SMARTNotebook and Extreme Collaboration AddOn Beta

I recently learned about Extreme Collaboration (XC) AddOn Beta for SMARTNotebook 11.  XC allows you to use any device that can connect to the Internet to be able to interact with SMARTNotebook files.  You log onto a website (add2nb.com), enter the personalized number id and you can send up to 10 messages to appear on the SMARTBoard within the Notebook file that you are currently working in.

Once I understood how it worked I thought of some great ways to use it with my class.  I thought about using it for spelling words, and rhyming words.  I then went into SMARTNotebook and created 2 files to support April's rhyming units in the Elementary Band.  Each file has a cover page, instructions, and then 4-6 pages of pictures to represent various rhyming words.  In the second picture you can see, what my students did with their devices (iPads and iTouches).

 

This is the file for -ive rhyming words:
http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=74bca383-7e9c-4f74-b841-fb8877884d83

This is the file for -ake rhyming words:
http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=430fb925-aba2-4d10-8e56-d679649acd80


If you want to download XC AddOn Beta for SMARTNotebook 11 you can go here to download it:
http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=91367205-678c-4aae-accf-966497fc2f8f
It is very easy to install and activate.

Planting a Rainbow and Planting Seeds

My students are going to be planting seeds this week - hopefully they will be up in time for Mother's Day and our gift will be all done!

IF they do not grow, I found this poem:

I planted some seeds in hopes that they'd grow,

Something went wrong, I just don't know...

Instead of some flowers, it's a cupful of dirt.

I love you - I hope your feelings aren't hurt!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

It is from: http://eberhartsexplorers.blogspot.ca/2011/05/happy-mothers-day.html

As a lead in activity I am going to be reading "Planting a Rainbow" by Lois Ehlert.  As luck would have it, I found this book on Bookflix (all Ontario school boards have free access through your school board and OSAPAC).  If you have access to this resource, it is under "Animals and Nature" and then it is on page 29-32.

Abilipad

I recently was able to purchase 4 iPads for my class, and I have 2 more coming in June.  This means that we will soon be an 1:1 iPad class. I have been trying to figure out how to use the iPads in the best way for my students.

We are currently using, and loving, Abilipad.  I have found some great ways to use Ablipad to support the use of Unique Learning System.  Typically, I have my iPad connected via a VGA Adapter to the SMARTBoard so that I can model what the expectations are and how to use the app.

We are using it, mostly, for reinforcing rhyming skills, my students have to verbally label the picture, think about what beginning sound it has, and then spell the word. I tried to recreate my Clicker 5 activity with Abilipad (see the last picture of this post).  

I have discovered the use of Dropbox and it is so easy to share files with this app, I can upload my notebooks/keyboards from Abilipad into Dropbox and instantly my students can access them on their own iPads. 

Here are some screen shots of how we are been using Abilipad:

This is a screen shot of for -ive rhyming, I created a variety of pages in the notebook that has different pictures on each page of a rhyming word for -ive (hive, dive, five, drive, jive and live).

Here is the same idea but for -ake rhyming.  Again, I created a variety of pages in the notebook that has different pictures on each page of a rhyming word for -ake (cake, bake, make, take, brake, wake, fake, lake, quake, and snake)

This was a keyboard that I created back in March for creating sentences that support the vocabulary for March's unit.

Files for April

With March Break and Easter, we are doing an extra week of the March unit but I did create all the files today.

Here are the rhyming worksheets created in Boardmaker Studio.

 http://www.boardmakershare.com/Activity/1805065/ive-and-ake-rhyming-worksheet-uls

Here is the beginning sound file for SMART Notebook, you need to have SMART Notebook 11 to use this file.  I tried it at school and it does not work in SMART Notebook 10 :(

 

http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=7dc37830-4007-46b4-84f9-3dfc13cf6840

Here is the Word Mat that I created in Boardmaker Plus, work and together are on the page twice once as a title and once as a word (I could not find another title)

http://www.boardmakershare.com/Activity/1805079/april-word-mat-2013-uls

Here is the set of April Word Work created in Boardmaker Studio.

 

 http://www.boardmakershare.com/Activity/1805067/april-word-work-uls

This is the strip that I print off and put on the top of each desk. Sorry no link!

  

Supplemental Resources for March

Here are some free online activities to go with March's unit:

Tools Tot Pack  - you will need a free 4Shared account to download the Pack
http://mamasmonkeys.blogspot.ca/2011/03/tools-tot-pack.html

Another Tot Pack - Handy Manny
http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/HandyMannyTotBook.html


 

Printable Puppet Show from Handy Manny
http://family.go.com/printables/article-757754-disney-preschool-printable-color-in-handy-manny-puppet-show-with-background-t/

Here is the link to all the Handy Manny items from Disney:
http://family.go.com/disney/pkg-disney-character-fun/pkg-disney-handy-manny/

Here is the link to DisneyJr Canada, where there are online games from Handy Manny:
http://www.disneyjunior.ca/en/handy-manny/


Here was a new way of creating puzzles that just happens to tie into tools:

 

This idea came from:  http://love-and-lollipops.blogspot.ca/2011/07/lets-build-it-tot-packs-and-puzzles.html

March Resources

Here are some things that I have created for the March Unit - Tools at School.


This is a set of activities to work on the sight words and rhyming within March's unit.   There are 5 separate activities - spelling, sorting, memory, comprehension, and rhyming.

 http://www.boardmakershare.com/Activity/1775525/ULS-March-Word-Work


This a set of two worksheets to work on the -ed and -ad rhyming words.  I am going to have my students colour in the circle red for the -ed rhyming worksheet.

http://www.boardmakershare.com/Activity/1775484/ULS-March-Elementary-Rhyming

Here is the word mat that I use each month:

Here is the desk strip that I created:

Rhyming Idea

I was browsing through different blogs and I stumbled across Joyful Learning in KC.  This is a blog for kindergarten teachers.  I found a post from December 2011 that is all about the word family "ike."  She wrote about a variety of ways that she worked on this word family.   This lead me to exploring her blog further and I found a that she uses Word Family Houses.  I found a template on her website that I downloaded it, and then made 2 houses for "ike" and "ank." I printed it off on 11x17 paper, made some cards in Boardmaker, and I have a sorting activity.  I plan on using it near the end of the month as a cumulative activity for rhyming.  I will post some pictures when we have done the activity.