FIRST GRADE FUN WITH IPADS
At St. Peter, we believe integrating technology into our students’ daily learning experience is a priority. This year we are excited to provide a 1:1 iPad experience to our kindergarten – 8th grade students. We want to ensure that all of our students are prepared for the possibility of remote learning, either for an individual two-week quarantine or if a whole group needs to pivot to remote learning for a short time. This week, Mrs. Drake’s and Mrs. Smiegowski’s 1st grade classes received their iPads and began learning how to use them for these purposes.

Mrs. Smiegowski’s first graders used their iPads to do a reading sequencing activity. They read the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar and then used the SeeSaw app to do a story sequencing activity. They took pictures from the story and put them in the correct order to retell the story. They also worked on spelling words by writing them with glow in the dark colors. They then turned off the classroom lights to admire their work. Mrs. Drake’s students got to spend some time outside listening to a story on the iPad while they had their snack. They also used their iPads to do some sequencing and spelling work and even learned to record using the iPad.

All of these activities are meant to practice familiarity with the iPads and the Seesaw app while helping them become more comfortable with submitting work and communicating with their teachers, should they ever have to do so as a remote learner. It also naturally utilizes technology in the classroom to increase engagement with daily learning. And it is also a lot of fun for the kids!

Unlike the middle schoolers, the younger students won’t take the iPads home with them unless remote learning goes into effect. While we hope it doesn’t, St. Peter’s wish is for all of our students to be prepared for every possible scenario, and the younger students learning how to use the iPads in fun and engaging ways will help us achieve that.