This year started with a bang for me!  After being hired right before the school year started, I had many things to figure out quickly.  One of those pressing items was "how in the world was I going to incorporate ipads into my 2nd grade classroom?" 

I feel like I started slowly, but quickly it became apparent that those 7 ipads were going to be my friends and I better jump on board.  I used my ipads for AR, Epic, Xtra Math, and Pebble Go at first.  Then as the year progressed so did my confidence with integration into our daily plans.   

Going to each #urlearning session helped introduce me to apps that I should check out.  It was also extremely helpful when our learning specialists suggested apps or the other teachers on my team suggested apps to use with specific skills.  Now 8 months into the year, we use our ipads daily and I cannot imagine teaching without them.  Some of our favorite apps or websites to use on the ipads are: Seesaw, number pieces, pattern blocks, geoboards, sushi monster, xtra math, pebble go, kahoot, quizizz, chatterpix, pickids, popplet, adobe voice, and did I mention SEESAW!!! :)  

Here is a sneak peek of how we use iPads in room 514!

When naming fractions, we used the app Pattern Blocks and then saved into Seesaw which makes it easy to check for understanding. 

During our 3D Solid investigation, students sorted candy, wrote attributes, and saved a picture into Seesaw for me to check.  Much easier than trying to walk around and check work because we all know they just want to eat the candy!

Students counted coins in math stations and saved into Seesaw. 

                                                                              

We also used Popplet to show our understanding of nouns.  This app can be used in so many ways in all subject areas and it is much more fun than making a list on paper. 

Poetry can be recorded in Seesaw.  I love listening to them read their own poems and I am sure the parents  do too! 

While studying Jack Prelutsky's poetry, we did a visualization activity and listened to the poem Green Giant and drew our mental image.  After this was complete we used ChatterKids to record and practice fluently reading this poem.  

One of the most recent ways that 2nd grade incorporated iPads into ELA was during our research unit.  We started with a whole class research project on Alligators.  Next, students spent several days working with partners to research a new animal of their choice.  

We used Inigma to scan these cute QR code posters (thanks to Mrs. Perdomo) which made it easy for students to navigate from one website to another using iPads.  During the group projects, students researched and saved pictures of their animal diagrams into Seesaw. 

Our final research project was completed independently on different animals. All students made a digital product to be graded with a rubric.  Once all their information was gathered, my kids used PicKids, ChatterKids, and then created a final slideshow using Adobe Voice and saved it into Seesaw!  The products were amazing!

 Iguana Research Project using Adobe Voice

Jaguar Research Project using Adobe Voice

So what are you waiting for?  Try a new app today! :)