Tag Archives: iBooks

My New eBook “Swim Dive Splash”

28 Apr

Swim Dive Splash

Very excited to announce that my new children’s book “Swim Dive Splash” is now available in the iBookstore! Perfect for teaching figurative language and narrative poetry. With full audio support – it reads itself!
-Practice fluency by having children read along
-Alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes, etc.,
-Great for making inferences and using pictures to support comprehension
 *include discussion questions and extension activities

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!)

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Create Your Own Textbook

24 Oct

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iBooks Author is a fantastic way to get students involved in their own learning. If you’re dedicated to providing engaging lessons for your students then creating interactive textbooks needs to go on your to do list.

iBooks Author has a short learning curve, and here are just some of the things you can do:

  • I use text from various Internet sources and alter it so the reading level is appropriate for my students
  • Google Image search is perfect for finding high resolution pictures to add to your Gallery
  • If you’re not a fan of YouTube, Vimeo is a great resource for high resolution videos
  • You can even add review questions to the end of each chapter

20121021-184439.jpgI often have my students locate content for their interactive textbooks – it empowers them and requires higher order thinking skills like creating and analyzing.

Check out my lesson plan on creating interactive textbooks with your students!

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Here’s another lesson plan on using interactive textbooks in your classroom!

 

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iBooks Reading Guides

20 Sep
One thing I love about iBooks is how easy it is to take notes and organize your thinking.
I use iBooks to prepare reading guides for student book clubs. If your students are reading classic texts (Treasure Island, Jane Eyre, etc.) these books can be downloaded for free.  If my students are going to be reading in a book club with hard copies of a text, I’ll purchase a copy on iBooks so I can prepare a reading guide for them. Here’s how:
  • As I’m reading I’ll highlight a piece of text and add a note.  This note will be a comprehension question I think that students should be able to stop and answer when they finish the chapter.
  • I can access all of these notes (comprehension questions) in one place, no matter when or where in the book I stopped to record them.
  • All of these notes (comprehension questions) can be emailed together, and are already organized by chapter.
  • I will give this list to students at the beginning of a book club with the expectation that this will guide their reading responses and group discussions.

Highlight any word and you’ll have the option to add a note.

Press the “Share” button to email your notes.

All of your comprehension questions will be organized by chapter.

Check out my book club guide for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.

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Sticky Notes for a Tech Friendly Classroom

23 Aug

The Sticky Notes app has taken technology integration in my classroom’s Reader’s Workshop to a brand new level!

This free app allows you to organize sticky notes, customize the size of the note, change the font, text color, and the “paper” color of the sticky note.

In this example, the student writes the date and page number of where they stopped in their current book.  The purple notes are for wonderings/questions, the yellow notes are for answers to their questions, and the blue notes are for connections.  I allow students to “stop and jot” their notes using this app during our Reader’s Workshop time.

Not only does this save paper and eliminate all the post-its that end up on my classroom floor (or the bottom of my shoe), it integrates technology into our Reader’s Workshop while still using the traditional paperback books that fill our classroom library.

Students can also take a screen shot of their sticky notes and email you their work.  This would make a great bulletin board item too (no more post its falling off!)

Check out my common core aligned lesson plan using Sticky Notes in the classroom!

Here’s another common core aligned lesson plan using Sticky Notes in the classroom!

One more common core aligned lesson plan using this app in the classroom!

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Vimeo for Videos

31 May

A fantastic alternative to YouTube is Vimeo.  Unlike YouTube, Vimeo’s website isn’t block by Websense on most networks and its HD quality videos look beautiful on all screens, including the iPad.  In addition to its search function, the Vimeo iPad app allows users to shoot, edit and upload their own videos.

I’ve used HD videos from Vimeo when creating interactive textbooks for the iPad.  This time lapse video of the Canadian Rockies is a great example of the quality of clips available on the site.

Here’s a Common Core aligned lesson plan using this app!

Check out this Common Core lesson plan on using interactive textbooks in your classroom!

*This website isn’t censored so make sure you search and preview before sharing with students

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