The American Red Cross has three apps designed to support victims of natural disasters. Whether you’re studying a region of the United States or just looking to spark a discussion, these apps will come in handy. Show your students how to prepare and stay safe with the tips they share:
Check out my Common Core aligned lesson plans on hurricanes!
I’ve shared some of my favorite iPad apps to practice pacing and stamina. Whether students are performing everyday tasks or in the middle of test prep, you might need a timer to help students self-monitor. The Best Sand Timer is a great free app that’s an alternative to traditional countdown clocks – try it out in your classroom!
Use this app to pace students working on one of my favorite Common Core aligned iPad lesson plans!
Whether you’re teaching probability or just looking to make a quick decision in your classroom, Toss Up is a free app that simulates a coin toss. Try it in math class or as a management tool.
Check out my Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan bundle for teaching math in your classroom!
If you’re teaching outdoor skills there are three apps from Columbia Sportswear that are worth checking out. These apps can provide great extension activities for lessons on physical education, life skills, and math class.
GPS Pal -> for keeping track of outdoor expeditions
Take Ten -> tips for what you’ll need for exploring the great outdoors
What Know to Do -> a pocket guide for tying knots
If you’re students are staying indoors, try out one of my QR scavenger hunts for a mini adventure!
One of my favorite reference charts is taped to my classroom’s iPad cart, and the other is prominently displayed in the front of the room.
My students email their classwork throughout the school year and this chart helps them remember what to do before hitting send:
There are plenty of lessons you can email in my Teacher Store!
I’ve shared some great free apps for turning your iPad into a measurement tool: protractor, reading a ruler. Measure Length – Tiny Chicken by TapToLearn is another app that’s perfect for teaching students how to use a ruler to measure inches, centimeters and millimeters. They’ll move a ruler on their screen and find the length of different farm animals – fantastic for elementary school students!
Check out one of the Common Core aligned iPad lesson plans in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!
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 start 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!)
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!)
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).
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!
Thank you for attending my workshop this month!
If you weren’t able to make it, check out my presentation Free iPad Apps for the K-5 Classroom:
My fifth graders don’t have their own account or login, but Khan Academy is still a great way to introduce new topics. We often use BrainPop and student created tutorials to learn and review the steps for solving different math problems, but Khan Academy is a fantastic resource for upper elementary, middle school and high school students. The Khan Academy app is a great way for me to preview videos while I’m on the go or use with a small group who is struggling.
If your students are making their own tutorials check out my guide ->Screencasting Teacher Tools: Tasks, Procedures, Checklists and Rubric (on iPads) and Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan
A fantastic free app for practicing sentence structure is Jumbled Sentences 3. This leveled app provides opportunities for students to practice verb agreement and attend to punctuation. Perfect for elementary school students, and to reinforce skills for struggling middle schoolers.
Check out my Common Core aligned lesson plan for using this app in the classroom!
Check out my Common Core aligned iPad lesson plan bundle for teaching ELA in the classroom! (Here’s bundle #2 and bundle #3!)
