Mrs. Tech

It is so much fun to talk about Johnny Appleseed and there are so many wonderful apple week resources out there to share with you. I just wanted to highlight a few of my favorites below.  Johnny Appleseed Webquest Ship Shape First Grade has an AMAZING All About Apples Product Apple Science Experiment  Apple Pretzel Snack Apple Snack Sticks Apple Jokes Books About Apples Apple STEM Activities And a long list of Apple Crafts Happy Apple(ing?) -Hilary 

When I was looking up fun holidays to celebrate in my class, I stumbled upon this one. Celebrated every year on September 19th, this appeals to the imaginative side of each student. Without much class interruption, you can celebrate this holiday while you allow your kiddos to talk like a pirate for the day. Here are some resources that I found for Talk Like a Pirate Day: A List of Words that Pirates Use Paper Plate Pirate Ship Finding Your Pirate Name DIY Treasure Map Pirate Theme Games  (walk the plank being my FAV) Free Writing Prompt Page Make Your Own Pirate Hook & A Tasty Orange/Jello Snack A Healthy Pirate Ship Snack Crystal & Comp Shares Pirate Books for Kids Ahoy Matey! -Hilary 

For those of you that have been following along with my iPad journey, I wanted to reach out and share my thoughts on our first year with an iPad lab. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you might want to start here .  Brief Overview of our goals: I work at a K-12 private school. We purchased 21 iPads (5th Gen) to suit the needs of our 1st - 4th grade classes. The way that our school does electives, I went to each class one day a week for 40 minutes. When the iPad cart wasn't in use (3rd-7th period each day), teachers were able to "rent it out" from me for full use in their classroom. I had two teachers that did this weekly from day 1, and a few others took advantage of it throughout the year.  Recommendations:  1. Buy big iPads. We set up Apple Classroom on each of the iPads and because each student had their own log in, it stores each profile as it's own app owner and in turn saved each app 8 times (one for each class). We quickly realized tha...

So I know that I have already shared with you some of my favorite coding apps on my blog both for iPads and desktops , but I wanted to get back on here and share with you about Apple's Swift Playgrounds that they released as their version of a coding app. As always, something that is based on the device on which it is being played is going to function beautifully, and this is no exception with Swift Playgrounds. I love that Apple shares user guides, help guides, and starts with the most basic versions to get you coding. I wouldn't recommend this as the very first coding you ever do, but I sat in a classroom with many other educators who had never coded before, and they did just fine on this. It does require more reading, so I would recommend it to students who are readers, but we all know that our students are smart enough to figure lots of things out without reading the directions. I love the cute little character that Apple came up with and I also like that there ar...

Play and Learn Science is a PBS Kids game that is aimed at PreK-2nd grade, and is great for exploring science topics in a hands on way through technology. None of the games last forever or have a million levels, but they are just long enough that they get the students engaged and they start to better understand the topic.  The science activities that are covered are as follows:  • Weather Control : Read the Temperature, Weather Controller, Thermometer Picking • Gear Up : Photo Weather, Gear Up, The Amazing Umbrella • Ramp & Roll : Explore the Roll, Hit the Target, Surface Challenge • Shadow Play : Exploring Shadows, Shadow Scenes, Guess the Shadow Part of what I love about this game is all the discussions that you can have after have students explore different aspects of the app. I share what discussions I have had with my students in my resource here .  Let me know if you try this app out, Be a scientist, Hilary 

One of my favorite parts of Draw & Tell is the freedom to have students draw freely. I love to use this for them to create a word picture while we are reading a book to keep their hands busy. It is also a fun way for them to just color for a brain break and to fill in a little free time while they wait for their other classmates to finish. Honestly, who doesn't love to color?! While they are coloring, they can also add clip art or extra designs to the picture and they can color in patterns - say what?! If you want to see how I used Draw & Tell in my classroom, check out my resource here ! Also, any of the other Duck, Duck Moose Apps (like Superhero HD) are pretty much the bomb.com, too!  Happy Drawing, Hilary

Lego Creator is a game that all of my students have enjoyed working on over the course of the year. I originally found it as entertainment for my boys when I had a small group project that I was completing with my girls, but it has honestly been enjoyed by all. You essentially start out with an empty island and you collect blocks to use as currency to build up your island (and add future islands). Each time you are able to build something new, it gives the students choices on what they can pick. They really enjoy the creative part of it, as well as seeing how many blocks they can collect. (As you can see in the picture below, I hold the record with 1500+ :p)  To read more about Lego Creator and see how you might use it in your classroom, check out my resource here .  Happy Building, Hilary 

Newsela reminds me of an app that I used 5 years ago when I was doing my Student Teaching in a Special Education classroom. We used it often because we loved that we could so easily change reading levels. We also loved that our simplest readers could still read the current events that we were discussing. Honestly, I can't remember the name of that site that we used, but Newsela is so similar and I have loved using it in my elementary classrooms.  I'm not going to go crazy in depth, but you can see that the premise of this app is the ability to assign articles for your students to read at their reading levels. They can also work on vocabulary and reading comprehension through the quizzes that are attached to many of the articles. There is also a feature on many articles that allows the article to be translated into Spanish. What a great tool for bilingual students/teachers.  There are a variety of articles to choose from - kids, arts, health, arts & culture, sc...

Earth Day is April 22nd, and even though it is a Saturday, it is definitely something that you should plan to discuss with your students the week before or after! There are some great resources out there to teach your students about Earth Day and it's importance. Some lessons from Education World Earth Day STEAM idea Amazing Earth Facts Jeopardy Game Earth Day Solar Cookout Earth Day Book List from Scholastic Scholastic Video about Trash Mini Garden Craft Earth Day Ideas for Middle Schoolers EcoHaven Emergency Game Earth Day History (article) Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven Compare Light Bulbs Healthy Earth, Sick Earth Discussion   Lots of Printables & Activities for grades K-12 If you like Digital Resources, be sure to check out my digital resource for Earth Day . Happy Celebrating, Hilary *Originally posted 4/17/2017 on MrsTechs Blog

Did you know that April is Poetry Month?! There are so many wonderful poets and so many fabulous poems out there that this is definitely worth a discussion sometime throughout the month of April. I have compiled a list of online resources/apps that are great tools to use during poetry month: Word Mover App Acrostic Poems App Theme Poem App Haiku Poem App Shel Silverstein's Website  Haiku Poems Poetry 180 (for High School age) Giggle Poetry Poetry For Kids Storybird Rhyme Zone Scholastic Poetry site (make sure to check out the Poetry Engine ) Go here for Poetry Writing Forms Check them out! I hope you found a new one you can use in your class this month! If you do, let me know in the comments below :) Hilary **Originally posted on MrsTechs Blog on 3/31/2016

Happy Easter!  Hope that y'all are getting in the Spring spirit and that some nicer weather is coming your way! Do y'all get off for Easter? Do you have school the Friday before or the Monday after? Well if you do, these are some great resources to use as you discuss Easter in your classroom.  Decorate an Egg Easter Story Memory Easter find the Differences Easter Bunny Puzzle Easter Word Search Fill In Puzzle Easter Egg Basketball Easter Egg Hunt Dress Up Game: Easter Egg AbcYa Egg Hunt Free The Easter Bunny Easter Blast Easter Bunny Dress Up When you're done playing all of these interactive games, check out my Easter Webquest , Easter Symbols Webquest , or my Easter Reflections Freebie ! Happy Easter, Hilary @ Mrs. Tech *Originally posted 4-10-2016 on MrsTechs Blog

As I look through the Daily Wonder App, which places a focus on kindness, I wanted to see what I could use this for in my classroom. Here are a few ideas that I came up with to build a better classroom community:  Journal prompts – display or write the daily wonder on the board. Have the students journal each day either virtually or on paper about the prompt (quote). Collect it weekly as a completion grade – this is great for check it at the end of each quarter and spot check for 2-3 entries completed. Quote of the day – explain what this quote means to you or how it can change the way that you act today/think moving forward Class Discussion – use these quotes as you see fit to engage the class in discussion. I always love to hear what the quotes mean to each students, so have them share. You could pick a different student to read the quote each day and share what it means to them, or you could read it and just popcorn the students answers # Choosekind weekly tip – have t...

Pages is similar to Microsoft Word in the fact that it is mainly used for lists, papers, and jotting down notes. Though it is simplistic in its design, there are lots of great ways to use Pages in the classroom. I love to use it to have the students write a quick paragraph about their weekend, or for them to answer a journal question. Another fun way is to have them make a list of their goals for the new year or a timetable of their morning routine. It is a great way to have students use a little bit of technology, and super easy for them to share anything that they create with you via Air Drop or Seesaw.  For 3 projects to complete in Pages, as well as a cheat sheet for Pages to help students navigate it, check out the resource available in my TpT store .  Happy Exploring, Hilary 

Shout out to Numbers for making Excel sit down for a second. My first graders have navigated Numbers so much easier than they have Excel. I'm not sure if it is the layout or the look or that it's on an iPad or what, but wow! They blow me away with how quickly they can pick some of these things up.  Numbers is fabulous because it is a virtual storage for all sorts of data for you - and the best part - it does most of the calculations for you if you know how to. Seriously y'all, teach your kids how to use numbers. Every year for Science Fair, I watch our high school students STRUGGLE with how to make graphs and charts from their data. Teach them young using Numbers (or Excel, too) about inputting their data and creating charts & graphs. I PROMISE they will be thankful to you one day!  If Excel or Numbers are overwhelming to you, I have a quick little cheat sheet, as well as a project or two up my sleeve to take the intense knowledge of the content out of it...

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite online Presidents Day activities that my students enjoy each year! These are all kid-friendly websites and most of them are free of any ads. Some are educational and others are just fun for early finishers! Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments below! Happy President's Day! - Mrs. Tech **If you are looking to have students learn about all of the different presidents, make sure to check out my Presidents of the US Webquest , Presidents of the US I Have Who Has or if they just want to learn about the history of Presidents Day, check out my President's Day Webquest .  Presidents Day Coloring Pages Presidents Day Hangman Presidents Day Videos from History.com Presidents Word Search Win the White House If You Were President... Presidents Day Dilemma Presidents Day for Kids Video Tour the White House Mount Vernon Tour (George Washington’s Home) ...

ChatterPix is an app that I use with my students for character talk. I love to hear the characteristics of main characters of a book from a student perspective. ChatterPix allows students to take a picture of a character (or take a picture of a drawing) and give the character a voice. They simply draw a line where their mouth is, and then records a 30 second video as the character. I typically have my students summarize the characteristics of a character in 30 seconds. Another way I have used ChatterPix is to have students take a picture of themselves, and then use ChatterPix to explain their standing on a topic we are discussing in class. This is just a fun way for the to share an opinion or a summary of a character in a way that you can reflect on later. For a project to complete in Chatterpix, as well as a cheat sheet for Chatterpix to help students navigate it, check out  the resource available in my TpT store .  Have you ever used ChatterPix? Let me ...

Telestory is SUCH a fun app to use in the classroom for weather reports or classroom updates. We do morning announcements at our school, but only in High School. My Middle School kids really wanted to try out announcements so we used this app originally to start with them.  Basically, you can make cue cards, choose disguises, and record yourself doing weather, sports, news anchor or top stories. It is a great way to have students begin the recording and video process. It is also great for video awareness and public speaking. Using an app like this helps reinforce these skills while also allowing the students to create & have fun!  If you are interested in more TeleStory projects or a simple how-to, check out this resource in my store for only $1!  Happy creating, Hilary 

It's that time of year again! I love school, but what a celebration 100 days is. That means we're over halfway through and so I wanted to share with you some of my favorite online 100th Day of School activities that my students enjoy each year! These are all kid-friendly websites and most of them are free of any ads. Some are educational and others are just fun for early finishers or 100th Day Parties! Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments below! 80 days left? - Mrs. Tech 100 Snowballs Peg & Cat 100th Day of School  Starfall - Count to 100 Multiples Ghost Blaster (100 points) Interactive Number Chart - 100 Splat Square Give The Dog a Bone 100 Days Songs 100 Days Math **Originally Posted 2/2016 on MrsTechs Blog

It's that time of year again! I wanted to share with you some of my favorite online Valentines Day activities that my students enjoy each year! These are all kid-friendly websites and most of them are free of any ads. Some are educational and others are just fun for early finishers or Valentines Day parties! Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments below! xoxo - Mrs. Tech Valentines Day Puzzle Valentines Day Coloring Sheets Tic Tac Cupid Trap Heart Counting Hearts (tally or counting practice) Valentines Day Word Unscramble February Mad Lib Heart Match (vowel sound match) Heart Break Dora & The Lost Valentine Originally Posted 2/2016 on MrsTech's Blog