Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Dr. Seuss Band App

Just in time for Read Across America Day: I have downloaded a very Seussical app on the iPad cart— Dr. Seuss Band! Watch this short clip to see the app in action (it reminds me of Rock Band). As always, let me know if you'd like to use this as part of your celebration on Friday!


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Math Drills: Now on the iPad Cart!




Today has been momentous: the first paid app has been added to the iPads in the cart! I won't bore you with the details, but after a multitude of hair-pulling trials and tribulations, I have experienced the sweet sweet taste of success! Bottom line: we now have the Math Drills app on the iPads.

So what is this app, you ask? Check out this wonderful review from This Week in Ed Tech.

Oh, and props to the first teacher who asks about using this app with students...!


Monday, February 27, 2012

Hooray for Dr. Seuss!


Ineractives & Resources to Celebrate (and help you plan) Read Across America Day on Friday, March 2:


Seussville— the official home of Dr. Seuss on the Web. All of the Dr. Seuss books leap to life through interactive games

and activities that will enrich each child’s reading experience. A wonderful site that captures the spirit of Dr. Seuss-- 2nd graders couldn't get enough last week! Resources specific to Read Across America Day can be found here.


America's Biggest Storytime with Tim Tebow-- this admirable QB read and recorded Green Eggs and Ham, which you can view using this link. It's pretty fun with animations and all (there are also a handful of activities to go with it). Additionally, if you watch his interview, you learn that this book helped him overcome his struggles with dyslexia, which could be powerful to share with students.


NEA Resources & Ideas


Read Write Think Celebrates Dr. Seuss



Reading Rocket Brings Seuss in the Classroom


The Lorax Official Movie Website




Friday, February 24, 2012

Cookie- Fun Learning Games & Interactives


Cookie is a goldmine for fun learning games that target just about every subject. This site offers a wide variety of games, puzzles, lesson plans, worksheets, and other interactives. Seriously, this is a must check-out website for teachers of pre-k through 2nd grade. If you scroll down to the bottom of the homepage you will see the included subjects:
Math
graphs
months
money
adding
counting
subtraction
graphing
fractions
shapes
measurement
patterns
time
days

Language
phonics
spelling
words
short vowels
simple sentences
sight words
alphabet
letters
vowels
compound words
describing words
adjectives
opposites
phonics
verbs
sequencing
rhyme
short vowels

Puzzles (a sampling)
crosswords
united states map
sudoku

Various Fun Games

Science:
food chain
seasons
solar system
five sense
water cycle
plants
human body
hygiene
body parts
life cycle
Classroom Applications: Great to use on the Promethean Board with the whole class or as a center with the iPads.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Quotes to Inspire


What I'm digging right now...



My personal favorite is:

The need to know the capital of Florida died when my phone learned the answer. Rather, the students of tomorrow need to be able to think creatively: they will need to learn on their own, adapt to new challenges and innovate on-the-fly.

I could not have said it better myself-- well done Anthony Chivetta! Take a look at his publication, 21st Century Education: Thinking Creatively. It's a wonderful synthesis of the "many of the ideas that are floating around in online education discussions," as the author puts it.