Digital Storytelling in the Classroom = Building Better Writers

Hello everyone!  It may have been awhile but I wanted to pop in today to show you a fun app that my daughter and I have been playing with during the break..

I am an avid educational technology lover! If it can be used in a classroom, I'm the first to buy it! I use all sorts of techie gear in my room..IWB, document camera, iPods, an iPad and whatever else I can get my hands on!

I have an iPad app called Puppet Pals. It is a wonderful storytelling app in which students can use puppets to tell a story and record it to play back as a video. I think it would great for my ESOL students! Writing is a very difficult task for my kiddies. I have some students that are unable to write more than a paragraph. However, when asked to verbally tell a story, they really shine!

This app is SO much fun! In class, I hope to have students use the app to tell a story. Once their story is told, they can then go back and listen to and write their own story! It's almost like dictation! I'll bet thatMy kids  willbeg to use it during writers workshop. It really helps with generating ideas and keeping a story organized.

As a special treat, here are some stories created by my little one.  If you are looking for a great addition to your toolbox, look no further!

Aren't they fun? The app is free and comes with a few characters but the downloadable content is fantastic! I hope you find the app as fun as I do!

Best wishes,

And pop in to my TeachersPayTeachers store for even more!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teachesthirdingeorgia

Snap It Up Saturday! Saturday Morning Scramble

Yikes! What a week I've been having and I am so glad to say that this one is over! You would think it was a full moon again because my class seems to have forgotten all that stuff we did the first two weeks of school. You know, all those rules and procedures. Sheesh!

I think I have the cause pinned down though. You see, we got a new student on Monday, and let's just say this little guy is a trip! Anything he can do to get a laugh out of the class or a rise out of me, he's gonna do it. Some of his antics this week included tying himself to his chair with his shoelaces (not with the ends of the strings, but with the part down near the toe) I'm still not sure how that happened--I'm thinking he unlaced his entire shoe, tied it to his chair, and then relaced afterwards. And then the next day, he felt the need to glue his math assignment to his desk. Needless to say, it is entirely possible for one student to change the entire makeup of a classroom.

But, regardless of his antics, I'm going to love him and teach him anyway. We just have to get to the point where we see eye to eye and he knows my expectations, which are high.

I spent all of last night scrambling to get homework finished for my Gifted Endorsement class and haven't even started with lesson planning for the week. So I guess you could say I'm knee deep in the Saturday Morning Scramble! 

And that's where this week's Snap It Up Saturday Freebie comes in. I have a fun little font for all of you to used and it's called--you guessed it!--Saturday Morning Scramble! It is a fun little whimsy font that looks cute on all sorts of applications and its also Commercial Use Friendly...So yes, you can use it on TPT documents that you sell--as long as you shoot me a quick credit right back here to my blog. Just click on the image below to Snap It Up!!  I hope you enjoy it!

And that's it for today folks! I've got to jump right back into lesson planning and get that all wrapped up. Thank goodness for a fantastic team because we know where we're going and all it takes is a few clicks in my planbook and I'm all set for the week! Have a great weekend and enjoy the day off!

Best wishes!

Randi

Snap It Up Saturday! Chalking Up Another Week!

Howdy ya'll! Another week back in school and I'm beat! The nerves are a little frazzled due to a bunch of new things that I have taken on but I feel like it may all straighten out pretty soon. I guess I need to drop that procrastination off somewhere and start jumping in as soon as something new strikes. We've been SOOO busy at school I thought I would share a few things that we've been doing this week, along with this week's Snap It Up Saturday! Giveaway.

First off, in math we've been working on remembering our addition with regrouping skills. It seems like those disappear during the summer between second and third grade. Most of my class jumped right in and had no difficulty pulling those old skills back into their repertoires. I still have a couple that need some intervention, but we'll get to that during our flex math block. This week, we grabbed up our iPods and went to work with some QR codes. I have a lively class and they aren't quiet for very long but the iPods held attention like a dream and they worked diligently. All you could hear was the random YES!!! when they solved a problem correctly.

I also pulled out an old Science lesson that I did last year with my kids to show them how water pollution affects animals and how difficult it is to clean up.You can read that post here. The different this year was that I had them put feathers in their pond to represent birds. We polluted our water with cooking oil and the kids had to rescue their "ducks" and attempt to clean them off with paper towels and cotton rounds. Needless to say, the kids realized that their "ducks" died from being covered with oil and that it was next to impossible to get all of the oil out of their pond. Here we are having a bit of messy fun in the classroom!

 It was a good week! We had a field trip to our local recycling center on Friday morning. The kids loved seeing how everything gets sorted (by our state prisoners) and remade into other products. But, even with all of that educational loveliness, their most favorite part...The flocks of vultures that seem to love the area so much.  

Now on to today's Snap It Up Saturday! giveaway. I whipped up a little set of chalk-esque frames for you today. There are nine and they have transparent backgrounds so they can be layered over just about anything. I think they look pretty cute against black and green backgrounds. Maybe you'll find some use for them!

As always, have a great weekend and thank you for following. And just so you know how happy I am to have a 3 day weekend, here's how I feel...

See you next week!

Currently....and a New Addition!

Hello Friends!

It's almost midnight here in North Georgia and I've got the house all to myself. My hubby is at work and the little one is spending the night with her bestie. I love that she is able to spend time with her best friend, and I love the fact that I am able to trust her friend's mother to care for her. It's a sad world when you don't trust anyone with your kids. But, she too is a teacher-mommy, and if anyone can wrangle two first graders, it's her! 

It is so hard to believe that July has already begun. My paycheck rolled in, and then it rolled right back out, and I'm already in back to school mode. Scary, huh? I can't wait for the back to school sales to start. I might have an addiction to school supplies.

And since I'm here, I thought I would link up with Farley over at Oh' Boy, Fourth Grade for this month's "Currently". Here we go!

Listening: We have a tin roof, on purpose. I love the sound of the rain when it pours down like it is right now. It is very soothing and makes me sleep like a log. I hope I can finish this post!

Loving: The cats are away, so this mouse will play! Well, not actually play, I get some uninterrupted time to blog, work on TPT products, and surf through pinterest. Every mom needs a little downtime.

Thinking: About my daughter. No matter who she is with, whether it be with my best friend or my mother, I worry constantly. I thought it would ease up as she got a little older, but I'm still a worrywort. I can't help it.

Wanting: New clothes, shoes, and school supplies. I might have a fetish for all three...well, except for maybe shoes. I'm rocking a pair of four year old Teva's and I'm not giving those up anytime soon. I can't wait for the back to school sales to begin..Something about the smell of new crayons...

Needing: To finish cleaning up the house, but I'd rather not. Maybe I'll call Merry Maids.

Tips. Tricks, or Hints: Just like I said, Do what you love and love what you do. If you love teaching, do it. and do it to the best of your ability. This field is not just a job to me, it is a blessing.

And finally, a few new additions to the store. I've been plugging away at all sorts of things: clipart, curriculum materials, and more! Here are just a couple..

Want them? Visit my store!

Click here to visit!

And just so you know to stick around, I have something extra special planned for the weekend. I hope you all are having a great summer and enjoying the rest and relaxation.

Hugs,

Randi

Snap It Up Saturday! Fun Font Freebie!

Hello everyone!
Week Two of summer vacation is here and I am LOVING it! I have gotten so much done here at home that I think I might actually get caught up! I've been cleaning out and decluttering the house, working on some TPT projects, and feeding my newest addiction! FONT-MAKING! You can tell from this week's freebie that I have gone a little overboard.

I love fonts! I just hate having to credit for every single thing, but I still do.. I downloaded an awesome app for my iPad called iFontmaker. It is super easy to use and well worth the couple of bucks that I spent on it. Starting right after breakfast the other day, I went to work! And you'll notice my font titles are all breakfast related. It was the only thing on my mind at the time.  This week's Snap it Up Saturday post is a set of 19 (YES 19) fonts that I created. They are commercial use and only require a linkback to my TPT store.

Click image above for download.

I really hope you like them. There might be one or two in there that you'll be able to use. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Randi