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!
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:
There are lots of ways to create a classroom culture that rewards positive behavior. I love using the camera on my iPad to record “Picture Perfect” behavior.
When I’m ready to start a lesson I want my students sitting up straight, with a pencil on their desk, and their iPads flipped over to prevent any distractions. Whether my iPad is tethered to my projector or I’m using AirPlay to project without wires, I tell students that I’m looking for a “Picture Perfect” student who I can show off to the class. I’ll scan the room with my camera open and snap a few pictures to show off to the class. This management trick takes less than a minute to execute but ensures that all students are focused and on task for a lesson.
A lot of teachers have asked about the best way to organize their iPad cart. I am lucky to work in a 1:1 school with a cart of iPads that stay in my classroom.
I label student iPads with numbers and names to make access and organization quick and easy. The labels stay on the iPad case and I’m careful not to block the speakers or any other buttons. I cover the paper labels in packaging tape to increase their longevity. When I call students to remove or return their iPads from the cart I’ll often say, “All odd numbers,” “Even numbers only” or something that reinforces math skills at the same time. I also put labels at the bottom of each slot so that the students can tell just by looking down into the cart exactly where each iPad belongs.
Here’s a reference chart I place on my iPad cartto show off the work going on in my classroom!
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There are so many classroom management tools that I love and here’s another. iLEAP Pick A Student makes sure that you call on every student in your class. Instead of the traditional coffee can full of popsicle sticks with students’ names on them, use this free app to make sure that all of your students are held accountable in class discussions. Try projecting the screen from your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch so that students can see which one of their peers is up next!
Check out this common core aligned lesson where this app could be used during discussion time!
Here’s another common core aligned lesson where this app could be used during discussion time!
There are lots of great management tools on the iPad that I use in my classroom (Timers, Quickvoice, Siri).
Here are two more that I love:
Red Light, Green Light - This programmable traffic light can be less intimidating than a timer is you’re working on pacing your students and keeping them on task.
TooLoud? - Watching the decibel level change as volume increases can be a powerful tool to monitor volume in your classroom – the graph can facilitate discussion as well.
Check out this common core aligned lesson where management tools will come in handy!
Here’s another common core aligned lesson where management tools will come in handy!
ClassDojo is a fantastic behavior management tool that monitors students’ positive and negative behavior. It’s free to sign up and their app makes it easy to keep track of everything! One nice feature of ClassDojo is that you can customize the different behaviors it monitors.
Here is a screenshot of their demo to help you get a sense of how easy it is to keep track of student behavior in your classroom.
