There are lots of choices for current events on iPads but a kid-friendly option is News-O-Matic. This app offers free trial issues and has articles written especially for children. It includes videos, images and extra resources to help bring the news to life for your students!
Use this app with my Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan on current events!
If you’re looking for experiments for a school science fair or an easy way to access steps for an experiment, try DIY Nano HD. This free app focuses on an exploration of nanotechnologies, and the properties of atoms and molecules. It includes informational videos, easy to follow instructions and is great for all ages!
Check out my Common Core aligned lesson plan for Earth Science or one of the environmentally friendly QR scavenger hunts in my Teacher Store!
In classrooms with just one iPad there are lots of apps that you can use to create presentations (Educreations, Doceri, ScreenChomp, Haiku Deck). If you have access to 1 to 1 technology you have to try NearPod for presentations. Use an old PowerPoint as a template and upload it to the NearPod website. Add interactive items like quiz questions and polls that will keep students engaged and help you access student understanding. Once your presentation is created, students can watch on their own iPad screen as you control the pace of the presentation. It’s easy to use and with free basic accounts it’s definitely worth checking out!
If your students are making their own presentations, check out my screencasting guide!
There’s plenty of free “wow your crowd” apps and Essential Skeleton is one of them! Users can manipulate a 3D skeleton, highlight different sections and read information about each bone. Multiple entry points make this a great app for students of all ages.
Have your students explain what they see in one of my favorite screencasting apps!
I’ve talked about all the ways I use QR codes in my classroom and it is so easy to make your own! The free iPad app QR Code Maker gives users the ability to copy and paste any URL and turn their link into a QR code. Save the QR code to your camera roll and share with students.
I have lots of QR hunts in my teacher store (here’s bundle #1 and bundle #2)
*this app works great on your iPhone too!
Thank you for making the first half of 2013 a special one! As the school year winds down I have a few pieces of exciting news to share!
If you’re looking for Professional Development on Technology and the Common Core, register for my four part webinar series beginning May 22nd – I’m excited to partner with Accelerated Literacy Learning to share tips, ideas and best practices for teaching Common Core ELA with technology!
There are so many great ways to share your favorite technology tips: Like my Facebook page, follow my Twitter feed, and starting pinning on Pinterest!
My new ebook “Swim Dive Spash” is available in the iBookstore – it’s perfect for teaching narrative poetry, figurative language and getting students excited for summer vacation. It even reads itself!
I’m adding new Common Core aligned iPad lessons, QR code scavenger hunts, and presentations to my Teachers Pay Teachers store every month! You can sign up for email updates for new items by “following” my store.
So many people have reached out to ask questions, give app suggestions and share their stories. If there’s something you’d like to see on ClassTechTips.com or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me – I’d love to hear from you!
Have a happy, healthy spring!
Monica
There are lots of great tools for the iPad and another to add to your list is the free Protractor app. Perfect for teaching different types of angles and a great preview for students before using the real thing. Have students place objects or cut outs of shapes on their iPad screen to measure angles!
Here’s my bundle of Common Core aligned iPad lesson plans for teaching math in your classroom (or check out each one individually!)
The are lots of great free iPad apps for primary source documents and Civic Quotes combines the words of famous Americans with images that depict a period in history. It’s a great free app to find inspiration for a biography report or introduce different historical figures.
Here’s a Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan for teaching with primary source documents on iPads!
Check out this Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan for a biography study!
A fantastic free app for learning letters (and new words!) is Endless Alphabet. This app lets students manipulate letters on the screen, tapping on each letter to hear its name. Students spell out words too, adding to their vocabulary as they learn the names of letters. Great for the primary classroom or English Language Learners.
Check out my Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan bundle for teaching ELA in the classroom! (Here’s bundle #2 and bundle #3!)
My students publish a variety of work on their iPads and use different apps throughout the writing process. When it comes to typing up their final product we often use PaperPort Notes. Before they send their work to print, I use the highlighter and marker tool to show them where edits and revisions need to be made. I write over their work, and send them back to their seats to make changes. The best part is that I can erase my notes once edits are made without losing any of the text on their page!
Are you in the middle of the writing process? Check out my common core aligned lesson plan using Grafio Lite. Here’s another common core aligned lesson plan using graphic organizers in the classroom!
*great for peer editing too!
Want to spread the news? Download the flyer here: Swim Dive Splash
Please don’t confuse me with the adult fiction author Monica Burns (she’s in the iBookstore too – but I’ve never met her!)
There are so many virtual iPad tools that I love using with my students (base ten blocks, sticky notes, geoboard, atlas, glossary, dry erase board…). One free app that can substitute a ruler is Ruler for iPad and iPhone. Have students place an item on their iPad screen or measure distance between two points they tap on the plane.
If you’re teaching students how to use measurement tools Reading the Ruler is a great free app to help students understand how inches and centimeters can be broken down into smaller pieces.
Here’s my bundle of Common Core aligned iPad lesson plans for teaching math in your classroom (or check out each one individually!)
One of my favorite topics to teach in the classroom is healthy eating. There are lots of great free apps to support this subject at all grade levels.
Here’s my Common Core aligned QR Scavenger Hunt “Intro to Healthy Eating” and the “Food Plate (aka Food Pyramid)“
There are lots of apps I love to use to teach literacy skills: Bluster, Sticky Notes, iPrompt, Idioms, Captions, Mad Libs, Jumbled Sentences and Synonyms.
McGraw Hill has a handful of apps to teach literacy skills at the primary and elementary level: Word Wonderland (primary and elementary) and Grammar Wonderland (primary and elementary). All have lite versions that are worth checking out!
Check out my Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan bundle for teaching ELA in the classroom! (Here’s bundle #2 and bundle #3!)
Eating healthy is important and there are lots of ways to use iPads to help students make good choices. A fun free app from 4H is Eat and Move. I consider this app a “health calculator” because users can find out the calories of common foods and how much time they’ll need to swim, dance, jump rope, etc. to burn the calories in their meal. This app is fantastic for extending a lesson on healthy choices and inspiring students to eat well and stay active!
Check out my Common Core aligned iPad QR scavenger hunts on Healthy Eating or the Food Plate (aka Food Pyramid).
There is a wonderful free app that introduces students to Westward Expansion through the famous painting by John Gast. Manifest Destiny allows students to explore the motivations of pioneers, the struggles they faced and terrain they explored. I love that this app centers around a primary source document and helps children think about the western United States in the past and present.
Try one of my Common Core aligned iPad Scavenger hunts if you’re teaching Westward Expansion in your classroom: Lewis and Clark, the Dust Bowl, the Trail of Tears, the Gold Rush, or the Great Plains.
I’ve shared some of my favorite virtual tools for the iPad (sticky notes, geoboard, atlas, glossary, dry erase board…) and another fantastic free app I love is Number Pieces. This app simulates base ten blocks and allows students to manipulate the pieces and annotate their screen. It’s perfect for children learning place value and teachers who want their students to explain their work!
Not teaching place value? Check out my Common Core aligned lesson plans for using free apps to teach: Symmetry, Fractions, Polygons, Graphing, and more using iPads with your students!
It doesn’t have to be Poetry Month to learn a new poem! Poems by Heart from Penguin Classics teaches users how to memorize a poem. They offer two free poems to get you started and there are more available through in app purchases. Whether you’re teaching fluency, extending a biography project of a famous poet, or just celebrating great works – check out Poems by Heart for a poem to memorize!
Check out my Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan bundle for teaching ELA in the classroom! (Here’s bundle #2 and bundle #3!)
This fun free app, How Canadian Are You, Eh? is perfect for checking your knowledge of Canadian history, geography and pop culture. I’ll be using it with students during our unit on Canada. Great for all ages, this app chooses 20 random questions and provides the answers once you’re finished quizzing.
Check out my Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan using this app in the classroom!
Here’s a lesson for teaching Canadian geography!
Have you tried my Canadian QR code scavenger hunt?
My students might be great with their math facts but every year long division is a struggle. If you’re looking for an alternative to math videos, try out the fantastic free Long Division Touch app which teaches the steps for long division. It’s a great inspiration for creating tutorials with your students!
Check out my Common Core aligned bundle of iPad lesson plans!
Not ready for division? Here’s a factor lesson for teaching factors on iPads!
