Talking SMARTBoards & Much More!

If you haven’t checked out the website www.lookybook.com you might want to take a minute to do so! I came across this website when I started a Google search for books online.  I should let you know up front that this is a website designed to sell books.  It may not work for all classrooms, but the reason I like this site is because you can view and read over 200 picture books, for free, with no obligation. I would recommend that you register (it’s free) to eliminate the requests to purchase the book while reading. Using the SMART Board today we read ”Owls” by Gail Gibbons. It was a perfect activity since we are learning about animal habitats.  The books are not interactive (students can, however, touch the screen to turn the pages), but having the book projected onto the screen is a plus for my students.  I read the pages using a pen light to highlight the words, asked comprehension questions and had students identify the illustrations, etc.  The one negative is that the ease of reading the text is dependent on the size of the text in each book.  The illustrations, however, in all the books I have used are wonderful and a great spring board for picture identification, prediction, composition, etc. The other obvious advantage and time saving feature of this site is that you can simply review books that you might want to use in your classroom without having to go to the library. All in all it definitely is worth a “Looky Book”!

My husband made me smile tonight when he pointed out that my obsession with learning how to navigate and create my blog is coinciding perfectly with the college basketball tournaments- the Final Four.  You see, since I am preoccupied with creating this blog– he has complete control of the tv clicker.  Since I am  not always, let’s say eager, to watch hours of basketball– he has been in heaven to have free reign to watch all of the basketball he desires!  He’s hoping that his recent luck continues right through to baseball season- Go Red Sox!!! 

Happy Sunday!
Today I want to share a website that I have been frequenting for a long time–Tinsnips.

http://www.tinsnips.org/index.html

It is not an interactive website to be used with the SMART Board, but it does share some very good resources, ideas and lessons for those students who can benefit from the traditional worksheets. The description direct from the site- ”Tinsnips is a special education resource that strives to share a variety of specialized teaching tools, techniques, worksheets, and activities with teachers of students who have autistic spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities.”

Make sure you check out all of the Links to find all of the free, pre-made worksheets and ideas.

The website, Childtopia, was passed onto me by a friend and it is OUTSTANDING to use with the SMART Board! It is a free online resource for early learning activities and can be accessed in five different languages- English, French, Spanish, Catalan and Basque.  It is very user friendly- for example, when you rollover each category (and there are several) the name of the activity is spoken.  This option is great for students who are non-readers, as it allows them to make independent choices by touching their option.  All of the activities are available to purchase on a CD-ROM.  Most of the games work well with the SMART Board. The Listening and Comprehension activities are marvelous- the stories are very engaging and if you choose the option to have it read- the words are highlighted as it is read and the comprehension questions give you 3 answers as options. I would recommend that you explore every inch of this website to take full advantage of all of it’s options!

I stumbled across this website filled with FREE educational software for children ages 18 months-4 years. It was developed by a mother for her sons who were encountering difficulties using the mouse. The programs can be used by touching the spacebar, or if using the SMART Board simply touching the screen (cause/affect).  I found the programs to be very engaging both visually and auditorally. You can definitely feel a mother’s love in each of these activities.

http://hiyah.net/index.html

I would encourage you to check it out!  

I just came across a fun website that has several very engaging interactive games  for younger students or students who are addressing cause/affect objectives. It’s Pauly’s Playhouse- http://www.paulysplayhouse.com/paulys_playhouse/main_menu/main.html

Hope you enjoy!

Over the past few weeks I have been spending a lot of time putting together information for the MCAS-ALT Portfolios for 3 of my 10th grade students. I guess I should explain for those of you not familiar with this– ”the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is the Commonwealth’s statewide assessment program developed in response to the Education Reform Act of 1993. All students educated with Massachusetts public funds, including students with disabilities, must participate in MCAS. A very small number of students with the most significant disabilities, about 1% statewide, take the MCAS Alternate Assessment. The MCAS-ALT consists of a portfolio of materials collected annually by the teacher and student.” Now back to my story….as I gathered the materials that have been collecting over the course of the year I was again reminded of how important the SMART Board has become.  The MCAS-ALT Portfolios this year consist of 75% work samples that originated on the SMART Board.  One of the best features of the SMART Board for me, is that I can print student work immediately as evidence to be used in a portfolio- it’s GREAT! Having the SMART Board has made this job much easier this year and saving me ALOT of time– which as Martha might say, “is a good thing”!!!

The SMART Board has been like a key unlocking the educational treasures that have been unreachable within some of my students who have significant cognitive challenges. The interactive component allows my students to express and communicate their thoughts in ways that they never were able. I liken it to the Christmas special “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” when Santa Claus, led by Rudolph, lands on the Land of the Misfits, rescuing all of toys and finding them homes. It’s Christmas every morning in our classroom when we turn on our SMART Board! The SMART Board has exposed my students to a whole new world of educational opportunities, in a sense rescuing them from a world where they couldn’t always demonstrate their true abilities. Today I want to share a success story that exemplifies the “power” of the SMART Board.  One of my students who is16, and recently enrolled in my class, asked me why he was unable to write his name.  After a brief discussion I told him that I would do all I could to help him achieve this goal. So in comes the SMART Board– I began by having him simply make straight lines on the board using his finger, progressing to drawing circles with his finger.  After 2 weeks he began to put the two together to write his initials RB.  The first time he completed his initials independently on the SMART Board he was so excited he went to 2 different classrooms to announce his accomplishment!!! It was AWESOME!  Soon he was using the SMART pens to write his initials on the SMART Board and after several weeks of practicing this skill, he graduated to writing his initials using a pen and paper.  It truly has been an amazing journey for this young man and once again confirmed by belief that given the right tools and a chance, we can all succeed and reach our goals. I have included a recording of RB writing his initials on the SMART Board for everyone to share in this wonderful accomplishment. I think this video says it all…

RB

Today I used a new- well new to me- website with the SMART Board to assist my students with letter identification.  Bembo’s Zoo http://www.bemboszoo.com/  The alphabet is on the screen (capital letters) and when you touch one of the letters an animal word appears using that letter and then the word morphs into an animal complete with sound!!! The students thought it was fun and were eager to have a turn– which is always a HUGE pus when trying to reinforce letter indentification!!

Came home from school today and took a LONG wonderful walk with one of my dogs- it was simply a delicious early spring afternoon! As I walked I thought I really needed to spruce up my Blog and so I was inspired to try and add a slide show of my best friends! I think I figured it out– so with my fingers and toes crossed I will press save and hope it works!!!

[rockyou 107198897]