The Lesson Delicatessen group that I'm part of is giving away a free mini iPad this weekend - you heard me right - a free mini iPad! You'll have to check out the raffle information below and try your chance at winning. (raffle opens on Friday, Sept. 26.)
Since we're raffling off a mini iPad, I thought I'd share something "techy" that I've used in the classroom. This is something that would definitely work if you have an iPad, another type of tablet device, or if you end up winning the one we're giving away.
I use my Kindle app all the time in the classroom! I've come to the conclusion that I'm a "book hoarder." I have a huge classroom library of my own, and teachers often come to me to see if I have what they need before they visit our school library. I can't help it - I'm addicted!
I've found that by using my Kindle app, I can instantly download books and share them with my class using my document camera, or by directly linking my phone and/or tablet to the computer or SMART board. Amazon has TONS of free books. If it's not free, they are usually pretty inexpensive. My students can enjoy the book, I can teach some key reading strategies, or we can view the book as writers and see how the author accomplishes a technique we are trying in our own writing.
I've also used my Kindle app during a novel study. When I download the book, I can pull up a page where I want everyone to direct their attention. I can model how to find and site evidence for a reading response question, model fluent reading, or teach a summarizing lesson. If you can connect to a document camera, take a snapshot of your page, insert it into a Power Point template or a SMART notebook and teach context clues by covering words with boxes and having students guess what the word might be. This gets them thinking about the text, what word would make sense in that spot, and if they don't know the word, they are probably thinking of some great synonyms. Thinking is what we want our students to do, right?
I'd love to hear how you have used this app in your classroom! Leave me a comment and let me know :-) Don't forget to enter the raffle - you just might be the lucky winner!
"This giveaway is only open to teachers (classroom and home school) who are living in the contiguous United States and Canada. The winning entry will be verified and proof of eligibility may be required. Please see the complete terms and conditions at the bottom of the giveaway for more information."
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