Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Classroom Management GOLD! Bouncing Balls Website Triggered by Sound!

So I recently came across this website that has a tool called "Bouncing Balls" that is hooked up through the website and uses the computer microphone to trigger the bouncing.  The higher the noise level, the more the balls bounce!! When it is quiet, the balls remain still.  Use this in your classroom as a great noise management technique!

http://ictmagic.visibli.com/share/texdW3

Please share any noise management goodies of your own!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

The Daily Edit--Make Your Morning Work Meaningful!

So this is an idea I actually got from my own second grade teacher.  And no, she didn't tell me about it recently.  I actually remember this from second grade!  As a part of our morning work, there would either be a passage written on the blackboard or on chart paper.  This was "The Daily Edit."  In the passage, there would be different mistakes that each student needed to individually find and fix at his or her seat.  The passage was usually short enough, and the difficulty got increasingly harder as the year went on.  At first it covered simple things like capitalization, using periods, and the recognition of spelling in sight words, but it proceeded to cover other things that we covered in class.  It actually made morning work meaningful because it allowed students to apply their knowledge of structure in an analytical way.  This also helps with students' own writing skills because they have the practice in editing that can tranlate to self-editing.  It is also great for classroom management and structure, because students will know exactly what to do when they come in the classroom!

Here is an example of what a Daily Edit would look like.  This particular example asks students to use their knowledge of the structure of a letter, as well as some spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors. 

Please feel free to give feedback or let me know of some of your morning work strategies!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Website Spotlight: Snappy Words Visual Dictionary

Sick and tired of boring dictionary definitions?  Can't figure out how to get students to make connections between words and their meanings?  Snappywords online visual dictionary gives excellent visual definitions/connections for any word!



This would be great for any vocabulary lesson or for any sort of test prep.  Good way to review words as a whole class too, especially for visual learners!

Visit the site here:  http://www.snappywords.com/

So awesome and kids love it! Much better than a definition thrown at you.

Enjoy!