Using Google Classroom

Using Google Classroom has become one of my favorite ways to use technology with my students. Google Classroom is a great way to share assignments with your students. My school is completely Google with email and Drive, so we are using Chromebooks that allow students to login with their Google accounts and begin learning.

I use Google Classroom with Blendspace and Thinglink. Depending on what we are currently working on in our curriculum. I mostly use it with Science and Social Studies. We are learning about Matter and Landforms. I can easily find lesson or even create lessons on Blendspace or Thinglink and add the assignments into Google Classroom.

Here is a Thinglink that I created on Plant Life Cycles. My students have really enjoyed getting to learn about Plants by using this awesome site. All you do is insert an image and you add tags on the picture that has videos, websites, articles, songs, books and more. Students work their way through each tag on the image and begin to learn. You insert a quiz or assign a journal or activity to complete the lesson.

Google Classroom

Blendspace

Thinglink

Would love to hear of ways that you use these with technology in your classroom. I highly recommend that you go and check these. We use them almost every day in my classroom.

Technology Day

We are having a great time on Technology Day in our classroom. Students are using ipads throughout the day on numerous activities and apps. We just began using a new app called Spellyfish. Students work on spelling with this app. It is really useful for my students who need help with phonics and spelling skills.

Here are two that are having fun using the ipads and Spellyfish App!

Next you will see two students on the laptops using the SCOOTPAD Website! We use this daily to work on Math and Reading. I love the fact that it is aligned to Common Core and BEST OF ALL IT IS FREE!!! My students can access it at home to work on it at well. Students earn reward coins to trade in for prizes. I get a weekly progress report from the website. If you choose to purchase, you get more subjects to work on and upgrades.

Students are using the 2nd grade Fiction Comprehension App in our Listening Center. Students get to read the story and complete a Graphic Organizer. It also helps them with their fluency.

Our classroom favorite is Toontastic!!!! 

Students plan out their stories scene by scene. Scene One is the Setup. Student pick setting, characters and the mood. Student animate the character and record their voice.Scene Two is the Conflict. Student create the problem in the story. Scene Three is the Challenge. How does the character handle the conflict. Scene Four is the Climax. This is where all the action takes place. Scene Five is the Resolution. Does the characters will over the conflict or are they defeated? We used a great resource from Tina's Teaching Treasures on TPT. It has graphic organizers to help students create their stories with characters and scene from Toontastic. Once the stories are completed I will post their videos. Also on the app it has ToonTube that is where you can view your video along with others that have shared videos. You can check out amazing videos that others have create and use them in your classroom for examples or even as an edition to a lesson or activity that you are teaching. It is a great resource.

Technology In Our Classroom

My classroom is very lucky to have ipads, smartboard and laptops for students to integrate technology into our everyday learning. I love technology and use it in all aspects of my life. It is also used in many ways in my instruction with my students. Every day lessons I teach, I use some type of technology. It may be the smartboard lesson. We use many ipad apps for all subject areas. We use laptops and desktop computers in centers.

Here is a list of some of our FAVORITE APPS to use!

 Here is one that students made!

We love Sock Puppets. We used this app to tell about Helen Keller. You know technology and its quirks. It will not allow me to post students video. But here is a look at the app.

Students are using ipads daily in centers. Here you can see then using one of our fun apps Word Ball.

They have to build words as fast as they can before the letter balls disappear. We have even used this app with our 5th grade buddies that come to our class on Wednesdays.

   

Students have a blast with Rocket Speller to practice working with words.

                                  

                       

 Big Cat stories are AWESOME!!

We use them in our Listening Center. Students listen to the story being read to them. Then they read it them self and complete the Listening Center Sheet with comprehension questions about the story.

QR Codes are used through out our learning. We used them with Math, Reading, Science and Social Studies. Students love to scan the code and see what it contains. It maybe just to check their answers. To watch a short video segment on Plants and complete a comprehension activity. It can guide them to an app or website to go to for the lesson. QR Codes are a great way to get student active in their learning. This is the app that we use for it.

Students in my classroom love using the ipads. We use the Showme app to display how to work out math problems during math block. Students can show their thinking on ipad and share with the class. 

During our geometry unit we use the GEOBOARD APP instead of  geoboards.

Students really enjoyed using this app instead of the old geoboard with the bands that snap and break. They really understood how shapes are created with the bands and how a rectangle and square have right angles.

I hope I have given you some ideas and apps that you would like to try in your classroom. We are always working with apps to find the best ones. All the apps here are FREE!!!! I love to use the free apps, that way my students can use them at home also. 

Please leave a comment below with any apps that you love to use in your room. I am very interested to hear what works for your students. Share any lessons or activities that you do with the apps or technology in your classroom.

Getting Back Into The Swing Of It

Hello fellow educators!!! Sorry it has been a while since I have made a post on my blog. It has been a crazy start to my school year. I had moved back to 2nd grade with a whole new classroom make over. To top that off, our grade level was flooded with 2nd graders. I have 25 kiddos and we just got another teacher to make our grade level have 6 teachers. So now after all of that I am with 21 kiddos now. Then this week I had a student to move. Now my roster is sitting at 20, WHEW!!!!!!!

Now, since we have settled into our new roster and getting the students that moved into the new teachers room placed and started. I now feel like I can begin my year. Wow, it to say the least. It has been an emotional ride. Having to let students from your room go it very hard. I had already became attached to them.

On to better things, my classroom is doing GREAT!!! I feel this is one of the best group of kids I have ever had. The students do a fabulous job or working together to build a real classroom community.

My students love using the ipads on daily basis. We use them with math, writing, reading, centers, whole groups, guided groups and this week we are having 5th grade buddies coming to work with us too.

Scootpad is a great app/website that my students use to work on reading and math. They can also access their account and practice at home. It will give me a message about the weekly progress made by my students. I suggest you go check it out and see if it may be something for your students. You can assign what grade level you need. It is Common Core aligned.  It is amazing how the kiddos love it.

Come back soon to check out all of the fun and amazing activities my students will be working on. I look forward to hearing your comments on your classroom. 

Getting Ready For First Day Of School

As many of you are doing as I am, getting your classroom ready for the first day of school. I always get excited at this time of year. Planning my classroom for my newest group of kiddos. This year is even more exciting since I got to move back to 2nd grade.

I will post a few pictures of my classroom and will display more as the days go and first day of school comes and goes.

Here are pictures of my classroom before I painted!!!!

 old paint and board

Now for a look at my room with a FRESH NEW PAINT JOB!!! I love the LIME GREEN board. Painting the classroom gives it new life. I love how it looks.

This is much better!!!!!

I use two shades of blue in my classroom. The front and back walls are the darker shade of blue with the two side walls being the lighter blue. I think it turned out great. Cant see in this picture but I even repainted the black baseboards too!!!

Here you will see some must haves I had to get for my room. I got the ORANGE lamp. Got the BLUE broom that matches one of the borders in my classroom and hallway. The chevron fabric is my curtains that I am putting in my classroom. My overall theme is the DOTS ON TURQUOISE!!!

Here is the start of my LIME GREEN bulletin board that I love!! I have my calendar on one side and the side you cant see has my Job chart. I will be adding my Daily 5 in the middle.

So there you can see that my room is coming along. I am very pleased with the progress. Come back to see more of my room and get some ideas for yours.

Before you go come check out this great FREEBIE at my TpT store.

I am using this for student to house their ipad work until completed to turn in. 

TPAK and Apptivities

Today in Pinnacle training, we were instructed on TPAK and Apptivities. Apptivity is a great way for integration of technology. Teacher will setup an Apptivity for students to create using apps that are suggested by the teacher. It is broken down by Brainstorming, Research, Interview, Compare and Organize and Share! It includes an app vault for students to use for the apptivity. This is for sure an exercise that I will be using in my classroom with our ipads.

TPAK is a great resource for educators to think about their instruction and using technology. By connecting Content, Pedagogy and Technology seamlessly into your teaching. It is easy to put technology into our day to day learning but the importance of using the technology. The outcome not the technology tool is at the front. Think back to the content that we are wanting our student to achieve then work on technology integration. I feel that this will make me think more about what I am doing and why.

Owlesome Words

Come check out this fun activity for students to work with words. It is a FREEBIE!!! This is the beginning of a huge pack that I will be creating for my 2nd grade students to use this year with spelling. I will be adding to this freebie and posting soon when it will be available. Please enjoy this freebie and I hope it is great for your students. It is quick and simple print out recording sheet, print cards cut and laminate. Ready to go center or activity for early finishers.

This FREEBIE is in my TpT store. You can see that I used the ever so popular OWLS!!! Hope you're enjoying summer.

Using QR Codes In Education

Since I was lucky to being Pinnacle this year in my school system, I have ipads in my classroom. It has been fun getting to explore all the apps and find amazing things for my students to work on. The last 9 weeks I have become addicted to using QR CODES!!!! I think they are amazing! My students have worked with them in all subject areas.

Here you can see that during our Human Body Unit, students used the ipad to scan a QR code. Learn about a specific bone an then locate and label the bone on their skeleton. This was fun for them to learn about how the name of bone originated. The QR code gave them a description and location of the bone on the skeleton.

We have used QR codes in math, students work out math problem then scan the code to self check their work. In Guided Reading students would scan a comprehension QR code to answer a question with their partner.

If you do not have ipads, you can use a smart phone, ipod touch or any tablet that has a QR reader. You can go to a QR code maker website to create your QR code. In the code you can put a video link, document, instruction, question or answer. The list can go on and on!!! I highly recommend that you use QR CODES IN YOUR CLASSROOM!

Amazing Freebies

Come check out this amazing opportunity to get some FREE items from a wide range of educators. The website TEACHING BLOG ADDICT is celebrating 2 years. Go to the site and get on  the band wagon to snatch up great resources for your classroom.

I have already put a bunch of great activities that will have my printer busy for days. I just love being apart of such awesome people. Being an A+ blogger member is great. 

TACO Story

I had this great idea the other day as I was working with paper plates in my classroom. The idea was that a paper plate folded in half looked like a taco. So then the idea of TACO Story popped in my brain. Here is how it would go. You will need the following: paper plate, brown construction paper, green paper, red paper and yellow.

Fold the plate in half to look like this.

Take the brown construction paper and write Topic on it like in the image and cut.

Now take the green construction paper and write characters on it and cut to look like lettuce.

Take red construction paper and write Setting on it and cut wavy.

Last take yellow paper and write PLOT on it. and cut. 

Now take all of the parts and layer to make your TACO.

Lastly, put all of it together and now you have a TACO Story!!!

Students will write in each part of the story for each ingredient in the taco to retell the story. I think students will have fun getting to make a TACO about their story!! You can use it in centers or guided reading. It would work well with common core.

I would love for you to leave a comment about this and let me know what you think. Please feel free to pin.

Practice Some Facts

If you are in need of some cute flashcards for your students to practice their multiplication facts 0-9, then look no farther. You can get these cute flashcards right here from me. I made these for my students to use in 3rd grade this year. I hope it will very helpful to them. They can do alone or with a partner.

                                                               
I am new to teaching third grade this coming school year after teaching 2nd grade the past 6 years. So it will be a change for me. I am trying to make things to use in third grade. SO please come back and check my store and blog for updates on room and products.

Story Elements Center

I love teaching STORY ELEMENTS to my students. This is a fun way to have students to work with story elements. Students will pick a card from each story element area and use that in creating a story. This creates so great and funny stories. My students have a blast getting to pick the cards and making a story that connects all three parts (character, setting and plot). Use this in your class and see if your students become excited about story elements and writing.

Hope that you have as much fun as I have with my students with this center. I would love to hear about your experiences with it and how it helped out your students with story elements and writing. Have students to also add drawings. This could be a great class activity to make class books.

Brand New Spelling Center

This is a great way for students to create words. Students will enjoy using the letter eggs to create spelling, sight words, etc. Come over and get this great center for your classroom today. Browse the store while you're there.