Thursday, March 3, 2016

Check out Intervention Central for directions (including videos) on a variety of academic and behavioral interventions.  Many would be great choices for teachers looking for new strategies to add to SSTs, and strategies such as behavior report cards and checklists can be fully customized to suit your students. 

Tinkercad in the makerspace

I have been introducing 4th and 5th graders to Tinkercad in the Chavez makerspace. This is a great way to get students used to manipulating shapes and creating solid objects virtually. Once the students create a solid shape, they can print these creations on one of the makerspace 3D printers. The students are getting a real kick out of seeing their shapes in a physical form!

MindNode for mapping thoughts/ideas

Mindmapping Software - MindNode

I just started using MindNode on the iPad to create a map of all of the recommendations from the LCAP input sessions for the district. It's really awesome for that type of work, because you can drag things around, quickly change color and such, and share as a pdf.

I know the mindmap is ridiculously tiny right now, but I can zoom in on the PDF version or on the iPad. Also, this is definitely still "in progress".



www.BookMentors.org - Books for Your Classroom!

Check out  www.bookmentors.org - a great way to get free books for your classroom, especially if you're just looking for one or two great titles to add to your library.  

Frontrowed.com and Plickers

I use frontrowed.com weekly. It is a free math and reading program online. I have been using the math mainly and use RAZkids for reading. My students really enjoy working on front row. Its easy to set up your classroom and you can get the math in Spanish also. Each week it will email me an update of my students progress in each category they worked in. You can also go in and see a report on each student and see how well they are doing on each standard they have worked on. Frontrow also has the option to read the questions aloud to the students and will show them videos if they get the same kind of problem incorrect numerous times.

Plickers is a quick way to assess students if you do not have computers to do quizzes such as kahoot. You have to print out the plicker cards and assign them to each student then get the app on your phone. You create questions, the students answer using their cards then you scan it with your phone and get immediate feedback. The kids really enjoy this as well.

Marla

CodeHS

My students are loving and thriving with CodeHS. It is an online script writing, like Java, for students. It is gradual and students can access the hints as well as a helpful video. For teachers, you don't need coding background to help your students, since their is an answer key. In the later stages, students have to use multiple steps in order to pass level. Quite challenging, yet engaging!