Flickr Badge September 30, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Fun, General.Tags: Flickr Badge
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Today I finally had time to create a Flickr Badge(it has been on my “to do” list for a while) and I must say it was very easy, quick and fun. I decided to make one using pictures of my wonderfully loving, beautiful dogs. Check it out at the end of my Blog roll!! There are so many different, creative ways you could use this tool to highlight classroom achievements– as they say, the possibilities are endless!! You do need to have a Flickr account which is free and very easy if you already have a Yahoo ID. ENJOY!
Letter Sounds September 29, 2008
Posted by anne marie in ELA.Tags: Letter sounds
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Read, Write, Think has a great game to reinforce letter sounds- specifically beginning letters and short & long vowels sounds. It’s called Picture Match. Each game presents with a picture and five boxes that are labelled with specific letters. Students match by touching the correct box so it works well with the SMARTBoard. There is a limited audio component. It identifies the picture that is presented and there is a speaker icon on each picture if a student needs to hear the word again. If you use this activity as part of a computer lab lesson it does give you the option to print the student’s work when finished, which is a great plus. ENJOY!
It’s Official–I’m an Instructional Technology Specialist! September 28, 2008
Posted by anne marie in General.3 comments
Well last Friday was my last day in the classroom and I left with such bittersweet emtotions– excited to begin a new chapter in my career, but very sad to leave “my kids”. I am very thankful that I took with me so many wonderful memories– memories that I will cherish forever. It’s kind of weird not having a classroom filled with students, and calling an office “home”, but it’s all good, and I am very happy with my decision.
So Monday I started in my new position as an Instructional Technology Specialist. Yep, that’s me! I have to admit, though, I found myself looking around each time someone would introduce me as the new “ITS”–guess it will get some getting used to!! I feel so very fortunate to have been given this opportunity and I just want to take a minute to thank someone who touched my life for 13 years and I believe had a role in securing me this opportunity-THANKS Monica! Anyone who knows me knows how important Monica was in my life. I first met Monica hen she was just 3 years old and I was asked to be her home tutor, since she was to fragile to attend a school program. Our relationship quickly turned into a friendship, sharing a bond that was filled with love. When Monica passed away last year at the of 16 in many ways, for me, it was a blessing, for her suffering had ended and I believed she was at peace, finally in a place that would allow her to run and talk and play and smile. I also knew that if there were angels– I now had one, named Monica. Fast forward to the night of my interview for the Instructional Technology Specialist position– as I walked into the conference room for my interview and Iooked over at the table, much to my surprise I saw my friend, my angel, my Monica. I’m not what you’d call a religious or spiritual person, but I believe that Monica was with me during the interview and that she had a part in giving me this opportunity. Love you Monica and thanks for helping me believe that dreams can come true!
Juice Bottle Jingle Friday FUN! September 26, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Games, Math, Music, Science.Tags: music fun, Science
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I came across this very fun science site (requires Shockwave) that works well on the SMARTBoard and is a fun way to reinforce the numbers 1-6, following directions, cause/affect and is all musically fun! It’s called the LHS Juice Bottle Jingle. Students have to touch the correct numbered bottle to produce a specific song. Again it is a science site specifically addressing sound waves and how so there are other hands-on activities on the page that you might want to check out. ENJOY!
The Awesome Highlighter September 23, 2008
Posted by anne marie in General.Tags: Awesome Highlighter
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I have been using the Awesome Highlighter for some time now, but realized that I haven’t written about it yet, so here I go… the Awesome Highlighter allows you to highlight text on web pages — now that is way coooool!! If you register- it’s free- it allows you to save your highlighted pages which is a great way to save class work. One feature I like is the ability to change the color of the highlighter (color palette icon in upper right corner of page). This can be very effective when highlighting different parts of speech, main ideas, color code student work, etc. For my students I use it to address eye-hand coordination, OT objectives, cause/effect, etc. This tool also allows you to add a note- kind of like a post-it to the page. The “how-to” directions are very use friendly. If you use Firefox you can add Awesome Highlighter as an add-on . So go check out this cool tool– I’m sure you’ll find several useful ways to incorporate it into your lessons. ENJOY!
More Election 2008 Sites September 21, 2008
Posted by anne marie in history/social studies.Tags: election 2008
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Good Sunday Morning everyone! It’s shaping up to be a beautiful day here in New England so I’ll be heading out to the yard in a bit, but before I do I just wanted to share a couple additional election sites that my friend, and history teacher passed on to me- thanks Mrs. M.!!
The first one is from our own back yard: WCVBTV/DT5- The Boston Channel. This is a very comprehensive site that targets some of the key issues in this election. Clicking on the “on the issues” link will bring you to a page that compares eight of the key issues facing the Presidential candidates. There also is a “fun facts” link that gives you some interesting personal facts about the candidates. There also are links (to the right on the page) where you can learn about the VP candidates, Track the latest Polls, The ‘08 Money Race, and my favorite, “Map Election HIstory” which gives you state-by-state results over 10 election cycles.
The second site, which is really fun, is from the National Constitution Center alled Adomatic. On this site you can make your own personal Presidential Ad. This would be a fun way to start or end a lesson on the 2008 election. Again thanks to Mrs.M!
I also discovered three other sites about the Election 2008 that I want to share. The first being the election site from PBS. There is a plethera of resources available on this site- your best bet is to take time and explore, to discover which activities would best meet your classroom needs. In the Lesson Plans & Interactivity (elementary & secondary) section there are some very good activities that work well with the SMARTBoard.
The History Channel has created two short videos about the lives of both Barack Obama and John McCain. They present well on the SMARTBoard when viewed in full screen mode. Definitely worth a look.
The last site I want to mention is, National Student/Parent Mock Election site. This year Mock Election Day is set for October 30, 2008. NSPME provides educators with access to a teacher-friendly guide, which highlights issues and outlines the election process. The Teacher’s Guide provides lesson plans and activities or participating schools can design their own programs. Enrollment is free at the site.
Wishing everyone a great Sunday–ENJOY!
Simon Says have some Friday Fun! September 18, 2008
Posted by anne marie in Games, SMART Board.Tags: Educational game
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I came across a very fun game, Simon Playback Memory Game, from the website, Room 108- Primary Kids Education Site. A great Friday afternoon activity to reinforce eye/hand coordination, memory skills, cause/afffect objectives and to just have some fun using the SMARTBoard. ENJOY!
Electoral Map update September 15, 2008
Posted by anne marie in history/social studies.Tags: election 2008
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Just wanted to share some information I received from Joe Dixon- one of the brilliant people who helped create the AWESOME interactive Electoral Map I wrote about yesterday. Joe writes:
“Tell everyone to be on the look out because in a couple of weeks we should have a complete Notebook lesson available on the election that incorporates our Electoral Map. We also have some fun Halloween Learning Objects that we will make available. These resources will be available from our Educator Resource Center http://community.teqsmart.org.”
Isn’t that wonderful news– an entire notebook lesson on the election and some Halloween Learning Objects– WOW!!! Feel like Christmas is arriving in September!!!! So make sure you check back at http://community.teqsmart.org in the coming weeks for these exciting additions. ENJOY! Oh yeah, and THANKS to Joe and the other brilliant people at TeqSmart who work so hard to make these resources available.
Election 2008 September 14, 2008
Posted by anne marie in SMART Board, history/social studies.Tags: 2008 U.S. Presidential Election
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It’s a rainy Sunday morning here so I’ve had time to create a Notebook lesson on the 2008 Presidential Election and I thought I’d share a few websites and resources that I have found particularly helpful. The first one is from Time for Kids. It’s called the Election Connection 2008. There are six subcategories in this section- all giving some great information in very user friendly formats. I especially like the sections on Meet the Candidates and the Path to the Presidency. Campaign Games offers two fun trivia type games- great end of the day activities. All present well on the SMARTBoard- some being interactive.
BrainPop is making their selection of election movies available free of charge–how coooooooooool is that! No need to register either, just click on the election section and you’ll have a choice of viewing ten free educational videos.
Now this next resource is awesome to use with the SMARTBoard- every history teacher discussing the electoral votes needs to check this out. It’s from the folks at TeqSmart and best of all it’s free!! This Electoral Map link will bring you to their Blog entry complete with a link to the download page and a how-to video. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this great learning tool available to all educators and students!
The New York Times has compiled some very nice interactive timeline slide shows of the lives and careers of the two Presidential candidates: Barack Obama and John McCain and narrative slide shows on their running mates: Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. All present very well on the SMARTBoard.
The last site I want to mention is from USA Today. The Candidate Match Game lists twelve top issues facing the candidates and offers their positions on these issues. As you answer each question you will see which candidate shares your view. If you scroll over each red issue button you will be able to read a short background on their position. This would be a great way to initiate an open discussion about the issues and the candidates. This, too, presents well on the SMARTBoard.
I hope all, or some of these resources, are helpful to you on your quest to create Election 2008 lessons- ENJOY!
Matching upper/lower case letters September 10, 2008
Posted by anne marie in ELA.Tags: Matching letters
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Kinder Planet has a great, fun game Alphabet Letter Puzzle for identifying/reinforcing matching upper case letters to lower case letters. This game works very well with the SMARTBoard since it is interactive and students simply touch the matching letter. With each correct response a puzzle piece is revealed. Have fun!
If your students need to practice matching upper case words with lower case words then you might want to check out Kinder Planet’s Alphabet Word Puzzle. It’s the same concept as the previous game only using words instead of letters, with pictures to supplement the words. Both of these games require a Java-capable browser. ENJOY!
