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Category: apps

The Monsterator Retellings

Posted in apps, holiday, picture book lesson, reading skills, and technology

Last week in the Jackson Library, third graders used Google’s Toontastic app to retell the story, The Monsterator by Keith Graves.  This app is great because it is free, it allows them to draw their own setting and characters, it offers them options to customize their music and record their voice, and it even adds scrolling movie credits.  Check out their creations!

Toontastic
Click for more
Monsterator
Review

The-Monsterator-Vocabulary-Quiz1

LINK
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LINK
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Keith Graves’ Art Site
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Martin’s Big Words 2021

Posted in apps, character education, holiday, and technology

Last week in the Jackson Library, I read excerpts of the Martin’s Big Words book to third and fourth graders. We discussed the power of his peaceful, persuasive words and how Martin’s use of words caused laws to change to promote equal rights in America. They used the augmented reality app, WeirdType to use some of Martin’s words as art.  Check out more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the WeirdType/Pokemon Go app designer below!

martin's big words book
Study Guide

How To

weird type app

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Student Work

Our Big Words: MLK 2021 safeshare
Safeshare link to stu work

Photos
MLK WeirdType
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YouTube link
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More Samples
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About the app designer
Zach Lieberman
Martin’s Big Words – Rappaport
love conquers weird type

Fun with Hair

Posted in apps, and picture book lesson

Second graders had fun discussing hair in the Jackson Library after reading the Bluebonnet book, Crown. We discussed the vocabulary and main ideas in the story; from the history of the do-rag/durag  to the theme of confidence. Then we discussed confidence and what that has to do with getting a haircut. Some kids created hair-dos using Toca Hair Salon during check out.

 

crown
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Crown
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Carol Hurst Book Guide
Crown lesson

Derrick Barnes

Crown Act

Toca Hair Salon
toca hair salon app

Catchy Words Spelling AR

Posted in apps, fun events, and games

First and second graders had fun on Digital Learning Day today in the Jackson Library! They used a new app to play a spelling game called Catchy Words. They have to find the letters in augmented reality, ‘catch’ them with an iPad, and place the letters in boxes to spell a mystery word. We watched Kirsten Hood‘s video to see how to do it. Fun!

catchy
App Review


catchy words app

 

catchy how to
Kirsten Hood- Catchy how to

 

 

Fun Making GIFs

Posted in apps, and technology

Third through fifth grade had fun in the Jackson Library last week when they created their own gifs using the free desktop app, Brush Ninja. Check out their creativity!

brush ninja

Click on the drawings to view the GIFs

ms blumenberg's class
Ms. Blumenberg’s Class

Ms. Arthur's class

 

Ms. Arthur’s Class

ms burkheads class
Ms. Burkhead’s Class
Ms. Killion's Class
Ms. Killion’s Class

strawberry

Ms. Kuwitzky's class
Ms. Kuwitzky’s Class
Ms goldsticker's class
Ms. Goldsticker’s Class

making gifsgifs comment

This is a Moose…Or Is It?

Posted in apps, picture book lesson, reading skills, and technology

Last week in the Jackson Library, fifth graders studied characters by their appearance, actions, and dialogue in the book, This is a Moose. After the story, they used a Seesaw activity I created to complete a bubble map describing the character(s) of their choice. They were allowed to use two physical attributes and the rest were to be personality traits. Check out their awesome work!

moose

Character Trait Bubble Map Seesaw Activity

director bubble map
 

grandma bubble map

moose bubble map

moose's friends bubble map

 

Whose Feet?

Posted in apps, bilingual, and nonfiction lesson

Before STAAR week, Pre-K had fun guessing Whose Feet? in the Jackson Library. After reading My Eyes are Big and Red, the kids guessed what animal on which the story was based. Then they had to guess what animals were on the poster just based on the feet. At the tables, they played the Whose Feet? game on the app, colored the feet of Jan Brett animals, and  listened to the fun Maple Leaf songs.

whose feet

Whose Feet?
color the feet

What Will Grow?

Posted in apps, nonfiction lesson, and picture book lesson

Last week in the Jackson Library, first graders enjoyed Jennifer Ward’s (@jenwardbooks) new book, What Will Grow?   The kids love the song-like, rhyming text and are amazed when the pages fold out to reveal the beautiful illustrations of Susie Ghahremani (@boygirlparty) depicting a towering sunflower or a deep-reaching carrot root. Click below for the independent assignment I gave them to work on at the tables. If students forget which seed produces which fruit/plant/tree, I added the rhyming words so they can match rhyming pairs like in the book. Kids explored the Gro Garden app, which teaches about sustainable farming in a holistic way.

WhatWill Grow

WWG stu sheet
Student Sheet
Gro Garden app
Gro Garden app

Jennifer Ward’s Site

Susie Ghahremani’s Site

School Library Journal Review

Jen Ward author tweet

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