I just returned from Boston for the MRA (Massachusetts Reading Association) "For the Love of Literacy" conference. It was Ah-mazing, and we learned a ton. I also can't wait to get back to Boston just for fun to explore the historical city. There was so much more I wanted to do! Back to reality with only 29 days of school left before summer break - (but who's counting?!) Honestly, after a conference like that, I almost wish it was August so I would have all year to implement some of the new ideas I have. I guess we'll just dip our toes in, and I'll dive in deeper with next year's fourth graders.
This week in my class, I revisited my best tech friend - Google! It's no lie. I'm in love with Google. Just head back to my posts from this January and February, and you'll see more of this girl gushing over Google. Here are some more features to adore:
LucidPress:
This is an extremely helpful app I use though Google Chrome. Lucid Press lets you create posters, brochures, flyers, invitations and more that you can print or share digitally. There are also templates for creating social media posts. I have used Lucid Press to make expectation posters for the alternative seating in my classroom. My students will be using it to create promotional brochures for a state they are researching. There are templates for “behavior bucks” for classroom incentives, rubrics, syllabus, exit tickets, lesson plans, name tags, and more! Check out my header image for this blog post. I created it on Lucid Press!
Google Forms:
I have blogged about Google Forms in the past, but this app has been SO helpful in my classroom this year, that I have to shout my praises again. As teachers, time savers are a MUST. My grade level departmentalizes, which means that I have three classes of students for reading. That's 80 quizzes and test to grade every time! Yikes! If I make the assessments in a Google Form, it's quick for the students to take, uses no paper, and is graded instantly for me! That's a whole lot of win in my book! Here's a recent quiz I made that students will be taking next week. How well will you do?
Here is my previous blog post that touched on Google Forms: Ode to Google Drive
Google Drawings:
I have mentioned Drawings before, but haven't gone into much depth. Drawings are useful in many areas of education. Here are some ideas:
I have used Google Drawings mostly for making graphic organizers like this one:
This graphic organizer can now be printed onto paper or used in a Google Slides presentation for students to record and study new vocabulary words. Now, that's super!
I'm sure I've made it abundantly clear that I love Google, and I plan to for a long time to come.
Now, it's back to the classroom on Monday to let the kids all know how "Wicked Smaht" I am now after my conference in Boston!
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