Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Think, Puzzle, Explore with 6th graders

Connect: I have been working with all of my small groups to make this a routine.   I had ordered 5 ipads for use in my classroom.  After a longer wait than I had anticipated, I finally had them!  Given the socio-economic status of most of my students, I wondered what experience and knowledge they might have about the tablets.  This was about the third or fourth time that this group had used the strategy. It was exciting to field their questions regarding the topic.  It didn't take long for them to infer that they would be using them in class.


Extend:  I asked them to write their initials with their posts so that I could differentiate their experiences and perhaps pair a novice with a more experienced user.
I was surprised that some had extensive knowledge and others had heard of ipads but hadn't been able to use one.

Challenge: Using the ipads for authentic needs, not just using them because they are the new toy.   Increasing their knowledge and ease with the ipads, while staying on topic.  I do feel strongly that their experiences with them and the thinking skills will enable them to successfully compete in the 21st century.

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