Interactive-Road to the Whitehouse

Scholastic has done it again!  Here is an amazing resource that reminds me of an infographic, except that it is interactive.  As you scroll down the page, the "campaign vehicle" drives down the road and pop-ups appear that explain each step from the Campaign Kickoff to the Inauguration.  

Quizizz

Do you like Kahoot?  I LOVE Kahoot, but I was running into an issue (especially with math) with my kids running out of time before they could select an answer.  Kahoot has a maximum time limit of 120 seconds.  Now, one suggestion that the help desk at Kahoot suggests is to make a copy of each question and insert it BEFORE the scored question.  This is a bit much for me, so I decided to look into some alternatives.  Quizizz has become my new favorite.  Quizizz has a bank of member-created assessments, but it has features that Kahoot lacks.  First of all, you can set the time limit to 15 minutes.  Second of all, it is self-paced.  Students move on to the next question once they answer the one they are currently on.  Finally, you can create quiz and give it as homework with a window of time to complete the quiz.  

Do students need an account?  Nope! Just like with Kahoot, students go to the site and enter the code to play :)

Kiddle Search Engine

Kiddle is a safe and kid-friendly visual search engine powered by Google.  This is a much better alternative to "Googling" for our younger students.

Post-It Speech and Thought Bubbles

Sometimes when we are reading a book in class with great illustrations, I'll put a post-it with a speech or thought bubble in the book so that the students can infer what the character is thinking or saying.  I made some templates...feel free to use them :)

Speech Bubble https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7SsbSy9Hn82cmI4ZW1pYlBxSFU/view?usp=sharing

Thought Bubble  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7SsbSy9Hn82LTJFRkR3czFRSGM/view?usp=sharing

Science Snacks

We all know that students learn best when they combine "hands-on" with "minds-on" activities.  Sometimes, however, planning those hands-on experiences can be daunting.  Exploratorium takes the work out of planning simple science experiments.  These science "snacks" are organized by standards, topics, and alphabetically.

Analogies

Research supports the importance of being able to make comparisons with sound reasoning.  An article on Teachervision articulates this point. Listed below are three free apps for learners to begin practicing with analogies.

The user of this app will begin to build their understanding of relationships between concepts (words, shapes, etc.) 64 total analogies are included with this free app.

A 2nd version of the above mentioned app.

This version of the analogy app focuses on word analogies.

Pick-A-Path

Pick-A-Path

The Pick-A-Path app is an app that has been created by the NCTM.  The user chooses a path through different operations with the goal of reaching the target total.  This is great for building mathematical and reasoning skills.  As the levels go up, the game increases in difficulty. 

TeleStory

TeleStory

Have you ever wanted to be on TV?  Well, now you can be the star you have always wanted to be!  This app allows the user to become a character in their own TV show.  By using augmented reality tools, the user can change costumes and sets while they create their own unique TV show.  The completed show can then be exported to the camera roll of the iPad.  

Toontastic

Do you want a creative way to infuse 21st Century Skills with writing and literacy skills?  Look no further than this app.  Toontastic is a wonderful way for students to use their creativity while writing a story that allows them to select characters and settings while developing a plot that follows the "story arc" format.

Here is a great resource provided by Toontastic to use for planning.

Here are some examples of how teachers are using Toontastic in their classrooms.

PowToon for Presentations

I was looking for a fast, simple, and engaging presentation tool when I came across PowToon.  PowToon is an easy tool that allows the user to create animated "slideshows."  It is fantastic to use in the classroom and there is a basic FREE account that can be utilized.  Once you log in for the first time, the PowToon Wizard will guide you through using the animation tool (which is SUPER easy).  If you desire to use PowToon with students, an $8 a month fee will allow the teacher and 60 students access to the creation tool.

PowToon Tutorials

Here is an example of a quick PowToon that I created today.

Common Sense Media- Easy Way to Preview Media

I don't know about you, but for me as a parent and a teacher it has gotten harder and harder to decide what may or may not be appropriate for children to view.  One thing I love about this website and app is that it not only gives you the rating, but it also tells you WHY the rating was given. 

The following was taken from www.commonsensemedia.org

	Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. We offer the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music.  Our Parent Concerns and Parent Blog help families understand and navigate the problems and possibilities of raising children in the digital age.
	Common Sense Education provides teachers and schools with free research-based classroom tools to help students harness technology for learning and life. Our K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum teaches students how to make safe, smart, and ethical decisions in the digital world.  And our revolutionary educational rating system, Graphite, helps educators discover, use, and share high-quality digital products that propel student learning.
	Common Sense Kids Action works with policy makers, business leaders, and other advocates across the nation to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed. Kids Action works to drive policies at the state and national levels that ensure all kids 0-5 have access to vital education and health resources; that all children have high-quality digital learning experiences; that their online data and privacy is protected; and that child poverty is reduced in America. With over 65 million Common Sense users, more than 275,000 educators, and potential advocates in every home and school across the nation, Common Sense’s advocacy platform is building a movement dedicated to making kids our nation's top priority.

Why I Love Kidblog

We all know that teachers are rich, right?  Wrong.  So, usually I steer clear of resources that cost money.  However, when it comes to having my sweet students create their own learning portfolios on a blog the $36 annual fee for Kidblog is well worth the money.

The Top 5 Reasons I Love Kidblog
1.  Ease of use- Even for my students who struggle with using technology, one 30 minute lesson was all it took to have them blogging on their own.  It was very quick for me to register my students, and each student got their own page.  Kidblog uses a very simple design and it almost guides the blogger through the posting process.

2.  Management- I can control who can post, what posts, and who can view it.

3.  Safety- Unless I (the teacher) have added you to the blog, you will not be able to see any posts.

4. Collaboration- In reference to #3, if I want to collaborate with another classroom we can link our classes so that they can view and comment.  This is great for global awareness and 21st Century collaboration skills.

5.  Parent Access- A student can send their parent an invitation to "join", but that parent can only see his/her own child's blog posts.

Mentor Texts

I don't know about you, but sometimes I struggle with matching the perfect text to the objective that I am teaching.  So after doing some extensive research  Googling, I came across this blog that I absolutely love.  It is called, Teach Mentor Texts and you can find tons of books with excerpts, suggested paired reads, and writing prompts.  Simply click on the label that matches the objective you are teaching and a list of books with teaching ideas will pop up on your screen!