20 Teachers, 20 Students

For weeks I have talked to my students about how we are all going to be teachers and students in the classroom.  We all made the promise to each other that we would be kind and patient as we dive into this new iPad learning adventure.  There were so many amazing moments in my classroom today.  I watched students become teachers, show compassion, and patience towards one another.  It was so amazing!  I know iPads will change the way I teach and how
my students' learn in relation to the curriculum, but they will be learning about how to be good citizens in and outside of the classroom.

iTunes Course and Notability-Reading & Guided Reading

Today we explored iTunes University!  I shared our first course that Mrs. Geldes, Mrs. Smeby, Miss Watson, and myself collaborated on.  As the kids worked through the course, I met with Guided Reading groups.

Currently, we have been using composition notebooks to ask questions, write down words they may or may not understand, predict, summarize, etc...  I really wanted to utilize the iPads during Guided Reading, because there have been many times that the kids have questions about what we are reading (about words, places, or items etc...).  I usually pull those up on my computer and we explore further.  I of course do most of the work, because it is my computer BUT I want the students to take control and ownership of their learning.  Now they will have the opportunity to further explore words, items, places etc... in their books at their fingertips!  What a great way to help the students make connections with the books they are reading and the REAL WORLD!  We are bringing their books to life!

In addition to using the iPad to make connections with the real world, I also decided to try the app Notability.  Each kid created a tab with the title of their book.  This is going to replace their composition notebook they were using.  They can type questions, words or phrases they have questions about or find interesting, and much more!  I was also able to complete running records and actually record each kid read! I really like how Notability automatically keeps track of the date, so you know when you have completed a running record for each kiddo!  I uploaded my lesson plans from my Drive and now can keep them organized within each group's tab.   I am sure there is much more we will be able to do with Notability during Guided Reading!

As the day came to a close, I couldn't help but feeling so proud of my students.  They were teachers and students today, as was I.  We all become a team and worked through the successes and failures of the day!  What an amazing first step as we start this new iPad journey!