Tuesday, March 10, 2015

iPad Apps to help with Spelling

We can't forget about spelling!! Click on the two links below to see a list of iPad Apps that help with spelling. This a great resource if parents ask you for suggestions.

Free Apps

Paid Apps

  

Math Games -Whiteboard

TeacherLED has a collection of awesome math games that can be projected on the Activboard or using on devices. You will need to check to see if the game you want your students to play can be played on the iPad or iTouch.

It covers many math concepts and the puzzles are not easy for kids to solve. It is a great way for students to work on their grit!

Thinking Puzzles from TeacherLED

TeacherLED is such a great resource for math interactive whiteboard activities. They are challenging and would be great to use whole class but since they also work on iDevices, they would also be great to use as stations!

Crates Puzzle

At the start of the puzzle the crates numbered 1 to 4 run across the top and the crate 5 to 8 run across the bottom. The challenge is to place the top crates at the bottom and vice versa. They must still run in order though. Only one crate can be in a square at a time and they may not move through each other. It can be solved in a minimum of 41 moves but solving is challenge enough for most! Tap a crate and then tap the square you would like it to move to. This counts as a single move, regardless of the number of squares the crate passes through.

 Difference Triangle 

 Swap tiles so that each number in the triangle is the absolute difference between the two numbers below. The absolute difference is effectively the same as subtracting the smaller number from the larger number, whatever order they appear in. The bottom numbers will always appear as correct as there are no numbers below to produce them. Note that the resource tells you when the absolute difference is correct but NOT that the tile is in the correct place to solve the puzzle. Warning: This puzzle is a challenge!

Route Finder

Choose your start point from any of the circular nodes on the grid. You must then visit each straight section in only 19 moves. They will fade out to show they have been visited. As there are 17 straight pieces and the minimum you can complete this puzzle in is 19 you will obviously have to revisit a couple of straight sections. You can only move along the grid lines one circle at a time and each of these counts as one move.

Flip Over

n this puzzle you must arrange the pattern of shapes so that there are 4 octagons followed by 4 stars with the 2 blanks on the far right. The twist with this puzzle is that every time you move the two shapes they flip relative positions. This makes it a bit harder to visualize your strategy and offers a simple to understand, but challenging to solve, puzzle. The top blue bar lets you select which two shapes to move while the lower blue bar will move the selected two shapes. You must always move two shapes.

Lock Down

n this puzzle each row, column and the two diagonal lines add up to 12. The catch is that one of the numbers cannot move and must be locked before the tiles can start to be moved. After this the puzzle works like any other slide puzzle where you must try to meet the finishing condition by sliding the tiles into position. The blank counts as zero for working out the sums. The puzzle can be solved in just 19 moves but a good way to solve it is to try to work out the correct finish position first and, from that, which tile never moves. Tapping a tile will cause it to move into the blank if its a valid horizontal or vertical move.

Nine Digits

When the resource opens you will see that both multiplication calculations give the same result of 3634. The highest number that can be the answer for both calculations using each of the nine digits once is 5568. The challenge is to arrange the numbers until both calculations equal 5568. The resource will take care of the calculating but the player will have to think hard about the results of multiplication to make progress. Random moving of tiles is likely to take a long time! Tap one tile and then another to swap them.

Square Sums


The challenge is to arrange the numbers 1 to 15 so that each adjacent pair, when added together, result in a square number. This puzzle is particularly nice in that it doesn’t need a high level of maths knowledge to engage with. Simple adding and identifying square numbers is all that is needed. Even this latter requirement is quite easy as there are very few square numbers that these numbers can result in. Despite this ease of engagement it will still provoke in depth thinking. Tapping the circles lets them switch places and their sums are automatically calculated in the squares above them. When a new square number is made a little burst of ticker tape confirms it. When all 14 are correct you’ll know!

Hop Over

The goal is to reverse the order of the counters so that there are 3 purples, then 3 blues and finally the blank space. Counters can move to an adjacent empty place or hop over one or two other counters to get to it. The resource will only allow correct moves. It can be done in 10 moves. Tapping any counter will move it to the blank space. Tapping reset will set it all back to the beginning. First try to solve it in any number of moves and then try to distill this down into the most efficient process.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Coding at NHE


Ms. Mitchell and Mrs. Marshall's class take on coding! They had a blast!!

     

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Hour of Code

What is the hour of code??? 


The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries Anyone, anywhere can participate.One hour tutorials are available. No experience is needed! Ages 4-100 can participate!!

How can you participate?



Need help?
Come to an after-school training in my room (room 110). Spend go through the tutorials your students will be using.  Both trainings are the same, so choose the one that works best for you. (Eduphoria link coming soon...)


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

November News


Stay tuned for more details on how your class can participate in the hour of code!! 

Please take 20-30 minutes to complete the Speak Up Survey.

InnovateEDU Summit - Saturday, Jan.24 - 8:00-3:00 at Spring Woods HS
Panera Breakfast and a Chick-Fil-A lunch will be provided for free!! Door Prizes: 2 Chromebooks, 5 Chromecasts, and 1 ISTE Conference Trip (in Philadelphia this summer)! 
Join in professional conversations about our practices and share how we are using innovative strategies to engage today's learners and foster flexible literacy development!

Are your kids doing awesome things in the classroom with technology? Consider having your kids enter the Media Fest!!