Padlet: An easy and fun resource for any content!!

Padlet is a virtual bulletin board created online (not an app).  You create it and your students post to it.  Think of poster paper and sticky notes.  The uses are endless.  I love to use it in my classroom as an exit ticket activity--or even just to check in.  I also use it in my professional development trainings.  I found a great visual with lots of ideas from @simplysuzy and http://blogs.falmouth.k12.ma.us/simplysuzy/2014/02/02/padleting-together/.  Give this a try, you will love it!

Click here to start: https://padlet.com

Newsela is the word...

"Non-fiction texts govern as much as 90% of the reading and writing done by literate adults and comprise more than 70% of standardized assessments." -Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt

If you haven't heard of Newsela, I am about to make your day.  While reading adoptions are providing more non-fiction reading choices, there are just not enough. Newsela is your solution. It provides a huge library of well-written current event articles at 5 different reading levels. So, the entire class is reading about the same information, just at each student's individual Lexile reading level!  As the teacher, you can assign certain articles (and reading levels) to certain students.  Each student can then take a quiz on his/her reading. All of this is free to use.  If you wish to pay for the pro subscription, you have even more options.  Amazing!

Literally Literably

So, I don't know how things roll in every state.  But in Oregon, my students are constantly monitored on their reading fluency.  As a 5th grade teacher facing the common core, fluency is something that can often be put on the back burner.  To help with this problem, I have found an app that makes it easier to assess and incorporate fluency more often.  The app is called Literably.  The app is free.  It allows up to 10 fluency recordings.  The app contains various reading samples at various reading levels.  You can choose if you would like your students to type or record a retelling.  If you would like unlimited recordings, there is a subscription cost of $19 a month.

The really exciting thing about this app, is that a real human person listens to your student read the passage.  That moderator then does a full miscue analysis.  Here is an example from an analysis of one of my student's fluency samples.  Pretty great right?  Visit the site to find out more at https://literably.com/