Monday, July 29, 2013

iPad Word Work with Daily 5

Today I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made-It! I can't wait to show you how to make word work centers with QR codes! Now... I am so far from crafty but give me a keyboard and a mouse and I can get BUSY. I wish I was more crafty and creative but you win some...you lose some! =) I'll just keep checking Pinterest to find my creativity! ;)






If you have read this little blog for any amount of time, you would know that I LOVE QR Codes. They keep my students engaged and they are so EASY to make. Today I'm going to show you a great way to create QR Code centers for Word Work!



Here is the video tutorial on how I create QR Code Centers for my students!





My students love practicing their words using QR codes. It's perfect for self-checking and it's a fun way for the students to learn! I have these centers that you can grab in my TpT store and they will be on sale for today and tomorrow! You can grab your copy of CVC words, compound words, blends and digraphs, and also pre-primer and primer word scrambles! 











I hope to be back soon to show you all how Work on Writing works with our iPads...but my tonsils are coming out tomorrow! YIKES!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Daily 5 + iPads = Serious Engagement and Motivation

It's no surprise that I L.O.V.E technology especially my classroom set of iPads!! {Thank you Title 1!!!} This school year, I was asked to present at our districts Summer Institute about how I have integrated the use of iPads within the Daily 5 framework that I have come to adore!

I decided after such great feedback from my presentations that I would share with all of you the great ways to use iPads. {Note: This can be used in any literacy centers, not just Daily 5!} This week I'm going to share with you how I used iPads for each area of Daily 5.




Listen to Reading

Today I'm going to start with my favorite use of iPads for Listen to Reading. I think listening to reading is VITAL for students reading comprehension, fluency, and a great way for them to fall head over heels in LOVE with reading. In a perfect world I would do 3 or more read alouds a day...however I am lucky if I get one or two in! Get ready because I have found the best FREE way to have a classroom full of books for a listening center!

Video Tutorial
For those of you that are like me and need to see it in action, I created a video tutorial that goes through the steps of creating the recording and the QR Code.  I tried to talk super fast and not have my "teacher" voice but after 4 attempts to get it under 5 minutes..."ya get what ya get!' =)




Step by Step Directions

STEP 1: There is a free website called Record MP3 that allows you to record ANYTHING you want. This is where I record myself reading books from the my classroom library.



STEP 2: All you have to do is press RECORD. When you are done reading, press STOP. {Easy right!}

STEP 3: Then play it back and if you like it press SAVE RECORDING and if you don't press START OVER.  Once you press SAVE RECORDING, the next screen will show you the URL link where your recording is saved. It looks like this....



STEP 4: From here you can either copy the link or save it to your computer.  I usually do both just to be on the safe side! So from here is where it gets really fun!

STEP 5:  COPY the link, open a new table with a QR Code Generator. Copy and paste the link into the text box, make sure the you have chosen STATIC and then press generate STATIC.


VOILA...It has created a QR Code with your voice recording.


STEP 6: copy and paste it into a word document and PRINT.

STEP 7: Then cut out the QR Code and attach it to the book {clear packing tape works best and you can still scan through the tape} and you are done!




On the iPad {or any device} use a scan app to scan the QR Code. I use SCAN that can be found for free in the App Store. Your recording will "magically" appear and your babes can listen to you read their favorite book over and over.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

One way I like to get parents involved {even if they can't come in to the classroom} is to send home the Record MP3 url. From home, parents can record themselves reading a book, copy the link from the Record MP3 website and e-mail it back to me. Then I can make the QR code and surprise their child! When this is a secret mission between me and the parents, the kids get so crazy excited to hear their mom or dad's voice! **

I hope this is useful for you! Like I said, this can be used in so many different ways in the classroom.  Comment below to share how you use this {or would like to use this} in your classroom!

Friday, July 19, 2013

GUESS WHO'S BACK?!?!

Hello long lost friends! I haven't blogged in MONTHS. Terrible, I know but let me explain...

The end of the school year is ALWAYS crazy fun! I spent my time getting end of the year things together {ya know...slideshow, summer packets, end of the year conferences, records, awards day}, finishing up my last graduate class EVER, and getting ENGAGED!!!!!!!

Can I bore you with the story? Nick and I went to the Biltmore House {what I thought was for an early birthday weekend} and he proposed in the Italian Gardens! I was so SURPRISED, EXCITED, GIDDY....the list goes on and on! After her proposed, he asked me to keep it quiet so we could enjoy our day at the Biltmore and not be on our phones. That lasted all of 30 minutes. I HAD to call my mom {even though she already knew!!} and Nick's parents {the greatest future in-laws on the planet}!! To make the day even more special, it was my parents 29th wedding anniversary! After the proposal, we spent the greatest day just frolicking around the Biltmore House, vineyards, and I was sure to tell EVERYONE that came within 100 yards of me that I just got engaged!





So after being on cloud 9 since May 25th...reality struck this past week! I have to have my tonsils out TWO weeks before school starts and I can't get in my classroom yet....ENTER PANIC MODE! So I am going through and getting every that I can ready for Back to School! I had a lot of requests to make my *FREE* back to school forms editable and I have FINALLY found the time to do that. Just click on the picture and you will have the forms ready for you to edit!


Freebie Fridays

I promise to be back soon with some content {other than wedding ideas!} to share with you!

Happy FRIDAY!