15 Apps for the One iPad Classroom Hooray! You have a brand new, shiny iPad to use in your classroom this year. Boo—there's only one iPad and 35 eager kids ready to use it. No need to worry—there are lots of amazing things you can do with a single iPad in your classroom, and it doesn't have to be a classroom management nightmare either. Here are 15 of our favorite apps that work great with a one iPad setup AND help to keep kids on task and engaged with what you are learning. No more squabbles: Use Stick Pick to help kids take turns. Looking for more iPad teaching help? What are your favorite apps for the one iPad classroom? The Elementary Math Maniac
Marilyn Burns Math Blog | Marilyn's current thinking about math education and her ongoing classroom experiences and learning. A friend and I were talking recently about how much work we put into planning lessons. Even after all these years of teaching, I have to think through lessons as carefully as possible, both about the logistics and about the mathematical thinking I want to keep in mind and support. Here’s an example. Read more » The card game Oh No! Read more » This blog post resulted from an email exchange I had with Jill Downing, a Title 1 Educator with the Helena Public Schools in Montana.
Power Up: Apps for Kids with Special Needs and Learning Differences A fresh look at learning If your child has a special need or learning difference, you've come to the right place. Common Sense Media gets lots of requests for product recommendations from parents whose kids struggle with traditional learning. Some of their kids have a hard time with schoolwork; others have trouble staying on task or find it difficult to express their feelings. Our hope for you and your kids No matter which hurdles your kid faces, the apps and other media included in Power Up can give them an added boost. About the categories Apps are arranged by challenge area and difficulty level. We've done our homework Lots of work went into creating this guide. Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and are not influenced by the creators or by our funders.
Mr Elementary Math DIY Rekenreks, Take 2 This post is an update to a post I wrote last year. I have found this version of the DIY rekenrek to be not only easier to make, but also more kid-friendly. Rekenrek translates loosely to calculation rack or arithmetic rack, and it was designed by a Dutch mathematician. The rekenrek is a great visual model for developing a strong sense of 5 and 10, and it supports a strategy-based approach for learning calculations. There are commercial rekenreks available. Materials list: 12 x 18 foam sheets.
adele_b: @maggiev what do we want kids... Beyond Traditional Math | Fostering conceptual understanding with projects and rigorous problem solving. Talking It Out: The New Conversation-centered Leadership, by Alan S. Berson and Richard G. Stieglitz Every year, hundreds of thousands of new graduates enter the business world, eager to climb the corporate ladder. Their progress on the early rungs of that journey will often be determined by qualities like hard work, determination, knowledge and technical proficiency. But business consultants Alan S. Berson and Richard G. Stieglitz argue that those same qualities prove less helpful at higher rungs on the ladder, and may even be one's downfall if they are not balanced by a very different set of leadership qualities. They sum up the thesis of their new book, Leadership Conversations: Challenging High-Potential Managers to Become Great Leaders, like this: "As you move into upper leadership levels, your technical skills -- what you know -- become less important. The importance of building strong working relationships within an organization may seem self-evident. A Changed Environment Leading vs. A central distinction in the book is that between leadership and management. Developing Leaders
Kids Math Teacher Magic Squares Magic Squares date back over 4,000 years to ancient China and have existed throughout history and in many different parts of the world. The magic lies in the fact that when the numbers in each row, column, and main diagonals of the square are added together, the sum is always the same. These number puzzles have fascinated some of the world's most brilliant thinkers, including the eighteenth century American Benjamin Franklin. Magic Squares provide an engaging way to develop mental math skills. Books about Magic Squares Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares highlights Franklin's lifelong knack for inventions and chronicles his achievements as a publisher, scientist, writer, and patriot, as well as showing how he amused himself during meetings of the Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly by creating magic squares. Before Sudoku: The World of Magic Squares Fans of Sudoku may not know that it is a recent offshoot of the Magic Square. Return to Home Page
Learning Adventures with Mrs. Gerlach: Motivational Magic! SO we all know as teachers that the first couple of weeks is dedicated to working on routines and procedures... Many positive "motivation" factors are considered in my classroom :) My first graders thrive on these little tricks of the trade! This entire post is dedicated to what I like to call my box of "motivational box" (aka some of the many "tools" on my teacher belt!). 1. Sorry for the somewhat blurry picture, but this is my behavior clip chart. 2. I originally started "brownie points" a couple years back, but I saw this snazzy visual display on Pinterest... 3. I purchased a $1 spray bottle in the toiletries section of Target and filled it with water. 4. This is a brand new trick that I just started and it is BEYOND genius! 5. This is another original... 6. This is the new update to my old use of "Warm Fuzzies" (still have a deep rooted love my old guidance counselor and his warm fuzzies and cold pricklies)... 7. This idea came from the Kinder Gals... 8.
Shezza456: Tests don't measure everything...