Halloween Activities

Halloween is just around the corner! There are tons of fun ideas out there, including online games and SmartBoard resources. Here are a couple of the best sites I found to celebrate this spooky holiday.

ABCya! has fun games all around, and some very cute Halloween games. I love ABCya because the games are educational, and also separated by grade level. My favorite Halloween game was "Trick or Treat", in which the player has to find the shortest route between houses for trick or treating. The results create different geometric shapes.

I also found a resource that had different SmartBoard activities that could be used around Halloween, from Teachers Love SmartBoards.

Sun, Moon, Stars

2nd graders have been working on a project that goes with their science unit of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. I have found a lot of great resources to use during this unit, and some screen shots are below.

BrainPopJr. had some great videos to get students started on their topics.

I also saw a game on Technology Rocks. Seriously's blog that the kids loved, from Compass Learning. Very cute!

And finally, this is a generator from the University of Texas that shows kids how much they would weigh on the Earth vs. the Moon.

The project students have been working on is a KidPix slideshow. Students are making slides for the Sun, Moon, and Stars, including detailed pictures and facts they have learned. Then we are putting the slides together and making a QuickTime movie. I think it will be a great finished project!

Build a Bug

I can't wait to use this site with the first graders this week! The students are going to be inventing their own bugs using KidPix, so I am going to kick off the lesson using this game from Scholastic's Magic School Bus. We'll do it on the SmartBoard, but I bet the kids would have fun playing on their own too!

Welcome!

I'm so excited to start this blog.. it's been a long time coming! In my new role as a tech teacher this year, I'm always looking for new ideas, but sadly I keep forgetting where I found them.. so this blog will serve as a place where I can "store" ideas and hopefully share some with you!