Plickers: A Great Assessment Alternative

 

I am always on the lookout for new technology and new apps to better enhance my classroom. I am a 1:1 IPAD classroom and I use my student computers in the my classroom (they are super slow and can be frustrating!!). I do use my iPhone for some apps for teacher management like the Kagan Student Selector but I was on the lookout for an easy way to assess my students, use some technology and get instant, real-time results.I also didn't want for my firsties to be bringing in ipods, ipads, and such of their own. Its so hard to manage all that and a classroom, too! 

Plickers is the answer! I love that I can give a quick assessment after a lesson (if I am not doing an exit slip) and the kids love it. I can say I am in LOVE with it. It is SUPER easy and the best part is that only the teacher uses a technology device (my kids get plenty of technology use with our Interactive Board and IPad) and did I mention it's FREE for teachers??

 

So, just log into www.plickers.com and sign up.  I found that opening Plickers in my Mozilla Firefox browser works much better than in the Google Chrome. When I use Chrome not all the features work. Another thing to keep in mind when using this. You also have to download the app to your phone or device. 

 

Once you do that, you  have the technology part down, now get your students logged in. 

 

I really love the fact that each card is different. How many times have you asked an answer and the kids have looked around at their peers and choose their peer's answers and not their own. Or have asked a question and not everyone gives you their non-verbal response (a thumbs up or down, 3-2-1 fingers, etc...)? Again, this tool makes sure that everyone is accountable.

 

I have a numbered system in my class so this worked out beautifully. It displays the name and number. After you assign the cards, you can start inputting your classes or subject area.

 

Once you click on your "Library" you will see all the questions you have typed for every subject area. 

 

The only drawback here is that I cannot display a picture.  I guess I could also toggle screens to a picture and have my question match. Hopefully that is a feature that will come up in the future.

So, now that you got the app installed, the classes made, and questions typed, you are ready to get your Plicker on! LOL! 

 

I always display the Live View on my projector screen. It's a nice big visual display and the students get to see the instant results, too!  Seriously, it takes about 5 minutes or less for you to scan and see the data populate.

 

Now, here is the part I love. I can see on my  little screen above who is answering correctly and not. It also tallies how many students have answered and it shows who I am waiting for to respond. 

 

I really do not show this screen above because I don't want kids to feel bad or those who like to shout a big "YES!" to get all hyped! We do celebrate on participating by giving each other a high five or a "Whoop-Whoop!". 

 

For my classroom use, I have used this for math centers and science/social studies. (I have not ventured into ELA yet but will soon!)  After each whole-group lesson, I do a Plickers Poll and see how they did. Then I form my groups from there. As you can see, you can use this for any subject area and use the data to help you manage groups or reteach or enrich. Again, just another tool in our teacher assessment arsenal-- besides good old fashioned paper and pencil exit slips-- just digital! 

Hope that you will try out Plickers with your classroom! I'd love to hear how you used it and how your class has responded to it! 

Florida Snowy Days are here!

Happy New Year Friends! Long time no blog! We've been super busy getting into the swing of things and chugging along! These past 2 weeks we've been studying winter and snow. Kinda funny, right, when I love in Florida but Florida kids need to have some winter fun, too! We started with The Snowy Day and followed Peter on his snowy day adventure. I even found a read aloud online. You can check it out here. I loved the sound effects! We also did a writing and art project. The kids loved the art and painting a snowy scene.

I LOVE how they came out! So adorable! If you'd like to make these, click on the pictures below to download the tracers and writing paper!

Of course, we had to have a snowball fight! Florida style! They had no clue what we were doing! 

I made some buckets of fake snow. 

Then I let them get a handful and off they went! I was only able to get one shot since I had bucket duty but I assure you from the snow covered hair and squeals of delight and laughter, they had a blast! 

This week we started talking about Martin Luther King, Jr. and I don't know about you, but sometimes, I do have difficulty talking about this difficult time in our history. I am not saying that we shouldn't talk about it or discuss it but sometimes kids just don't always understand. I hate having to explain that there was a time when people were segregated and I always get the question, "Why?" Good question, sweetie! It is a good topic for discussion and we always talk about how we should love and treat each other with respect. I always take this time to talk about how Dr. King inspired others for greatness. For my bulletin board display this year, we talked about how they can inspire others in the future. We talked about how our dreams can shape the future. The responses were so sweet (yes, even the one about being Batman! We all need superheroes! ha!). I just posed a few but I loved how it came out. I think I need to change the letters so it pops out more but I love the messages behind their words! Kids are my inspiration!

Click on the picture to download this freebie writing paper! 

The kids loved about about their dreams. They are so important! They love to share their ideas with you and each other! 

Hope you got some great ideas (and freebies!) to help you this week! Have a great week! 

December Already???

Wow!! It's December already?? When I think of December, it does make me smile!! Lots going on in December! I know I haven't been around as much and I had promised myself that I would get better at blogging and I just couldn't. 

A few weeks ago, my mom had a stroke... It broke my heart.... 

It is such a shock when anyone gets sick, suffers a heart attack, has an injury, suffers a stroke... It turned our whole world upside down. My sweet mom who is the center of our family fell victim to a stroke (and she didn't realize it for 2 days but that's a whole other story for another day!!!) and we were lost! 

Let us fast forward 3 weeks and she doing much better and is going through rehab to regain strength on her right side. They said she has a clot on her right side that caused the stroke. She has difficulty walking and doing some things but we are confident that she will be *almost* 100% soon. I mean, she will never be back to her old self but she is trying! So, that is the reason for my long and infrequent posts. I am thankful for the positive healing thoughts she has been given!! We feel the love for sure!! 

So, with that said, we are thankful that she will be home for the holidays. Our Lola will be with us! Speaking of holidays, I am so excited that our elf, Max has made a return to out home! 

Do you do Elf on the Shelf, too? Need ideas? Click here to follow my Pinterest board! 

Also in the month of December, my friends and I at The Primary Chalkboard are celebrating this month with an advent calendar of goodies! Each day we will have a little treat for you from one of our author/bloggers. You can only get that treat for that particular day so make sure you check back often. 

Click on the picture below to take you to our Chalkboard and uncover your surprise for the day! 

I hope you all enjoy this calendar of events and check back often here and there! 

Have a wonderful week! 

Native American Week in First Grade, Sharesafe TV, and so much more!

This week we learned all about Native Americans! It is one of my favorite weeks to teach! You can see what we did last year here. There are some links for a video and an idea to help create an ambiance to your learning! I used the resources from my Native American Learning Pow-Wow resource! It is packed with cultural learning resources for your classroom! 

Click on the pic above to take you to my store to check it out! 

Sorting cards for Native American Life. 

Writing our Native American Names. 

Making Native American Baby Papoose's and using symmetry in our art!

The students had a blast learning about Native American culture. We made our vests, too! Sorry for the lack of pictures-- sometimes we just get too engrossed in our learning that I forget! We also read our story Baby Rattlesnake. See the link above for my blog post on that. The kids really got into the story and learned a little bit more on being responsible. 

Next week we will be starting long vowels with silent e! Eek! Such a difficult skill! I try to incorporate song as much as I can into my lesson so that my kiddos can sing to remember. I learn something easier if there is a catchy phrase or tune!  Before I start telling you about the videos, I NEED to share with you a great site to share videos with your kids! It's called sharesafe.tv (for some reason, the link isn't working for me. Just google sharesafe tv). 

(Please don't laugh at all the windows open!! I have at least 5 open at all times!!! Zoinks!)

These silent e videos are NOT shared via Sharesafe TV but it would be a good way to practice linking them!!

Here is a little freebie for you, too, to help you practice long a! I am a HUGE football fan although my team this year is not doing so well. 

Click on me to download your freebie!! 

Hope you all have a great week!