Lizbeth

Assignment 1: I am very excited to find apps for the classroom,out of Arkansas, sometimes it is hard to differentiate the quality apps from the junk ones. It is helpful to have a guideline to follow, with descriptions and reviews. I found an app for creating a smart board out of your iPad, which looks intriguing

Assignment 2:

1# Mastery Connect- common core standards, this is a great free app that outlines the common core standards for grades K-12. This will be a useful tool when writing curriculum, and documenting standards implemented.

2# F&P Prompting Guide. Because we use the Fountas and Pinnell curriculum for reading and writing assessment this is a guide that outlines prompts and strategies. Teaching, prompting, and reinforcing scripts are useful when conferencing and instructing reading and writing.

3# Visual Math 1&2 excellent overview of early elementary mathematical concepts. Great graphics and highly interactive. My students choose this when they finish required work and can choose an activity. Very motivating.

4# Puppet pals- this will be a great app to have as a tool for children to retell stories. Or create a puppet show with their third grade reading buddies.

5# Little Solver-This is an Early Elementary Logic app that helps children develop critical thinking skills and analytical reasoning skills. There are two versions ,Figural analogies and graphic analogies with beautiful realistic photographs. This app encourages higher level thinking skills.

6# Mini Adventures by Alligator Apps is a treasure! I teach alphabet letters and sounds, these fabulous photos of animals not only spell the name of the animal, but it includes a YouTube video of the animal as well. What a great combination to motivate the kids in phonics instruction.

7# I am the theatre director at our school so I am always looking for apps that I can incorporate into the rehearsal process One that I love to use is called improv. This is a compendium of ideas to use for improvisation practice. It breaks the ideas into 6 categories, location, profession, character, adjective, object and relationship. I put the students into groups and each one has a category ,then the group has to blend each of the ideas into a scene. This app would be a great story starter for creative writing also. There are several of these types of apps, Story Cubes, Suggestifier, Inspiro, and Suggestion Box are also great motivators for theatre rehearsals.

8# There are several Montessori apps which are great for reading and math instruction, addition, skip counting, letter recognition, rhyming. These are great for reinforcing early elementary skills.

9# Starmap is a great tool for astronomy. It really helps the children visually comprehend constellations, planets and other wonders of the universe. I used this for our astronomy unit. Not only was this exciting for the children, it is a great tool for me to learn constellation formations, and their positions in the night sky.

10# I have collected several interactive storybooks, an example is Jib Jab books which are set up so that you can put children's faces into the characters of the book, it can read the text to the children or it can be read independently.

Some of my personal favs:

1# Got a problem you just can't find a solution to? One of my absolute favorites is Whack Pack it is a series of creative problem solving strategies, it is fun to check out the card a day or you can choose random cards that give you different options for solving problems.

2# Facebook, I use this as a communication tool when needing to give information or get information from students or parents Whether it be in my classroom or the numerous extra-curriculars I am involved in.

3# My Fitness Pal- this is an app that is a great fitness and health diary (if one were to use it on a regular basis) It keeps track of food intake and exercise, gives motivating and encouraging messages.

4# I am a closet composer, so I have downloaded several composing apps. I am hoping that some day I wil find the app that will help me write down all the notes to the songs I have composed, Master piano, garageband, and song writer.

5# Trip advisor is a great tool when you are traveling it really helped when I was in Chicago and needed some advise on what to do and where to eat.

Assignment # 3 Ebooks- Insects by Cyndy Adamsen this is to be used in the Kindergarten insect investigations Audiobooks - a compendium of classic literature that can be used for theatre and forensics