Five For Friday - New Apps!

Hi,

This Five For Friday linky has really taken off!  I got in on the ground floor and have tried to join in every week.  So - here is what has been goin' on in the Little Apple during the last few days.

 1. My word sort for the week involved compound words.  I did some searching on my iPad and found a great app, called Compound Words Montessori, for introducing and practicing this skill.  Apple TV was recently hooked up in my room, so I was able to demonstrate how to use the app to my entire class before they used during small group RTI time.  I like the fact that the students must build the words to create compound words.  It's a bit trickier than it looks.

This app costs $0.99

If all the words are "built" correctly the next screen pops up, and students must match the word to the picture.

 

 

2. I was lucky to enough to win a couple rounds in Fifth in the Middle's March Madness giveaway.  Thanks to Susan Morrow for the cool Rock Around the Clock games for telling time.  My students will love it.  You can check it out here.

 

3.  I woke up Wednesday to windows covered in ice.

I turned on the T.V. and discovered our school district had a 2-hour delay!  It has been years since we've had a 2-hour delay.  We simply don't do it.  Well, we still don't  - because school was called off for the entire day around 9 A.M.  Six of the 20 schools in our district were without power.  I had a great day - my friend and I went our for lunch, and I worked on TPT projects.  Unfortunately we have to make up the day.  :(

 

4. I now have Apple TV installed in my classroom (see #1), and am able to project apps on my Interactive Whiteboard.  A couple weeks ago I learned about the app called Board Cam, which is essentially an app that turns your iPad into a FREE document camera!  I have an ELMO but had never taken it out of the box!  Today I gave it back to my principal because this app is just as good!  We've been working on polygons in math, and this morning I was able to walk around to student desks and project the shapes they had made onto our Whiteboard.  Awesome!

This app is free!

5. I was able to put together a collage of one of my TPT projects.  This collection is of group of sheets for setting up classroom partnerships.  They are like "Round the Clock" buddies, but they are unique because students can learn about spelling, syllables, and place value through using them.  I am so thankful to be close to 150 followers, and to show my thanks I will give away 2 sets of these to the first 2 people to leave a comment on this post.  This pack is available on TPT here.



 

Have a great weekend!

Storia App, and You Know It's School When...

You may have figured out that I love a good linky party, and today is no exception!  I am joining Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle to reveal what life is like as school starts.

Yes, I was awake in the wee hours of the morning last night, and I don't even start school until August 27th.  I haven't spent much time at school, and it suddenly hit me how much I have to do.  I actually got up around 4 AM and went to the laptop to record some things that were buzzing through my mind.  Luckily I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep in after those thoughts were off my chest.

I love it when my former students drop by on Back-to-School night.  They are quick to offer a hug, and it just warms my heart.  And it's even nice to see the ones who gave you trouble, because you know they're someones else's headache now - bless their heart.

Now - I wanted to share a great App I found recently. It's called Storia, and it's put out by Scholastic.  Books are downloaded to this App, and you can set up a list of books for each child in your class to read.  I plan to use it during "Read to Self" time, and students will take turn using the iPad.  You can assign books to student's bookshelves that match their reading level.

I got 10 books for free at the beginning, and I think you can order books to add with the points you earn through student book orders.



After the students have read, a report is available to the teacher about how many minutes the child read, and if they used the included dictionary.

Some of the books even include read and respond activities that the students complete.  This was from one of my free books - it's a lot like the book called Apple Fractions, but it's also interactive.
I think my students will love this App!

IPad Apps and Classroom Theme

I started a class on using iPads in the classroom on Monday and learned so much in just one day.  We have a follow-up to the class next Monday.  Because I am a lover of bargains I was especially keen on one app that lists other apps that are available for a discounted price for a limited time period.  The app is free and is called Appshopper.  One of the apps I found that I think will be a big hit is called Dabble, and it is also free right now.

This app is a word building game.  There is a pyramid of letters on the screen, and the user must rearrange the letters to create 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-letter words.  It can be kind of challenging but would probably be appropriate for second through sixth graders.

I've seen some chat around the blogs about classroom themes.  I try to switch mine up every year, and one I thought was especially good was a theme on Discovery.  I created these mock Discover cards for each of the students.

The numbers on the card are the date school started followed by the room number.  The expiration date was the last day of school.  The colors I selected matched the design of the actual Discover card at that time.  I used these cards to mark the student hooks in the hallway.  The Discovery theme encompassed all subject areas, and I referred to the theme often throughout the year.