Seesaw

If you aren't already familiar with the website and app Seesaw I highly recommend giving it a shot. This site/app will give your students a place to store their electronic projects quickly and easily. I was skeptical at first that it would work with first graders but they love it and it is very simple. It also allows for parents to see projects without the hassle of printing or emailing every project. I have used it easily with pictures from the camera roll, Hello Crayons, PicCollage, and StoryBuddy. It does not currently work easily with Google Docs but you can screenshot a google doc and upload it that way or download it to a PC as a PDF and then upload it. 

Daily 5 Technology Pass

This year my kiddos are struggling to make a variety of Daily 5 choices throughout the day. They are always wanting to be on our Chrombooks and iPads. While I am glad they love them so much, I want them to do a variety of activities while still being accountable for their own choices. I made some tech passes that they will get one of each day. Feel free to use them for yourself! Just click on the image or link below. :)

Click here for Daily 5 Pass

Alternative Pass Without Daily 5

YouTube Video Playlists

If you teach in the primary grades and you are looking for videos to assist in your instruction, check out my YouTube playlist page. I have playlists for literacy, phonics, math, and more!!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfHj5a88bx7tSxBdpudZqWg/playlists

iPod Listening Centers- How to Set up Using iTunes

Below is a link to a YouTube video on how to set up your iPods for use in a listening center. Please be sure that you have updated to the latest version of iTunes to be sure you see the same screens. They change them occasionally and your iTunes icon should now be RED!

Chromebooks and the Daily 5

Chromebook Set Up

This year I have been lucky enough to get 7 Chromebooks in my classroom. One is a designated teacher computer for use during reading groups or differentiation groups. The other six are for student use. My goal is to incorporate them into my Daily 5 routines and then move onto other content areas as well. For now I have the kids using them to access predetermined websites. The websites they are currently using are Dreambox Math (district purchased subscrition), Teach Your Monster to Read (Free), and Literactive (Free).  I have created a "dummy" account that the chromebooks are logged in as. This allows me to set up the bookmark bar with links of my choosing. They can even be set up from my Chrombook or computer. You just need to be logged into your dummy account. 

At this point the Chromebooks are a choice. My goal for their use in the near future is to give the kids an assigned time to use the Chromebook. They will also be expected to learn to sign in and work on things like writing through the use of Google Docs or email.

iPad Storage

In our classroom we are lucky enough to have 4 iPads that we can use daily. We will also be getting some more next year. One of my goals for this year was finding a cheap way to store them in the classroom between use. I planned to pick up a dish rack like I have seen on Pinterest but saw this Maple Rack at the Container Store (Can't wait for the new one to open up in Milwaukee) and fell in Love. It is so cheap, easy, and SAFE! It fits both my iPads and iPad Minis perfectly. I can also locate the rack near an outlet for easy charging.

Click Here for a Link to the Container Store Website

Here is how it looks when used for iPads:

Here is the intended use for the maple rack:

McGraw Hill Free Apps

The below apps are currently free! My students already love them and we have only had them for a couple days!

Word Wonderland

Word Wonderland focuses on: short vowels, word families, and long vowels. It includes easy, medium, and hard levels.

Grammar Wonderland Elementary

Grammar Wonderland focuses on nouns (common, proper, concrete, abstract, singuar, plural, & possesive), verbs (action, past tense, irregular, helping, & agreement), and adjectives. This game has four levels: easy, medium, hard, and expert.

Grammar Wonderland Primary

  Grammar Wonderland Primary is an easier version of the game above. It focuses on nouns, verbs (past and present), and adjectives.