Phonics Easy Reader 4

I have been working with the Rock N Learn Easy Reader 4 with my small group of struggling readers in third grade. There are three contrived stories that focus on different phonetic elements-- this level focuses on au, aw, all, al, syllables, the schwa sound, ending sounds, and silent consonants. It fits in nicely with the patterns that are being learned it word study.

I have used the stories to go on word hunts, allowing the children to practice identifying and pronouncing these phonetic elements. I feel that the more practice students have using the words in context, the easier it will be to internalize the word patterns.

I think the rock n learn series would be useful to most lower elementary teachers.

Civil War App

US History Teachers—Try this!

Civil War: America’s Epic Struggle

This application has so much to offer. It brings photographs, statistics, music, storylines, battles, biographical profiles, timelines, and multimedia presentations, to name a few, right to the children.

Since studying the Constitution in 8^th grade Social Studies, my students have been curious about how slavery spread, and how it was allowed by law. After several discussions, I used the app to project information titled “Causes of the Civil War.” Here, I was able to discuss and show all the major direct and indirect causes of the war including the Cotton Gin, Missouri Compromise, California Gold Rush, Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

With so much content on this application, I found it to be a great introduction for teaching about the Civil War, and it will be a great addition to the Civil War unit I have planned.

Check out the new TED talk I posted to our class blog for student response work:

http://graceewhite.wordpress.com/

Also, the entire blog is something we do now. I can envision how much more interactive it could be if we had ipads in class to do this work. Any thoughts?

The Elements ebook for iPad

twitter in 60 seconds

Twitter-It's Not Just What's For Breakfast...
Steve Anderson (web 2.0 classroom)

For some, Twitter is a place where people talk about themselves, show pictures of what they are eating or a platform for celebrities to make sure they are even more a part of our lives. And certainly those tweets and tweeters are out there. A simple search of a few key words will reveal a world of misfits, narcissists and sometimes even worse.

And this is what I am up against everyday. You might be too. Trying to explain to people what Twitter is and more and more what it is not. And in education it is especially hard trying to convince Superintendents, School Boards, administrators and others that Twitter is a viable place for learning about real-time events and a place where educators can take part in some really meaningful professional development.

I get asked all the time how do I show the benefits of Twitter to skeptics. What is my ammo, go-to sites and examples that I point to when talking about all this stuff? So finally I have organized it all into a short list and will give it to you so you can arm your self with Twitter knowledge and head out into the world and start changing some minds.

An Intro To Twitter
This is a video that I noticed just recently and wished I had it since I started. While it looks cute and cuddly (which it is) the way these 2 really break down what Twitter is helps me explain it even better when I talk to people.

http://vimeo.com/20008272


Twitter Misconceptions
On this site are the Top 10 Misconceptions about Twitter. Things like people only tweet about what they eat for breakfast, or to Tweet means you have to give up massive amounts of time.

Twister
There are lots of services that will copy what Twitter does. This one is a little different. What do you think George Washington would have tweeted as he lead the army across the Potomac? Or what would Mubarak had tweeted as he watched Egyptian empire crumble around him? Using Twister, kids and teachers can use a simple form to create tweets, even full profile pages around historical figures. There are several examples to look at and lots of possibilities.


Twitter Chats
I have written a lot about this before but being able to show that there are lots of educators with similar curricular areas talking on a regular basis is huge for changing minds. Many don't think there is a chat for their area but when I show them Cybrary Man's page for chats, the lightbulb goes off.

7 Things You Should Know About Twitter
This 2 page PDF from Educase really breaks down what you need to know before dipping your toes into the Twitter water and explains how educators can get the most out of it.

How Twitter Makes You A Better Writer
This is one I use all the time because this was me. I was a horrible writer and had an awful time getting my thoughts down properly and in a concise way. Twitter has really helped me improve both of those things and more. (Although I do have a very long way to go...)

Twitter Can Save You Time
Another one I have found recently, this simple example from a good friend of mine about how he went to Twitter out of frustration and found exactly what he was looking for when no one else could provide it for him really helps to show one of the daily benefits many of us get when using Twitter.

Wyckoff on Twitter?

If you have a professional twitter account, post it here for all to follow. If not, try it! Use Wyckoff hashtag (#ems1) to learn, share out around iPads. As a newbie to twitter, I can't say enough about it's tremendous ability to increase our PD. I find out and read tons about the ipad, schools using it, etc.
Here are some wyckoff district staff you can follow on twitter...
If you post anything professionally, use this hashtag #ems1, so we can customize what we want to see from district.
@grayseawhite
@ciasiello
@richkuder
@mimigioia
@jencalendrillo
@taraszabo
@askear
@bconn85

And many more from EMS. Just go to who I follow for more.
Consider setting up a twitter. Very easy
Chris Iasiello , thanks for encouraging me to follow twitter.

Found this on Middle Web today.

HOW THE iPAD WANTS TO BE USED
http://bit.ly/speirs-ipads-in-schools
A lot of schools are envisaging the Apple iPad "in the roles that PCs
formerly occupied," says Scottish teacher and tech coach Fraser
Speirs. The laptop trolley becomes an iPad trolley. The checkout
computers become the checkout tablets. But that's not how the iPad is
designed, he says, and "the iPad is an extremely uncomfortable fit
for those roles defined in an earlier era." But it can be a hugely
helpful learning tool in the digital era, as Speirs is learning in a
schoolwide experiment that has garnered worldwide attention. See what
the ASCD Inservice blog had to say: http://bit.ly/speirs-ipad