6th Grade - Create Your Own Fidget Spinner Challenge

Below is an embedded Symbaloo webmix that contains links to videos on each step of the process. Start with "Getting Started" in the top left corner and move clockwise around the center to end with "Save vs Export" or watch the whole video linked in the bottom left corner.

Template for Word Cards from Google Slides

This week, a teacher friend of mine showed me a set of simple word cards that she printed from the Internet.  She teaches 2nd grade and uses similar cards to make games for her stations.  While the Internet has any number of teachers who are either sharing or selling their work, the list made by someone else might not have the words you need. So she asked me to help her learn to make them for herself.  

When I sat down to think about it, I knew I wanted to help her make something...
     ...that was low on the stress level for learning new technology. (Teachers have little time 
        and some are not digital natives. Plus,presentations let you put pictures
        wherever you want them.) 
     ...that could store previously created sets in one place for reuse next year. (No sense in 
        remaking it every year.)
     ...that could easily connect to and search through a set of images that were not 
        copyrighted. (Teachers like to share. We are not pirates.)

With those in mind, I came to the idea of using Google Slides.  Google Slides can do all those things listed above. It is really easy to share completed sets through your account, so a whole grade level can work together to make them. Also, the advantage of storing them online in Google Drive means you should always be able to find them even if your teacher computer is not working.

The link below has the cards in a Google Sheet. You MUST use a Google account to access them as it will force you to make your own copy of the cards.  

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SczhEteaZ4u-LT2qyOnDw-AMyIDmRF2zEXE5eWLa5ds/copy

 Images from the set are after the jump.

Reflector 2 from AirSquirrels

First off, I try my best to maintain my roots as a classroom teacher and stay grounded. One way I do that is to look for as many free websites, tools, and resources as I can possibly find. I love sharing new tools and techniques to engage students in instruction and to make teaching be more alive. Every once in a great while a tool or resource comes along that breaks the "It must be free." rule, but is so awesome that it is worthy of sharing with teachers.  One such tool is Reflector 2 from AirSquirrels, http://www.airsquirrels.com/reflector/ . 

DISCLAIMER: Reflector 2 is a paid product that costs around $15.  I am not getting any compensation for this. I purchased this on my own and have been using it during the lessons I model with teachers.

What is does...
Add this to your computer (not your iPad or other tablet) to show your iPad's, Android tablet's, or other device's screen wirelessly through your WiFi network up to the TV or Projector.  You can even record what you do as a screen capture video to share with others, such as students and parents.

How to setup and use it after the break.

Apps for Math That Go Beyond the iPad

I resisted the urge to post on April 1st thinking it would be taken as another April Fools joke. (Not that I'm above doing that, it just wasn't my purpose this time.)  Today, I am sharing about some virtual math tools that go beyond one device. They are not locked into needing an iPad or other tablet, but can also be used on computers, laptops, and smartphones as well.

Even though my examples will come mainly from The Math Learning Center, this is not a plug for one particular company's apps because there are many others that work across devices the same way. Some other "device agnostic" tools can be found from NearPod, Kahoot, Socrative, Worldbook Online*, DiscoveryEducation*, ReWordify, PebbleGo*, and more. 

To find the Math Learning Centers apps, you can either go to their main website, click on the "Resources" link, and then click "Free Apps" in the blue box or follow this direct link, http://catalog.mathlearningcenter.org/apps .

*Paid subscription required for these tools.

YouTube in the Classroom

Educators have and have had a love/hate relationship with YouTube since its beginnings. 

• They love the ability to find videos on any subject from anywhere. 
• They hate the ease that their students find distractions with YouTube videos that have nothing to do with school.  

• They love that YouTube can be the broadcasting voice for anyone anywhere. 
• They hate that some people who really don't know what they are talking about are also allowed to publish nonsense. 

• They love that it is a free to use resource. 
• They hate the proliferation of ads, especially inappropriate ones, that can't be controlled or muted.

The question has been, "How do I keep access to what I need my students to know without all the rest?"  In the past, the answers were varied. Some districts block YouTube entirely. That is a little extreme, but it happens.  Some create access for teachers, but not students. That works fine unless the students have smartphones that can get signal. Another approach was for a teacher to find the video she wanted, then download it from home using some browser extension, add-on, or website that saves YouTube's videos to the teacher's computer. That solves the other problems, but creates a new one.  It is against YouTube's usage policy to download a copy of their videos. A third option was to use some browser extension or add-on to stream the video to the teacher's computer and to hide the unwanted distractions. Cleanr and A Cleaner YouTube both worked in the past, but are no longer available.  ViewPure, http://viewpure.com/, fills the void and gets the job done easily.

ViewPure is a tool that can be added to the bookmarks toolbar of many browsers. Once there, a teacher can go to the YouTube video they want and click the Purify button in the bookmarks toolbar.  The video will open in that window, but with only the video and no ads or related videos. What's more? The Search feature remains on the page. It is clean. It is easy to use. It is free. It just works. See screenshot examples below.

Without ViewPure

With ViewPure

Change the Text - ReWordify Its Words

Modern English/Language Arts standards have increased the focus on understanding and finding evidence in text.  Using text in other subject areas, such as science and social studies, is on the rise as well.  Now more than ever, it is important to not only call out the words, but to understand their meaning and be able to infer additional insight.

The internet brings an avalanche of media sources to our teachers' and students' devices. The sources with the best content are not always on the most appropriate reading level. While there are sites where you can adjust the reading level like TweenTribune or Newsela, not everything is covered on those sites. For the times when you need text and the level is too high for appropriate use, there is ReWordify.

As the screenshot above suggests, text can be copied and pasted into the box and then ReWordified.  Although no account is required to use this site, a free account will allow you save ReWordified text for future use.  This is handy for a lesson with students.  It keeps from them having to find the original source, select it, copy and paste.  It saves class time to focus on content.

More after the JUMP

Choosing the Best Summary of a Speech - 5th Grade ELA in TN

As the majority of the country moves toward Common Core Language standards, the state of Tennessee has woven those standards and some of its previous standards together for the 2014-2015 school year.  One of the previous standards to be chosen for the 5th grade students is SPI 0501.2.3 Choose the best summary of a speech. Finding ample number of speeches written for 5th grade and also written summaries can be challenging.  Below I have included links to both speeches and means to have different summaries to judge.

Here is one source of speeches online. 

Speeches For Kids | Mocomi

These speeches are for kids. There is a filter by age groups and by media. Speeches from famous historic leaders can be selected. The speeched can be viewed freely on the site or downloaded with a free teacher account.

Here are 2 tools for creating automated summaries using built-in and online tools.

Summarize Text Using Mac OSX Summarize Or Microsoft Word AutoSummarize

Use Mac and PC built-in tools to automatically summarize texts for students to use. For the Macs, use a built-in service of the Mac to auto-summarize the text. In every program, the summarize service can be added to the Services listed in the the menu that appears below the program's name in the menu bar. The program menu shows the name of the program being used is is located between the Apple menu and the FILE menu. This service will need to be turned on in the System Preferences. 

Text will need to be highlighted for the service to show. Text can be highlighted in any document even a webpage. It does not need to be in any particular format, just selected. Once used, the summary can be adjusted to show a longer or shorter summary.

Text Compactor: Free Online Automatic Text Summarization Tool

Copy and paste selected text into this site, then select how much of the original is kept in summary. This tool is a simple tool and requires no special configuration. 

I hope this helps with 5th grade TN ELA standard SPI 0501.2.3.