Montessori Crosswords

In our classrooms, the iPads at first made themselves most useful in our Language Arts programs. This is in large part due to the fact that there are so many apps for word building, phonics review, and letter sounds.

Montessori Crosswords has made it into our rotation this year as one of the more promising apps for word building and review.

This app gives a picture clue and speaks a word that the student must spell by dragging and dropping the letters into a traditional crossword layout.  Once a puzzle is successfully solved, the student gets to interact with bubbles, stars, spirals or some other feature.  One of the most wonderful things about this app is the depth of the settings feature.  This app allows for focusing on one sound - and those choices are fairly extensive including consonants, long vowels, short vowels, blends, word endings, etc.

We use this app as a regular reinforcement during our language arts times.  This week for example our students focused on the ow sound as in couch and cow.  After conversation and exploration about these sounds in small groups, the students used letter cubes to build words and then created sentences incorporating each type of word.  Once they finished with their sentences they worked on Crosswords on the iPads targeting those types of words.


Unfortunately, no apps are perfect.  With Crosswords the challenge is sometimes the audio.  For many of our children, the audio can be difficult to understand.  The "L" and the "N" sound too similar.  On the other hand, the voice will pronounce the blends as blends, so if you tap on an empty square to figure out which letter you need, she'll highlight both squares to show that it is a blend.  This is true in words such as black in which she blends the "ck" and in snail in which she blends "ai."  We often use this app with the sound off and have the kids say the word that they see in the picture clue out loud in order to figure it out. 

I do wish there was a puzzle choice that used the sight word list and that there were more words in all of the focus on one sound selections....

What I like:
* vowels are one color and consonants are another color
* can choose to work on cvc words or individual vowels or consonants or blends
* it's not too over-praising

What I'd like to change:
* the sounds of the voice in the app can be a little difficult to understand
* silent letter sounds throw off our beginning spellers (knife, knit, etc)
* it would be nice if there was a two word puzzle should build on a specific angle - ie. the double consonant or the short vowel

iPads in the Classroom: Are we getting results?

Yes, there are positive results with iPad programs.
Results of state testing in Maine and a survey of Independent schools indicate that students on all grade levels showed improvement in literacy areas including, making learning visible, writing compositions, digital storytelling, and, for kindergarten classes - handwriting and phonemic awareness.Improvement reported in math included: the concepts underlying basic operations, logical problem solving, patterns and puzzles, spatial reasoning, and making learning visible.
Is it just about iPads themselves?
Not all iPad programs are resulting in this level of success. Successful implementations share a similar genesis: thoughtful planning in which the question is constantly asked, "What can iPads contribute to the learning experience of students, what aspects of their experience might be enhanced or improved with iPads?" Last summer I was invited to speak to the public school teachers in Auburn, Maine to share our plans at Sidwell for our Kindergarten iPad implementation. I carefully crafted a presentation that focused on all the reasons our work was not focused on the iPads, but rather on curriculum, teacher collaboration, and connections to others who share our goals. To my surprise, I was speaking to the choir. The leadership in Maine had also envisioned a systemic approach, beginning with curriculum and desired outcomes. Thus a wonderful partnership began.
Successful programs use a systemic approach that includes engaging the teachers to evaluate and question each aspect of their curriculum and practice, with and without the technology. In this way the iPads not only contribute to the learning experience of children, but, perhaps more significantly, serve as a catalyst for collaborative reflection and planning among teachers.
Here are the elements that separate successful programs from the rest:
Let pedagogy lead, iPads follow.
Prepare for innovation with evaluation of current practices, imagine ways in which current practices could be strengthened or improved and how iPads could contribute to that improvement.Set up opportunities for teachers to engage students with iPads early in the planning process, then discuss experiences in the light of current best practices.Create a culture of thoughtful discussion, experimentation and evaluation among the teachers and team leaders with high expectations for participation and reflection.
Let the planning process serve as a catalyst for clarifying goals and objectives.
Let teachers work as a team to clarify curricular goals and objectives, and set up theories about what could be improved with an innovation such as iPads.Plan which aspects of curriculum could be strengthened through appropriate apps, alternative ways to experience and express learning. Establish an "app" review process that requires correlation to curricular goals and objectives.Establish frequent, regular sessions to share and reflect on experiences with the expectation that they will constantly assess their approach with an eye to continual revision. Create a culture of continuous evaluation - set up a framework for feedback and review with scheduled full program evaluations.
Create a culture of collaboration and growth among teachers and among students.Encourage feedback from students, allow students to try new ways to express learning. Encourage innovation among teachers and students by celebrating discoveries and reflecting on successes.Engage teachers in professional growth by asking them to reflect on their experiences publicly through PLNs, blogs, workshops, school visits.Constantly question the program, the process, the tools, with the goal of nimble response to change and the expectation of constant improvement.
For more information and links to the studies, visit my Workshops site.

Keeping Our Inborn Love of Learning Alive

A first grade student came up to me speaking pig Latin today and luckily she had a friend next to her serving as a translator. When I asked her how she learned to speak Pig Latin so fluently she explained that she practices at night when she is lying in bed. Her parents taught her the basics and now she is indeed, quite competent, rattling off paragraphs I can’t understand. The point is: she is creating her own challenge and pushing her own learning. Kids can and do, do this same type of thinking and learning in math exploring number and geometry concepts. Once a Kindergarten student explained to me with colored tiles how he could build squares starting with 1 tile, by adding consecutive odd numbers. (Three more tiles made a 2 by 2 square, 5 more tiles made a 3 by 3 square and so on).  

While we know children are born learners who are naturally curious and inquisitive, are we sure school perpetuates and fosters that learning, questioning, and curiosity?  I think we could all agree school fails many children and for that very reason, software developers and App creators have been scrambling to market new ways for children to learn and to be engaged.  The problem is some of these “new” approaches can actually squelch creative thinking and put kids in an even tighter box than traditional school.  They might engage children but what dendrite pathways are being reinforced and how many new connections are being made? Websites with math programs abound but most have advertisements relentlessly popping up as well as visually unaesthetic plastic graphics, noisy bells and annoying whistles, and/or cliché words of praise reinforced with prizes and rewards.  What messages are we reinforcing in the name of learning when we use these programs?  And so many times, aren’t we merely practicing skills in rather uninspired ways? The novelty of the iPad will surely run thin if we use it to simply do things we have always done. 

I guess it is clear that I have not been overly  impressed with the math Apps I’ve seen so far but that was until I  got hooked on Kickbox and Big Seed created by the Mind Research Institute. In fact, I think I had forgotten on some levels what it like to learn something completely new, which is a scary confession for a teacher to make.  I found myself totally absorbed by Big Seed and Kickbox because both offered me activities that made me think beyond the box! 

The Mind Research Institute has developed a visual approach to teaching math concepts through its software. The program is language-independent, which eliminates a huge barrier many children face in developing their math thinking. While it is a game, playing Big Seed immediately took me to the space in my mind where I know I do my creative, thinking work. Indeed, that is the space that seems to create time because I find myself totally engaged in the “work” or “play.”  How wonderful to just explore and discover and to figure out how something is working. Isn’t that the very definition of learning?  As I explored deeper into these Apps, I soon realized that I needed to plan many steps ahead. My working memory was working! It took me repeated tries to succeed with the tasks and yet I wanted to keep trying, I wanted to get it. I stayed up past my bedtime working on these tasks like the first grader had teaching herself Pig Latin. I had to persevere: something we all hope our children and students will do. 

I know there are more math Apps out there and more on the way that will develop children’s thinking by growing dendrites and nurturing their creativity. I am meanwhile completely taken with these two and thrilled that it will take me a while to work through all their levels!  Big Seed and Kickbox might look simple but they are thoroughly engaging and challenging.

How many ways can we tell a story?

In our class we have been working on finding different ways to tell a story. We began by reading some great stories about kids our age and having the students write a story with paper and pencil. The students reflected on their work. Does it have a beginning? Is there a middle? How does it end?

Our next stories were created solely with an art app. Most of the students used Draw Free.

The students narrated their stories to a partner. The students really enjoyed this project and created elaborately detailed tales to accompany their illustrations.

This story picture told the story of a boy who can walk under water!

Next, the students wrote with pencil and paper about one classroom job. Once they finished the paper and pencil version of their non-fiction "story," they went to Book Creator and created an iBook about the very same job. They were able to use the camera to take photos, an art app to draw illustrations, the keyboard option to type text, and the voice recorder to narrate these books.
This book was created to explain the Door Monitor job.

This week, we took story telling to the movies!
We talked about movies that are filmed and those that can be created by a series of photos. Using iStopMotion, we have made "A Day in the Life of KX."


To begin, I taped an iPad easel to a bookshelf and set it up. I showed the first student how to operate the app. I gave her some basic suggestions: tap the shutter button lightly, try not to move the iPad, check first to make sure it is lined up, etc. She took the first few frames and then taught the next student. We continued this throughout the day. Everyone had a turn to be the film director and everyone had a turn to be the cameraman.

Before we began, we shared what this story might look like on paper: We arrive at school. We have gathering. We have snack. We do Book Club. We go to lunch. etc. Not a very thrilling story. However, in this new format, the story provides details and information that the written story did not.




What I like about this app:
*kindergarteners can do it
*students get a chance to practice "teaching" something
*students get to experience different types of storytelling
*this is fun!

Lock it down! or at least stay in this area...

The other day I attempted to squeeze in a quick run on the treadmill with my 3 year old in tow. I rarely give her the chance to use the iPad, but I was feeling a little desperate. I opened up one of the drawing apps and sat her down in the corner as I started my warm up. She stuck with the app for a bit but quickly began to meander throughout the IPAD, opening up app after app. In this circumstance, my only "learning objective" for her would be sustained distraction so that I could continue on my run.

Yet it did cause me to ponder the idea of being able to "lock down" or limit a student to a given app. In our classroom, the students use the iPads in a pretty structured and supervised way. They are told to use a specific app for a period of time. We have not had a trouble with students wandering off to explore the other reaches of the iPad.

I can however, see that there would be a certain advantage to being able to restrict a student to a given app or perhaps a range of like apps-just like you would restrict/limit internet searches to particular sites or content. Maybe it is as simple as creating a folder for related apps and having the ability to limit navigation to that single folder-say, group all your number recognition and counting apps. Of course one could always "enforce" the desired range but there are times when complete supervision is more challenging and kids are quick and apt to wander...call it a fail-safe option!

On a related note, it would be helpful to have some sort of way to keep track of the apps that our students use, how long they used a particular app, and how many attempts were made to complete a given task. Certainly we could go low tech and create some sort of checklist that we could attach to a clipboard but...
Perhaps some sort of interface that students would be required to log in/out of-  why not!

Word Wizard



We have been using Word Wizard in our classroom for a little while as I continue on my personal quest to find the best word building app. As may be obvious from my review of Spell Blocks, I have a weakness for magnetic letters and letter tiles. I like the tactile nature of such materials and we have even recently purchased some Unifix cubes with letters on them-very fun.

Interestingly, when one uses the (real) magnetic letters and tiles, our emergent learners still have the tendency to swipe away all the letters when they move from one letter to the next, say, from cat to mat. Instead of moving just the first letter (even when you tell them!), the most emergent word study learners will then proceed to move around all the letters! I am interested to see if the digital format changes anything. One might assume that the with an app is that there is a greater opportunity to demonstrate a sense of word “permanence”.

Back to Word Wizard-
In the Word Wizard app, you are presented with two options straight off: Movable Alphabet and Spelling Quizzes. With the Movable Alphabet, you have a blank grid and you can drag color coded (red for vowels, blue for consonants-love that) lower case letters to build letters of your choosing. You are not prompted to build any particular word. I suppose if you wanted a more guided activity, you could provide your students with a word list. In Spelling Quizzes, there are are built-in Word Lists. Examples: CVC words, Dolch words, 1000 Most Frequently Used Words, Numbers, Colors, Animals, etc.

We chose the CVC words.
The children are verbally prompted to spell a given word: “Spell: Cat”. When you spell “cat” correctly, the “Voice” will affirm your efforts by reading the word.
In Settings, you can even choose the Voice: You can choose between US and UK inflections: Heather(US), Tracy(US) and Rachel (UK)
This program will allow you to place the letters in the wrong order: atc,or allow you to spell another word then it will read it to you that way, so you can self-correct.  Another note, some of the words are difficult to understand. For example, it was difficult to hear the difference between “can” and “cab.”  Yet it should be noted, that it is worth noting which children (or adults!) have trouble discriminating between letter sounds.
Using their preset word lists, the “flow” from one letter to the next is not ideal: cat-bad-can-bag. I would prefer that the letters “flow” in a more logical manner, say, cat-can-ran, etc. When more than one letter changes, it is more challenging and does not allow children to see the word pattern.

In sum, Word Wizard is a suitable app-probably best used by giving your students your own word lists and watching how they move from one word to the next.

To that end, I wish someone would create an app using the lessons from Making Words (Dorothy Hall and Patricia Cunningham) and especially the excellent Words Their Way (Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, and Francine Johnston). Fingers crossed!

Use Real World Math Problems to Engage Your Students

I highly recommend checking out Bradley Lands’ blog.

http://www.thelandscapeoflearning.com/2011/12/inquiry-and-application-real-world-math.html.

Like Dan Meyer, he believes in connecting math to real life applications! (I had the chance to hear Dan Meyer present at the AIMS conference in Baltimore this fall and he was inspiring.) Lands lists his favorite 25 Math resources on his blog.  While connecting to real world applications can involve complex math appropriate for upper and middle school, there are ideas to be gleamed for the elementary level.

 Just last week, my colleagues and I used data from the Yummymath  website  http://www.yummymath.com/ to conduct data lessons on Ground Hog’s Day and the Super Bowl. Needless to say, the Super Bowl data was popular. Today one of our third grade teachers (Maurice Tome) made up a series of Super Bowl problems based on the data from last night’s game that immediately had the students’ attention.  Teasing out the various structures for addition and subtraction problems, Mr. Tome had the students check off a category in a box  next to each word problem indicating whether they were determining the (a) Whole/Total (b) Missing Part or (c) Difference.  Building on their work with open number lines and Singapore Bar models, the students compared the total yards thrown by Quarterbacks Manning and Brady during the playoffs and the super bowl solving a series of problems.

It takes a little creativity to write your own problems using names, places and situations that will resonate with your students but it makes math relevant and engaging for them.  By checking out the links Land’s blog provides, elementary school teachers, as well as middle and high school level teachers, can be inspired to make math more meaningful for their students.