AutoRap

Trying to engage middle school students in studying science that is not relevant to them is hard work.  It is even harder when all they want to do is tap their pencils and sing during class time.  In an attempt to combine their interests, the science content, and literacy skills, I created a lesson/activity for next week that will definitely keep their attention by having them write rap songs.

Since we have been studying the Earth's layers, it was time for students to prove their knowledge in a summative assessment.  They will use their knowledge, notes, and activities to create, write, and perform raps.  They will be required to work in groups of three to write a rap that will last at least one minute and thirty seconds.  In the raps, they will have to include certain vocab words, processes, and sayings in order to be considered successful.  They will have two days to write and tweak the raps.  Once they have their rap written and approved by the teacher, the teacher will show them the app AutoRap.
AutoRap is an app that turns speech into a rap song.  The students will read the rap in a regular voice.  When they are done recording, they press sync.  Then, the app turns the voice into a rap.  The app has background music and beats to go along with the talking.  The app is also great because it repeats words to sound like an authentic rap.
This app is going to be a hit in my classroom because my students love to listen to raps and to write songs. The app helps me to excite them and organize the students' work.

Monkey Math App

  Monkey in the Middle Math app is an app that can be used on individual iPads.  It is a common core based app for students who are ages 10-14 and are in middle school.  The app is a game that allows students to have fun while practicing their math skills.  The math skills that can be worked on in game game are:

• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication 
• Division
• Number properties
• Area and Volume
• Median, mean, mode
• Decimals
• Converting numbers
• Converting unit

The students look at these math facts and use their quick thinking to pop the balloons with the correct number on it.  As they go through the facts, they will get points for the level and be able to move on. Once you pass the level, you can unlock higher levels.  

In my classroom, I use this app as an incentive for one of my students.  One of my students has trouble focusing in class and is always a disruption to the others.  I have been trying to positively inspire him to follow expectations by giving incentives for him to earn.  If he can last all day without losing all of his letter strikes then he gets to use my iPad and play a math game.  

This incentive works for many reasons.  First, it positively encourages him to do the right thing and follow instructions.  Also, it is an incentive that he can work towards and achieve.  It also is on an iPad which is a cool tool for this student because he does not have the technology at home.  He loves the iPad (at the beginning of the year, he asked if he could touch it once so he can say that he has actually touched an iPad before).  This also reinforces basic math facts.  This is a great incentive and app to use in the classroom.

Follet Readers

Follet reader is an online literacy website.  It allows for teachers to select ebooks.  Some of the books are just made for online and some of them are actual books that have been converted to digital form.  In my classroom, I used this site to project the digital book on the board.  I used the arrow keys to go from page to page.  I used it during a science class.  We were learning how to read informational text and extract important information.  On the white board with the text projected up, I showed my students how to mark up a text.  This helped them see how they should mark up their text when they read informational text.  Marking up the text will keep their attention on reading so they do not get side tracked or read without a purpose.

Marks that I modeled:

• underlined phrases
• circled unknown words
• made connection symbols 
• exclimation points
• question marks
• mini sketches
• highlighted
• made mini notes in the margin

I showed students how good readers interact with the text.  This site allowed for me to show the students how to read critically with each person seeing my thinking take flight on the board.
The app allows for teachers and parents to download books on their tablets.  This can be a way to excite students and children to read digitally.

ebooks Using ScribblePress

eBooks are a great asset to any class.  Most of my students have cell phones, computers, or tablets.  It is tough to compete for their attention with all of the great technology that they are use to.  It helps when, as a teacher, I can cater to their interests.  There is no learning without being an engaged student.  With eBooks, students can still get the same content delivered in a creative and more engaging way. Transitions, pictures, sounds, and swipes can be added to online, interactive books to make them more appealing to students.  
ScribblePress is an app that allows people to create, share, and publish stories using iPads.  This app can be used by teachers to create stories to read to a class or for students to create their own stories.  They can type in their stories on several different pages.  They can also put in clip art or upload pictures.  Drawing and free hand sketch is available to you if you choose to use your artistic abilities to create pictures to enhance your project.

I used ScribblePress in my classroom during science class to have a different way to view class notes for one of my students.  She is an ESL student who is still learning the english language.  Written language is hard for her because she came over as a refugee two years ago with zero knowledge of english.  She has picked up the spoken language a lot faster by being exposed to it often.  Using ebooks, I am able to pre-write the notes out for her.  The notes were written at her own level using words she knows and pictures to show the material.  These particular notes were on the structure of the eye.  There were diagrams with labels on it.  The definitions of each structure were shortened to three to four words instead of the whole definition.  This helps her concentrate on what it is actually doing.  It was easy for me to create because I could just write what she needed to know and use pictures rather than having all of the excess information.  
I gave my iPad to her when the class went into teacher directed powerpoint mode.  It looked like she was doing the same activities but taking notes off of the iPad instead of the board like everybody else. This made her feel like a part of the class and equal like everyone else.