Compute Away!

The biggest challenge in Math is nailing all of those basic facts. The subject gets quite complex in the latter years, but it always comes back to having a good foundation of computation. There is site that allows you to do just that-no extra pictures, no ads-just addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

XtraMath is as basic as it comes. The screen is simple and one of the best parts is the students only need to enter the answer via keyboard or built-in calculator, not even press ‘enter’ to signify the answer is complete. Each lesson begins with a person speaking to them about the activity. Pressing ‘start’ begins the lesson that only lasts a few minutes.When complete, the student will see their results with a smiley face, green check or red x. The wrong answer is always accompanied by the correct one. Parents and teachers have access to the child’s account for monitoring.

There are plenty of videos on the site to cover all of the areas and certainly answer all of your questions.

Category: Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT

April 13

The 5th season-Testing

Now is the time of year that the “crunch” has begun. Teachers finish teaching their curriculum and begin the review. For some grades the review includes the current year, however other grades include multiple years of a subject. Many educators spend a lot of time creating games for in-class use, but what happens when the students leave? Worksheets? Paper copies of a vocabulary sort are wonderful but can only be used so many times. A great review will include a variety of items. This is where technology comes in to play and Study Stack is the place to go.

Study Stack offers the ability to review vocabulary and concepts in a variety of ways, including games. The teacher will create their free account and enter the information needed to study. Students can access the site from any computer with internet access or view it on a handheld device after the app has been downloaded. Activity options are listed below.

Like the idea of review games online, but you would prefer a different site. Go to the bottom of the Study Stacks’s main page to find other websites that offer similar study options.

Category: interactive white boards, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies | LEAVE A COMMENT

March 21

Safe Searching

With all of the researching and computer use children are doing in the schools, it seemed appropriate to locate some great child friendly search engines. Below is a list of them that have proven to be safer than some of the more popular ones adults use.

Kidsclick The safe little search engine that could! Conduct a safe search and watch it streamline Google safe search results for kids at home and at school.
Factmonster A free reference site for students, teachers, and parents.
Quintura Kids The first visual and intuitive search engine for children with content filter and safe browsing.
Ask Kids Allows users to ask a question in plain English, confirms the question, then takes them to one web site that answers the question.
Boolify Drag the puzzle pieces to the window and type a word in each piece. When they are place together it creates the search.

If you have others that you use and would like to share, please send me an email using the “thoughts…” field on the right side of the page. I will add them to this list.

Category: Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT

February 23

Jackpot for Writing

Children today are expected to compose online, which includes the entire writing process. The class sits down at their computer, opens a writing program and stares at a blank screen. The direction: write about anything you want. Some children begin writing while others fiddle with their mouse or look around the room while searching for a topic. Story Starter has solved that dilemma if you are looking for a fiction story that’s a little out of the ordinary.

Story Starter is a fun way to help a child choose a writing topic. The screen shot above is how your next prompt will be decided. Click on the “spin” lever to make all four wheels go and will stop at random times. If one section is not desired, simply click on the “spin the wheel” button that is aligned with that section. At the top of the window is the full prompt. Beware that the topics are less than ordinary as the prompt above states Write a letter to a million-year-old cantaloupe who stars in a TV show.

Another feature that is beneficial is that the language of the topics is age appropriate. Before pulling the lever, you will have the option to choose your grade level ( K-1, 2, 3 and 4-6).

The next step is the writing of the topic. The author will select from four options: notebook, letter, newspaper and postcard. Each option will have a text box and an option to add a drawing, using a pencil, various colors, selection of line thickness and an eraser-if needed.

There is not option for the work to be saved making this activity a one class project.

Category: Language Arts | LEAVE A COMMENT

February 15

Digital Scrapbooking

Whether you are studying famous Americans, characters in a book or a location, Scholastic’s Scrapbook is perfect.

Upon entering the site, the student will be asked to type the title of the book and the character. If you were studying a famous American, you would type in the time period he/she was alive or the name of a battle that he was a leader in.

The next screen will have two sides. On the left is a drawing area. It offers options for humans and animals. The animal options are dogs, pigs, mice, a cricket, fish, a mole, horses, cats, a dragon, a monkey, a bull, a rabbit, a giraffe, an owl, a dinosaur, a turtle, or a gorilla. These images are as is and do not offer an option for additional accessories.

The human images offer more variability. You can change skin color, hair, eyes, nose, mouth and clothes. The completed picture is of the shoulders and head.

On the right side of the screen is a table where students can type in various things regarding this person. Using the arrows, you can scroll through the options that are 10 Words to describe the character, details about their appearance, facts about their personality, challenges faced and accomplishments. Each line holds 60 characters where the students can type ideas or complete sentences.

There is also an option to print out a blank scrapbook page if you want them to draw their own picture. Scholastic has created a teacher guide with lesson plans and ideas for use of the scrapbook with various grade levels that can be found in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

How can you use this in a classroom?