Technology Tuesday - iPad to iPad

Today was the first day for students and Princess and I are a little wiped.  However we promised ourselves we would be better about posting. (Although why we think it makes more sense now when we are working than the summer when we were not, I have no idea....it is a teacher thing.   We do better with routine.)

Today's technology is one our teachers wrestle with.  Our school district is not one to one yet and our students do not even have emails.  We do have iPads in some classes thanks to the special Ed innovation grant the Princess and I helped write two years ago.  Since it was my brainchild, I have had the task of coordinating them and teaching teachers.  Since last year was the first time I have had a tablet in my hands, the learning curve has been huge.  One of the biggest things is getting things off the iPad so other this could be done with it.  I usually had that cry for help when students and teachers were knee deep in a project.  Other than emailing it I was at a loss.  Our students are too young for Dropbox and our teachers were struggling.  Princess and I have experimented with a couple of apps, but these two are our favorites.

Instashare is great to share photos.  Although you can share files, we liked it best for photos.  Basically it finds other wireless devices within proximity.  Once detected, you can just drag and drop your photos to that device.  So simple.  Last year our fifth graders all took pictures for their graduation slide show and then needed to get them all onto one iPad so the editing group could make a movie.   This would have been so easy!

 

We also used Cloudon.  I created a document in Pages and then used the Share and Print button to open in another app and get it to Princess who changed it and sent it back to me.  Simple, simple, simple.  It accesses my Google drive account which allows access from a PC which is a plus as our school is still PC based.

I am sure there are a thousand other ways to do this, but it has to be simple or our teachers eyes glaze over.  If you are looking for a simple sharing solution, here are two great ones.

Monday Musings - Reform, Dr. Tony Bennett and Little Poof

Last Saturday we went to the zoo with our grandchildren.  I wanted to get a picture of my grandchildren on Little Poof.  This little train engine has been around since I was little.  I wanted to take a picture of my grandchildren just as I had taken a picture of my kids and my dad had taken a picture of us.

     This is my family in the early 70's.    This my kids and their cousins in 1994.      My grandkids today.

Our zoo has undergone a multitude of changes over the years.  When I was young, it was a simple loop with animals in cages and a petting zoo.  It now has an Australian Outback, an African Veldt and an Indonesia Rainforest.  In fact I was so lost, Princess had to guide the way since she and her class had visited the zoo on a field trip.  Even Little Poof was given a new coat of paint and was moved to an awesome plaza.

Things change.  It is a fact of life.  Educational reform is really about change.  Since I first stepped into a school in 1985, I have seen huge changes in education.  Some were wonderful.  Some took some getting used too.  In my 28 years of teaching, I have seen teachers grumble, become frustrated and voice their opinion.  I have never seen them refuse to accept change.  I have never seen them not do their best to make sure their students succeed.  That is why the way teachers are being painted in this new era of "educational reform" is baffling.

I am sure you have been hearing about Dr. Tony Bennett in the news.  I am from Indiana.  I have spoken to the man (one of our teachers' husband is a state senator so we were graced with Dr. Bennett's presence not once,, not twice, but three times...go figure.)  My only impression was that the man was first and foremost a politician.  During his tenure, I never felt the teacher voice counted or mattered.  Still I am not one to say that the educational reform he wanted was evil.  He had some good ideas, some fair ideas and some really misguided ones.

Did he change the accountability system to benefit a political donor?  I don't know.  I do think he realized the system was flawed.  However, unfortunately many people tried to tell him that when he rammed it through the legislature nine months earlier.  My sorrow is that if my district's high school had been the one that came up as a C, I don't think he would have rushed to make changes or even seen the need for a change.  In his mind, a public high school that had a 24% pass rate in Algebra would never be an A school.  My issue is that he didn't take the time to really listen to those around him, that he didn't have faith in his public schools and that he was convinced that reform is a one size fits all.  Let's just say any school no matter how many students took the test should never receive an A if only 24% pass algebra.  A small number of students is no excuse.  There is not a teacher alive who doesn't have a good idea on whether their students can pass the state test.  It should have been no surprise to anyone.

Teachers are not opposed to educational reform.  They embrace better instructional methods.  They welcome new and better ways to reach students in an ever changing world.  Just because a teacher believes a reform is not in the best interest of their students doesn't mean that they are obstinate.  It just means they know their students.  In fact, teachers know better than any administrator, consultant or legislator how to bring about change in their own buildings.  It is through open discussion, collaboration and colleagues who not only lead the way but support their fellow teachers.

Instead we have an environment where education has become more about politics.  Who has control of the governor's office, the house and the senate determines policy.  There are no bi-partisan collaborations that are working for our students.  There is only finger pointing and name calling.  Business and money have crept into the classroom.  Princess did a practicum in an urban school.  While she was there, the teachers were informed that they would all be removed from their classrooms because they were a failing school.  She was kind of surprised because on average, they appeared to be trying really hard.  She and I went online to look at their school stats.  The majority of their staff were within three to five years of their college experiences.  So one would assume they had the benefit of the best and latest educational research.  So unless this school had the extreme misfortune to hire only the worst our universities had to offer, I would guess that teachers were not the problem.  We took a look at their population.  Of their students 98%  received free lunch.  That means 98% of their students were coming from extreme poverty.  It wasn't that their teachers couldn't teach or their students couldn't learn.  The hurdles they had to overcome and the ground they had to make up was huge.

Now I do not claim to know a lot about educational politics, philosophies and research.  I just know what I have seen after 28 years in the system.  If I could sit down with the powers that be, I would say this:
   President Obama, I understand we are a global society and while the idea of common core standards is intriguing, I don't think they deliver because education is not a one size fits all.  I wish everyone had taken more time in getting them out and really considered how they fit with what we know about cognitive development.  I think there is a place, but I am not sure I want to hang my hat on them.
   President Obama and the US Dept. of Education, stop the competitive grant cycles.  If you have money for education, get it to each and every student.  Why should a child miss out because his state's grant writer is not as eloquent as another state's?  Competition may challenge states to deliver their best, but it also has an ugly side where agendas interfere with true innovation.
   Bill Gates, Jeb Bush and everyone else who is doing the "business of education,"  please remember we are not and never will be like a business model because we do not have a product, we have living breathing human beings who are undergoing fantastic changes almost daily.  Each one is not like the other.  I applaud you for trying to get resources to students, but please be sure you really understand who they are.  The students who enter our classrooms today are nothing like they were when you were in school.  They have the same potential, but their background and preparation are vastly different.  If you want to make an impact in education, throw your money at early education.  It is only when every kindergarten student can start with the same set of basic skills that we will have a chance to get them all reading by third grade.
  Indiana lesgislature, quit worrying about reelection and the future political ramifications of your decisions and start working on learning about those students you represent.  Quit listening to those with tourism interests and start looking at a different way to do school.  Twelve weeks off in the summer is hurting many of our students.  If you want true reform, then be willing to look outside the box.  Work with the Superintendent of Instruction that we the people elected even if you don't always agree.  Collaborate, discuss and go out and listen.  Visit a school during the next statewide test and watch some of our students take the test.  Sit next to the child with autism who is anxious because his computer keeps stopping.  Remember that any school that can limit class size or decide who to educate and who not to educate can never be compared to one that willingly takes any child who walks through the door no matter what number the current enrollment is or the amount of financial resources are available.
  Governor Pence, take the money you are paying your own educational expert and give it to a school to hire extra interventionist.  You have an educational expert that we the people chose.  Meet with her, collaborate with her.  As a taxpayer I am offended you would misuse my tax dollars in such a way.  The same goes for the State Board of Education.  Shame on you for taking those millions of dollars away from our students to develop your own educational philosophies instead of working with the system we the people chose.

I deeply appreciate and understand the difficult task you all have.  Just remember what I need in my classroom is not what the teachers need in the school just 15 miles north.  Each school needs resources and the freedom to do what is best for their students.  Continue to challenge me to think about my instruction, but do it in a way that builds me up not tears me down.  Give me resources.  Hear my voice,  Make my profession one that is deeply revered.  Above all remember, Little Poof still has a place at the zoo.  There is room for tradition and what we have done in the past.

Okay enough politics and rhetoric.  I have a classrooms to get ready, materials to create and students to teach...that is what really matters.

Thumbnail Thursday - E is for Explore!

I came across this blog just yesterday and I am so in awe, I just have to share it with you!  Have you visited

Oh my Oh my!  Blogger Erin Bittman has created a site that is exploding (and I wish I had a better word) with amazing ideas and lessons.  She has collected ideas from bloggers, from books, from any source possible.  Some posts she created lessons based on ideas of others and some she has created her own.

How about a little Fruit Roll Up math for area and perimeter?

There's the Standard Form Name Game.

 

Wanna Play Food Chain Freeze Tag? 

How about a little math and language arts integrated together? 

 

I love this one to get kids thinking about vocabulary....wouldn't it make an awesome bulletin board?

She has categories for all subjects and special days.  Here is a great science and social studies idea.  Timelines using the idea of tree rings.

E is for Explore credits all owners of the original ideas and provides links.  Seriously, you had better set aside some time to wade through all the ideas here.  I really think my brain is going to explode from all the ideas I have floating around now.

I know this was supposed to be thumbnails, but I got a little excited about this resource.  It is so creative and edgy. When we grow up we want to be a blog just like E!

Technology Tuesday - Guided Access

Let me start this post out by saying I am amazed how kids take to the iPad like a duck takes to water. My 24 month old granddaughter can turn the thing on, open up a folder and select the app she wants.  She even uses Siri in the YouTube app to find the video she wants.  By the time she gets to kindergarten, she is going to be flying through the technology that the schools have to offer.  We may have been in a technological revolution for a while, but it is this coming generation that is going to challenge us to stay one step ahead.

With the good comes the bad and that wonderful pioneering spirit also is a pain when little fingers decide to switch apps mid stream or play around with settings.  For me, it often happens when I am working with some of my kiddos on their communication apps.  One little guy is continually switching screens, moving things and generally playing around.  We were constantly moving the iPad out of his reach which doesn't exactly lend itself to spontaneous communication.  Now when we are directly working on an app or specific communication topic, we put the iPad into Guided Access.

Guided Access locks the iPad into one app.  It also allows you to disable certain buttons or features within that app.

Here is how you use Guided Access.  First click on your settings and click on General on the left hand side.  Scroll down until you see Accessibility. Click on Accessibility and scroll down to Guided Access.

Click on Guided Access and on the next screen turn it to on.

Click on Set PassCode and select a pass code to turn guided access on and off.

Now you are ready to use Guided Access.  Open up the app you want to use and triple click the home button.  This bring up the Guided Access controls.

Use your finger to draw a circle around any buttons or features you want disabled.

When you are done, click on start and the app will be back in functioning mode.  You can see which controls are inactive.

To take it out off Guided Access, triple click on the home button and the PassCode screen will appear.

Type in your PassCode and the Guided Access control screen will appear.

Click on End in the upper left hand corner and your iPad is fully functional again.  Guided Access is a great feature for those students who tend roam all over the iPad and not stay on task.  You can put it in Guided Access before working one to one with a student, before placing an iPad in a center or really anytime the desire to explore is greater than the desire to stay on task.

Monday Musings - Student Engagement

I've mentioned before that our school district has done a ton of training in the principles of Quality Learning which are tools and philosophy developed by David Langford.  He uses brain research and the idea of total student engagement to challenge teachers to think about how they deliver instruction.  I first attended the training four years ago and it really got me thinking.

Over the years, I had gotten very casual about data collection.  Speech services tend to be heavy on direct reinforcement by the SLP.  After my training, I started changing things up.  I started using centers and began to challenge my students to self practice and to work with each other.  I started using run charts for data and my students started keeping track of their goals and their own data.  You know you assume that your kiddos know the whys and what fors of everything we do in education...unfortunately students can quickly become passive learners.

Last year I saw a first grade teacher use a tool called The Five Whys to have a discussion with her students about why they come to school.

I thought it would be something great start off the year in speech as well.

 I asked each of my groups to answer the question, "Why do you come to speech?" I then took their answer and turned it into another question.  For example, if they say "To say our words better,"  I ask, "Why do you need to say your words better?"  I did this five times.

This one was done by a group of third graders.  It is hard, but you can't comment or change their wording.  You just keep turning it back to them helping them dig deeper.

This one was done by a group of second graders.  Isn't it interesting that they brought up getting a job?

This one was done by a group of first graders.  It broke my heart when they talked of being made fun of.  It was so hard not to stop it and discuss bullying.  When it was all done we did discuss it

When we were done, we posted all the sheets around the room to refer to for the rest of the year.  All my groups (I did this with about 30 groups) either went the direction of getting a job or so people could understand you.  I only had one little hearing impaired student with autism who really didn't know why he came to speech.  What I loved about this was it started us all off with a common purpose.  We went from this activity right into looking at their goals and their data run charts.

It definitely is going into my bag of "must use" tools.

Friday Fun - Adventures in Decorating

So all you younger teachers out there are decorating mavens pinteresting (yes it is now a verb), laminating, cutting and hot gluing your way to virtual wonderlands of learning fun.  Now I pride myself on my creativity so I decided last year to do an actual theme in my classroom.  It is trickier with me as I have students in my room from age three to 12.  I decided to go with a Dr. Seuss theme because not only is the man a complete genius, everybody loves Dr. Seuss...right?

So I created cute bulletin boards, basket labels, center areas and labels all with a Dr. Seuss touch.  The first warning should have come when a third grade diva looked around one day and said. "What's with all the Dr. Seuss stuff."  They never told me in college that I would need to be prepared to defend my decorating choices to a bunch of third graders.

The next shot came from our quarterly student feedback.  Our district requires us to get student input quarterly as to how much they are learning and how fun it is.  As a part of my second quarter feedback, I used an Imagineering sheet for what would be the perfect speech program.  Their responses were put on post its and then I grouped them together.

And there it was.  Some of the kiddos wanted to help choose how the classroom looked.  With all the emphasis on student led, student engagement, student motivation that has been preached at every meeting and seminar I have attended in the last five years, no one ever suggested letting them help decorate your room.  Lady A and I said it would be like turning the decorating of your living room over to your husband!  However, one of the promises we made to our kids was that we would do our best to at least discuss each item on the Imagineering sheet.

So we decided to start small and let them decide how to decorate our hall bulletin board.  (I know what you are thinking...we cheated.  Every teacher would love to have someone decorate their bulletin board...but give us a break, giving up control is hard!) 

Check out some of their ideas.  Talk about a wide variety of ideas. I think my fifth graders tried to see how far I would go in letting them pick the theme.

I love how the claws and zombies were written right next to the puppies and Care Bears.  Obviously a Zombie Care Bear bulletin board was not going to reflect well on my teacher evaluation.  I tried to to group their ideas and let them vote.

We ended up doing an Angry Birds Cause and Effect board.  I created all different Angry bird body shapes, beaks, eyes etc and let them create their own Angry Bird.  They had to fill out a tag that gave the bird a name and say what made the bird angry.  Our favorite was "He is angry because he had to take ISTEP" (our statewide test.)  Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the board!

I am changing my room theme to Wild About Words next year.  We will probably do the bulletin board exercise again....and maybe, just maybe, they can weigh in on room decorations...in the future.

Thumbnail Thursday

Yesterday, Princess commented that she needed to go into school and start working on things.  It always seems that after the fourth of July, teachers start drifting back into school (after checking for the umpteenth time to see if Target has put out their teacher items in the $1 aisle items...no luck here in Indiana yet.)  Our first teacher day is August 8 with students starting on the 13th.  Yikes!

In honor of the coming year, today's thumbnails are two of my favorite spots to check out for ideas.  The first is the motherlode of classroom themes.

Schoolgirl Style is a site by Melanie Ralbusky.  As a teacher she started designing classroom decor to create wonderful classroom environments.  Her site took off big time.  She has partnered with Creative Press and been voted best blog by Really Good Stuff and is a guest columnist on many educational sites.  At Schoolgirl Style you will find pages and pages of real classrooms for inspiration.  Schoolgirl Style also offers many classroom decor items for purchase (in case you are honest with you are not a craft goddess on the side.)  Click on the picture above to go to a wonderland of eye candy.  Be prepared to get lost for a few hours.

Clutter Free Classroom is also written by a teacher.  She also has lots of classroom theme ideas and products to buy to guarantee a room your kiddos will ooh and ahh over.  This site has an emphasis on making sure you have what you need for each area in your classroom and subject area you teach.  There are also articles that help you think through the process of creating a wonderful classroom environment.  In addition, you can find some fun activities and lesson. Click on the icon above to dreaming about your room.

This idea of a classroom theme is relatively new in the education world.  When I began teaching, probably the most creative thing people did was their bulletin board.  Labels, book bins and reading areas were only for the most creative soul in the building.  Things are different now.  Princess began dreaming about how her classroom would look long before she graduated from college.  Her travel theme classroom is such a fun place to be. (In case you missed the big reveal last summer, click on the picture below.)

I have enjoyed this trend toward a classroom theme.  However, my students felt the need to chime in on my decorating decisions.  Tune in tomorrow for that story.

Word Wednesday - Reading Vocabulary

Sorry for the absence.  My mother and Princess' grandmother had a cataract removed and wouldn't you know it, she is the 1 in 1000th person who developed complications.  We are now helping her with eye drops every 30 minutes...around the clock! 

Today;'s post is about vocabulary.  As an SLP, one of the things I have tweaked and retweaked and retweaked and retweaked year after year is vocabulary work.  I have no problem with the activities, but I  question myself, have internal debates, research and debate some more when it comes to what words to teach.  I have looked at academic word lists, Marzano's Vocabulary Project  (which is incredibly overwhelming) and used commercial products.  What I want is vocabulary that makes a difference to my students in the classroom.   One of my fellow teachers suggested I check out Jan Richardson's book The Next Step in Guided Reading. She has a list of words commonly found in texts for reading levels A through H.  Lady A and I looked over the list and liked it.  There is always this assumption that if a student can read or decode the word, they comprehend it.  Surprisingly not always the case.

Lady A and I created vocabulary cards for these words using Boardmaker.  It was quite laborious.

We made sets with pictures and text, sets with pictures only and sets with text only.  I thought we would never finish,

 

They aren't perfect because by the time we finished, our eyes were permanently crossed and we were convinced we teach kids to read using vocabulary that could not be pictured.  However, if you would like to use them, here they are:

Reading Level B & C Vowel A

Reading Level B & C Vowel E

Reading Level B & C Vowel I

Reading Level B & C Vowel O

Reading Level B & C Vowel U

Reading Level D Diagraphs

Reading Level E Initial

Reading Level E Blends

Reading Level F Final Blends

Reading Level G & H Initial Blends

Reading Level G & H Final Blends

Reading Level G & H Silent e Rule

By the way, Jan Richardson has a website with a ton of guided reading resources.  You can explore it here.

 

Dictation - Part Two (Dictation in the Speech Room)

If you do not know how to use the dictation feature on the iPad, check out part one of this post.  If I could I would shout it from the rooftops.  Every special ed teacher should know and use constantly all the accessibility features, our technological age offers us.

When we got the iPads through the special education grant, I made sure Lady A and I both had an iPad for the speech room (after all what good is writing a grant if you don't get to enjoy the fruits of your labor!)  Like most teachers we first turned to apps specifically designed for speech.  However, we "evolved" as the Princess would say.  Princess believes true technology integration comes when you start using apps and devices in ways that are not part of their original intent.  Since most of my teachers were overwhelmed at the sight of an iPad, I often was the one who taught my speech kiddos how to use the dictation feature.  What Lady A and I learned is that speech errors and dictation result in unusual text.  The dictation feature when faced with an incorrect phoneme tries to process it intelligently.  Therefore it doesn't just write the incorrect phoneme, but often attempts to guess at what the word was supposed to be.  The dictation feature especially has a lot of trouble with r.

The sentences above are supposed to say:  I pulled my red wagon. My alarm rings every morning. Babies suck their thumbs. I like lions.  I dictated with typical speech errors.

Lady A and I have realized that our students at best think we are crazy when we tell them they did not say their sound correctly..at worst they think we are big old nags.  What I have found is the speech game tends to make passive learners out of students.  My constant immediate feedback is a given so they don't even think about their speech until I remind them.  We have started handing them the iPad and tell them to dictate so the iPad gets it right.  They love it. (who doesn't love playing with a piece of technology.)  Now they will try all sorts of things to get the sound right.  Their willingness to say a word over and over again increases tenfold.  Suddenly we are coaches instead of teachers.

We also use dictation with our language kiddos.  We have them dictate and then compare their responses to the correct ones.  We have also had our students videotape themselves and score their productions using a rubric. 

Self monitoring meets the technological age.  I love it!

Technology Tuesday: Dictation on an iPad

Today's technology is not particularly sexy.  However it is a technology I see teachers overlook constantly.  I was sitting in a conference for a student with autism at a school that had gone 1:1 and every student had a 3rd generation iPad.  They were talking about how he cries and melts down when he has to write. (which probably should be a part of the diagnostic criteria for autism because it is a rare ASD student who doesn't)  I asked if they had tried dictation.  They said "Oh you mean use Dragon Dictate?"  In my mind I shouted, "Are you kidding me?  You gave this child an iPad seven months ago and haven't touched any of the accessibility features."  What I said, "Let me show something."  I have learned a little tact over the years.

The Apple folks started including dictation with the 3rd generation of iPads.  It is simple to use.  Start out in the settings to make sure you have it turned on. 

1. Tap Settings on your Home screen.
2. Tap General, then scroll down and tap Keyboard.
3. Tap the Dictation switch to turn it on.

Also, make sure you are connected to the internet.  Open up any app that allows you to write (Evernote, Notability, Notes, Pages)  We use Pages because we are not a Mac school and Pages allows documents to be exported and emailed as Word Documents.   When the keyboard appears, you will see a microphone next to the space bar.

Tap the microphone and start talking.  Tap the microphone again or the space bar to stop recording.  The iPad will start working and you will see purple and pink circles while it processes.  It will then type out what it heard.  You can dictate spaces and punctuation as well, but we find our elementary students are not that good with punctuation with a pencil in had let along telling a machine where it goes.  They go back in and add the punctuation.  Many times they export as a Word document and finish it in the computer lab along side their peers.

Dictation takes work and students are not often successful the first time.  They have to learn to use a slightly slower rate (but not too slow.)  They have to talk clearly, but not exaggerated.  It generally takes a couple of times before they figure it out.  Speech errors also tend to confuse the iPad especially r errors (see Part 2 of this topic to see how Lady A and I used that to our advantage.)

This is why dictation is a must for students with writing deficits. (Bear with me here...it is a length story.) This year I had a fifth grader with autism who has never wanted to write.  In his wonderful tactless way, he would let you know exactly how he felt about writing. Throughout preschool and elementary many a brave soul tried to get over this hurdle with him. (Princess had him when she student taught...but alas she was unsuccessful as well.)  This year he had a wonderful fifth grade teacher.  Princess and I and another teacher wrote an innovation grant and got iPads for our special ed folks.  This fifth grade teacher let no grass grow under her little feet.  She had those iPads smokin' in her classroom.  She taught this student how to dictate which he loved. (although he complained loudly about how he sounded.)  Once she hooked him, she gently let him know that he couldn't always dictate.  He had to write sometimes too.  One day he came to get the iPad and she reminded him he had to do some writing first.  He looked at her and said in a very exasperated voice (which tends to be how he always talks)  "Well I already did that...jeez."  Being the experienced teacher she is, she asked him to show her.  He said, "I did it at home last night."  Then he pulled out ten pages he had written.  She about fell over.  It was a turning point for him.  He started writing and didn't stop.  Sometimes he used the iPad and sometimes he didn't.  He even wrote  puppet shows and performed them for the class.  His classmates were floored they could not believe he had that much inside him.  Lady A and I were on they floor laughing because the theme of the puppet shows was being rude.   We spent the last two years working with him on tone of voice and what you can and can't say to people and he argued with us at every turn.  Then he has an owl saying to a badger "You can't talk that way, it is rude."

We live in a wonderful age when it comes to serving students with special needs.  Technology has given us so many ways to overcome their hurdles.  For some reason are students with special needs are not accessing that technology. (the iPad also has built in text to speech)  It drives me bonkers....I just try to stay calm and say, "Let me show you something!"

Monday Musings: The Big Fresh Newletter

About three years ago, a literacy coach recommended this site Choice Literacy for resources.

It is a wonderful site.  It has a ton of free resources and even more for members.  I never joined the site, but I did subscribe to their weekly newsletter.  Its arrival is the one the highlight of my week.

It starts of with a great editorial and a quote.  I am constantly sending the quote home to my husband who loves them.  Each week has a general theme and they provide a ton of links to some great sites, blogs and resources.  They do book lists, digital resources, and a ton of other great ideas.  I also love how they take on the issues that crop up in the world of literacy education.  They always do a great job of presenting both sides of an issue, by finding real people who are passionate about each side.

I love the newsletter so much that I have a folder in my email account for my Big Fresh newsletters.  You know those weeks when the only email that gets opened are the ones marked urgent (or from your principal.)  The Big Fresh newsletter is one that I don't want to miss.

Check it out, I am sure you will agree.

Friday Fun: Cat in the Hat Rhyming Hats

The one phonemic skill I hate teaching is rhyming.  It just seems the little ones either hear rhymes or they do not.  I feel like I am a talking idiot as I repeat the word pairs over and over trying so hard to emphasize the end of the words.  I get louder and louder.  Pretty soon my head starts bobbing up and down.  I am pretty sure the kids think I am a living breathing bobble head doll!

I decided to develop some rhyming centers that would remove me from the practice.  We did a week of Dr. Seuss so I created a rhyming center with Cat in the Hat.

You can get it to print here.  Just print on cardstock, laminate and cut out.  I used velcro for the stripes.

It is a simple center where the kiddos put the stripes on the correct hat.  I made sure to include words that were visually different.  Those little ones are smart.  They figure out patterns real quick.  I have to work hard to stay one step ahead of them! 

This was a great center.  However, I must warn you.  I got real excited when the second day they just flew through the center.  I was just sure they had mastered rhyming (and of course it was all due to my incredible hats!) Alas, a little probing revealed they memorized where they went.  Rule number one in teaching....vary your stimulus materials. So back to the drawing board for me!

Stay tuned for more rhyming centers.

Thumbnail Thursday

Today's thumbnails are a bit random.  Princess always accuses me of taking a theme too far.  Well, today I am all over the place.  As I was planning this post, I started thinking about sites that tend to be my "go to" sites.  Today's thumbnails are from sites that are chock full of useful ideas, images and resources.

Kizclub Story Props

KizClub is a wonderful site with resources for beginning readers.  They have a whole section of story props for all your favorite picture books.  The free printables come in color and black and white.  I use them for story retelling activities and whenever I am making centers with a theme.

Florida Reading Research Center Student Activities

If you only visit one website this year, you need to go here.  FRRC has developed literacy activities by grade level for each of the five pillars of reading.  They didn't just create one or two per pillar or per grade level.  They have pages and pages of activities for each element at each grade level.  Each activity has an instruction page as well as all the printables you need.  They are great for centers.  Print, laminate and get those wonderful mom volunteers to start cutting.

 Technology Integration Matrix

This year I was in charge in a special ed innovation grant involving iPad technology.  What I found out was that our teachers really did not have a lot of ideas for their use beyond drill and practice apps.  Princess piloted 1:1 with iPads in her classroom for a portion of the day.  She was determined to integrate the tablets rather than just use apps for drill and kill.  Both of us did a huge amount of research.  This site has an interactive matrix that identifies the levels of true integration.  It has great resources, suggestions and tools for each level and activity.

Random....maybe.  Useful....definitely.

Word Wednesday - Affixes and Roots Bingo

Remember this vintage Bingo game Princess found in an antique store?

She knew she wanted it in her classroom.  However she did not want it relegated to a party game.  She had read that students who know and understand root words and their prefixes and suffixes did significantly better in not only standardized test skills, but also overall reading skills.  She asked me to create a bingo game for word study.  We came up with this.  This is not your grandmother's bingo!

Each day her class would take some time to spin the cage and get one or two bingo balls.  They would then mark off the square they drew and discuss the affix or root.  She was pleasantly surprised how much fun her class had trying to come up with words that had the prefix, suffix or root.  They often even referred to it if a word came up during the day.  She said it was very interesting to watch them try to figure out the meanings of the affixes by listening to words in which they occurred.

We decided to make two boards.  Here is the grades 3 through 5 board and the kindergarten through grade 3 board.  You can download and print theme here and here.

Here is the breakdown of affixes and roots by grade level that we used to help create the boards.  Because this was an enrichment activity, we included several grades on a board.

Princess rewarded her class with an extra few minutes of recess or a favorite game when they completed a Bingo.  However, she said they really enjoyed the bingo game more than the reward. 

Technology Tuesday - QR Codes

Today's technology is the easiest way to jump into technology in your classroom and your kids will love it.  All you need is some device that will scan (ipad, ipod, smart phone etc) and regular computer and a printer.  Basically you are going to create a marker (or QR code ) that when scanned will either take your kids to a website, a video or will show them text or an image.

The first thing you do is download a QR scanner on your device.  There are many choices for a scanner.  We use this free app and you can get it here.  Then you go to a computer attached to a printer and create your code.  Princess and I like QR Stuff because it gives tons of choices of what your QR code is linking to and it gives a shortened URL all in one step.  Create your code and print it.  Put where you want to your kids to scan and watch them become enthralled.

There are a ton of uses.  Princess had her class use them on their Young Author's Books.

After they wrote and illustrated their books, she had them record themselves reading the book at Vocaroo.   This site stores the recording online at its own web address.  She created a QR code that linked to the recording.  The codes were placed inside the covers of the students' books.  When the code was scanned, a recording of the book was started and a person could follow along as the author read the book.

In the speech room we use them to make our centers independent.  Lady A created codes for each one of our verb photo cards for past tense practice.

 

She created a QR code for each card that answered the question: What happened in the picture?  Because we have nonreaders, we needed our QR codes to talk.  She used QR Voice which lets you type 100 characters to create a talking QR code.

 

Scan the above to see what I mean 

There are so many uses for codes.  Here are a few:

Class Website Direction: Create a code that that when scanned opens up your classroom website. Place the code at the bottom of your class newsletters.

Safe Navigation: Instead of your students typing in a web address, have them scan a code that takes them directly where you want them.

Answer Key: Code your answers and have students self-check their answers.

Announcements: Record announcements and have students scan them to hear them. Keep an ongoing interactive bulletin board.

Real World Application: Create a scavenger hunt throughout the school that demonstrates concepts in everyday use.When the student scans the code, the concept explanation/definition would show.

Create a Class Tree:  For back to school night, create a tree that has QR codes as leaves. Parents can scan the codes to learn about the various aspects of your class. Better yet, have each student do a video introducing themselves and create a code for each student.

Differentiating Instruction: Use codes to direct students to different resources that are based on their levels.

Word Wall:  Create a video, an audio recording or a text definition of the words on your word wall. Create a code for each word and students can scan to get more information about the word.

There are many, many more uses.  Check this handout that gives the how-tos and tons of ideas for uses.

Princess says her kids loved QR codes.  They felt like scientists in the future.  Our speech kids were definitely more engaged.  They tend to whip through centers as if there was some great prize for getting finished first (even though I just tell them to do it again!)  With the codes they got a real kick out of checking their answers.

Happy coding!