Lauren H
Here are ten resources to help make your elementary classroom engaging, fun, and effective.
Real-time insights into student understanding through interactive lessons, interactive videos, gamified learning, formative assessment, and activities -- all in a single platform. I love the data that is collected when students use this app, how customizable the lessons are, and that the possibilities are endless!
Build wonderful classroom communities with parents and students. ClassDojo translates messages into over 35 languages which helps to build relationships despite language barriers. Parents and teachers can text each other privately, send pictures or questions, post announcements, or manage behaviors, while keeping contact information private and secure.
BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology. BrainPop is a great website to utilize for enrichment activities an videos to help learners explore content, connect with vocabulary and concepts, and practice skills. BrainPop Jr is also a great resource for younger scholars.
Make learning fun. Flipgrid connects millions of PreK to PhD educators, learners and families through short video. This free resource is a great way to have students verbally respond to prompts, practice language skills, connect with their classmates, and form relationships.
RubiStar is a tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics, but does not have the time to develop them from scratch. I've used this website so many times this semester, and in my practicums. Easy to use, customize, and print, teachers can utilize this resource at any grade!
Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work, and at home. This is a great tool to use to see where your students are in their learning, what they need practice with, and to promote a fun, engaging classroom environment.
With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games. Students who are older than 7 can utilize Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/) to help develop their coding skills.
Discovery Education is a great resource to take virtual field trips. This brings exposure to many far away places, exploration for new concepts or ideas, and broadens perspective to students of all ages.
Meet a new word game made specifically with augmented reality in mind. I found this free app in my current practicum placement, and just had to add it to the list. This app allows students to catch letters to solve word problems. Great for elementary school students of all ages.
Book Creator - bring creativity to your classroom. A simple way to make digital books online - on Chromebooks, PCs, iPads or tablets. I love that this app provides 40 books for free, the class can collaborate on projects, and that it gives the students an opportunity to have students hone important critical thinking skills, creativity, and collaboration skills with their peers.
