the rest of the class too!  They loved the fact that they could write on the iPad and have it appear on our projector.

Enjoy,

Monday Made It

It's the 1st of July and my first Monday Made It project.  As much as I'd like for this project to be for my classroom...it's not.  This is the first summer that I've had to spend in the new house and the project ideas just keep flowing.  

I stood in the kitchen on Saturday night and was starring at my pantry door thinking that it needed something.  As my mind started to wander, I was trying to figure out what I could do to make the door pop and not "blend in."  That's when I landed on this idea...a chalkboard!  The inspiration came from Jackie over at Teal & Lime. 

I was able to find the roll of chalkboard vinyl at Michael's on clearance for $2.99.  After putting the vinyl on, I realized that traditional chalk was not giving me the bold colors.  That's when I stumbled across another Pinterest find....Chalk Ink Markers. (Thanks to Megan at Honey We're Home for posting.)

After all that, my final project...

Link up and join the fun of Monday Made Its...Thanks Tara!

Enjoy,

Tune Into Technology: Integrating Technology into Reading

I'm linking up with iTeach 1:1 and Learning to the Core to share some exciting ways of incorporating technology into your classroom.

Week 1 Theme: Integrating Technology into Reading

For reading, I use the guided reading format in which the students are either reading with me for 30 minutes or they're at a literacy based station for 30 minutes.  

Top 5 Ways to Integrate Technology into Reading-

Literacy Station Style

1. Edmodo (Technology Station)

It's the safe, school version of Facebook allowing students to post questions, comment on questions within their feed and even message the teacher directly.  We use Edmodo to post our reaction to our latest read aloud book.

2. Spelling City (Word Work Station)

I use Spelling City to personalize spelling lists for students who may need additional practice.  This has been a excellent tool to use when trying to differentiate for the needs of my students.

3. BrainPOP (Research Station)

Love it and so does my class!  My students watch the featured video (which changes daily) and follow-up with a summarizing activity in their Literacy Notebook.  It's so exciting to see their responses because BrainPOP offers high-interest topics that the kids love! 

4. National Geographic Kids (Research Station)

Similar to BrainPOP, my students use the National Geographic Kids to watch high-interest videos on a topic of their choice.  Before watching the video, students make predictions and summarize their factual findings at the end.  

5. Google Drive (W.E.B. [We Enjoy Books] & Response Station) 

This spring, I was lucky enough to pilot Google Drive with my class.  Students created a Google account that allowed them access to only Google Drive.  (This was thanks to the technology department within my district.)  The students used Google Drive to work on their typing skills by sharing their weekly literacy response with me.  This was a huge hit and I can't wait to get it up and rolling again in the fall.  

Join the fun and link up to share your ideas! 

Enjoy,

Making a Move

It's finally summer break and I feel like June has already flown by.  It's in an out before I can even tackle any projects that I want to do for school.  That might have something to do with the fact that I:

jumped a plane to Florida for a vacation.

just finished working on district curriculum projects.

     

completed a few around the house projects.

woke up to a flooded basement. 

Even with June being a busy month, I've still had time to make the move to Bloglovin'.  It's the latest craze because it keeps you updated with the latest blogs you're following.  <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5562943/?claim=nksbgwuuwyw">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

I've also been checking in on how my students are doing with Sumdog and it continues to be a hit!  I was rather surprised considering that it's the end of June and I figured the excitement would have faded by now.  This definitely puts a smile on my face knowing that my students are continuing their practice even into the middle of summer vacation!

Enjoy,

Sumdog

With summer quickly approaching, I was on the hunt for ideas for summer practice for my kiddos. My best friend, Christy (who happens to be a third grade teacher), recommend the website Sumdog.  I had never heard about it before so I decided to check it out and see what it's all about.

Here's what I've found:

1. It offers fun and exciting games that kids across the world or within your school can play together.
2. The questions that are offered are geared specifically for a students to improve on weakness areas.
3. As the teacher, you can set goals for students by choosing from specific grade leveled skills aligned to the Common Core.
4. They can earn coins that will allow them to dress up their uniquely created avatar in the Sumdog store.

Now, this is only what I've found out from my first time exploring, but I'm sure that the website has way more to offer.  It appears that most of their math games are free, but some also require a subscription.  They do offer a language arts and a writing component (available soon), but I believe that these areas may also only be available through a subscription. 

I'm planning to introduce my students to this website this week and let the exploring and practice begin!  I'll keep you posted and hopefully this will be a HUGE SUCCESS!

Ps...Click under the teacher tab and you'll be provided with a video and more information about what they have to offer.

Enjoy,

 

Happy Mother's Day

In honor of it being Mother's Day, I have a special video that I'd like to share.  On Friday, I shared this video with my class and they loved it.  I heard about Kid President from my teammate's maternity sub.  She had originally introduced me to the Kid President Pep Talk video, which is also fantastic and great to share with kids (see below).


Kid President- An Open Letter to Moms

Kid President- Pep Talk

Enjoy,