More brain break ideas

Check out this 112 page pdf full of ideas.

http://www.fwps.org/healthfitness/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2015/01/Brain-Break-Ideas-For-Teachers.pdf?425ac1

Brain Break Presentation

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1tz1AGdIOKpeHp0andBU3VNTnM/view?usp=sharing
Brain Break Presentation

Poetry and Animoto

I had my students write a Haiku poem and then turn it into an Animoto Video.

Animoto is very easy to use and is free. The students found images that went along with their poems, selected an appropriate theme, and picked music. The results were amazing. I have added a link to an example video that I created. 

https://animoto.com/play/W7S7by2B0gQS59mdxsGNVw

Fall... Haiku poem

New apps to use in the classroom

I love looking for and trying out new apps to use in the classroom. I especially love Free apps. I have used the LearnZillion website for a while and just realized they now have a free app that contains a huge amount of math and ELA content that is Common Core aligned. Check it out!

Check it out! 

.iLearnZillion by LearnZillion

Story Me

Today I introduced Story Me to the students.  This free app is a comic strip creator app.  Comic strips in the classroom? You might ask. Yes, comic strips in the classroom.  This lesson ended up being part history and part language arts.  First I had to discuss and introduce the students to comic strips! I was shocked to find out that they had no idea what a comic strip was! Really you say!! Really!!! So I showed them Peanuts and my personnel favorite, Calvin and Hobbes.  Then I explained how you read a comic strip and finally talked about cells.  Then the students took some pictures of their classmates to use in their comic strips.  I also had them brainstorm to come up with ideas for their strip.  Next the lesson moved into the language arts portion when we discussed dialogue and the correct way to write dialogue.  We talked about flow.  The students enjoyed the lesson and many of them said that they downloaded the app on their iPads at home.  Below is a comic strip that I created using images that I got off the Internet.  It is just an example of what we did. Enjoy!!

Snowman Keynote presentation...

I saved it as a Power point so everyone could see the final product.  This lesson was intended to show the students how to add shapes, lines, and, color to a keynote slide. The students really enjoyed making their snowman appear!
Snowman lesson

Ideas for before and during Christmas Break

As Christmas break looms upon us I have a few suggestions for quick lessons to do with your students.

1. QR generators - I have found that the easiest way to ensure your students are going to the correct website is the create a QR code and have them scan it.  This works especially well with younger students or students who have difficulty typing.  I did a "webquest" using FactMonster.com recently.  These are easy to create.  My topic was Winter Holidays.  First I went to Fact Monster and looked up facts about winter holidays.  Then I wrote questions to go along with the facts.  I had the students scan my FactMonster QR code and then search for the answers to the questions.
2. Anytime is a good time for some Toontastic!!! And with all the new updates this app never gets old. If you do not have Toontastic on your classroom ipad you need to get it now.  The entire tool box is a steal at $9.99.  With this purchase you get all characters past, present and future! Best 10 bucks you will ever spend. Around the holidays you can assign a historical Toontastic or make them work in pairs or small groups to create cartoons. It is important to explain what you want the end product to resemble..length, number of characters, amount of dialog.  
3. Yesterday my students and I created animated Snowmen using Keynote. I started by adding one slide with a simple circle on it.  Then I copied the slide and added another circle, as so on until I had created a snowman.  I then added a Christmas tree. The students loved it and  enjoyed making their own snowmen.  It was a great way to show the students some of the features of keynote and then have them practice using them.  
4.  Free Tech 4 Teachers  - this site has so many great resources I don't know where to start. Check it out!