First graders have taken a strong liking to our iPad’s at school and are strong creators and bloggers with an iPad as a tool. Typically, iPad’s are consuming devices at this age, however I wanted to share a basic math lesson over the course of three days, that touches on the Massachusetts Math Frameworks, incorporating both iPads and Google Docs. The Google Docs side of this lesson is exciting because of the ease of which a teacher is able to create and share. The teacher will need either a personal Gmail account or Google Apps for Education account to create a Form, Document and a Presentation. Read more…
Sight Word Safari with iPads
After ten years of working with teachers, of varying levels of “tech savvy”, I’ve come to an important conclusion…a technology infused lesson requiring the fewest moving parts, typically works best. The lesson below, Sight Word Safari, has a flavor of old school methods and new, that blurs the line for those on the cusp of taking the next steps with technology. I wanted to share something basic enough for those who might be overwhelmed by new technology. As you will see, there are no external apps or links to follow, no need to set up an account or enter user names for students.
There might be some that say the lesson includes to many dated methods, but I feel this type of lesson will bridge the “technology infused lesson gap” affecting many districts. It only takes a spark, to get a fire going… Read more…
Project Based Lesson on Immigration
For this project based lesson, fourth grade students will have access to their Google Apps for Education accounts and will use Google Chromebooks to access and research lesson materials. The estimated time for this Immigration Project is two weeks with with tasks to be completed in and out of the classroom.
Initially provide a brief reintroduction on immigration using Google Earth to visually highlight scope of mass immigration using interactive white board. Showcasing routes people from Germany, Ireland, France, Britain and China used to immigrate to the United States over the course of nearly 100-years through the 1920’s. Read more…