Classroom Almost Complete!

I am so excited that my class is about 90% complete, ready for 20+ five year olds to take control. This is my word work station that I use during Daily 5. Students have free choice to pick the activities that they would like to complete; however, they have to choose a different activity each day. The buckets are filled with activities that reinforce skills that I previously taught.My pocket chart is another word work activity where students can practice word study sorts.

My Daily 5 Math stations are a little different. Students complete one rotation a day for 30 minutes. By the end of the week, students would have completed all five rotations. The rotations are: 

math by myself

math with a buddy

math in my journal

math with technology

math with the teacher

                         

I place activities that I would like students to complete in the black buckets. The activities are always aligned to skills I have introduced. The buckets fill up as I teach new skills.

My library and REABOX are probably my most popular stations during Daily 5. The students love scanning QR Codes to listen to their favorite readalouds. 

I think my most favorite thing that I've made so far is my crayon organizer. This idea was inspired from a post on Pinterest. Who would have thought that a muffin tin and plastic cups would be a life saver in my class.

Using QR Codes to Self Check

QR (quick response) codes are becoming one of my favorite tech tools to use with my Kinders. These funny looking checkerboards are popping up everywhere. Not only do they have a coolness factor; they allow my Kinders to be interactive in their learning.  At their best, QR Codes provide true interactivity and engagement for my students, and they help to make students more independent when completing tasks.


This year, I decided to introduce my students to QR Codes and they loved them. However, I started to wonder how could I incorporate QR Codes during my Daily 5 rotation. My goal was to create tasks that students could complete without interrupting me as I work with small groups during Daily 5. After many hours on Pinterest, I decided to create a READBOX, a QR Code listen to read station where students could scan a QR Code to listen to their favorite read aloud. The students loved it! I couldn't help but notice how the students stayed engaged and on task when they were at the listen to read station. This got me really thinking about creating a classroom environment where students could actively participate in their learning without interrupting me, and become independent at self checking and correcting their own work. Then, a light bulb went off in my head and QR Code self checking Word Work activities were born.



The first activity I created was a QR Code Sight Word Wall using qrvoice.com. During this activity, students practiced  naming the sight words. If the students came to a word that they didn't know, they could scan the QR Code to hear the word. Then, I created a QR Code Sight Word Scramble activity where students could unscramble the sight words and scan the QR Code to check their answer. 
       

Not only were the students staying actively engaged and on task; they were becoming collaborative learners. The culture of my classroom was rapidly changing before my eyes into something greater than what I imagined it to be. The QR Code self checking activities allowed me to mange my classroom so well that I decided to create self checking activities for my Daily 5 Math block.

                                        
QR Codes continued to be a big hit in all subjects, and made it easier to manage my students. This success with QR Codes has inspired me to create hands-on activities in all areas where students can be actively involved in their learning, collaborate with their peers, and become independent learners. Here are some examples of self checking activities that I have created for the upcoming school year:

Word Work

Students will use letter manipulatives to build the word and the scan the QR code to check their answer.

The Power Of Blends

The students will unscramble the sight word and scan QR Code to check their answer.

Math Station Activities 

                                                                     

The  students will count the objects, write number,
shade in the ten frame,and scan QR Code
to check their answer.

Answer that students will see sfter scanning QR Code.

                                     

Students count the dots, build the addition problem
write the addition sentence, ans scan QR Code to
check the answer.

Answer that students will see after scanning QR code.

All of these activities can be found on my TpT store.

                  

Back to School Freebie on TPT

I am so excited to finally open my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I love implementing QR codes in my classroom in all subjects. Not only are QR codes fun, they allow my students to stay engaged when completing tasks, and give my students the independence of self checking their own work. This upcoming year, my plan is to eliminate as much paper as I can. Does this mean that I'm going to cut paper completely out? No! I just plan to eliminate at least 80% of my worksheets. My goal is make my classroom more hands-on and interactive.I introduced QR codes and some Augmented Reality to my students this school year. I cant brag enough on how they stayed on task during Daily 5 and Math stations.

During Daily 5 my students engage in 5 Literacy Stations: Read to Self Read with a Buddy Listen to Read Work on Writing Word Work Qr codes were a huge hit, especially the Listen to Read station. I created a READBOX where students could scan a QR code to hear their favorite read aloud and then respond to the story.

This has inspired me to create products to share with other educators who are looking for ways to balance hands-on and technology in their classroom. I will be putting the QR Code Readbox on TPT in a couple of weeks. I am adding additional authors and monthly themes.Right now, I just uploaded my first two items. The first item is a QR code Count It, Write, It, Draw It 0-10, and it's a FREEBIE!

You can grab my freebie by clicking on my button and visiting my TPT store. The second item is a Back TO school Ten Frame 0-10 activity. In this activity, students will identify the number, build it on the ten frame with manipulatives, and scan the QR code to check their answer.

You can grab this item at my TPT store.