Teaching Happily Ever After

How to use Google Forms + Giving Surveys in the Classroom

2012-02-16T22:02:00.004-06:00

Hey all, I need your help!

I want my kids to be able to create a quick survey, and then walk around with the iPad to get responses from their peers. From there, I want to be able to see a chart of the results. I can't find ANYTHING that does this on a mobile device. Help!

Today we graphed the total number of colored conversation hearts. Each student completed their own graph. Next, we combined the results in an online Google form that I created. We used the iPads and computers to enter in our data.

*That is my personal Macbook Pro, not the school's.

After all the data was put together, we viewed our results and talked about them.

Why TPT is great

2012-02-15T17:01:00.003-06:00

I discovered something a few months ago that has changed my teaching! Our school can do Purchase Orders to Teachers Pay Teachers, which is pretty amazing.

It basically means I'm not sitting at my computer while my husband gives me raised eyebrows about why I have out the credit card!

Lately, I've been loving two units in particular:

Let's Get Poppin' With Adjectives

By Babbling Abby

Cost: $4.50

My kids were not "getting" adjectives. They did after this unit! Our PTO even has a Popcorn cart which increased our fun! :)

Just for the record, our popcorn wasn't burnt. But hey, it fits!

Smells yummy! :)

We "buttered" our adjectives with a highlighter in our writing piece. Bonus: The popcorn box pattern is adorable and can be used for many things! We have some up as AR incentives. Each kid has their own box (cover up "adjectives" and add names there) & for every AR point they can add a piece of popcorn.

*All products copyright Abby Mullins*

America Math & Literacy Fun

By: Deanna Jump

Cost: $8.50

First of all, let me say that I am a big fan of Deanna's. Her units are always good, but I was really blown away by this one!

Sample thumbnail from TPT

I LOVE her graphic organizers. These are so versatile and helpful for the kids. We made a book of all the U.S. symbols from this.

Sample thumbnail from TPT

This penny experiment was amazing! The kids had a great time doing it, and I think it summed up everything I was teaching that week! It was perfect because we had been learning about: math- coins; reading- sequence; social studies- U.S. symbols

Here are some of our class products:

I LOVE that I can laminate all the headings and have them ready to go for next year!

The directed drawing activity + Venn

*All products copyright Deanna Jump*

What are your favorite TPT items?

Valentine's Day LINK PARTY + Card Idea

2012-02-13T16:22:00.008-06:00

I wanted to do a special Valentine for my class. I found this adorable idea on Pinterest, so I had to create my own! I purchased the lanyard glow stick necklaces for less than $10 at Walmart. They come 8 to a pack- $3 each pack in the party favor section. They also have cheaper options- you could just do a glow bracelet for each kid to make the cost go down.

Here is one you can print if you want to make your own:

***Update: I found the original! This activity came from The Teacher Wife. She has a GREAT printable version that is wonderful & you can check out her original post you make my ♥ GLOW! {v-day freebie} here!

The Teacher Wife Super Cute Original Version:

Another Version:

Check out these adorable arrows! This one is the same concept from Disney's Family Fun (LOVE this site/magazine!). Check it out here.

If you are broke this holiday you could always write your own Valentine messages. Check out last year's post on how to make your Valentine's extra special.

We also are creating Valentine Card Scrapbooks. We are studying adjectives for size & color this week, so I modified this document. The students will pick out one valentine card, glue it to the page and write the adjective & sentence that goes with it. The scrapbook idea came from somewhere else- I did a regular scrapbook last year, but I added the adjectives/sentence part to make it more academic this year. If you are the original creator of the V-day scrapbook, let me know and I'll add credit here & a link back to you! Click here to get your copy of the adjective version.

What's your favorite Valentine's Activity? Link up! Or, link your V-day Pinterest Board!

The Dot: Student Art Show

2012-02-10T16:00:00.003-06:00

Are you using Reading Street as your series?

Be sure to check out my detailed post from last year on The Dot & hosting a student art show. This year we are doing it a little differently. It has been a great success in the past, so this year all seven of my first grade teammates decided to get onboard. We are not having parents attend, but students from the entire first grade will create art masterpieces to display in our classrooms. We are going to parade from room to room on Friday afternoon and view all of the art collections.

Click here to get your parent letter about the art show.

Blogger Meet Up!

2012-02-05T21:49:00.006-06:00

All the ladies! What a great time. I didn't get to meet everyone that I wanted to. There were so many people there- 39 in all! I'd love any more pictures- especially from our table. Email me: ashly2499@gmail.com if you have any!

It was so fun swapping stories and sharing ideas. I loved hearing about how we each had different situations and challenges. There is a camaraderie between all educators, but I think the blogging world has an extra special bond. :)

Stop.The.World. You know I'm *12 kinds of excited* because this is Babbling Abby. In person! :)

Michelle from Fabulous In First

The Queen of the First Grade Jungle!!! Too cool.

There were some people that slipped away before I got a chance to grab more pics. :(

Sidenote: This was the AH-MAZING hotel my husband got for us! Best weekend ever. We have a PTO meeting on Valentine's Day (yea, seriously.) so hubby and I made a weekend of it. We stayed at The Brown in Louisville which was crazy nice. Not something we could normally afford on an educator's salary, but get this- we had to sell these fundraiser coupon books at school. Well, they were all local coupons except for the very last page- it was a buy one night get a night free at The Brown. Club Level. :)

Groundhog Day Classroom Activities

2012-02-02T18:48:00.004-06:00

Today we went outside for Groundhog Day. We partnered up and traced our partner's shadow with a piece of sidewalk chalk. Next, we measured our shadows in non-standard units (groundhogs) and created a graphic organizer together to show what we learned this fun holiday!

If you don't have Cara Carroll's Groundhog Unit, you can snag it right now while it's on sale! We used her graphic organizers and Groundhog pattern for our measurement activity. I laminated the ground hogs and glued them to popsicle sticks to make them a little more fristie friendly for this activity.

Online Countdown Clock & Using Youtube In The Classroom

2012-01-31T19:18:00.000-06:00

Check out this amazing countdown clock that you can project on your board! It comes from online-stopwatch.com.

There are lots of different versions including a candle, rocket, dynamite, and an egg timer. You can even customize your own version here, which includes choosing the sound, duration of the noise and visual. They have an entire classroom page!

I'm planning on setting mine during centers to show we have 40 minutes to the students how much time we have to get all of our work done.

YouTube

YouTube can be a valuable teaching resource. Did you know there are lot of educators who create free content that you can use in your classroom?

Getting Around Filters

Have you ever found a really great resource on Youtube, only to discover that it is blocked by your school filters? Try Keep Vid.com to watch individual YouTube videos. You will need to have the URL of the video on your computer & then it will download and save only the video file so it will be accessible even when you don't have internet. Also, I use my iPhone hooked up to speakers to play songs from Youtube. You will need to have your Wifi turned off in settings.

Teacher Tipster YouTube Page

Teacher Tipster Website

Harry Kindergarten

Check out our class video:

What are your favorite educational YouTube videos?

Great Online Computer Games For K-2

2012-01-28T13:21:00.009-06:00

Looking for free educational games for your elementary students to use during center rotations?

Here is a list of games I use with my students. Set a Sqworl as your homepage or create an icon the students can view from the desktop for easy access.

BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. have amazing FREE online games. The BrainPOP games are designed for older students, but some could be adapted for 1-2 grades. An example is the Battleship Numberline game, which can be set to use only whole numbers! Plus, Moby the robot (BrainPOP mascot) is amazing. The students LOVE him!

Reading Games:

Science and Social Studies Games:
Math Games:
Jet Ski Racing & More Class Favorites
Math Arcade
Math Video Games Online
Math Baseball
Brain Nook
Kidport Games
Math Car Racing
Harcourt Math Games
A+ Math
Cool Math 4 Kids
Virtual Manipulatives
PBS Kids
What are YOUR favorite computer games?

Shaving Cream 3d snowmen

2012-01-27T20:52:00.003-06:00

For this lesson, we read "The Biggest, Best Snowman" and then created our own.

Shaving cream + glue= an afternoon of giggles and fun. Abby posted about this over at The Inspired Apple, and I knew we had to try it! She recommended to mix more shaving cream than glue- no exact formula. :) It worked out well.

I also have random art supplies like red buttons, small black pom-pom balls, and foam colored shapes.

I will probably pull in some type of writing activity to attach to the bottom of this- if you have any ideas feel free to leave them in the comments!

We've already down the steps to building a snowman on a different graphic organizer.

Visuals, I can statements, & Bloom's Taxonomy

2012-01-26T20:04:00.005-06:00

This year we have been
undergoing a very stressful evaluation process with a strict new format. The great part is that it has really forced all of the teachers to focus on the important things and get our acts together! I will have 5 formal evaluations this year under the new system.

Here are the details of the poster:

Use Visuals- State objectives. Relate past learning. Relate to real life.
Incorporate Literature- When possible read an interactive story with lesson.
Interactive Activity- Create & demonstrate
Cooperative Learning- Group work to discover and learn
Leveled Assessment- Ability leveled data connection
Writing Connection- Math & Writing Journals
Technology Focus- Make lessons more meaningful
Use Manipulatives- Independent Practice
What will we learn?*/At the end, we will know...

This is just a jump start for the lesson. Basically, you go over how you will be doing those things in that specific lesson. So, you talk about whatever visual you will use, what book you will read, et cetera. I actually plan on starting with the "What will we learn?" and the "I can" statements (the objectives in kid-friendly terms). Then you follow the chart to briefly discuss what you will be doing for that lesson. After you teach the lesson, you reference the board again for the "At the end, we will know..." I have this one on a lift-up flap on the dark blue shell.

I have the colored levels of Bloom's Taxonomy on the board. Mrs. Saylor has these amazing questions already typed up and read for you to print and use! Print them on the corresponding colored card stock, laminate and put them on a binder ring. Thanks for sharing, Mrs. Saylor!

*Picture from Mrs. Saylor's Blog

Screencasting: How to use the Pearson Successnet Website

2012-01-24T15:22:00.004-06:00

Step-by-step details for how to navigate the Scott Foresman Reading Street & Envision Math Successnet website for parents or teachers:

Create your own screencasts:

This video was created using Jing, a simple FREE screen casting tool. I upgraded to the Pro version for $14 a year to enable .mp4 files and direct uploads to screencast.com

If you have never tried it, I highly recommend downloading Jing! Play with this fun simulation to see if Jing is for you:

Mac Jing Simulation

Windows Jing Simulation

*Basically this is a hands-on tutorial without having to download anything, except it is really fun to play with!

If you want to use this video or see my upcoming creations, check out my Screencast Page.

You could use screencast to show students exactly what to do on a computer (like a webquest), or leave them for a sub, or create them for parents, or faculty! What do you do with Screencasting?

Podcasting in the classroom: Audio Boo

2012-01-23T17:35:00.004-06:00

Today we created our very first podcasts! It was an exciting time in Room 1. It was the 100th day of school, so students brought in a bottle of 100 things. Next, they hid their bottles in paper bags and wrote three clues to describe them. I used the FREE app AudioBoo to record their clues and took a picture of each kiddo with their bottle. If you don't have an ipad/ipod/phone that you can download apps on, not to worry! If you have a computer with a microphone, you can use their website.

On the right are screenshots of AudioBoo. It's so easy to do! Just hit the red "record" button. Next, it takes you to the second screen where you can add a picture and name your "boo" aka podcast. Make sure to turn off the location part under settings- the first time I published it was including the address of the school! Also, make sure you have some sort of form from the parents that says you can publish their kid's picture/work on the internet. I just keep referenced the ones from the county from the start of the school year.

Listen to our 100th day Podcasts

This week I plan on creating digital stories from our Penguin Books we have been working on all month. I am going to use the app StoryRobe ($0.99) to have the students take a picture of their work and read it. Then we can upload the link to the class website to share with friends and family. This also will allow me to create an on-going digital portfolio of work.

Screen Chomp is another great app for podcasting/demonstrating student work- and it's free! A slight limitation is that I can only find how to use one background per session. I plan on using this app to have students demonstrate concepts, like how to solve a subtraction problem. This is great learning and can serve as a future reference for my upcoming classes. If you are going for more of a movie, you can also use iMovie for the iPad.

Our 100th Day Bottles

100 day hats from a kindergartener

Chinese New Year (in a retired teacher's classroom who is working as an interim. She's AH-MAZING!)

There she is in yellow! :)

Check this guy out!!!! Apparently he was a yard sale find. Too cute!

How are you using technology in the classroom?

Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-21T18:40:00.002-06:00

Be sure to check out my archived post on Chinese New Year Ideas here!
The Year of the Dragon begins Monday!

Blubber experiment

2012-01-20T21:50:00.002-06:00

Blubber Experiment on PhotoPeach

2012-01-20T18:15:00.001-06:00

I'll post details later :)

Awards and Google Reader Question

2012-01-19T19:45:00.014-06:00

Hey all! Thank you very much for the nomination! Sorry I haven't been as active the last few months. You guys are very amazing readers!

Ok, here's my question: My pictures aren't showing up on Google Reader! Is anyone else having this problem?! Help please!

Alex, Miss Russell, Mrs. Unger also recently commented about how they passed the versatile blogger award to me. You guys are very sweet! Thanks for the comments.

Place value name snowmen

2012-01-18T19:04:00.004-06:00

So I'm loving the Comparing Snowmen as the backdrop to the igloo :)

I sent my husband to the store to pick up all this crazy stuff. He refers to it as my 'unholy science experiment'. I call it engaged classroom fun! Projects include: Marshmallow Place Value (toothpicks, marshmallows, cereal) <did this today and they loved it!!!!!>, Blubber experiment (shortening, petroleum jelly) & 3D snowmen (Shaving cream + glue)

So I had an unannounced pop-in evaluation today. And we were right in the middle of putting this beauty together. They kids were EVERYWHERE around the room with some amazing cooperative learning. It was pretty much rockin'. Then my sweet angels went on to ask amazing questions and had excellent small group discussions. <3 Then we did reading groups. Not bad for a random 1 hour pop-in (dontcha love those?) This idea is found on many blogs, but I particularly liked the post from Marvelous Multiagers.

Marshmallow place value idea from Babbling Abby AMAZINGNESS! This really helped me get through our math lesson today. We just adopted Envision math this year, and chapter 11... dear me I thought I would cry. This helped a TON with the start of chapter 12. Anyone else using Envision? I could use some help with extra resources/ideas!

Place Value Lesson Ideas

Crayon Bits has a really neat idea about comparing numbers by using two cups of colored water. Talk about greater than, equal to, and less than using the amounts in the two cups.

Crazy for First Grade has an amazing guest post than has a ton of resources for place value! Definitely check this blog out- lots of great free printables!

My principal wasn't a big fan of The Daily 5 :((((( And so now this is my new rotation chart. This is off of Debbie Diller's stuff.

Let it snow let it snow let it snow. Igloo side shot! :)

New special ed chart to help out my austistic kiddo gauge his emotion. This also gives us strategies and a way to talk him down when he starts to get upset.

How's your week been going? I'm so excited about the upcoming blogger meet-up with Abby and Michelle!

January fun and 100th Day!

2012-01-13T15:36:00.005-06:00

My grandmother came up to visit my classroom and check out our Igloo! :)

We have been studying Polar Animals! Check out "Penguin Penguins" app with streaming webcams of real penguins. The kids love the underwater view! You can also check out the penguin cams live on the web here.

We saw the first snow day of the year on Thursday. I froze black construction paper and cut it into squares. Take the kids and the paper outside and you can catch snow flakes without them melting! Great for upclose observations. Check out the book Snowflake Bentley about the first man to photograph snow. Here is his website with lots of great resources.

100th day is coming up soon

Rachelle over at What The Teacher Wants has a really great free packet if you are looking for activities

Teaching Blog Addict has a great link party with 100 day ideas...

Along with a 100th Day Pinterest board link up!

You can also check out my 100th Day: Meet Granny Cross post from last year

The Mitten
Check out these great posts and freebies for the amazing Jan Brett book "The Mitten"
First Grade Parade's Mitten Post
Teacher Bits and Bob's Mitten Post

Great Winter Themed Activities and Ideas!
Chalk Talk Winter Posts
Mrs. Kilburn's Kiddos

Blogger Meet-up
I'm in! Anyone else going to Babblin' Abby & Michelle from Fabulous in First's amazing meet up in Cincinnati? I'm *12kindsofexcited*! :)

More Christmas in the classroom

2011-12-20T22:01:00.001-06:00

Holiday Classroom Ideas- free and cheap crafts!

2011-12-15T22:40:00.000-06:00

Here is a post in pictures about what we have been up to lately!

Snowman Family Handprint Ornaments

How to create a snowman family handprint ornament:

Get solid color balls
Paint the student's hand white
Help them wrap their hand around the bottom of the ball
Allow time for paint to dry
Go back with sharpies/paint pens and add snowman details

Reindeer Thumbprint Ornaments

Next is the reindeer thumbprint ornaments. Don't judge my reindeer. He's a trial run. ;)

Materials needed: Mason Jar Lids, Ribbon, Paint, Hot Glue, Red Glitter

Walmart has these amazing Better Homes and Gardens Mason Jar Lids that are white with the gingham red pattern. Love it!!!! That's the backside of the ornament.

Disney Family Fun has a Reindeer Card that shows a better way to add the reindeer details. Check it out here.

Picture Frame Ornament

Oriental trading has these pre-made.... but I don't have a ton of money. I do, however, have time, paint, and lots of popsicle sticks. I took pictures of each kid with a santa hat on and these will be the frames.

Christmas Placemats

Placemats for Santa's Cookies and Milk. Not sure where this one came from. You could make your own with any Christmas clipart.

Not sure why this one is upside down... or why it is a gingerbread mermaid. ;) I <3 firsties.

Peppermint Ornament

Oriental trading craft

Stained Glass Window Decorations

My personal favorite :)

This idea came from the monthly Teacher's Idea Book: December

Basically you just cut a hole in construction paper, laminate it, and put it over a Christmas picture. Trace and color with a sharpie and voila! Note: Sharpies are used in small group setting with close adult supervision :)

We really enjoyed comparing Gingerbread stories with DeAnna Jump's great unit!

This is something new: Bloom's Taxonomy Chart. On each level, I have post-it notes with question stems. You could have a blank chart and add questions during the lesson.

Our tiny igloo

From the back side

The gingerbread baby ran away again! He left us some maps of the school with riddles. We tracked him down and he left us Gingerbread treats (Little Debbie- $1.50 a box, 8 in a box)

Then we graphed which part we bit off first (from DeAnna Jump's unit)

We made stained glass decorations

Wrote letters to Santa

Sorry I've been MIA this school year. I've been busy using all of ya'lls amazing ideas! :) I'll try to post more this upcoming year.

What are your favorite Christmas ideas? Link up!

Reflections from Tennessee Education Technology Conference

2011-11-30T22:20:00.003-06:00

Today I presented and attended TETC 2011. I wanted to share what I learned today!

The best session that I attended (by far!) was a session on Educational Apps. You can visit the fantastic Live Binder resource that the presenters put together for the session. It was also great because there was an atmosphere of collaboration in the room. Here are some new apps that I learned about today (in addition to the live binder!):

Prezi Viewer App
AudioNote- Documents time and records audio while you are taking notes (great for administrators!)
Forms
Sample Lessons
Toontastic
Comic Strip
TouchMouse- Free wireless controls
Printopia- software, for $20 you can print from all mobile devices
Beyond Planet Earth Augmented Reality
Bluster
TagDisk HD (free)
box.net (free)
Idea Flight (free)
Karaoke HD (free)
Picture Link (free)
Map Projector ($1.99)
Note to self: I need a VGA cable to connect my iPad to the computer

Websites:

Sidenote:
If you are new to my blog, check out some of my past technology posts:
Ipad Apps for the Classroom
An Educator's Guide to Augmented Reality
QR codes for Education
Tweet Tweet! Why you need Twitter

I wish I would have spent more time on Twitter. The hashtag is #TETC11 if you want to check out what everyone is discovering this week.

I presented a session on MovieMaking. It wasn't nearly as good as the one I did the summer using Jaycut (RIP) but it was a much shorter session. However, I tried to showcase more technology in the process. You can see a link here which I will probably convert to a LiveBinder soon. Overall I think it went pretty well, and I received lots of positive feedback. *If you attended my session and you are reading this, I would love to hear from you!

Image Source: Iwantthisinmyclass

So.... I may have sat through like 3 sales pitches trying to win a Mobi Interwrite. Those things are sooo cool. Doug Eaton was the sales rep, and he really did a great job explaining all the features. They gave away 7 Mobis and a class set of Clickers today. I know I can use the iPad to write on the board, but it's not a fine point of the pen like the Mobi has. I LOVE how the Mobi view shows the clicker responses on the pad! The Mobi is $450 and the clickers are $2,500. Back to grant writing for me!

Free Swag

I did come out of the convention with a nifty set of fuzzy dice (courtesy of Proven Learning) that I can't wait to put in my math centers! They had a really fun Plunk-o game to get a prize.
I also got a shirt (thanks Education Networks of America), visor (PCS), bags, charger...

You know my favorite station? Learn360 had a set up where you could talk to a rep for a few minutes and get a ticket. You could redeem your ticket at their Cafe! It was such a neat idea, and I really enjoyed my Mocha Nut Latte! :) Thanks Learn360!

Other not so great things...

The first session I went to let out 30 minutes early and I didn't pick up a single new thing. I don't mean to sound like negative Nancy here, but I had really built this up in my mind. I went to a session put on by Kathleen Richardson this summer, and I literally came out with a list of probably 200 new technology things that I had never heard of! I want that again. :)

Last Session- The lady probably had 100 slides on an ancient looking Powerpoint presentation.... And none of it was about technology at all! I felt like I was in a college methods class. She had a handout with some websites and that was about the extent of the technology. The focus of the class was completely different than the program. We watched several video clips, including 10 minutes from Freedom Writers that had nothing to do with technology in the classroom.

Final thing- No meeting Mobi the robot at the BrainPop Booth. :( I really wanted a picture with him to show my kiddos.

Today really made me want to present/attend a national tech conference (hellooooo ISTE!). I also really want to work at developing my PLN via Twitter, because I was flying solo today. I learned a lot that I can do to make my future presentations better. I look forward following the remainder of the conference on Twitter because I will be back at work tomorrow!

Overall great time and I will definitely be back (the full time) next year! :)

TETC Wiki

Links for TETC Movie Making Session

2011-11-27T14:42:00.023-06:00

Video Creation Glog
Click here to try out Jing screen capture program

The Kindergarten Tree Video

Mix 'Em Up Fractions Show

Visualizing Movie

Click here to download the sample bluescreen movie

 <TransitionsAndEffects Version="1.0"> <Transitions> <TransitionDLL guid="{C5B19592-145E-11D3-9F04-006008039E37}" > <Transition name="Greenscreen" iconid="12" comment="Makes first clip show through blue areas of second clip"> <Param name="KeyType" value="1"/> <Param name="Similarity" value="100"/> <Param name="Progress" value="0.0"/> </Transition> </TransitionDLL> </Transitions> </TransitionsAndEffects>

Copy it, and paste it into notepad. Click File>Save As, and navigate to C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\AddOnTFX. (If you don't already have an AddOnTFX folder, right click then New>Folder.) In the drop-down "File type" box, select "All types". Save the file as "greenscreen.xml" Source-windowsmoviemakers.net/forums

Prezi Presentation

Publishing:

Post it on your class website
Post it on TeacherTube.
Post it on iTuneU.
Post it through Jing (a screen capture program).

Resource Sites:
Pinnacle Tutorials and Resources
Free Music, Photos and Clips
Rubrics for Video Production
Stop Motion Animation

Podcasting Tutorial 2
Step by step: Greenscreen in Movie Maker
FreeTech4Teacher's Making Videos Guide
Beth Newingham Moving Making/Teacher Guru
Ways to make movies without a camera
All Scholastic Movie Making Blog Posts

Other Resources (Source: Angela Buyni)

· Recording Desktop Activity

o CamStudio http://camstudio.org/

· Recording Audio Only

o Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

· Editing Video

o Windows Movie Maker http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.msp

· Creating RSS feed for uploading to iTunes

o ListGarden Feed Generator http://www.softwaregarden.com/products/listgarden/

· Converting from wmv to mp4

o AnyVideoConverter http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/

· Listening to Podcast

o iTunes http://www.itunes.com

· Converting files for iPod

o QuickTime Pro ($29.99) http://www.quicktime.com

Best news ever!

2011-11-15T14:58:00.000-06:00

So want to hear my crazy exciting news?!
Our school is setting up a P.O. with Teachers Pay Teachers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhh! I'm so happy! I'm pretty much going to dedicate my entire school budget to this, minus the cost of a few ink cartridges :)

What is your favorite thing from TPT? Do you have a store? Leave some love and who knows, I may come buy your entire store! :) Right in time for the holidays! Woohoo!

Turkey art activity & Dolch Rainbow Rings

2011-11-09T22:59:00.000-06:00

Ok, a few pics for ya'll:

Everyday we sing this in a circle with our arms linked. <3 Dr. Jean!

"Watercolor" turkeys... give each kiddo a coffee filter and let them color it with washable markers. Dip in a glass of water and set out to dry. Ta-da! I think you may want to leave the full coffee filter.... mine came out slightly peacock-ish. NBC, anyone? :)

Also, I'm starting "Rainbow Rings" with the Dolch site words. You can find primer, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade dolch lists in flashcard format here. Run each page off on a different color. When a student masters that set, they get to add the entire color to their ring (shower curtain ring- the large ones!). It becomes a status symbol when they can add to their rainbow. :) Pics to come.

Halloween Addition Doubles Book/Movie Activity

2011-10-29T11:53:00.000-05:00

Last year there was a great post by What The Teacher Wants. They posted a doubles rhyming book that is amazing! I used it with my class this year and had a great time. We used gestures (Whole Brain Teaching) to create a movie about each doubles fact.

Awesome doubles rhyming book for Halloween

Orginal post by Rachelle over at What The Teacher Wants with the link in it

Check out our Double 4 clip:

Want to learn more about Movie Making in your classroom? Check out some of my older posts here and here on green screen/Chroma Key.

You can also hear me present live at the upcoming Tennessee Educational Technology Conference in Nashville November 30 - December 2, 2011.

Sorry I've been MIA from the blogosphere for so long. Our new evaluation system has me working overtime (to the benefit of my classroom and students) and I'm still trying to work out my schedule. I haven't implemented writer's workshop yet and my word work/literacy activities need a serious upgrade. All of that coupled with the passing of my step-mother has left me playing catch-up. I'll try to be on here more in November. :)

RIP

2011-10-13T23:50:00.000-05:00

My stepmother Barbara passed away this week. She was a wonderful Christian woman and she will be dearly missed. Please pray for my father (it's his birthday too) and family this week.

Owl & Bat Nocturnal Animals Ceiling Decoration

2011-10-01T18:07:00.001-05:00

Handprint wings :)

Haha my favorite! I think it is supposed to be a scary bat, but I think it kinda looks like a lady bat... too cute.

Ok, now here's the bad news... I don't have a pattern. I got it from one of the veteran teachers and I have no idea where they got it from. But, I have a plan! To make your own, find a clipart image of an owl. Print and cut out the large sections onto a manilla file folder to make a pattern- then cut out the individual pieces for your kiddos. It takes a little while to cut out, but I think the results are so worth it! Also, use colored hole punch protectors to add some colors to the eyes. And googly eyes are a must. :)

Also, the bat pattern is very simple- just the body! The students trace their hands (twice) on 1/2 a sheet of black paper for the wings. The moon is just a 10" circle from the die cut. Owl on one side, bat on the other. Looks great from the ceiling!

What do you do for fall decorations?

Science Websites & Videos

2011-09-27T20:05:00.000-05:00

BrainPop Jr.- hands down the best animation for EVERYTHING! If you don't have a subscription yet, you need one. So do I actually... mine is out :(

Scholastic Study Jams- Scholastic's free version. They have really cool karaoke vidoes

Science NetLinks- Free hands-on science lessons & activities

History of Laundry- Ok, I know you are "thinking what in the world?!" but this is a really neat site with videos from Proctor and Gamble. It really does a great job of tracing history (hello social studies standards- long ago vs. modern times!) Great inventions highlighted as well.

Science Books

2011-09-27T19:26:00.001-05:00

Science Books:Actual Size by Steve JenkinsThis book is so interesting! It has illustrations of animals at their... actual size! We used this book in math as well. We took paperclips, pipecleaners, counters, etc and measured the hand on the gorilla page.And look what adorable idea I got from Pinterest and had to recreate:

This is the actual size of a gorilla hand compared to one of my little sweeties!

Snowflake Bentley is a really unique book that tells all about snowflakes and is also a great view into the life of a scientist.

Fun Science Apps:

Bobo Explores Light
Starwalk
Magic School Bus: Oceans
Ansel and Claire's Africa Adventure
Pocket Penguins
Zoo Borns
exZOOberance
Geo Walk

Educational Apps for the Classroom

2011-09-26T21:15:00.001-05:00

So what do students do on the ipad/ipod in the classroom?

Here are a few of the student favorites:

Toy Story (Disney Digital Books)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Monster At The End Of This Book (Sesame Street)

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Pop-Out Book

The Magic School Bus: Oceans

Bobo explores light

Skywalk

Ansel's Africa

I've told parents about the technology we use and encourage them to send in cheap itunes giftcards. This has been a great success in my classroom!

Want to pick out which app we get next? Click here to see our wishlist!

Looking for free educational apps to use at home? Check out this post for my full list.

What apps do you use?

Giveaway Winner

2011-09-24T18:25:00.002-05:00

Teaching Blog Expo Question and Answer

2011-09-17T10:00:00.003-05:00

Post about this giveaway on your own blog & leave a comment for an extra entry!

Hello friends!

Today is the big day- the Teaching Blog Expo is here!

Welcome to the question and answer post from my presentation: Blogging Parties and Prizes!!!

After viewing the presentation, please list any questions that you have.

In the meantime, how about a giveaway? :)

These wonderful ladies have donated products for one grand prize winner!

Johnny Appleseed/Apple Mini-Unit. The unit contains math, science, and reading activities with a Johnny Appleseed/Apple theme. Included are graphs, games, a glyph, an original poem and song, and more!

Letter-Sound Awareness Pack

Color by Number Bundle (pre-primer-1st Grade)

Playdough Word Work Pack

Memory Book

Pattern Block Site Word Pack
To enter, just leave a comment and make sure your blog or email is listed! *Anyone can enter :)
What topics do you think would make a great linky party?What's your favorite linky tool?
I would love to hear any questions you have about link parties or giveaways.The giveaway will close on Friday, September 23rd at 5:00 p.m. Central Time.

What's your most prized school items?

2011-09-16T19:00:00.001-05:00

I found out today we might have some extra money coming from a PTO fundraiser. Woohoo! Now my dilemma is purchasing meaningful, classroom changin' products.

At the start of the year I shelled out some major moolah out of my own pocket and purchased:

A Wireless Printer (helloooo blogging ideas!)
2 color ink cartridges and 2 black ones (I could use some more already...)
Book Bins for the kiddos
Book Baskets for my classroom library
iHome Dock (result of me selling my graduate school books back to Amazon...)
Otterbox ipad case (which makes the ipad not fit in the above-mentioned ipad dock. thankyouverymuch)

Other classroom rockin' products that <3:

The Daily Five
The Cafe Book
Words Their Way
Lucy Calkin's Units of Study for Primary Grades
All the recommended mentor texts from Units of Study
Math books- I would guess that I have over 100 math books in our class library
A document camera- iPevo $70 on Amazon
Ipad
My iphone (yep, I put it in the hands of the kiddos)

I would love to have:

Audio CDs and Books for the CD player
More organizational stuff... like to keep our weekly leveled books in
An interactive whiteboard (ha!) or Mimeo
A cutting machine
A closet makeover (my closet is about 1/4 the size of everyone else's on the hall. Stupid AC unit or whatever the heck is back there taking up all my closet space!)
More fun teaching tools

So, what do you recommend that I get? What are your favorite classroom items?

Also- what are your students' favorite apps? Anything I need to get?

Positive Perspective

2011-09-14T08:00:00.009-05:00

The moral in my county is low- 90 layoffs from budget cuts. The moral at my school is low- we have a new very strict evaluation system that everyone is doing poorly on. As we face a trying time in modern education, Rowdy in First asked everyone to post something positive today.
So here's to the new and exciting things going on in my world:

First off, my diploma arrived today! It's good to see it in writing!

Friday we made homemade apple sauce in class. Ohmyword ya'll... it's the coolest thing ever. I had a blast, the kiddos LOVED it and it was a great learning experience. To do it, get one of these super amazing apple corer/peeler/slicer machines. Have the kids crank 20 apples through the machine, dump them in a crockpot, add some brown sugar and cinnamon and wait a few hours! Voila! Homemade applesauce! Have some volunteers helping out this day. :)

Ok, this is a biggie:

I have been doing all the parts of the daily five, but I had a center management board drawn on my board. Today the students picked their own rotations and buddies for the first time. They were SO EXCITED and SO well-behaved and on-task today! I've got to be honest... I've been very anxious about putting that last major component in with my group this year. They wowed me today.

LikeComment

Tag Photo

My adorable little sister went through sorority recruitment this week. I had a great time ~~reliving my college days vicariously~~ talking with her every night. I'm an ADPi, and she pledged Chi-O. I'm ok with that- I always liked Chi-O girls. Glad she is settling into college and made it happily through recruitment.

I feel like my class is really getting into a groove. They walk down the hallway quietly in a line. We have class bathroom breaks down to an art. I see them using amazing "math talk" during rotations and their buddy reading is awesome. It's not perfect, and we can definitely have our days, but I'm lovin' my little guys. And that's what it's all about. (you know, and the hokey pokey.)

ps AND TEACHING BLOG EXPO is THIS WEEKEND!!!!! Did you know that over $90,000 worth of digital goodies are being GIVEN AWAY to attendees? Are YOU registered yet?!

New pics: conferences, fall activities, apple activities

2011-09-12T19:30:00.001-05:00

So I've been craaaazy busy lately, and I wanted to share a few of the fun things that have been going on.

Saturday my husband and I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity. That's a pic of: Kurt (site supervisor), Edwin (the amazing man that is getting a new house!) and me. I put up siding for 10 hours. Whew! It was fun using the saw and getting outside for a little while.

My papers getting ready for conferences... I spent 3 hours working at McDonald's. Our conferences were Tuesday after being in school for only 20 days!

This is a shot of the student desks on conference night. I'm hoping to have a whole post soon on conference materials.

Ceiling decorations :)

I can't wait for the Teaching Blog Expo this weekend!!!!!! I have more details coming soon... but for now I'm going out to dinner! :)

I'm have a sale! Apple Short Vowel Word Sorts for centers

2011-09-06T12:33:00.000-05:00

Check out my apple-themed center word sorts- one activity for each of the short vowels! Looking for Word Work to do during The Daily 5? These activities are prefect- and this week only, the are one sale for 20% off!!!

Giveaway ends today! Apple math center activities

2011-09-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

ENTER HERE for my Apple Math Center Activities Giveaway!

Giveaway ends at 9:00pm.

I have a TPT store + Apple Math Center Giveaway

2011-09-05T20:56:00.003-05:00

I'm running a 20% sale on some products, so check those out!
Thanks everyone!

Are you looking for some fall fun to match this cooler weather?
Check out my apple unit on TPT!
You guys are AMAZING- I ~~almost~~ HAVE 100 followers on my facebook page that I put up today. (If you haven't joined yet I would love for you to be a fan!)

So I'm thinking a giveaway is in order! How about a 24 hour giveaway? To enter, please follow my TPT store and leave a comment on this post. The winner will receive a free copy of my Everything Apples math unit. The giveaway closes at 9:00 tomorrow night. Good Luck!

New Facebook Page

2011-09-05T15:27:00.002-05:00

I'm finally on facebook!
I followed Moffat Girl's lead and signed up, but I'm kinda lonely over there too! How about you stop by and "like" my page really quick. Pretty please? :)

Also, I'm trying to upload a pdf on TPT and it goes through the whole uploading slow process, then the page is reset! Help! Does it do this to anyone else? I worked all weekend on this Apple Thematic Unit, and then I realized that it was 164 MB (heeeellooo graphics!)... So I broke it down into smaller sections under 50 MB, but I'm still having issues. Uploading 19% right now... cross your fingers!

Blogging Expo!

2011-09-02T19:43:00.002-05:00

Have you heard about the latest big news in the blogosphere?

We're having a teaching blog expo!!!!!!!!!

Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 17th!

So what exactly is a teaching blog expo? Well, some of the biggest authors on the web will be presenting on all things blog-related! Seven presentations will be made, and each will be followed by a live question and answer session.

Here are the topics:

Miss Kindergarten will cover blogging basics
The Lesson Plan Diva will cover marketing products
The Organized Classroom will talk about building your blog with buddies
Erica Klein will discuss getting paid for your passion
The Moffett Girls will discuss being a balanced blogger
In The Teacher's Lounge will teach you how to add videos to your blog
And I'm thrilled to announce that I will be presenting on blogging parties and prizes! I'm so honored to be presenting with such a talented group of ladies!

You can attend only the sessions you want, and you can reference the archives later.
It gets even better- did I mention that all attendees get a free virtual goodie bag? Included are free digital downloads from dozens of authors.

The cost for this amazing expo is only $29, but if you register before September 3rd you get a discounted price. Find out more at www.teachingblogexpo.com The first grade conference that I went to here in Nashville was $250 for one day, so I think this expo is a steal!

I'm looking forward to attending. I have never sold any products, but I will definitely be taking notes on how to get started!

Win an Ipad

2011-09-02T10:57:00.001-05:00

This post is now closed- thank you for all the volunteered!

Hey all!
I am on Scholastic's National Advisory Board. They are about to launch a new site, and they are looking for teachers to check it out and take a quick survey. If you complete the survey, they will enter your name in a drawing for an ipad!

If you are interested in participating, please leave a comment with your name and email and I will pass this info along.

Thanks!

Differentiated Spelling: Words Their Way

2011-08-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

Have you ever thought that drill and kill was the complete wrong approach to teaching spelling? Have you ever wondered why ineffective spelling instruction from 100 years ago is still present in the classroom today?

This post offers alternatives to traditional spelling instruction.

First, you need to check out Words Their Way by Donald R. Bear.

Words Their Way focuses on teaching in the way that the brain naturally acquires knowledge. Word sorting and pattern recognition is a huge part of this program.

Now I want to stop and let you all know that my district uses Scott-Foresman's Reading Street, and the name of the game right now is FIDELITY (that's your favorite word, isn't it?). So I'm not throwing out the bath with the bath. I will still give my weekly required spelling tests.

However....

Today I gave my students the Elementary Spelling Inventory (part of Words Their Way). It's a list of 25 words that you ask the students to spell. They write any sounds they hear, even if they don't know how to spell the entire word. The results are AMAZING!!!!!!

The scoring guide breaks the results down into the students' individual developmental spelling stages. Now you can group students together by ability and give them remedial practice or an extra boost. I use this data at conferences and talk with the parents about how their child is developing in relation to their peers. I try to forgo all the teacher jargon and break it down into layman's terms.
"You're child is still working on spelling short vowel words like cat and dog."
-Or-
"You're child is very advanced at this stage. We will continue to push them by working on blends such as -sh, -ch, -th..."

Ok, I know what you're thinking. That all sounds great. Now how are you going to differentiate all that?!

Here's the best part. They already did the work for you!

In these books, it has weekly word sorts and activities for your kiddos. Granted, this is a big initial investment. If it were up to me I'd throw the reading street book out the window when it comes to spelling and just use this program!

I use The Daily 5, so my students will do word differentiated word sorts during rotations (word work).

What do you do for spelling/word work?

Library Organization: Book Bins & Baskets

2011-08-23T19:50:00.000-05:00

Really Good Stuff Bins & Baskets on PhotoPeach

I've been wanting these for 3 years!!!!! I'm so excited. They came in today and I had to get my stuff set up. It still has a ways to go, but it's definitely coming along! The book bins & baskets are from Really Good Stuff- total was $150. I will try to write more often soon! We started two weeks ago, and I am swamped!!!! We did Dibels testing and had a fire drill today. Yuck. I've been work 12 hour days everyday plus some weekends.

Zero the hero: Free Pictures!

2011-08-17T16:43:00.000-05:00

Zero the Hero will be visiting our school tomorrow. We are going to print off the pics and have a new one every tenth day to 100th day. I'm also going to sprinkle blue glitter on all the desks and write a note from Zero to the kiddos. Feel free to print these pics to use in your class!

Here are the pics:

Me and Zero! :) This one if for 100th day in my room.

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I have literally been working 13 hour days lately. Whew! I got through Open House last night and it's been crazy busy!!!! I will be back on here soon!

Prayer Request....

2011-08-06T17:26:00.000-05:00

My stepmom, Barbra, has been battling cancer for 10 years. Last week she was in the hospital with organ failure- thankfully, she made it through that but they have taken her off of chemo. That's not a good sign. My father works month long hitches in Africa and is currently on the other side of the world.

Please pray for her.

My father, me, and Barbra in June 2009

The importance of a class website: first impressions with parents

2011-08-04T22:36:00.001-05:00

Today we met our kiddos! I'm very excited about my class. As I was talking to the parents, I had comments like "We went to your website last night and saw your video! We were hoping you would be her teacher!"

Parents check out the websites of the teachers before they ever find out who they are going to have that year. How does your class website measure up?

Having an online presence doesn't mean posting the daily homework or some other high maintenance plan. Just saying hello and letting parents peak inside the world of first grade is good enough.

You can view my class website here or visit my post on how to spice up your class website here.

100,000+ hits :) And what do you think about these evaluations?

2011-08-03T20:45:00.004-05:00

As I came home exhausted from a 12 hour workday getting ready to meet my new kiddos tomorrow (!!!!!), I was excited to see that this blog hit 100,000 hits today.
Thanks for the support. Ya'll are great!

When I catch my breath I'm going to try to do a full post on registration day stuff... This week has been c-r-a-z-y!

Anybody else effected by this new evaluation* stuff this year?
*In Tennessee we bought into Obama's Race to the Top
I'll have to be evaluated SIX times this year, and two of those are unannounced full lessons (aka principal randomly pops in and stays for an hour). All the nagging "what if's" keep popping into my head. This also has my team a little concerned (there are SEVEN first grade teachers, btw!) so it looks like we'll be doing more meeting and sharing next year, which is fantastic in my book. I guess some good things do come out of evals. :)

I'm excited about meeting my new students tomorrow. I'm looking forward to this year with the full support of all you amazing bloggers collaborating and sharing wonderful ideas!

Writer's Workshop

2011-08-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

Who else uses Lucy Calkins' Units of for Primary Writing: A Yearlong Curriculum?

I haven't had any training on it and I'm the only one at my school doing it. I could use an online support group! I purchased the program last year but struggled with implementing it. I started out strong and kind of fizzled out.

So if you have any tips, ideas, or anything to help let me know! :)

Teaching Blog Addict: Are you connected?

2011-08-01T17:47:00.001-05:00

Ranked by Alexa as the #1 teaching blog on the web, Teaching Blog Addict (TBA) is an amazing resource. With over 80 amazing authors, TBA is your one stop for all your blogging needs. Many followers still aren't taking advantage of all the ways to stay on top of the latest news:

I have been using TBA to get ideas for back to school lately. I purchased a new printer to handle to load. I may have laminated about 37 feet today... which I brought home to cut out tonight while watching a movie with my husband. TBA makes my life easier!
Get connected today!

Easy Academic Vocabulary Activities & Math Dictionary Review- 25% off

2011-07-30T10:49:00.001-05:00

I received a copy of the Math Dictionary for kids to review. Even though this dictionary is marketed to grades 4-9, I would like to show you all the fabulous ways that is is applicable to the lower grades- including first! Read on for vocabulary strategies that can be used for any grade!

This is the year of evaluations for teachers- particularly in Tennessee! I will have SIX evaluations this year! Whew!

We are getting the EnVision Math series and I still don't have a teacher's manual! However, I do know the academic vocabulary for first grade already, and I'd like to share that with you. I'm also including science because many of those terms overlap with math and are included in this dictionary.

Academic Vocabulary for First Grade- Math

additive pattern

attribute

bar type graph

certain event

coin/penny/nickel/dime/

quarter

compare

cone

cube

cylinder

difference

equal parts

even

fact family

fourths

fractional parts

greater than

impossible event

hour/halfhour

measure

number facts

number pattern

number sentence

odd

ones/tens

rectangular prism

repeating pattern

skip count

sphere

sum

thirds

whole numbers

unit

Science Vocabulary

amount

cause

clock

effect

explain

graph

lake

length

measure

meter stick

month

natural resources

observe

ocean

pattern

predict

problem

recycle

ruler

similar

sort

stream

structure

system

temperature

thermometer

tool

unit

week

year

As I look over those words, I think- Wow! Some of these are really complicated! How do I get my little first graders to understand these terms?

I really like the Frayer Model. I think the children could make up their own definition in kid-friendly terms, but then I would use the math dictionary to reinforce it (or to start out with if they aren't familiar with the word). Please understand that this dictionary is targeted for grades 4-9 and they will need scaffolding to work with it. However, they learn amazing dictionary skills and the content included in this book is also appropriate for first grade.

Who am I? Game
An easy game to play with any vocabulary words is "Who am I?". Each student has a foam strip with a velcro dot on their forehead (elastic holds either side of the foam- like a hat). The teacher attaches a secret vocabulary words to the velcro. Students can ask each other ONLY yes or no questions. A student can only be asked 3 questions before they have to move on to a different student. A word bank could be supplied on the board. Great activity with math vocabulary!

Graffiti Wall & Carousal
*Great introduction activity!!!
With this activity, post a sheets of chart board paper all over the room with one vocabulary word written on it (a different word at each sheet). I would probably have 5 words posted and break my student up into groups of four. Have them count off 1-4 and then the ones go stand at this poster, the twos back there.....
Anyway, give each group 1 marker (each group has a different color) and that travels with them. Start the timer and have them write or draw what they think the definition or examples would be. Then rotate around the room (carousal). Here is an example:

What I love about this activity is that students can really construct their own knowledge without the teacher correcting them! When they see their work compared to everyone else's, they make realize that they made a mistake and it really sticks with them. I know this because it happened to me! My group started out with "Cardinal Number" which we mixed up with "Ordinal Number". When we rotated back to our original poster, we immediately realized our mistake. Each group presents their original poster to the class.

ABC Vocabulary Book
First you could have your students brainstorm all the (math) vocabulary words they could think of that start with each letter of the alphabet. Next, as a workstation, the students could create a page for their letter. Here is an example:

Cinquain Poems

Pattern #2

Line1: A noun
Line2: Two adjectives
Line 3: Three -ing words
Line 4: A phrase
Line 5: Another word for the noun

Here is my example for the word "Fraction." The format we used didn't have the -ing words. Also, the fifth line should read "Fractions let us share"

Tagxedo & Wordle
A high tech option is to create a wordle or tagxedo with vocabulary words.
You could have a parent volunteer type in the words the students created to come up with a Tagxedo like the star below.

Glogster
Glogster is a multimedia poster online. It's basically a poster that can incorporate movies, audio, and interactive images. This could be a great idea for older kids to demonstrate a concept! I've seen it done with firsties, too- but it's alot more complicated! You can sign up for a free educator account or view the best glogs around.

Math Dictionary For Kids
So, if you need a great book to reinforce academic vocabulary for math, this is it!
The book includes kid-friendly terms. Examples:
Decrease- To make less (smaller)
Difference- The answer to a subtraction problem. Example: 7-5=2 2 is the difference between the numbers.
Many problems also have great pictures to explain in more depth. This particular dictionary breaks it up into these sections: Whole numbers and operation, measurement, algebraic ideas, geometry, decimals, fractions, percents, and ratios, quick reference guide; learning with manipulatives (Great teacher resource section!!!); Tables and charts; measurement conversion tables; basic math tools and equipment and an index. This book would be an excellent addition to any teacher's library and is also a great homework helper for older students (3rd grade and up). I would highly recommend this book for any teacher!

If you would like a copy of Math Dictionary For Kids, you can use the code MATH25 at checkout to receive a 25% discount exclusive to the followers of this blog! :)

What vocabulary strategies do YOU use in the classroom?

THREE giveaway winners announced!

2011-07-29T21:59:00.001-05:00

OK ladies! Please contact me within 24 hours to claim your prize. Send me an email with your shipping address to: ashly2499@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who entered and a big thanks to Prufrock Press for sponsoring this giveaway!

Last day to enter the giveaway!

2011-07-29T12:51:00.002-05:00

Enter the math giveaway here!!!!

State of the Classroom Address: Ocean Themed Updates

2011-07-28T21:05:00.003-05:00

Say Aloha to my beach themed classroom updates for the 2011-2012 school year!

Please keep in mind that these are preliminary photos. :) Many things are placeholders to make it pretty for the start of school- they will have a different function in the near future.

The hall view

I am going to take the students' pictures with oversized sunglasses and leis and add them to the door. Also, I want to get a straw hat for the flamingo (Pinky is her name). :) Also, I only added a few wishlist items, so that section on the right is still pretty bare.

My entranceway

The bathroom door

My front rug set up for mini-lessons *I'm loving this! This is new. That podium doesn't stay there all the time, btw.

My computer area/bulletin board- this board is just a placeholder until we create anchor charts & fun stuff like that

My overhead station ***NEW I need help with this one! What do you do with the overhead?

Cubbies

Still needs work... Hopefully this will house my bucketfillers & clip chart soon

Math stuff

Math Giveaway!

2011-07-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

Have you entered my math giveaway yet?!

Tip for classroom setup!!! *Must read!

2011-07-27T10:57:00.003-05:00

Tip of the day: Laminate your nameplates and hot glue them directly onto the desk!  Genius!!!!


Need to remove some pesky hot glue? A putty knife/paint scraper is your tool.

Next: Make a class numberline


Make a line 1-20 (or however many students you have) around your classroom theme.  I use a large fish for the lineleader to stand on at the head of the line.  Use contact paper to apply to the tile floors.
Bonus: We use this to make a human numberline for math!
Great for classroom management which starts before they ever walk inside your classroom...

X's marks your SEAT!
On the carpeted reading area where we gather, I have an X for each child.  Use colored Duck Tape to make your own X's.
Sorry that's a gross picture from my X's left over from last year.  I'll post a new one tonight after I re-do them.

What do YOU do to set up your room? Write a post and link up!

Math Giveaway Time! 400 followers

2011-07-25T16:47:00.002-05:00

Well, less than two weeks ago I was hosting a giveaway for 300 followers- and guess what people? 12 days later and it's time for a 400 follower giveaway! Ya'll are on fire! :) I really appreciate all the support.

Prufrock Press Inc. is sponsoring a math products giveaway. They put a surprise package in the mail today, so I'll have more details as soon as it arrives. You can enter starting today!

How to enter the giveaway:
1. Follow this blog, post a comment.
2. Blog about this giveaway, post a comment.
3. Grab my button, post a comment.
4. Add me to your sidebar, post a comment.

I will use Random.org's number generator to pick a winner.
Giveaway closes on August 3rd at 8:00pm central time.

Reader of this blog can also get 25% off using the Discount Code: MATH25

Readers need to put the book in their cart on our site, check out, and then enter the product code to get 25% off the cover price. (That's better than Amazon right now!)

Other happy occurrences:

I FINISHED MY GRADUATE SCHOOL COURSEWORK TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!
My sweet Dad remotely accessed my computer and we spent about 2 hours working on my printer and I FINALLY have a printer that PRINTS WIRELESSLY! Wooooohooo again!
I'm going to Chili's tonight! Yummy. Print this off and you can go too:

2011-07-24T18:03:00.000-05:00

Michelle is having a link party for Pinterest! If you are unfamiliar with Pinterest, it's like a giant bulletin board online by topics. Sooo... it's pretty much amazing. If you need an invite, leave your email in the comments and I can help you get yours set up!

FREE school supplies all across the nation

2011-07-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Fabulous in first posted about "Crayons to Computers" which is a free "store" for teachers in her area (Cincinnati). Local businesses donate all the supplies, and teachers shop for free! Well, it turns out that there are 42 stores like this nationwide, and my area had one! It was set up for the teachers in the metro area, but if you volunteer you can earn yourself a shopping trip! I am volunteering! Click here to see if there is a free store in your area.

Book Clubs Packet Giveaway

2011-07-23T19:24:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Walker over at First Grade Pandaemonium is giving away a 14 page book club packet to everyone who follows her and blogs about it. Pretty good deal if you ask me! :) She has 26 followers, so let's help spread the word and show some love. Keep it up, Mrs. Walker!

Ways to spice up your class website

2011-07-23T10:17:00.004-05:00

As a new school year creeps closer, teachers are busy preparing their rooms. Creating an online presence can be a great way to communicate with parents, yet many teachers don't have a well-maintained class website.

Here are some great options and examples of simple, free sites:
*This post includes large files and may take a moment to load

Shutterfly- Who knew Shutterfly lets you create a class website on their page?! The amazing feature is that parents can upload pictures or purchase pictures from the site. They are password protected for privacy. Shutterfly even lets you add calendars, roosters, and more! Here is my Shutterfly page. *Note: I use shutterfly only for pictures- my main site is through Blogger.
Blogger- We know it, we love it. But for a class website? Absolutely! I LOVE the layout, overall look, and simplicity of blogger. Here is my blogger classroom website, created with blogger. Ladybug's Teacher Files have amazing video tutorials about how to completely customize blogger and make it a truly amazing webpage! I will be spiffying up my website soon! :)

Extra things to spice up your class website:

Design Her Gals

Add a little fun into your website by creating an animated version of yourself. I have one at the top of all of my websites. They are free to create and use online, but you can also purchase business cards and customized stationary featuring your creations!

Glogster Gloster is basically a virtual poster creator. Here is a gallery of online posters created with Glogster. I actually used a glogster poster with hyperlinks as my classwebsite for part of one year. It's free for educators!

Animoto
Animoto is a fast, easy way to create and share videos online. Perfect for school websites! Check out this elementary school's animoto video promoting their clubs.

Edumodo

"Secure social networking for teachers and students" is edumodo's mantra. A great tool for class blogging!

Voki
An animated avatar (cartoon) of yourself- you can even add your own voice! So for your website, you could have a Voki that plays a message to your students. Here is a list of 20 different ways to use Vokis in education.
Here is my Voki:

What are your favorite examples of great class websites? Link 'em up so we can all get new ideas!

God moves in mysterious ways...

2011-07-19T12:03:00.001-05:00

So get this:
Yesterday I posted about budget cuts and how I would start out this year with $0.

Mathematical Literacy: A Standards-Based, Cross-Curricular Camp for Teachers

Today I got an email from the coordinator of a K-2 Math Literacy Camp sponsored by MTSU (anyone else going?!) that says they just had a spot open up... and it comes with a $300 stipend!!!!!!!!

I originally didn't sign up for the camp because I was unsure of my graduate school schedule at the time. (I am totally skipping a day... shhhhh! However, thanks to technology, I can watch the archive of class.) And the other wonderful parts?

1. I'm going with two of my best teaching buddies :)
2. We get free manipulatives and books to take back to our classroom.
3. It's a math literacy conference!!!!!!!!! Who's super excited? Meeeeeeee! (Yes, I'm aware that my teacher nerdiness is showing...)

I just finished my P90X core workout....
It's gonna be a good day.

Just thought I'd share with you guys. :)

Back to school/first day of school activities

2011-07-18T18:29:00.003-05:00

Well, it's coming soon kids! (I started P90X and I'm already emulating Tony Horton...Anyone else want to get in shape with me? I need support!!!!)

There is an awesome linky party of back to school ideas going on over at

Here are a few of my plans for the first day of school:

Arrival: Playdough

Each kiddo will have a small jar of playdough and a sheet of wax paper for when they arrive. They will be allowed to have free play time while everything settles down and then they will create one object that they will draw a picture of a write about. We share these with the class. Jodi at Clutter Free Classroom makes her own playdough and lets the students squish it around for a colorful surprise!

How will I get home? Pictograph

The students also color a bus, car, daycare, or walker symbol. These are reproductibles from some teacher magazine (The Teacher Mailbox, maybe?) You can see the board set up and ready to go on the left side. I just use Scott tape to place them on the board. This also lets me know if they have any clue about how they are suppose to get home! I have die cut laminated transportation necklaces made up that they wear for the first week that have a printed label that tells the child's name, method they are taking home, parent cell and teacher name.

My table from the first day a few years ago.

First Day Books:

I love to read "First Day Jitters". The story appears to follow an apprehensive student who does NOT want to go to school the first day because they are scared. It turns out to be the teacher! It's a really cute book and it breaks the ice and shows that everyone gets a little nervous sometimes, and that's ok too!

There are lots of activities to go along with these books. We make a mouse paper bag puppet, draw a self portrait and talk lots about rules and procedures.

Class? Yeeeeeeees? Whole Brain Teaching
I spend a lot of time my first day teaching the students our class rules and commands. If you haven't checked out my post on Whole Brain Teaching, you need to see it ASAP! We also will be introducing Bucket Fillers this year as well as my classroom economy.

These can be printed from Whole Brain Teaching for free!

Class portrait

Don't forget to take lots of pictures! I always get an individual shot of each student working and then I use my Macbook to take a group shot of the class.

Our mouse puppets

Establishing Rituals

Dr. Becky Baily is a phenomenal speaker, and I had the opportunity to implement some of her ideas. Everyday we build our classroom community through welcome songs and goodbye songs. At the end of the day, we get in a circle, link arms and sing "Goodbye My Friends" by Dr. Jean.

Us on the last day.... yes I cry.

Lyrics (I have this made into a poster with clipart animals)

See you later, alligator!

After while, crocodile!

In an hour, sunflower!

Maybe two, kangaroo!

Gotta go, buffalo!

Adios, hippos!

Chow, chow, brown cow!

See you soon, baboon!

Adieu, cockatoo!

Better swish, jellyfish.

Chop chop, lollipop.

Gotta run, skeleton!

Bye-bye, butterfly!

Better shake, rattle snake.

Our school day now ends.

So, good-bye, good friends!

Share your first day ideas at

How much classroom $$$ do YOU start out with every year?

2011-07-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

So I just talked to our school secretary who informed me that we might get $0 for our classroom budgets this year. We normally get $180, so this is a huge chance! And they haven't really even got the word out yet.
I've been so excited about going to target and picking up those fantastic book boxes for only $2.50 apiece....

This makes me really sad because we don't have the money to dump into my classroom right now. My husband is working two minimum wage jobs and trying to find something full time. We have a lovely mountain of debt from our school loans and car notes.

In my district, we usually have "textbook" fees of $65 per student, and I guess that is where we got our startup money from. Our new county director of schools isn't a big fan of fees (I get that- I don't see how they started charging fees in a public school system in the first place!). However, I think there should be some money in the budget somewhere for teachers to run a classroom!!!!!

How much money do you get at the beginning of the year?
Leave a comment that tells what area you are from and your startup budget that is provided + how much you spend out of pocket.

The Book Whisperer: Reader's Notebooks

2011-07-16T17:47:00.006-05:00

This week I will be hosting TBA's book club. We are currently reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.

I have a confession to make. Let me start by saying that I love love love teaching first grade. But this book makes me want to teach bigger guys.

In the Reader's Notebook, students write their teacher a letter regarding their thoughts and feelings about the book they are currently reading. The example came from a 6th grade class, and Donna wrote back to each of her students, including higher order thinking questions in the process. I would love to do this, but our books are so simplistic that it would be very difficult. I think I will implement this after Christmas when the students' writing skills have improved and the books have more content.

I also love how she made the read so many different genres while still choosing their own books. I would love to do away with bell work this year and have students read instead! And if I had to hear the words "I'm done!" one more time it would be too soon. I love that the students can read so much! I would have LOVED to have been in a class like that when I was younger.

While you are planning your upcoming year, be sure to check out these amazing resources to compliment your Reading Workshops:

Check out this amazing post on Reading & Writing Workshops by my personal favorite teaching guru, Angela Bunyi.

Beth Newingham also has a wonderful post: Reading Workshop- What it looks like in my classroom. This includes a great how-to video!

Regardless of what reading program you are using in your classroom, you can use The Daily Five for management. Before you try to plan 5 gabillion centers, you need to check these girls out!

The CAFE Book is also written by "the sisters" and it provides insightful reading strategies to use as well.

To compliment the reading workshop, I believe that writer's workshop is an important aspect that many people are missing. I use Lucy Calkin's Units of Study for Primary Writers.

Post your thoughts on Read Along Reader's Notebooks!

Giveaway winner announced!

2011-07-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to...

Mrs. Daniels First Grade

Who said...

"Your blog is already in my blog roll.
Tammy Daniels
Tam118dans@gmail.com"

Thanks so much to everyone who entered! You are all amazing and I appreciate all of your support.

Giveaway ends at midnight! Last chance for $150 in products

2011-07-15T18:47:00.000-05:00

Remember to enter my giveaway for $150 worth of Touchpoint math products here!

Giveaway ends TODAY at midnight!

300 Followers-Touchpoint Math Giveaway!

2011-07-08T20:29:00.001-05:00

As I returned from vacation, I was excited to learn that this blog hit 300 followers.

It's time for a giveaway- retailing at $150!!!

I've teamed up with the TouchPoint Math Company and they are sponsoring this generous giveaway.

TouchPoint Mini-Poster Set Retail Value $50

"Ten eye-catching 8 1/2” x 11” posters are designed for smaller classrooms or more restricted display areas. These award-winning mini-posters will help you present the numerals 0–9 with TouchPoints, reinforce quantity/numeral association and review the Touching/Counting Patterns. Includes suggestions for activities."

LEARNING HALLMARKS

Quantity/Numeral Association
Numerals w/TouchPoints

Touching/Counting Patterns

*NEW* TouchMath Tutor First Grade (or Kindergarten) Software Retail Value: $99

"Our kindergarten software just got a new classmate –– TouchMath Tutor Software First Grade Edition!

This software showcases vibrant graphics, cheerful music and sound effects, and a true hands-on approach. TouchMath comes to life onscreen while students become so eager to complete each activity they won’t even realize they’re learning critical math concepts! It was developed for use on classroom/home computers –– both with traditional mouse/keyboard functionality AND those computers with touch screen capability. The software is also compatible with Interactive Whiteboards for classroom use. Students are enthralled with the creative imagery as they play to learn: Touching/Counting Patterns, Number Concepts 1–100, Odd and Even, Backward Counting (18–0), Place Value (11–99), Addition and Subtraction Facts with Objects and TouchPoints, Addition with Counting On, Double-Digit Addition and Subtraction, Addition and Subtraction Word Problem."

There are 3 chances to enter this giveaway:

You get one entry for adding Teaching Happily Ever After to your sidebar and leaving a comment.

You get a second entry for posting about this giveaway and then leaving a new comment.

You get a third entry for adding my button to your blog and then leaving a separate comment.

Copy this code and add it to an HTML widget:
<br /> <a href="http://www.teachinghappilyeverafter.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa390/ashly2499/th_TeachingHappilyEverAfterblogbadge.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br />

You can learn more about TouchMath products here, like their facebook page, or even check out their TouchMath Champions program for teachers.

This giveaway will end in one week on Friday, July 15th at ~~7:00pm!~~ Midnight! :)

On vacation!

2011-06-24T12:41:00.000-05:00

Snag your own Design Her Gal here!

I will be out of the country all next week & then after that I am visiting family, so I will be MIA from the blogosphere for a while! We are going on a Carnival Cruise to Mexico, and the forecast is rain, rain, and more rain! Oh well. Maybe it will be scattered showers, right? :)

In the meantime, please vote for Teaching Happily Ever After in the 2011 Really Good Classroom Blog Context from July 1st- July 7th. Thanks!

An Educator's Guide To Augmented Reality

2011-06-23T16:03:00.005-05:00

What is Augmented Reality?

A very basic definition is this: Augmented Reality is the real world mixed with digital information, usually 3-D. Another definition: Pure fun.

Usually you will need a smartphone or tablet device in order to view the augmented reality. The view through the screen shows a background the real world combined with digital information. Lego has taken augmented reality to a new level- you just walk up to this kiosk to see a 3-D model of the product that is in the box. How cool is that?!

An example of Augmented Reality in the everyday world

My Krystal Box

Get off your couch and find the nearst Krystal's! Right now! I went to grab quick lunch today after the new Dibels training, and my Krystal burger came in the neatest box. On the side it says "Make me dance" Get the Krystal app free and it has a picture of a penguin. Well, we do an entire study on Polar Animals and how people and animals adapt to living in some of the coldest climates on Earth (like our Milk Jug Igloo project). I know a dancing penguin isn't exactly academic- but you could turn it into something educational nonetheless. How about talk about fiction versus non-fiction? The class could classify penguin books, pictures, and even this dancing penguin into the proper categories. What about a writing project? Why is he dancing? How about writing a tutorial describing how to do a dance move? I told them I was a teacher and they gave me 3 clean boxes. I'm planning on using these in a center for sure! There are 4 different penguins and they all have different dance moves.

Also, Krystal is giving away ipads- one every day until July 10th! Check out their website to register for the ipad giveaway and free food coupons.

Here is my video demonstration of Krystal's Augmented Reality App:

How can Augmented Reality be used in the classroom?

Here is a simple notebook with augmented reality markers. This could be the encyclopedia of the very near future! Look how the pictures come to life- I love the Golden Gate Bridge model with the water everywhere. Amazing!

How can I make my own images for augmented reality?
Augmented Reality uses markers to create the 3-d images. Here are some sites that will help you:

Ar Media- create free augmented reality markers
Google Sketch up create 3d images- shapes, buildings, models, etc
Argon- augmented reality browser app from GA tech *super extra cool* :)

Aris Games- create FREE augmented reality games
Logical choice- Transforming classrooms into engaging 21st century learning environments
Google Goggles - Visual web searching- take a picture of something to search for it on Google! How cool is this one?! It's currently available for the iphone/ipod and android.

Layar- Augmented Reality Browser

Junio- augmented reality app (also for android & coming soon to Symbian)
Scvngr is a game about doing challenges at different places to earn points. You can also build onto the game yourself. Museums, Universities, Cities, Zoos, and popular Brands all have gaming content now- like the Smithsonian, the San Diego Zoo, and Princeton. As a teacher, you can build exciting content and then your students can earn points that go towards a real reward- like a free homework pass or use a special chair for the day! Very interactive and fun!

SCVNGR | How To Play from SCVNGR on Vimeo.

Sekai camera- leaves tags in the air, like a blog prompt for students to respond to
K-12 Mobile Learning Exploring resources that enhance mobile learning
Committed Sardine 21st Century Fluency Project
Scratch- Create & share your own interactive videos, music & art; teaches logic program

Why do we need to use Augmented Reality in education?
It's coming anyway. These kids will be required to do things that we can't imagine just to complete day to day jobs. Check out this site on Augmented Reality in SURGERY! This is real stuff, happening right now. We need to get on board!!!!

"The resection map, a proposal for intraoperative hepatectomy guidance". (2009). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ariser.info/events/Map.php

Are you preparing your students to work at jobs that don't even exist today? Check out the list of Top 60 Jobs That Will Rock The Future to get inspired.

Links to other great blog posts about Augmented Reality

**Most of the links in my post came directly from a session by Cathleen Richardson at our last Tech Conference. You can have her come and present to your group.

How I'm going to use it in my classroom

Math

SHAPES- I will use Google Sketchup to teach 2D & 3D shapes. We will start by creating a box and then using Google Sketchup to pull it into a cube. We will have a class discussion on the differences between the two & continue with all the 3D shapes they need to know for first grade (sphere, prism, cylinder, etc...). Later they will independently create a 3d model, print it, and then label it.
BASIC FACTS- I plan to review basic math facts using 3D flashcards called SmashCards.

Science

Habitats/Basic Needs- We will use the Zooburst 3D popup book creator to create a book about animal habitats & needs. This could tie in perfectly to the fall Scott Foresman's Reading Street Animal Unit. We could also classify animals into the major kingdoms
Weather- I'm probably going to create some content so they can go outside and point the camera towards the sky and then other digital items will appear (a thundercloud maybe?). I think Aris, Scvngr, & Sekia Camera will be particularly useful in delivering science content.

Social Studies

Long ago versus today Did you watch the Layar video where it talked about how you could view what a place looked like long ago? We take a field trip to the Adventure Science Center, and we drive right by downtown Nashville. What if you had this app out and the students could how the mobile device up and actually SEE what downtown looked like 100 years ago!?

Language Arts

Digital Storytelling
Writing- Create a class book full of augmented reality like the encyclopedia in the first video. Create markers using AR Media. Next, have the students view the 3D picture that you choose, and have them write about it. Use the Dragon Dictation app (it types everything you say) & have the students read their work. Now you have a typed copy of every student's work- print it out and put it on the page by the 3D picture. Create a class book & copy for students to take home and show off!

How could you use Augmented Reality in education?

QR Codes: What are they? How can teachers use QR codes in the classroom?

2011-06-20T08:27:00.006-05:00

What is a QR code?
QR code stands for "Quick Response." When you scan it with your mobile device, it instantly gives you the information stored on it. Here is a comic tutorial from The Daring Librarian:

You can find them popping up everywhere nowadays- magazines, posters, even clothing!

How do you scan them?
Using an app for your mobile phone allows uses to scan the QR codes and receive the information stored on them. Information can be a website URL, a video, a map, a text message....
The app I am currently using is called "QRReader" but apparently AT&T has an app called "Code Scanner" that works nicely as well. Basically you should do a search for "QR" and it might be advantageous to add the word "free" as well.

Why do we need QR codes in the classroom?
The beauty of QR codes is that you can store any type of information on there. So if you wanted to store a really long URL, your students would just scan rather than typing the whole thing in themselves. You could link them to a video, or even have the assignment in the code. I think a great way to do math practice would be to scan a code to get the problem. You could also send them a map of what you are studying. The possibilities are limitless!

How can I create my own QR code?
or
Both of these sites are fast and easy to use. You can also do a search of the internet to find pre-made codes. I've taken a look at Google Reader, and these are some of the bloggers that already have QR lessons made for you!

Shapes & Fractions by 1st grade learning stars
Mystery Math (addition/subtraction) by Swamp Frog 1st Grader
Math Shapes by 1st grade Frogs
Library Genre Scavenger Hunt by The Daring Librarian
QR codes in the Classroom by Free Technology For Teachers

How do you use QR codes?

Let computers grade your tests & re-gain your Fridays!

2011-06-17T13:42:00.003-05:00

What if I told you that you could throw your grading pens away, because I had a faster, easier method? How would you like to have more time with your family and your WEEKENDS back?! Can I get an Amen?

You may already have tests online.
Many textbook bundles come with online counterparts. Most teachers know that there is a website out there, and that it does... something.
We use Scott Foresman's Reading Street, which comes with Pearson Success Net as the online component. I'm going to be honest, I went and poked around on it and then never looked at it again.

Using Computers to take assessments
The second grade teachers at my school have their students trained to take their weekly reading test on the computer. The computer GRADES it, gives them a printout to take home, and can even graph their errors by skill. We only have one computer lab for our 800 kids, but they do go once a week. During the first 15 minutes they could take the test, the rest of the time it is back to their usual schedule. One teacher is putting the written response questions on her blog for the kids to answer.

Why?
Another reason for doing this is because it's coming anyway. In Tennessee, by 2014 they want our state standardized test (TCAP) to be fully computerized. No more pencil and paper assessment- So get ready!

Create your own
I also wanted to share some things that you could use to create and AUTOMATICALLY GRADE your own assessments.
Google Forms are amazing! I used these to create an online survey for a graduate school project, and I was very impressed with it.

Increasing teacher evaluations are unfortunately part of this equation. I will have to be evaluated SIX times next year. Whew! Anyway, our district is putting the evaluation form into a Google Form that can be easily accessed by Principals walking around with Ipads. Pretty neat!

Here is a short video to explain Google Forms:

Richard Bryne of Free Tech for Teachers explains Flubaroo:
"Flubaroo is a free script that you can use to grade the quizzes that you administer through Google Docs. Flubaroo provides great step-by-step directions for using the script. I'll give an quick overview of how it works. First, create your multiple choice quiz using Forms in Google Docs (get directions here). Then take the quiz yourself and have students take the quiz (you can embed it in a webpage or direct students to the URL for your form). Now instead of trying to grade the spreadsheet cells you will insert the Flubaroo script by selecting it from the "insert" menu in your spreadsheet. Once the Flubaroo script is inserted just select it and it will grade the quiz for you."

Let me predict your schedule:

Monday: Introduce topic
Tuesday: Get more in-depth
Wednesday: Keep going...
Thursday: Still going, but maybe a review & pre-test
Friday: Test day & then "Friday Funday"

Ok, ok, yours may or may not look like that. But many teachers do use this schedule! Cathleen Richardson, our keynote speaker at our educational conference last week gave a striking illustration.

First, she showed us a slide of a teaching hospital from 100 years ago, and then one from today. Technology was evident, the change was amazing!

Next, she showed us and old black and white photo of a classroom from 100 years ago and then a picture of the classroom from modern times. Know the only difference? Color! The first was in black and white, the second was a color photo. Aside from that, they were identical! There was no technology present, and the same mindset from long ago was still in place for today.

This technology can free us from the outdated model.
What about assessing on Wednesday? Introduce new material on Thursday and give them the weekend to study. You'll still have two days to get everything going again. Just a thought. :)

Maybe computerized tests could make it easier for us to administer pre-tests. I know those sometimes get lost in the shuffle due to a lack of time. I'm pretty excited about the possibility of not grading reading tests next year!

How do you use technology to work smart, not harder?

Tweet Tweet! Why educators (YOU!) need twitter

2011-06-17T09:11:00.002-05:00

Why teachers need a twitter account

I don't care to know what my friends are doing every second of every day. Facebook statuses keep me pretty up to date already, and for the longest time I didn't know what twitter was even for.

News flash: I'm not following people I know in real life on twitter (mostly)

I follow educational topics and trends.

How?

Tweetdeck.

Tweetdeck is a site that allows you to have columns set up for each topic you follow. I can scroll to the right and add tons of topics. Here is a picture of mine:

How do you follow topics?

After people tweet a message, the will include a hashtag. A hashtag is the pound sign # followed by an abbreviated group name. For example, I'm interested in Educational Applications. So I follow the hashtag #edapp. There is a very simple "Add Column" section on Tweetdeck.

Here is Cybrary Man's great list of educational hashtags to follow. Just add the ones that are interesting to you.

Promote your website/blog to a much wider audience/

How to make a twitter post

How would you like for every elementary teacher that has a twitter account to know when you make a new blog post? Now you can! You will need to shorten your blog URL by going to a site such a bit.ly. It will easily give you the shortened URL to your blog that you can now add to your twitter message. Add in hashtags for every group you want to reach. For example, one of my posts may look like this: "Come see my list of FREE educational apps http://bit.ly/iNIZkR #elemchat #homeschool #edtech"

Now I've reached an audience of elementary teachers, homeschools, and educational technology enthusiasts! Marketing magic happens as people start re-tweeting your status, so it shows up in the feeds again and again! You could easily go viral with a good topic and have significant traffic generated for your blog.

Educational Chats on Twitter
Check out this calendar on all the weekly educational chats that happen on twitter! You can join in anytime. I'm going to try to start participating in the #Elemchat (Elementary Chats) Thursday at 3pm. Check out Cybrary Man's list of Educational Chats and get started in the next one!

You can get started by following me! :)

Bloom's Taxonomy with Ipad apps!

2011-06-17T08:06:00.000-05:00

Check out this site with visual organization of Bloom's Taxonomy with Apps! Love it!

Audacity in the 1st grade classroom

2011-06-16T18:48:00.001-05:00

Audacity is a free program that you can download to your computer. It allows you to record and save audio files. So, in the classroom, your students could record themselves reading and play it back. This increases awareness of how they really sound and drastically improves fluency!

But to do this, you will need a few tools:
1. Computer
2. Free Audacity download
3. A Microphone

Let's talk about #3 for a minute. How would you like to have a pretty decent quality Mic for $1? Sounds too good to be true, right? Nope! Check this out:

Hey... wait a minute! Those are SPEAKERS... not MICROPHONES!
......
...........
Are you ready for this?......
..........................................................
All speakers are essentially microphones. When plugged into the input jack (The pink one!) on your computer, they will function as microphones. You can snag a pair at the local $ store for just one buck.

Pretty cool, huh? :)

Need some project ideas with Audacity?

Record running records and grade at home in your fuzzy slippers
Have "Mystery Readers" record themselves reading a book and then use that for a listening center. Ta-daaa! Free audiobooks. Mystery readers can include school staff: Principal, VP, Secretary, Cafeteria Workers, other teachers and parent volunteers. At the end of the story, they can reveal who they are. Use a bell or chime when recording to cue the students that will be listening to turn the page.
Record each student reading during the fall, winter and spring to document progress. Keep each file and save in a digital portfolio (more about that in a future post!)
Have each student read a Mother's day book and make all the Moms a keepsake CD
Create a weekly Podcast and add to your webpage
Have students do a school news report and play it over the PA system

What could YOU do with Audacity?