Full disclosure, dear Pandas: some of us may not have ever tried online dating and might keep getting ‘swipe left’ and ‘swipe right’ confused whenever someone’s talking about it. But as we understand it, Tinder is some kind of fancy wood-finding service (you’d better believe that this pun is intended) on those fancy futuristic devices people call ‘smartphones.’

Are you using an intervention block? Do you need to increase reading fluency? Have you heard about flipped lesson? I've been reading about flipping your classroom for a while, but I just didn't see how it could work in kindergarten. It seemed to be an upper grade level tool. In case you're new to the party, flipped lessons are basically a way to use video on the IPad or digital device to teach a lesson at home. Then the kids come back to school already having watched and they are ready for enrichment. It "flips" the traditional approach of direct instruction in class and then using homework for enrichment. But what about kindergarten? How can we use the technology to increase student engagement? Well, I've been playing around with flipped lessons and I think I may be on to something! But of course we need to modify for kindergarten. Flipping has been a game changer for me and my kids. So, how do you do it? Like most things there's an app for that. I take a skill that my kids need more instruction with, and I create a video lesson on my IPad using the app Explain Everything. The lesson is basically what I would teach and how I would teach it, in a small group, with my kids. Each lesson has some kind of printable. I put a QR code on the paper and the kids simply scan the code, and watch the video and complete the activity. You can try out my Spring Math FREEBIE here. It. Is. Awesome. My boss' jaw literally dropped when I showed her. You can use chrome books, IPads, you can even use a phone. Any device that has a screen and Wi-Fi will work. Can you see the possibilities? You can send the paper with the QR code home and the kids get additional practice at home. How many times have you said I wish I could model for my parents how I want them to help with homework? Guess what? You can! This not only helps the kids, but it's like the parents are sitting in your class. Watching how you teach. Have you ever wanted to clone yourself? You just can't get to all the things you need to get to in a day. Well now you can. I need my lowest reading group to have daily practice with phoneme segmentation. But it takes time, and that is something I don't always have. Now I can make sure all my kids are getting the extra practice every day, and as you can imagine their skill level is increasing. I have never been as effective at getting my kids to reach their benchmarks as I have been since I started flipping. I use the flipped lessons for individuals or small groups, but I also use them with my whole class. I project the video on the big screen and the kids are viewing a math lesson and I can have a minute to walk around and assess - or can you imagine, have a minute to clean my desk! I'd love to hear about your experience with how you use flipped lessons. Let's increase reading fluency, and number sense, bu embracing technology in a new way. Please comment with any ideas or tricks you might have. I will be adding more flipped lessons to Della Larsen's Class on TPT so check back and see what's new.

I. am. obsessed! To say the least. I was introduced to Seesaw this year during one of our "Wonderful Wednesday" optional professional development sessions. An amazing teacher in our school who knows all the new happenings in the technology/education world was holding an info session on Seesaw - an interactive learning journal that you can use in your classroom. "It even works for kindergarten!" Is it just me, or do we hear that ALL. THE. TIME. and it never actually works for us. Let's face it. Kindergarten is different *in the best way possible*. So I went. And I told myself I would walk on out if I didn't think it would work for my kids. Not all apps are good for 5 and 6 year olds who can't quite read yet. Well, I stayed, the whole time. Trust me. This app works with Kinders! It is super easy to use. There are endless ways to use it. It is just FABULOUS! (By the way, you can get a free month of Seesaw plus right here! It has some really awesome features to help you communicate with parents, prepare for conferences, and track student progress!) Here is a list of ways to use Seesaw with your kindergarten students: (V = video P = photo D = draw) I often have my students record over any drawings & photos so that they can explain what is going on. Math: Write numbers! (D) Draw a picture to represent a number (D) Compare two sets of objects & orally explain which is more or less (P) Demonstrate 1 to 1 counting & state the number counted (V) Count from 1 - 100 by 1's and 10's (V) Represent & explain teen numbers by using a group of ten and some ones (P) Draw 2-D shapes and record what they are (D) Find 2-D and 3-D shapes in the classroom. Name the shape! (P) (V) Compare two different shapes & orally explain how they are alike and how they are different (P) Place an object somewhere and use positional words to describe where it is (P) Solve an equation in a variety of ways (D) Explain how they solved an equation (V) Show partners of any given number (P) ELA: Finish a sentence. Give them a starter & have them expand it (V) Retell a book (V) Draw the characters in a story (D) Draw the setting of a story (D) Explain how two books are alike and different (V) Answer a question by showing evidence from the book (P) Read a piece of writing (P) Practice writing & reading sight words (D) Read a book (V) Practice fluency (V) Other: Give weather reports (V) Send a message to parents on Valentine's Day (V) Tell parents something new they learned that week (V) I am sure there are 100's of other ways! How have you used SeeSaw in your classroom?

HyperDocs have become one of my favorite tools for creating lessons that promote the 4 C’s. If you are unfamiliar with HyperDocs, I highly encourage you to visit the HyperDoc website for thei…

A creative place to compile inspiration from Club Scrap members, staff and designers. Club Scrap is a monthly club for scrapbookers, rubber stampers, digi scrapbookers and paper crafters. Learn more at www.clubscrap.com.

Integrating technology in the math classroom can go far beyond substitution, digital worksheets, and simple quizzes. In this blog post and episode, my guest, Craig Klement, will share 10 ways to use technology in the math classroom. You will learn about free tools, templates, and lesson ideas you can use across grade levels.