ITRT Newsletter
April 2014 - Bambi Feighner
Blooming Questions
As seasons change and blossoms bloom, so do the curious minds of our students. Embrace the change! This month's newsletter features great online resources that answer student’s questions about the world around them. In addition, keep reading to learn about the latest updates made to Tech Ponds for Teachers and upcoming Professional Development opportunities in April. Happy Spring!
High Interest, Non-Fiction Resources
Wonderopolis
Dogo News
Time for Kids
Nat Geo for Kids
Other Resources
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is a great site to find reviews, top picks, best apps & games, videos, and blogs. There are reviews and top picks for movies, music, games, tv, books, apps, and websites. Best Apps & Games listed by Math, Reading, Creativity, preschool, puzzles, and special needs. Videos for movie reviews and videos to help advise families on a variety of topics. There is even a parent blog that focuses on parenting, media, and more! If you look under the Educators tab, then you’ll find some great resources on Digital Citizenship. Visit http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ to explore for yourself!
April is National Poetry Month!
- Language Arts Grade 1 - Book Summaries: iPAD ACTIVITY using PicCollage - Although posted in Grade 1, this activity is appropriate for other levels as well. In this activity, First grade students used Pic Collage and a book they have recently read to create a visual book summary. Students included pictures and text that told about the characters, setting, problem, details, and solution of their story.
Language Arts Grade 2 – Mixed Review: SMART NOTEBOOK Lesson - Includes pages for contractions, plural nouns and singular possessives – in isolation and as mixed review, modeled after TestNav TEI items. All pages include answer pages.
- Language Arts Grade 3 - Inferencing Skills: SMART NOTEBOOK Lesson - Includes an introduction review of Inferences (What I Read + What I Know = What I Infer) followed by six activity slides for practice. The first 3 slides are short, written paragraphs that include multiple answers and circle the picture. The last 3 slides have students viewing technology items (i.e. iPod video playlist) and making inferences based on what they see. All activities include answer slides.
Language Arts Grade 5 – Dictionary Skills: SMART NOTEBOOK Lesson - Includes pages for guide words, definitions, and synonyms/antonyms, modeled after TestNav TEI items from Gr. 4 and Gr. 5. All pages include answer pages.
- Level 3: "Appy Hour": iPads for K-12 Teachers - April 8; 4-5 PM OKMS
- Level 3: SMART Board - April 8; 4-5 PM CMS
Register for classes here!
ITRT April 2014 Calendar
Bambi Feighner, ITRT
Email: bfeighner@hcps.us
Website: www.hcpstech.wordpress.com
Location: Hanover County Public Schools
Twitter: @bvfeighner