There's an App for That

At one of our iWonder Lite's a few weeks ago I shared some tips on searching for educational apps in the App Store. There are millions of apps out there - some good, some bad, so it is important to check reviews and explore what other educators are using. Here are some places to start searching!

On APPitic, teachers can search for apps by Subject Area, Multiple Intelligences, and even Bloom's Taxonomy. 

The iPad Curriculum has a similar search engine as APPitic, and also includes detailed reviews as to what the app is and how it can be used in the classroom.

iPads in the Classroom is another wealthy resource that not only has app suggestions, but also tutorials, related materials, classroom uses of the iPad, the iPad for Special Education, and Bloom's Taxonomy related apps. 

If you ever come across another fabulous iPad, iPod, or App resource, please pass it along and I'll share it with everyone! 

Blogs, Blogs, and more Blogs!

Did you know that there are TONS of teachers out there in cyber world who are posting their fabulous ideas daily? They blog their projects, ideas, stories, etc., which might inspire a new lesson for you to do with your students. Some of them even have their lessons available to download for free! Here are a couple blogs for each grade level... and just a warning: once you find one blog you like, there are links to several others they follow! (That's why I'm posting this the week before a break- it's just a tad addicting :)

Kindergarten

    

First Grade

   

Second Grade

  

Third Grade

   

Fourth Grade

   

Projects by Jen & other fun

Jen Wagner is a fabulous teacher that I got to see last year at the ICE Conference. She has so many great ideas and hosts projects throughout the year to connect classrooms around the world. One of her year round activities is Guess the Wordle. Each day she posts a Wordle that represents a theme or idea, and students work together to guess what it is about. See if you can guess the one below, and check out her blog for more!

Jen's next upcoming project is her Holiday Card Project (I know, I'm not happy about all the holiday commercials I saw during the Bears game either, but if they're going to put it out there we might as well embrace it!). According to Jen, the project "brings in the Holiday Cheer as well as opens up many opportunities to teach geography, mapping, distance, letter addressing, math, printing & handwriting, and art ideas into your classroom." It can be adapted for any grade level- maybe even some classrooms at Central could buddy up for this one! 

Two more links for this week: one is the PBS Kids Lab, where they post new games they are working on. Great for younger students! The second is thanks to Kate M.- The World of Brian P. Cleary, which is based on his books. It has printables, games, a Poem of the Week and Word of the Week, and more.

 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Have you heard? Conferences are next week! While you are probably far along in your planning and preparations, here are a couple resources I found on teacher's blogs- so whether you can use them this year or save them for next, I hope you find them helpful!

The first is a "guide" for your conference that can be used at any grade level. The freebie also includes some reminders you can send home to parents. I found it at ClassroomFreebies.com. 

The second resource is mostly primary, but could be adapted as you see fit for your grade level. It has an idea for a conference reminder, student portfolio, and a "personal report card" for students to reflect upon how they are doing. It is from a blog called What the Teacher Wants. 

And finally, for some fun, I found a new game website called Learning Games for Kids. They have a variety of games for all subject areas for preschoolers through middle school.