Break Time

Spring Fever has hit.  Little minds are thinking about the beautiful weather, baseball and softball games, and dance recitals.  School is the last thing on their minds.  Here are some fun things to reel them back in and finish the year with a bang!

1.                     Chromville:  This free app is similar to ColAR App.  You print off pictures from the Chromville website.  Students color them and use the app to make them come alive.  The pictures are all based on lands in the world of Chromville. Choose your land and download the page.  After Student’s color the picture they become great writing prompts. 

2.                     GoNoodle:  Go Noodle is a free program with brain breaks that channel classroom energy for good.  There are different brain breaks for every part if the day.  There are activities to calm, focus, and energize.  There is everything from breathing exercises to Zumba. 

3.                     TooNoisy:  This is an alternative to a Yacker Tracker or other noise regulator.  It is a noise level regulator for the classroom.  The lite version of the app is free.  After you set the sensitivity, the app rewards the class for each time interval that they remain within the acceptable noise level.  I use this app in conjunction with the Go Noodle Website.  When my students earn a specified number of stars, we choose one of the Go Noodle brain breaks.  It really helps with the antsy noise in my room.

4.                      Kahoot:  This is a game based student response program. This is a web-based response system.  Make it easy and create an icon on the screen of each iPad.  Students input a code and let the games begin.  You can create your own quizzes or use one that is already on the site. Look at the screen and choose the correct color.  You get points for the correct and answer and the speed in which you answer.  The top five highest scores are displayed after each question.

5.                     QLovi:  This is an ebook platform.  You can borrow books for up to 6 weeks.  You can give students assignments based on the books they read.  It becomes a personalized reading and writing for each student.  You can add books to the bookbag and assignments such as essays, warm-ups, and exit tickets. On April 4, 2014, QLovi offers free author read alouds in Google Hangouts and live on You Tube.   

Have a great weekend!