In the Classroom

Using iPads in content areas in the classroom

You Can’t Handle the Awesomeness!

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 6 Comments

Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I love my job.  Most days.  I work in a great school and have great kids and great parents.  Don’t get me wrong, there are days I could put a knot on every head.  (The kids that is, not the parents.  Maybe. ) The best part about teaching kindergarten is the never-ending enthusiasm of my students, as witnessed by this recent exclamation:  “Whoa! There’s a new app in the ABC folder! I can’t wait to play it! Oh man! This is so awesome!  I could do this every day it’s so awesome!  I  can’t handle all the awesomeness!” I’m not sure, but I think he liked it.  One of my students missed a day of school recently and during his absence, I added a new app.  I forgot to tell him about it but as soon as he opened his iPad and opened the ABC folder (I categorize my apps into folders), he immediately saw the new app.  What’s amazing to me is that there are 20 apps in that folder and he knew instantly there was a change.  Observant and enthusiastic!

When was the last time you were so excited at school that you couldn’t handle the awesomeness? As I’m typing this, I’m trying to think of the last time I was so excited about anything that I couldn’t handle the awesomeness…and I’m still thinking…anyway, the app that created the excitement is Starfall Learn to Read.  At last, all the content from Starfall.com’s Learn to Read index in an app!

I’m still pondering the unabashed love of learning.  Children innately love learning. They are curious and want to find out the what, where, how, and why of everything around them. Where does that curiosity and enthusiasm go?  Are we drilling and testing it out of them? Are we using best practices and showing our own enthusiasm as an adult learner?  I mean, if a $2.99 app generates more awesomeness than a child can handle and he enthusiastically exclaims he could play the app every day, it’s a worthy question.  Obviously, we can’t play apps all day long, just as we can’t sit at a desk and do worksheets all day either. iPads are definitely a game changer.  My kids think they are, well… awesome and I think they are pretty awesome my very own self.  I want them to be excited about learning and I don’t want them to lose that enthusiasm.   By examining ourselves as educators and taking a long hard look at what we are teaching, hopefully we can take a cue from my young student and channel our own inner awesome!

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Giving Students Choices in Reading

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 2 Comments

Readers without power to make their own choice are unmotivated. -Donalyn Miller-The Book Whisperer

I’ve stated before that I’m a voracious reader.  I have always loved books and the ability to be transformed by a story.  I particularly love Southern writers.  I’ve never quite understood how others aren’t “readers”. They read only when required and almost never for pleasure.  In order to create readers, we have to identify ourselves as a reader first.  We must “brand” ourselves as readers.  When I read to my class, I share what I like about that particular author. I tell about other books like that book.  I make connections with myself to the text, to others, and to the world.  My students know how much I love to read.

But what about those who struggle? Or those who don’t like it?  Getting to the root helps determine which way to help the child grow.  What don’t they like?  Are there books available that interest them?  How many informational texts are available on their reading level?  I can tell you that as much as I love reading, I would not be as enthusiastic if I were forced to sit and read instructional manuals all day, or books on mechanical things. Those are not my interest.  Taking an interest inventory helps know how to fill your book center or your iBooks shelf on your iPad.  Building an early foundation of excitement about books, whether paperback, hardback, or electronic, helps build an appreciation and love for books.

My students have a variety of genres available throughout the day.  We work to build enthusiasm for our classroom library and for our eBooks on our iPads.  By demonstrating authentic reading behaviors, doing away with worksheets, engaging kids in building stamina when they read, and giving kids choices about what they read, we can develop life-long readers.

Reading is so much more than phonics, sight words, and mechanics.  It is about building discovery, wonder, and awe around the written word.  It is power.  It is peace.

So what should students learn from us about reading?  That drill and practice worksheets aren’t making them better readers.  Reading makes them better readers.  iPads give me the opportunity to practice the mechanics of reading with individual students on their own level, but they also give them a choice of what they are reading.  There are leveled books in their iBooks libraries.  There are high interest books as part of their apps, plus all of the traditional books in our classroom.  The best part of all is that the choice is theirs!

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Action Words Anchor Chart

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Action expresses priorities. -Mahatma Gandhi

Action is something that is never lacking in a kindergarten classroom.  Something or someone is always in motion. In other action news, my students are very interested in action figures.  There was a fairly intense discussion going on at one point about who was more powerful-Spiderman or the Dark Knight. Of course, everyone had an opinion and several offered other action figures that were more awesome than the original 2 being discussed.  How does this impromptu conversation fit into the Common Core Standards?

By taking action, we can turn a random classroom discussion into a learning opportunity.  One of the kindergarten Common Core Standards is that students will participate in collaborative conversations about kindergarten topics with peers and adults. We turned their interest in that topic into an anchor chart.  Afterwards, they used their Whiteboard App to illustrate an action they could perform.  This activity involved using our sight words to construct a basic sentence and an illustration.

The following day I was reading an Eric Carle book, “Rooster’s Off to See the World” as a part of our Eric Carle author study.  As I was reading, without prompting, the children began calling out action words they heard in the story. Our discussion from the day before had carried over into a new activity.  Higher order thinking skills?  You bet.

By being alert to everyday situations, we can take action and turn them into meaningful learning activities.

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Let’s Play!

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 3 Comments

“Play is the highest form of research.” ~ Albert Einstein

When you ask my students what they did at school on any given day, they will answer, “I played.”  For those unfamiliar with how young children learn, that answer can be unsettling.  Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning. Play, by its very nature, is educational. It saddens me to see kindergarten classrooms doing away with centers. Fortunately, my principal sees the value of play in young learners.

My students have a variety of centers to “play” in each day.  These centers are carefully planned to enhance learning.  We have a reading center, a poetry center, a writing center, a math center, a science center, and an ABC center.  We have centers for blocks, legos, housekeeping, and art.  We use a rotation system in the morning while I teach guided reading groups and in the afternoon while small group guided writing occurs.  While students are at the ABC or at the math center, they may also choose iPads.  I have 2 iPad cards (or passes) in each of those centers.  2 students may work on iPads while at ABC and 2 at Math.  My apps are in folders and students at ABC may only work in the ABC folder while those at math may only work on apps in the math folder.  They must have the “pass” in order to use the iPads during that time.

I don’t start the “pass system” until a few weeks into school. I print them on card stock and laminate them. (See photo at left and click here to print your own.)

I need to make sure the children know where the folders are on the iPad and that they know how to properly use the iPads on their own.  They also know that if they are not in the appropriate folder, they will lose their iPads for the afternoon.  While I do monitor the students, my monitoring is nothing compared to the eagerness of my students to monitor (tattle on) each other.  By giving them these “controlled” opportunities to use iPads on their own, I am building up to having them use iPads in the reading center and other times as they deem they are needed in their learning.

Children need the freedom and the time to play.  When the fun goes out of play, most often so does the learning.  My students are engaged in a variety of structured play activities throughout the day. We include iPads as a part of those activities.  In play, children learn how to learn.  iPads give us the opportunity to extend and differentiate learning.

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More on Anchor Charts

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 1 Comment

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. -Benjamin Franklin

One of the first things we do in kindergarten (besides learning where the bathroom is) is to create an anchor chart together.  Anchor charts are charts that are created with the students to help them “anchor” their learning.  We make one for every letter of the alphabet, we make one with our classmates names, we make one for how to listen, we make one for colors, one for numbers, and any other skill I would like them to use on a regular basis.  We use them daily in our Reading and Writing Workshop activities.

My students love them and refer to them all throughout the day. They are engaged in the process of creating them so they take ownership in them.  After a while, they know more of what is on the charts than I do.  Space is a concern…and do I really need to leave a chart on Halloween words up all school year? Those questions are answered with the iPads.  I find that I leave the alphabet charts up all year; however, seasonal charts, or special charts made for a specific activity do not have to stay up and take up valuable wall space.  By photographing all of the anchor charts and syncing them out to the children’s iPads, they have the charts with them all year long regardless of whether they are on the wall or not.

A recent writing activity included writing about our families.  After making the Family Words chart, they were able to refer to it all week as we discussed our families.  We also wrote about foods we liked.  By having the anchor chart, students were able to write about these foods.  In a week or so, I can add these to their iPads and they will have access to these words even if I take these charts down.

Another advantage of having these charts on the iPads is that students don’t have to walk across the room to see them if they are writing something and need a word.  The charts are also available if students are reading on their iPads and would like to read the charts.  It is like Read the Room, only it is done in their seats.

If you aren’t using anchor charts, I highly recommend them.  They are quick and easy but they pack a powerful punch.  Parents can even make them at home and post on the refrigerator or in the child’s room.

By involving the child in the learning, they create connections that are critical for mastery of skills.

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Learning Phonics with iPad Apps

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 1 Comment

Practice is the best of all instructors. -Publilius Syrus

The beginning of every school year brings a variety of ability levels to kindergarten.  I have children who are already reading and some who struggle with just naming upper and lower case letters and sounds.  I’ve stated that the best part of having 1:1 iPads in the classroom is the ability to differentiate for student need.  There are a series of apps by Good Neighbor Press we use a lot in the beginning of the year.

The first app I use is the Upper and Lower Case Letter Matching Pocket Chart.  This has students matching upper and lower case letters.  It takes about 3-5 minutes to complete the cycle.  This is particularly good for my young learners who are still working with this skill.  It is easy to use and engaging as the students are earning stars for correct answers.  It also helps with the ever-confusing lower case b and d identification.  This app is .99

Beyond matching, another app in the series is Matching Beginning Sounds.  Again, this is a 3-5 minutes cycle that is highly engaging and keeps students moving through the app.
Other apps in the series include matching rhyming words, ending sounds, consonant blends and digraphs, word families, compound words, and long and short vowels.

Math apps are also available from this publisher.  There are apps for shape matching, position words, counting 1-20, number and number words matching, fractions and single digit addition and subtraction.  Each of these apps can be purchased individually, or for $4.99, you can purchase Pocket Charts Pro and receive all 20 games in one app!

One of the reasons I like this app is because pocket charts are common in many classrooms.  These apps are recognizable activities that don’t require a lot of front loading to use.  It also give you a quick sense of an individual child’s abilities.  While I may have 1 or 2 pocket charts available during centers for students to interact with, having a variety of pocket charts apps in their iPads means no one has to wait their turn.  Instant access!  Because there is a variety of skill levels within the app series, there is virtually something for everyone.  When you can deliver just-in-time-practice to each individual student, you are increasing engagement as well as allowing the child to move at his/her own pace.  Students who are ready to move on aren’t held back by those needing extra practice.  Those needing extra practice aren’t being rushed on by those who are ready to move on.

As I’m finishing the 10th day of school today and finishing up all of my initial assessments, I see I have a wide variety of student abilities.  By using apps such as those in the Pocket Chart series, I know my students are getting practice right where they need it!

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The First Week of School

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 6 Comments

Excitement in education and student productivity, the ability to get a result that you want from students, go together and cannot be separated. -Major Owens

“Mrs. Meeuwse, this iPad has it all!  I can write and read and do math on it!” After 5 days of using iPads in the classroom, my kindergarten students are excited.  Did you notice that the child’s exclamation did not include the word play? That surprised me a bit.  They are so “play” oriented.   So far, no one as asked if they can “play” with their iPads.  They have asked if they can “work on them” or “get on them”.  Perhaps they are mirroring my own language in using them.  I am careful to use instructive language and modeling as we implement them slowly into our curriculum.  We have used them only in small group activities during guided reading  at this point.  My assistant and I both are showing them how to use key apps that we use frequently.

As we enter the second full week of school, I have completed my initial assessments and I have a better sense of what these small guided reading groups need to work on.  Since we use the Reading Workshop model, I have placed the children in small, flexible groups to work on specific skills.  One group is ready to read Level A books.  We have the LAZ level A readers on the iPads and this will give the children an opportunity to have just right books in their hands.  My students who need extra help in learning letters and sounds will have hands on time in centers with various manipulatives but they will also be working on a few specific apps to reinforce these skills.  One of these is the Starfall app.  Having a carefully mapped out plan creates comfort for you as the teacher, but also for the students as they know exactly what your expectations are.

The best part of having 1:1 iPads is all 25 of my students have access to apps that meet their individual needs. As we continue to work slowly and methodically through class routines and procedures both with and without the iPads, I’m reminded of Debbie Miller’s quote in Reading with Meaning: “We must be deliberate in September.”  Being explicit and deliberate about the smallest of details is important.  As our children become more confident in their abilities and activities in the classroom, their engagement soars, their inquiry shines and their excitement is unmeasurable.  We need to slow down to speed up!

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Introducing iPads to Kindergartners

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 2 Comments

From small beginnings come great things. -Proverb

Today was the day. After a nice restful weekend and a bottle of Extra Strength Excedrin tucked away in my school bag, I was ready to seize the day.  I was ready to take the big step.  Today was the day to introduce iPads.  It was our 4th day of school and my students were itching to get their hands on them.  I had been asked repeatedly over the first 3 days, “When can we use the iPads?”   I kept telling them, “soon”.  As a child I hated that response from an adult.  Soon was never soon enough.  It wasn’t that I didn’t want them to use the iPads, I just wanted to skip over the “here’s how to use them” part.  You know, the boring stuff.  The oh-so-important-do-not-pass-go-do-not-collect-$200-do-not-rip-off-this-tag-under-penalty-of-law important kind of boring stuff.  5 year olds have a casual relationship with the “fine print”.

As soon as I said iPads today, there was instant silence, then instant cheers.  Uncontainable excitement.  I rolled them out in small groups.  5 at a time, keeping the basics short and sweet.  I took each child’s picture on his/her individual iPad and made it the home screen and the wallpaper.  This makes it instantly recognizable when opened by all.  We went over turning it on, navigating screens, choosing an app, closing the app, and putting the iPad to sleep.  We went over how to hold it, how to carry it and where to put it when finished.  Wide eyed and smiling, their joy was apparent. Their engagement was instant. Then, oh so quickly, their time with the iPads was finished and we had to put them away.  One by one, they returned them to the charging cart so I could lock them away for the day.  One child leaned over and said softly to his iPad, “Goodnight iPad. We can play again tomorrow.”

As for the rules and procedures, we get to do it all over again tomorrow and the next day and the next.  Modeling and reinforcing the “fine print” ensures that our  small beginnings will soon produce great things!

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New Beginnings

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 1 Comment

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. – Joseph Priestly

After several busy days of meetings, professional development, and working in my classroom, the big day is finally here.  Today is the first day of the new school year.  Very shortly, I will have 25 excited, anxious, sad, and maybe even scared kindergarten students.  My own feelings are very similar to those of my new students.  I’m sad about the loss of the familiar students from last year and excited about the new students and possibilities this school year holds.  While it is disparate to feel both sad and excited at the same time, it’s a familiar feeling for me as I begin my 24th First Day of School.

My new students have already come in, met me and seen our classroom.  Their first questions were not the same as those I’ve had in the past…”When is recess or lunch” or “When can we play at centers”…their first questions, almost unanimously, were “When do we get to use our iPads?” Hmmm…good news travels fast! Their parents are also interested in the apps we use so they can get them on their iPads and iPhones at home.  Having both students and parents excited before we even begin is a good place to start.

As excited as they are to begin, I have a lot of front loading of procedures that needs to take place.  I can’t allow both their excitement and my impatience to begin to short cut those very important steps.

As I plan for my first iPad implementation with my students,  I’m excited to think of all the great things we will do this year.  Last year’s students amazed me at their iPad ideas.  I know this year’s class will create their own fresh start, their own special magic!

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Back to the Basics: Planning for a New Year

/ Kristi Meeuwse / 5 Comments

The beginning is the most important part of the work.- Plato

I go back to school in exactly 17 days.  *Sigh*.  The new school year always brings a convoluted mix of emotions.  Few advents bring such excitement and dread. However, one thing I have learned over the years is the absolute necessity to start the year right with your students by front loading procedures.  Harry Wong is an educator, speaker and author.  He states that “The three most important student behaviors that must be taught on the first day of school are discipline, procedures, and routines.” By being vigilant the first few weeks of school in establishing rules and routines, you set yourself up for a successful rest of the year.

Implementing iPads at the start of the year also requires front loading of procedures and rules.  Whether you have a class set like mine or a few for students to share, proper use is an integral part of classroom management.  Our school year starts on a Wednesday.  I spend those first 3 days teaching classroom procedures and do not incorporate iPads.  Older grades whose students used iPads the previous year might not need to wait 3 days.  With 5 year old students (and some are actually 4), I need all 3 of those days to get classroom procedures rolling.  The next week, I begin pulling small groups of students for reading groups.  I will introduce the iPads in those small groups.  We learn how to turn them on and off, how to navigate screens, how to hold them and how NOT to hold them.  We work our way through a few phonics apps and then put them away.  We will do that each day for that first full week of school, while continuing to go over all other classroom rules and routines.  The second full week, I will usually do a whole group math activity or phonics activity with the iPads.  We continue to reinforce proper use and handling and I model desired activities by connecting my iPad to the Smart Board.  Students can watch and follow along.  This has been successful for me in using the iPads the last 2 school years.

Those without class sets of iPads need to define how you want them used before giving them to students.  The old adage “Failing to plan is planning to fail”, comes to mind.  While there is nothing wrong with letting students freely explore the iPads, there needs to be a broader vision of their use.  This vision should be systematically communicated to students as they integrate them into the classroom.

I also find it helpful to think of what trouble students can get themselves into and be proactive.  The iPad has several features which allow you to control student access.  The first thing I do is turn off the “in app purchase” feature.  You can also turn off the camera, access to Safari and deleting apps features.  I don’t turn those off in general, however, if you have someone using the iPad in ways you don’t want, these are alternatives.

Starting the school year with iPads is exciting.  Having a firm vision on their use and purpose will help guide you through the first few weeks.  When in doubt, go back to the basics!

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