Daily Archives: September 4, 2013

Ever Wondered….

…what teachers do on their plan time? If you’re a teacher then probably not (unless you wondered what other teachers do on their plan times), but if you’re a student or a parent–I’m about to let you in on a little secret.  Ready?  We plan things.  Ok, that’s not fair (and it’s a little snarky.  Sorry. 🙂 ).  But really, we do.  And often (as with my fabulous team this year!) we do it together.

Sometimes we get the luxury of double plan-times (which is really just a fancy way of saying we have a big 2-hour chunk to work with instead of just 50 minutes), and it’s during those that BIG things happen.  Like just last week when we were doing this together:

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See the work there?  Can you figure out what we were doing?  Those pictures, my friends, are our notes from time spent chewing on a volume pre-assessment.  We were trying to create something that was engaging, real-life and challenging all in one.  We even had the idea of creating two separate scenarios to interest different kiddos (one was Legos and the other was related to cupcakes).  I LOVED how well we worked together in this session, how we each brought something different to the table (and to the whiteboard!), and how we ended up with a great pre-assessment to use that is equal parts us and equal part awesome.

Have I mentioned before that MY TEAM ROCKS?  If you haven’t been to their blogs lately to see what’s going on in Rm. 201 and Rm. 203, do it! Now. 🙂 Please? 🙂

Did You Hear?

We got our iPads today!  I have to share this picture first because it pretty much sums up how excited we all were for this day to come:

IMG_1234I had to finally stop and take a picture of my dear friend Landry, because it said more to explain the feelings than my words could.  🙂

I was SO IMPRESSED by how well everyone did today.  We had LOTS of directions to listen to during the setup process for our iPads, and the class followed every one of them.  They helped each other, worked efficiently and got the job done.  They definitely brought the GRIT and self-control I told them they’d need today!

Check out some pics of us during setup:

Thank you Mr. Strecker for your tech support today!

Thank you Mr. Strecker for your tech support today!

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Mr. Shelton lending an iPad hand today!

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Mrs. Jeon was a big help, too, as she answered questions and gave directions

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Rollouts like these are only possible because of all of the district people who show up to help! Mr. Strecker, Mrs. Covert, and Ms. Rima--who was such a busy bee she didn't end up in any of my photos!--made this process painless, even with 23 5th graders!

Rollouts like these are only possible because of all of the district people who show up to help! Mr. Strecker, Mrs. Covert, and Ms. Rima–who was such a busy bee she didn’t end up in any of my photos!–made this process painless, even with 23 5th graders!

We ended up having a mostly iPad-filled day, but were able to set up our Gmail accounts, setup and verify Apple IDs and iCloud accounts, and log in to the App Store (including account verification and security questions–that was time consuming!).  After lunch we downloaded Cut the Rope (it’s the FREE APP of the week!), as well as Pic Collage.  Our first iPad project was to use Pic Collage to create home and lock screens to personalize our iPads and help us tell them apart from others.  We’ll use this app (along with many others) in creative ways throughout the year to show what we’ve learned and demonstrate our understanding.  The last part of the day was a hoot!  I wish I had video of all of the funny pictures people were taking of each other to add to their collages.  WHAT FUN!

I mentioned it before, but I have to say again–ROBINSON 5TH GRADE ROCKED IPAD DAY TODAY!  I am so impressed with all that was achieved today, with little to no hiccups.  Here’s to a great year of learning and growing with a fabulous tech tool in our hands!  Oh, and of course, THANK YOU TO THE KIRKWOOD SCHOOL BOARD FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN!  As a teacher I appreciate all that you do to help me help my kiddos achieve great things and work to their highest potential.

Did I mention I LOVE MY JOB?!