Paper and Pencil or iPads and Fingers

I don't know about y'all but I sometimes struggle to make technology useful in the classroom! Ok... I know not all of you have iPads and computers available, but I am sure it will be the norm in the coming years. I have 6 iPads and 3 computers (that sometimes work!) in my classroom. Sure there are lots of cool apps... but are they teaching the skill I am wanting students to learn? Maybe, maybe not! 

I often find with many of the web based apps and educational websites that my students think its just a game. They just tap buttons. Sometimes they get lucky and get the right answer, sometimes they don't! 

The past couple of weeks I have been trying to charter into new territory (new to me anyway)... and find ways to use the same types of materials I would normally use, but in a digital format. I wanted students to have something fun but realize that it was for learning, not a game, and that they would have something to turn into me when they were done.

So I finally found a way to make my close reading packets iPad friendly! Students can mark text, draw think marks, and highlight text. 

I created these task cards with detailed and illustrated instructions on how to start, complete, and "turn in" their work. 

This week I just spent some time "training" a few students that I felt could "train" the others to use this method. I hope I can get a class set of iPads in the near future because this is going to change the WAY I do things... not WHAT I DO. Technology shouldn't change what we teach or how we teach, it should just be used as a tool to make what we teach more engaging while helping our students become more tech savvy. 

If you have some iPads and want to see how this works, check out my White House Close Reading on iPads which is FREE for a limited time. You will probably have to spend some time working closely with a few students at a time to get them oriented (and learn yourself) to this method... but imagine the possibilities in the future!!! 

You could save a lot of paper and prep time using this! I have made it super easy to assign differentiated assignments with this product. 

The response activities are tiered so that lower level readers get lower tiered questions and activities build up to higher level responses with repeated readings. You can even let some students respond with recordings... would be great with students that have a hard time with writing responses. 

Synonym Centers are the next thing I am working on for iPads. Students choose the correct synonym and they can write it in, create text boxes or sticky notes to type responses on. There will be a variety of activities and ways to "turn in" work. 

Of course until I have enough iPads and resources to go completely digital... paper and pencil is still my "go to" method of HOW to do things. Managing this with some "sneaky" second graders has become a challenge. I was fed up with "no name" papers, unfinished work stuffed in desks, and turning in last weeks spelling packet just to get to free centers!!! So... I created a new little system.

Using clothespins, ribbon, thumb tacks, and hot glue I created a place for finished work. 

If you would like to create a place like this for your students finished work so that you can quickly scan to see who has turned in and who has not, here are my tips.

1. Hang a ribbon across the area you plan to set up your finished work display, must be easy for students to get to.

2.  Push thumb tacks into wall spaced apart enough for papers to hang from clothespins. 

3. Put a generous amount of hot glue on the thumb tack. 

4. Stick the clothespin to the thumb tack that has hot glue on it. 

5. When the glue is set, you can put some glue on the clothespin and adhere name tags to the clothespins. 

6. Clip clothespins around the ribbon. The ribbon is sort of decoration, but also serves as backup in case the clothespin detaches from the thumb tack (I've had a few). 

My students seem more motivated to get their work on display and I can take a quick peek to see who is finishing and who is not. 

I'll have to share with you what happens at the end of the day with the papers that I have collected... that is another story! 

Needless to say, there are no more "missing papers" and even if there is no name on the paper, I know who it belongs to!