Words Their Way iPad Style

Next year my school district will be using Words Their Way for spelling curriculum. I have been piloting WTW since November. It took me a while to adjust my spelling instruction and figure out some management issues. I believe WTW is an effective way to differentiate spelling for students. I am excited to keep using it with my students next year too.

So when my classroom became a 1:1 iPad classroom in January,  I began to think about ways I could use the iPad for different WTW activities. I created an iTunes U Course with Pages. Students open the iTunes U Course in Notability which gives them the opportunity to write and draw and complete the activities with their Word Sort for the week on their iPad. The WTW Journal is laid out so that students can chose from a variety of activities to practice their spelling words. They can then upload the completed work to their Google Drive for viewing by myself or their parents. It's also nice because it is virtually paperless!

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with members of my district's iPad Academy. (Other teachers that are also 1:1 iPad Classrooms) WTW was being discussed and I shared my WTW Journal with many of the teachers. They encouraged me to share my work in my blog, so that's what I decided to do! Sharing this information also made me realize how many skills my young students have learned to do on their iPad. I guess I just never realized how much "app smashing" we do on a daily basis. Way to go 2nd graders!

Here are what some of the activities look like in my WTW Journal.

          

          
      

Virtual Valentine Project

It seems like I have been unplugged a little bit lately, but its really just been the complete opposite. This blogpost is going to fill you in on what I have been working on with my students and the iPads the past week.

Back in January, I saw a projected in a Google Community about Virtual Valentines. I read the information and thought it sounded like something fun and educational to do with my students. So, I signed up and was assigned a class from Round Rock, Texas. The guidelines were to find the distance from city to city in kilometers and make any connections you wanted. So off we went to discover!

We got the iPads busy learning some basic ways to search for information on the Internet. Then we organized the information we found and picked the important things we wanted to share. We looked for connections we could make. Our 2nd grade Social Studies curriculum is all based on communities. What better way to share what we know about where we live, than to tell someone who doesn't live here! The question became... How is Round Rock like Bellevue and how is it different? We also just learned about landforms in social studies, so we found the features of Round Rock.  We used Google Earth to look at the land and to get a real picture of how Round Rock looks. My students noticed that many of the houses had swimming pools in the backyards. We then had a discussion about how the weather is different from place to place.  Each day we searched for information brought about new discussions. My students were engaged, motivated and enthusiastic about learning!

The last part of the project was to share about your city and what you learned with your partner class. We used our Notes on the iPad and wrote down what we were going to say. Then used the camera to video our information and found some pictures using Google Images. Last, we put all the videos together in iMovie and have a finished project to share.

I would definitely do a project like this again. We incorporated reading, writing, math, social studies and technology all together.  And it was fun!

The Good... The Hard... and The Possibilities

Well its been just over a week since my classroom went to a 1:1 iPad classroom. We have had a lot of feelings during this week. We have been excited, confused, busy, amazing, engaged, loud and sometimes lost. But overall it has been a fantastic educational experience!


The Good...
What have we been doing?

We have been creating, learning, sharing and teaching... Antonyms and landforms in Popplet, journaling and spelling in Notability, math problems in Screen Chomp, teaching Screen Chomp to 5th graders (thanks +Michelle Boyce), and on Friday, +Brent Catlett, my outstanding, motivating iPad Coach, helped us learn a little in Tellagami. I know that is only 4 Apps, but each App has so many steps and features for students to learn. I am very impressed with how my students have been able to tackle these tasks and they are not the least bit intimidated! Kids are the best!

Popplet - Antonyms by Clara

Popplet - Landforms by Hawk

The Hard...

There have been some bumps along the way! My students and myself have had to make changes. Changes in our schedule... Things seem to take a little longer than I'm used to. We are having to be flexible and sometimes do social studies in the morning, math at a different time and we actually forgot to go to specials on Monday because we were working on the iPads. I've needed help too! I had several conversations with members of the +iPad Academy members this week. I am glad I'm not doing this alone. The help has been so useful, motivating and unlimited! So thanks to those who have listened to me! I know things will get easier... and I need to have patience... and I need to go slow. I have to lay the foundation, set the expectations and teach students how to navigate and use the Apps on the iPad. These steps are vital and eventually things will go back to a normal pace. 

The possibilities... are endless! 

I need to keep remembering that! I am very excited for the upcoming week. I plan to have students continue to work in the Apps we have learned. I want them to improve on the content of their work. I know things will get easier as we go and that I have a great support network when I need it! I also have 21 eager little 2nd graders that inspire me the most. That's what this is all about... my students and their learning. Anything is possible with the right attitude!

iPads Are Here!!!

The anticipation is finally over. My class received their iPads on Wednesday. It has been a busy, exciting and not always perfect three days. 

My students have done a great job! They are so eager to learn new Apps and help each other. I am amazed at how quickly they have been able to learn to navigate on the iPad. They chomp, swipe and do a two finger pinch with ease. They love using a stylus which surprises me too!

On the first day, my wonderful iPad coach, +Brent Catlett, got us all started. He talked to my students about how our class would be using the iPads. He walked the class through the parts of the iPad, the buttons, ways to navigate, safety, and then we got started. They learned to copy, paste, take photos, use Photo Booth, change their wallpaper and use Skitch. This was all in about an hour! It was amazing to watch and assist.  

Then, I was left alone! I kind of felt like a 1st year teacher again. But that was only for a moment. In the afternoon, I introduced Popplet and walked them through a project that we titled, "All About Me." It was really fun to see them create their first project on the iPad. They ended the day publishing a blog in Kidblog about our first day with the iPads.

Day two was a lot like day one. We reviewed everything we learned and did on the iPad. Then, I introduced a new App called Screen Chomp. They wrote down math problems and solved them. They liked recording themselves explain and solving the problems. Then were able to watch the replay of the short video. It was also the 100th day of school so we started making a list of 100 things we learned on the iPad. The list kept growing throughout the day. Next, I thought a game would be a good change of pace. I showed them Spelling Monsters. They had to enter their spelling words and then could choose from 3 games to play.  Coach Catlett stopped by in the afternoon. He taught the class how to find images on Google and save them to the camera roll. We searched for pictures of landforms. Another fun day learning!

On day three, I introduced an iTunes U course. The course is something that will replace a morning routine. My class fill outs a Daily Think Sheet that encompasses a lot of skills related to reading, spelling and math. They learned to open the iTunes U course and export it to Notability so that they can fill it out on the iPad. So, then Notability had to be introduced and taught. I'm hoping they remember all the steps on Monday! In time, I know they will. Next, we learned about how to write a good comment on a blog. They then left comments on another classes' blog page. We ended the day creating another project in Popplet using the landform pictures from yesterday.

As I read over my blog, I am very happy with all that we were able to accomplish in just 3 days of school. There were a few mis-haps with some Apps, a few warnings for not following directions and some technical issues. But the learning, excitement and possibilities far out weigh any of the small problems encountered!

Here is a short video of all the iPad action in class!

It's Almost Time...

It's finally January and my excitement is bursting at the seams. My class will be receiving our iPads some time this month. Today upon their arrival back from Christmas break and an extra "extreme cold" day off from school, one of the first questions asked was, "Do we get our iPads today?" I had to tell them, "No, but very soon I hope." They were so cute about it!

Thinking about using iPads has really encompassed my mind recently. I spent a lot of time over break reading blogs, online articles, watching YouTube videos and searching/trying out different Apps about using iPads in an elementary classroom. Lots of advice was given and suggestions were made. It really just further pumped up my excitement and started a little build up of anxiety about the task ahead of me too.

I know that my wonderful iPad Academy coach @catlett1 will help me with any issues. I will also have a great team of teachers (#FVFirebirds) who will be embarking on this journey with me to bounce ideas with.

So the time is almost here. I am super excited to use the iPad to support my district curriculum and spark a lot of creativity in my students. We even wrote New Year's Resolutions in class today. My resolution is to find ways to make learning fun for my students. I have been given a new, exciting tool to use to enhance my current ways of instruction and change the way my students share their learn. It's truly an exciting point in my teaching career.

This will be my first official blog that is not via Kidblog. I titled it Excited for iPads. 

I found out on Monday that I got accepted into the iPad Academy. I am super excited for this experience and can't wait to get started. I planned to announce the big surprise to my students right before Christmas break. I put up 12 balloons with a word in each balloon and had the plan to pop a balloon each day until break. But, my excitement changed my mind. I started trying to pop balloons for good behavior in class. Good behavior is harder to find close to Christmas and on very cold inside recess days. Today, "Coach Catlett" stopped by my classroom and we only had 4 more balloons left to pop. I decided not to wait any longer. I think my excitement was higher than my students at this point. We popped the final balloons to reveal the secret message. 

The message told my students that our classroom will evolve into a 1:1 iPad classroom in January. At first they didn't have any idea or concept of what they were hearing. After a little explaining, it sunk into their heads. They started asking questions and then their faces and energy went crazy.

It was hard to keep the secret for 4 days. I know I would not have been able to wait much longer. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

So... Thanks Coach Catlett for stopping by and giving me a great reason to reveal the big news! It was a fun moment to share with you!