Notebook 10 Training July 28, 2008
Posted by anne marie in General, SMART Board.Tags: Notebook 10
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Tomorrow I’m off to attend a Notebook 10 Training in NYC at the SMART Technology Corporation and I am sooooooooooo excited!!! Well ok, excited about the training, but definitely not about the long commute. Anyway, I will be sure to share any new, cool Notebook 10 features I learn about!! 
Will be away from posting for a week or so…. July 15, 2008
Posted by anne marie in General.add a comment
Just wanted to let everyone know that I will not be writing for a week or so- will be busy with house projects and sneaking in fun time with my husband. So everyone be safe, have fun and enjoy your summer!!
Dental sites July 12, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Games, General, Websites.Tags: Dental Care
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Well I am heading to the dentist this week for my 6 month cleaning-UGH! Not at all my favorite thing to do- even though I have a very nice dentist and typically have no “issues”. For some reason, though, when I sit in that dental chair and hear the drill from the neighboring room roaring like a lion, I turn into a scared little girl. My appointment started me thinking about the importance of educating our students about proper dental care. If dental care is not part of your Life Skills curriculum, it should be. To help you facilitate this I have identified a few sites that might be helpful in this endeavor.
The American Dental Association has some very good, educational activities, videos, stories and games. Animations is a teaching tool. Simply click on the tabs at the top of the file to watch and listen to the five major oral health topics. Games and Puzzles presents you with three games to choose from for students grades 1-3. I especially like “To Tell the Tooth” since it is a nice review of dental care. I just wish the audio support continued past the initial introduction. My students enjoy “Match-A-Tooth” since it is based on concentraion. You match dental pictures and this works very well on the SMARTBoard. The last option in and interactive story “Visit the Dentist with Marty” for Pre-K- 2nd graders. It is a nice story about a young boy going to visit the dentist. It provides audio support or you can turn that option off and read it yourself. This story presents well on the SMARTBoard and students enjoy turning the pages by clicking the flashing blue arrow (great opportunity to practice turn-taking skills!). I should mention that you do need Flash Player to use any of these options.
Mouth Power is a wonderful site that is offered in either English or Spanish and has some audio support. “Mouthie” is your guide through a laboratory with six different stations that allows students to “discover the power of a healthy smile.” Most of the activities at each station works interactively with the SMARTboard.
The Web Dental Office has a very good game section offering 8 different educational dental games (7 in English). The dental quizz could be used as a good pre and post test (touch the tube of toothpaste to indicate your answer). The snake game is a fun board-like game which also incorporates counting skills. So you might want to head on over there and check out this site.
Milton Bradley also has a fun game, Crocodile Dentist, for young children. It is a basic cause affect game that works well with the SMARTBoard since you simply touch a tooth in the crocodile’s mouth and hope you don’t pick the sore tooth or the croc will “chomp”!
I hope these sites help you when planning your dental lessons… and wish me luck with my dentist appointment! ENJOY!
Final slide show of the year is ready! July 10, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Our Classroom.2 comments
I am proud and happy to report that I finally created a slide show with some pix from our last week or so of school. We had been learning about he Rainforest so with the help of Mr. Dan we made some Rainforest hot chocolate, dissected some frogs and oh yeah, lets’ not forget when Scottie recieved a Mass Mutual Academic Achievement Award-YEAH! So without further ado here is the Rock You slide show-ENJOY!
Notebook 10 July 8, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Notebook 10, SMART Board.Tags: Notebook 10, SMARTBoard
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I attended a short hour long workshop this morning highlighting some of the new and improved Notebook 10 features and I was very impressed. I especially liked the Magic Pen (REALLY COOL!), the Page recorder and the Animation options- all features I know I’ll be using LOTS!
Happy Birthday America! July 4, 2008
Posted by anne marie in General.Tags: Fourth of July
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America is 232 years old today! 
Hope everyone had a fun, relaxing, day filled with family and friends!
4th of July Word Search July 3, 2008
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Games, SMART Board, Websites.Tags: 4th of July, ELA, interactive word search
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Here is another 4th of July interactive activitiy that works well with the SMARTBoard from applesfortheteacher.com. It’s a 4th of July word search that you can choose to use interactively online or print it out to complete it using paper ad pencil. I would use it both ways- print hard copies for each student to follow as together we found the words on the SMARTBoard. Either way it’s great since each time you play, there will be a different set of words associated with the 4th of July used to create the word search. Ten words are randomly chosen from the predetermined vocabulary word list. When you play the game online you are playing against the clock. It works well with the SMARTboard since you simply use your finger to highlight the letters in each word. ENJOY and Happy July 4th!!
AOL for Kids July 2, 2008
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Fun, Games, Math, Science, Websites, history/social studies.Tags: AOL for Kids
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I was watching the Today Show this morning (isn’t summer vacation glorious!!) and during a segment discussing “ways to keep kids’ school skills fresh this summer” I was reminded of Kids.aol.com and thought it worth sharing for those of you who might not as of yet explored this sister site of AOL. KOLis filled with many educational games and activities and has an awesome resource component which can be found under Homework Help. And don’t forget to check out KOL Jr. for younger aged students–it also has a Homework Help section filled with wonderful resources. ENJOY!
AT Blog Carnival July 1, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Assistive Technology, Websites.Tags: AT BLog Carnival
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The latest AT Blog Carnival, Edtion #4 has been posted- thanks Lon! This latest edition is a grab bag format with 10 submissions (even one from me!!), each one filled with some very worthwhile information and definitely worth a look. I find this Carnival format to be very convenient and helpful- sort of like one stop shopping for some wonderful ideas! So if you want to learn about several AT topics head on over to the AT Blog Carnival– guaranteed you won’t be disappointed.
