Last week I showcased Wonderopolis, which is great for reading and writing. It can also be useful for science and social studies depending on the articles students choose.
This week I am taking my focus to math. TenMarks is a website many teachers have used to allow students to work at their own pace, especially if they need reteaching or enrichment. The company, an Amazon company, provides personalized online math practice for 1st through 12th graders (Algebra 2). This summer they are providing a free Summer Math Program that typically cost about $40. You can sign up now and they will notify you via email when it is time to begin. Your child will:
The website states that students only need an hour a week...an hour! Parents and students will receive an end-of-summer report card they can share with their teachers the next school year. Another wonderful way to keep students from taking the "summer slide"! Try TenMarks Summer Math Program this summer.
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Over the next 6 weeks, I will spend Mondays focusing on websites and/or apps that will benefit students to use over summer break to avoid that "summer slide". Consider some of these activities that are previewed over the next 6 weeks, as a part of your child's summer routine. Camp Wonderopolis Wonderopolis is a great site in itself. They pose a question each day that is accompanied by a video and typed explanation. Students can learn the vocabulary through Wonder Words, check out galleries, test themselves, submit wonders, and search for past wonders. It is one of the best sites out there right now. A great tool they offer in the summer is Camp Wonderopolis. Starting June 15, 2015, Camp Wonderopolis will begin. You can register your child as a parent and then customize your experience based on what your child really likes. As a Camper or Counselor (recommended for families), you can track your experiences through 6 tracks of scientific exploration. The students can test to earn 42 different Wonder Cards. This experience is completely FREE! You can preregister at their website now. I did some of this with students in summer school last year, and we had so much fun! You can access Camp Wonderopolis 2014 to see what the kids did last year. There are Wonders within each section of science and then some great, easy experiments and activities. Some Benefits of Wonderopolis
With more and more students using Google in our schools, I feel it is important for families to understand what we are doing with it and what it means for our students. What is Google Apps for Education (GAFE) Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is a collection of apps created by Google that schools can use for FREE. We host our domain through them, meaning our email accounts are able to be @hallsville.org, but we are logging into Google. Google Drive Students and faculty have access to the apps offered by Google. These are the same ones you have if you have a gmail account. One of the most valuable we can access is Drive - Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings, and Forms. This is a great, free alternative to Microsoft programs. Also, this provides an easy way to collaborate with each other and with the teacher. Students and faculty can share documents, allowing them to work on them at the same time, make comments, and view them from anywhere with Internet access. They can even work on them without access to the Internet, and the documents will sync when they do get access. This eliminates the frustration of "read-only" documents and not being able to get to the documents when you are in another location. They are web-based. Other Apps Students also have the chance to use Maps, Sites, and more! They use these for projects in class. In Google Maps they can create maps that pinpoint locations and make paths. We used them in 5th grade to show where the European explorers traveled and what they encountered on their journeys. Sites has allowed our middle school to showcase their work through eportfolios. Information and Safety Students are not allowed to have Google+ accounts, specifically those under 13. There is no personal information tied to their accounts. Google does not phish through any of their information because they own their information. There are no ads associated with these accounts.
The admins on the account have access to documents created through the @hallsville.org domain. Accounts can be suspended, if they violate the technology agreement signed by all students at the beginning of the year. Students also went through an introduction explaining this is a "professional" account, not personal. The activity on these accounts should be used for things you don't mind a teacher, principal, parent, etc, seeing. Parents, I recommend having your child login and show you what they have been working on in class. They love to show it off! If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]! |
AuthorA teacher turned techie with an obsession with Google, teachers that love learning, and students that love life! Archives
May 2016
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