St. Teresa of AvilaGrade 4 IPads

22 Students – 7 Severe Learning

Needs

How Did We Use the IPad?

http://rdcrd3dproject.wikispaces.com/iPads+Special+Ed+2012

To help reinforce ELI strategies

To reinforce skills that have been taught in class. For example Time, Math Facts, and Language Arts skills

To reinforce the teaching of a particular skill. For example shape recognition and story writing

Video taping a student read his story

As a reward for completion of work

What Worked Well?

The students were excited to explore this new tool

They were able to do some activities in team which allowed them to encourage others

The IPad was a fun way to reinforce a variety of skills

Challenges?

Time. The initial set up to find appropriate Apps was very time consuming

Bad internet connection at our home so any exploring had to be completed at the school

Curriculum connections. Where and how to best use the IPads

Learning a new technology

Improved Achievement

Many of our students have their own IPods and were excited to try the many Apps we had found.

They downloaded the Apps onto their personal devices and continued the learning at home.

Noticed a great improvement with the time concept as well as basic math facts. These Apps provided the motivation and made learning skills fun

Students were excited to learn rhyming, prefixes, suffixes, and a variety of other language skills. They began to share their knowledge out loud and challenging other students to come up with these words as a game during LA time.

Final Thoughts

The IPads are a great tool for any classroom as there are so many Apps that would suit any and all needs of individual students.

They allow learning to take place outside of the desk environment as students are able to move around into positions that are comfortable for them

Are a great tool to motivate and reinforce skills after the teaching has been completed. There are also some great ideas for lessons such as Grammar and ideas on how to further the learning

Sample Lesson Plan

Objective: To improve spelling

Activity: Using the ShowMe App, open a blank page. Give the student the word

Student prints the word on the blank page. Reinforce the word by handwriting the word for the student. The student can then use the colored pens to go over the word, saying the letters as they spell it.

Our students finds this very enjoyable and is excited about spelling new words. She also enjoys handwriting.

Using the IPad this way replaces the use of the whiteboard and is another tool to motivate learning

Telling Time Lesson Plan

Objective: To be able to tell time on an analog clock and digital clock

Activity: Using the Telling Time App, explain to students each of the parts of the clock,

ie the hour hand and minute hand. Explain that there are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute.

Demonstrate how the clock works by showing the given digital time on the analog clock.

Do a few example together. When students are comfortable allow them time to work with the activity, providing support where needed.

To assess the students, allow them to complete the activity on their own. This App times the students to see how fast they can complete the given tasks.

Students found this app very helpful as they were able to manipulate the hands. They were also able to connect the digital clock and the analog clock. This was an app that many downloaded on their personal devices to continue practice outside of school.