Use of virtual manipulatives in Kindergarten

I used the smartboard to model the use of tesselations to make pictures with the available shapes.  These shapes are similar to the manipulatives used in the classroom, so the children were able to make an immediate connection. 

Once I modeled how to manipulate the shapes, change the size and color, the students took turns adding shapes to make a "class" picture.  The following day, the children used the site to make their own pictures at centers.  I chose to use the site over a three week period to observe how the children used the shapes.  Over the course of that time, the students learned how to rotate, manipulate, and adjust the shapes in a very advanced way.  I realized that if I had only left the site up for a week, the children would not have had the opportunity to advance their application of knowledge.

By Sheryl Magner

Something new for "little" & "big" kids

Two ideas from James Hollis's Teachers Love SmartBoards  blog:
Spin and Spell - an interactive game site that has students spell basic vocabulary.  You can choose words to spell from the pictures or have the program choose one at random. 
Idiom starter: SmartBoard lesson with examples that guides students through practice and comprehending idioms, then creating original ones.  This lesson come from The Smart Insider newsletter.  You can sign up to get issue delivered via email. 

Ripples...

Take a look at the Cluster Map (lower right) - unexpected visitors/

Birds on a Wire in Kindergarten

Ms. Magner's kindergarteners used the SmartBoard lesson, Birds on a Wire in an innovative way.  We've all used different ways to line up students to leave the classroom.  Ms. Magner used the numbers on the spinning birds as table numbers to line up her students.  She pressed even numbers and one odd.  Students noticed one bird's number didn't spin.  When she asked about the remaining tables (odd ones) students were able to deduce that the odd numbers were left so the odd birds didn't spin.  This was a great visual reminder and episodic learning for the kindergarteners. 

Dictated by Ms. Magner to Mrs. Meleski at our Smarties meeting.

New Spot for Smarties

We're trying to find a new way to easily share ideas about using Smart Boards in our classrooms.  Here's hoping that it proves useful.
To add your idea, click on the "New Post" in the upper right corner of the window. When you're finished, be sure to click on the  "Publish Post" button under the text window. Don't forget to add a title!

Here's a great example of the ripple effect of our jobs.
At a PTO meeting today, our Principal was discussing the Global Classroom project. A Mom of one of the participating students said that because of the Global Classroomproject her son had talked the family into using Skype. Her father-in-law left Viet Name 50 years ago. The family used Skype to re-connect with his family left in Viet Nam including a brother he hadn't seen in 50 years. How cool is that!

Our 5th graders collaborative learning experience with Oldbury Wells School was highlighted at the Governor's Luncheon on October 26th as the 300 luncheon guests, including Gov. Tim Kane, shared in a live video conference between Colvin Run 5th graders and the students from Oldbury Wells School in Shropshire U.K. Two students opened the luncheon, welcoming guests and sharing how technology at Colvin Run has enriched and enhanced their learning. The video linked here was shown at the luncheon and outlines the Global Classroom Project.