Hello, Everyone! I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted. Things have been a little topsy-turvy since my job was dissolved and I'm not sure where I'll be for next year, yet.

Now, about SMART- it's HERE! Notebook 11 is here and it's really AWESOME! I am linking an article written by James Hollis on Teacher Love SMART Boards. There are short descriptions on a few of the new features and a couple of videos to watch! 

Music!!

I just found out that after 14 years as a Technologist that I am being "cut" and sent back to the classroom. I am certified in Elementary Music and that's what I plan to teach. So, I would like to share some ways to use the SMART board in Music!

Here is a good interactive site to discuss the "mood" of music:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/4_11/music/mm/mood01.shtml

Another fun interactive site is:

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/music/early_bird_singers.swf

One more:

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/music/early_bird_singers.swf


 Michelle

80-Point Orientation!

Yes, you read that correctly, there is a way to have 80 points of orientation on the SMART board. I was surprised, too. Thanks to help from this Teq Blog, I was able to learn how to get 80 points of orientation. So, I made a video showing how to do it!

Random Choosers

Random Choosers sounds nicer than Random Pickers, don't you think? Either way, they are useful tools for calling on students randomly and equally!

Why you might want to use a Random Name or Random Number Chooser:

• When you have a sub, no need to worry about the sub not knowing all of the students' names.
• When you are calling on students and you want the students to be "ready" to be called on at any time- even if their "hand" is not raised.
• When you want to be sure you are not always calling on the same students and you want to be sure everyone gets chosen.
• Fun for students! The students are more attentive to the lesson when they know they might get "chosen" to answer questions!
• Random Number generator may be used when students have a number assigned to them (maybe their number in the gradebook) and they can be called on by number instead of name.

SMART Notebook comes with a Random Word Chooser in the Gallery. You can search the Gallery. Type "random word" (without the quotes)  in the search box. Look at the results in the category Interactive and Multimedia. Drag the Flash Thumbnail image onto a blank page.

To add student names, just click in the boxes and type. (Notice, you do not get a "blinking cursor" in the boxes- just type.) After entering your students' names, be sure to change the "No. of names" box to match exactly how many names you have typed. (So that it doesn't choose a blank space!) Click the "Select" button to choose a student! It has sound, too. If you don't want to call on a student more than once, you may check the box at the bottom, left that says "No repeat." (However, students may notice that after they are picked once, they won't get picked again and may or may not pay attention to the rest of the lesson!)

The SMART Notebook Gallery also has a Random Number generator. (Search for "random number") Set the Min. and Max. numbers to the number of students you have. Click in the box to get a random number. Click on the arrow to "pull" the number out of the box and to your page. (To keep track of who has been called on.)

Here is a site that has a random name chooser tool to use that looks (and sounds) like a Fruit Machine (Slot Machine).



Michelle



I Wonder...

Wonderopolis is a great site that provides high interest, non-fiction text and content for students to help build background knowledge and connections to their learning. Each day, a new "wonder" is posted. Each "wonder" contains three sections:

1. A related video
2. Questions to focus students' reading
3. The article

Since there are more than 500 "Wonders" currently archived, students should have no problem finding a topic of interest!

Number Sense

This lesson is really cute for use with K, 1, and 2. You drag the birds to the wire to show number order, even and odd numbers, and greater than-less than.

 Click on the image to download the lesson.

The website where I found this lesson, www.harveyshomepage.com, has many lessons for various grades and subjects for you to download free.

Enjoy and Stay SMART!

Buzzzzzzzz!

Here are some cool buzzers and score keepers you can use when playing review type games.

They are simply fun! The students will love them!

This is a GREAT buzzer from Teacher LED. (Click Go to enter site and use buzzer.)

These buzzers are great to use when playing any type of  review game with your class 

because it quickly shows which team buzzed in first 

as the lights on the buzzer light up. Be sure to have your speakers on, because

it makes a super fun, game-show like sound, too!

Chan! is another set of buzzers that is fun to use on your SmartBoard. 

It's super simple....just makes the Chan noise when the blue button is pushed

and the Chan Chan noise when the red button is pushed. 

Be careful not to click on the ads, but if you maximize your screen, you shouldn't have a problem with that

QuizScorer is a great scoreboard to use on your SmartBoard. 

It allows you to list the topic and name two teams.  

Once you have started the quiz you can add or subtract points

 from teams using the up and down arrows. 

The players even show emotions - sad when they lose points and happy 

when they gain points. There is also a timer. 

There's even a Christmas version of this one!

QuizScorerx4 also allows you to choose your topic and name your teams but 

is a version that allows you to have four teams.

This could be used for Graphing, too!

Thank you to technology rocks.seriously. blog- (one of my favorites) for sharing this information with me!

The Lorax Notebook Lesson

With the movie, The Lorax, out in theaters now, and Earth Day coming next month- I decided to make a SMART Notebook lesson using "The Lorax" as the theme throughout. It has a few questions for SMART Response in it, too.

Enjoy and Stay SMART!

Click HERE to Download the Lesson.

Wow, I Didn't Know You Could Do That in SMART

This is one thing I learned from this blog: http://www.teq.com/blog/2012/02/10-wow-facts-in-2-minutes/
Very cool stuff! Check out my "how to" video below!

Have fun and Stay SMART!

Michelle

Great Site for ELL

This is my first official Post!! I am sharing a site that was also shared by "anothersmartgal" Rhonda Laffoon. The site is Foundation-Communication and it's from the BBC and has several interactive activities that are perfect for use with the SMART Board and are designed specifically for English Language Learners.