Technology is at least NEAR my classroom

My school has recently purchased some new technology tools that work directly with the Smart Board’s that most of the teachers have in their classrooms. Unfortunately, I do not have a SMART Board or an Interactive White Board. However, if I coordinate a time and a room, I do have access to these tools.

                                              

One new tool is the SMART Response PE system. Each student or group gets a remote to use. When questions pop up on the SMART Board, students can answer using their clickers. These tools and the software help our teachers to easily create assessments and manage the classroom data. It could be used for fun review games, testing/ subject assessments, and even morning lunch counts. The buzz in my school is that the system is fun and easy to use if you already have and use your SMART Board and SMART Notebook technology.

                                              

Another new tool this year is the SMART Document camera. This is like a projector for the SMART board in which any type of document can be put under the scope and projected onto the SMART board. Then using the SMART board, students can fill in blanks, edit, revise, etc. whatever the document reads. This is the “overhead projector’ of 2011.

To view a video on how the document camera can be used, click this link!http://youtu.be/zcGn78PV52w

The third tool that our school purchased is the Smart Slate. This is a small board with an attached stylus. When the student writes on the slate, the writing shows up on the SMART board. This seems like a great idea by making the students interactive even further with the lessons. However, its gotten a bad rap around here. Apparently the slates are super sensitive and the students constantly need to rewrite things. Also, when you write on the slate, nothing shows up. So, the students have to look at the SMART board but write on the slate. Not too great for those students who struggle with hand eye coordination!

Part Time is the New Full Time

When I graduated from college and set out to be a teacher, full time positions were the norm among all schools. Since our economy and public school funding has crashed in the last few years, 'part time' is the new full time.

In most public schools now, aide postions are all part time. However, part time does not just mean half the day anymore! A friend of mine is a part time aide in the school I work in. Her hours are 8:30  am to 3:30 pm five days a week. However, her lunch is scheduled for 1 1/2 hours, so that she can be considered part time and not recieve benefits. Plus, she is paid hourly, not salary! I think its crazy!

A scary thing that I am seeing are that special ed. positions are becoming more and more part time. For example, my school has 5 part time special ed. teachers. I wouldn't be surprised if next year, the non-tenured full timers get pushed to part time as well. Ugh!

Holiday Traditions in Schools

Over the past 5 years I have worked in a few different schools and gotten to see many different holiday traditions. In one kindergarten classroom, the students work together to mix, cut and prepare a Thanksgiving meal. The food is taken home by the teachers to be cooked, and all the parents are invited in to take part in the feast. Games and small crafts were also a part of the feast and celebration. The students and parents had a wonderful time.

In another fourth grade classroom, students learned about the Native Americans and Pilgrims through various Language Arts and social studies projects. Diaramas were created at home and brought in for grades. On the day before Thanksgiving, the students presented their projects to the class. No fluffy celebrations or feasts took place, however the diaramas were beautifully done!

Currently, I am preparing for our second grade Thanksgiving tradition at my school. Here, the four second grades spend roughly 25 minutes in each classroom, rotating around. In each classroom, the students and their parents learn about different aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday and why we celebrate. When the rotations are finished, they will all gather in my classroom for a feast. This takes about 3 hours total. It sound fun and I'm excited to experience another holiday school tradition.

Here are some links to see how other schools keep holiday traditions alive & some ideas on how to teach/ celebrate the holiday:
Pre-school ideas
Elementary: Cross -Curriculum
Middle School

My Wish List: KINDLE FIRE!!

Who Wants To Buy Me This???

Well I would like to mention that I rank low on the "Who Owns New Techology Gadgets" list. I still use a cell phone that does NOT have internet or a data plan. My house only has one computer, a lap top with the least amount of memory and speed possible. I do have a facebook page, but I only really check it every few days, maybe even only once a week. I guess I am a little 'old school'.

However, I REALLY want the new Kindle Fire. I do read a lot of books at home that are mostly fiction novels. I think that my reading time and my online time would happily increase if I had the new Kindle Fire, since it has its own browser and incredible book space.
I hear that the preorder date is still saying that it will not be sent until November 29th. So, I think it might be a great Christmas/birthday present for myself (since my birthday is Dec. 24th).

With this new Kindle Fire, I would be able to browse the internet and download several apps. I would also be able to download books that I would love for my students to read. After getting clearance from my administration (of course), I could use the Kindle Fire in my classroom and FINALLY have some technology integration!

Well....a girl can dream :)

Project Read Ready

Project Read is officially integrated into my classroom as of now! Last week, myself and a handful of new teachers were led through a three day training on the program. I can really say that I love it!
My students are in second grade and were introduced to the program last year. Since most of the early information is now being repeated, I am quickly going through a few of the units from volume one and testing my students out. They are loving the short vowel hand gestures, the throwing and catching of the words, and the letter/diagraph stories. Once they pass the Mastery tests from volume one, I can go on to the new lessons in volume 2.
I highly recommend the program to any teachers who work with elementary students- regular or special education!

To find out more click HERE :)

Accelerated Math is up and running!

We just had our training for Renaissance Learning's Accelerated Math system. Accelerated Math (AM) is a program that creates practice worksheets and tests based on the teacher's input of key objectives and the success rates of the students. I plan on working the program into my math curriculum next week. I feel that AM will help my students learn the basics of math while at the same time progress into new skills!

To find out more about Accelerated Math, click here.