Skip to main content

Tuesday Teacher Tips - May 14, 2013 - Puppet Pals, Chet Gecko Series, Summer Reading Programs


Click on underlined text for links


iPad App: Puppet Pals



There are a number of storytelling apps available that allow your students to tell a story and record; however, there aren’t a lot that will allow you to  share the work they created on your own website.  Enter: Puppet Pals. 

With the free version of Puppet Pals, students can choose up to 8 characters to include in their work—7 standard characters that are common to fairytales or fables with the additional option to create your own characters with photos from your cameral roll.  You also have the ability to choose from three backdrops and you can add backdrops from your own photos.

The simple record and save features can be easily used by even the youngest iPad users, and with just one extra step to export, you can quickly have your feature presentation saved to your camera roll where you can access it for sharing via social media or your own website.

For an additional $2.99, there is the option to purchase a “Director’s Pass” which gives you all access to all content, or you can buy individual content packs for $.99.  While the extra packages are awesome, you could certainly spark a lot of creativity with the content that is free.

This app would be great for creative story telling, retelling a story in your own words or just presenting information in a fun way.

Want to see the app in action? Check out some of our work at the link below!



 

Summer Reading Programs—Keep Kids Reading!

While summertime is the perfect time to recharge after a tough year of school, it’s also unfortunately a time where some students fall victim to the summertime lag and actually regress in their ability.  One way to keep their brains charged is to encourage reading, and what better way to do that than to share with their parents some of the reading programs that local book sellers and libraries are offering.
Don’t miss the June 1st kickoff to Campbell County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program—Dig into Reading.  Barnes & Noble will be giving away books to students who read 8 books in their Imagination’s Destination program.  Joseph Beth Booksellers is offering programming in Camp Joseph-Beth.  You also may want to check out the Scholastic Summer Challenge and register your whole class (or school) to  read, record their minutes and earn reward!

Chet Gecko - Mystery Series!

Do your students love mystery and suspense?  Consider introducing them to Bruce Hale’s Chet Gecko: Private Eye—the series about an elementary aged lizard with a knack for beating crime. 
The series , which could be enjoyed by grades 1-5, is written in the style of classic detective programs like the Maltese Falcon, and includes comical and colorful descriptions of characters: “’What’s the story brown eyes?’ I said ’If your face was any longer you’d have to rent a chin.’”
Any of the books in the series could offer a great lesson on description and voice.
We have 3 of the series  in eBook format, but you can pick up the print version at the local, public library.
Let me know if you want an eBook demo!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Project Genre-fy the Fiction Section!

After a lot of thinking, I finally decided to take the leap this summer and move the fiction section of my elementary library from the traditional first-three-letters-of-the-last- name organization to a genre based organization. Now that the project is almost complete, I cannot wait to get the kids back in the library so I can show them! Deciding Factors There are many reasons individual teacher librarians might choose to genrefy their library.  For me, I was driven to start with the fiction section because I've noticed an alarming drop off in students checking out books by the time they get to fifth grade.  This drop off could be for any number of reasons: increased activities after school, loss of interest in the materials they see on the shelf, lack of time, or they could be overwhelmed by book after book organized by letter. I realized, too, that although my 3-5 graders don't ask for "funny" books or "animal" stories, they seem to get stuck on c

Library Centers for Kindergarten & First Grade

Center Inspiration After much debate at the end of last school year, I was able to get 10 extra minutes added on to each of my classes for this year boosting class library time from 35 minutes a week to 45 minutes a week for my fixed schedule.  For me, 35 minutes a week, just wasn't enough to pack in all the awesomeness I wanted to achieve.  It seemed like we would just be getting started into something great when it was time to go. I was thrilled to know that this year I was going to have the extra time to work with my classes on research skills and technology projects while working in more time to allow them to browse the shelves and look at books.  That being said, truth be told, I was completely freaked out about what to do with my kindergartners for 45 minutes. Did I mention in my former life, I was a high school English teacher?  Four years ago, my first two weeks in an elementary library were a complete culture shock to me. I was used to walking into a room and just say

Digital Interactive Notebooks: Getting Started

Post appeared also on FtEdTech It's no real secret that I love Digital Interactive Notebooks.  I create them every chance I get and encourage teachers to use them for everything from long term Project Based Learning (PBL) projects to weekly unit work with vocabulary .   The Interactive Notebook (INB) has long been a staple of the classroom to engage students more directly with their notes.  The traditional interactive notebook often includes traditional student notes, questions, and interactives that students cut, fold, color and paste into their notebooks. You might find graphic organizers, pockets with measuring tools, data charts, and foldables that act as study aides.  In the NSTA article " Science Interactive Notebooks in the Classroom " Jocelyn Young explains the benefits of INB when she shares that " By using notebooks, students model one of the most vital and enduring functions of scientists in all disciplines—recording information, figures, and data.