Seesaw

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As always, Seesaw Basic is FREE 

How do I love Seesaw?  Let me count the ways!

• It is a digital portfolio for students that can be DOWNLOADED by stakeholders with accompanying QR codes.  
• It allows for communication and collaboration between all members of our classroom family.  Students are able to see and comment on each other's work (if allowed by teacher).
• Parents can see what students are uploading to their portfolio and can comment accordingly.
• There are so many apps that work in tandem with Seesaw.
• Students can demonstrate learning via recordings, pictures, drawings, and videos.
• Teachers can create folders for differentiation.
• Honestly, the list is always evolving because Seesaw is such an amazing tool.

Scared to take the leap?  Just set up a folder to house the links, videos, and anchor charts that you share with your students.  This gives students a "go to" location for finding this information at a later date.

Already a pro?  Try out Seesaw Activities in the "Beyond the Basics" section.

UPDATE: 11/15/2018
I didn't really know if I would continue using Seesaw at the middle school level, but it is just as wonderful as ever.  I LOVE the activities feature.  Check out the photo below.  I can create an activity and quickly see who has not turned it in.  This is helping me move closer to a virtually paperless classroom.  Also, the fact that parents can see what their child is doing makes this an amazing collaborative tool.

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.

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.

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!

Book Wizard by Scholastic

Scholastic has a website/app called Book Wizard.  This website/app is very helpful for the teacher looking for those "just right" books.  Books can be found by using reading levels as well as by searching for titles.  Once found, most books provide the genre, interest level, reading level, and some even include free teaching resources!  The app includes a scanner, which helps the teacher to quickly identify the above mentioned categories.  

Some minimal cons include that not all books are listed, not all categories have information provided (ex. some might not include the genre), and not all have free resources.  However, as far as FREE resources goes, this app/website is definitely worth checking out!

Goodreads

This year I made the switch from teaching math and science to teaching reading and social studies. Now don't get me wrong, every teacher is a reading teacher, but this change has led to my temporary hiatus from blogging about technology.  This is largely due to the fact that I believe that a teacher needs to know their content and be comfortable with it before they begin to enhance it with a lot of new technology.  Throughout the year I continued to use the technology/programs/apps that I was already familiar with, but I did take a break from searching out anything new/cutting-edge.  

Now that we are approaching the end of the year and I start thinking about next year, I have once again begun to search out tools that will make my classroom more effective (and some tools that I think are just awesome for myself).

The website Goodreads is one of my new favorites (and yes, there is an app for that).  This website is almost as addicting as Pinterest.  Once you set up a free account you are able to rate books that you have read.  As you rate your previously read books, the system makes recommendations to you for future reading.  One of my favorite parts of the app is the scanner.  I was recently in the store and saw several books that I would like to read, but since I currently have a stack on my nightstand I did not purchase them.  Instead, I scanned the barcode with my app and added them to my "want to read" virtual shelf.  As you investigate different books that may interest you, ratings and book reviews from other members of the goodreads community can be viewed.  You can also follow your "friends" and see what they are reading/have read.

So how does this apply to my classroom?  This app is nicely correlated to genres, and therefore I can search through children's literature, fiction, historical fiction, etc. and based upon what my class has enjoyed reading I can find suggestions for future reading.   Older students may enjoy having their own log-in and access to the app.  I would probably suggest not using it with younger students as inappropriate books may be located while conducting a search.  

Give it a try!  It's free and I really think you will enjoy it:)

Literacy Tools

Holli Taylor presented at ISTE 2014 on Literacy and the Web 2.0 teacher.  The first handout linked below has links to apps/websites that support guided reading.  The second handout is an example of the "menus" that she uses for guided reading.

https://www.isteconference.org/uploads/ISTE2014/HANDOUTS/KEY_87891843/Literacytoolsfortheweb2GOPDF.pdf

https://www.isteconference.org/uploads/ISTE2014/HANDOUTS/KEY_87891843/ReadingCenterMenus20132014.pdf

Edmodo for Literature Circles

I am a big fan of Edmodo and use it as a LMS (Learning Management System) in my classroom.  I found this Prezi by Shana Benedict that directly ties using Edmodo for Literature Circles to the Common Core Standards.  You can meet so many objectives by doing this.  Check it out :)
http://prezi.com/jf7pzntfp5sq/edmodo-literature-circles-and-the-common-core/

Professor Garfield

The Professor Garfield Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational collaboration between Paws, Inc., the global headquarters for Garfield the Cat, and Ball State University, a nationally recognized leader in teacher training and digital education.  The primary focus of the activities/games on this website is literacy.  My favorite activity is Reading Ring where students have to sequence the Garfield comic strips, but there are many other activities on this website as well that support literacy. http://www.professorgarfield.org/pgf_home.html