Phoetry & Phoems, Amy Stipp, Librarian, Corkery Elementary School

Our iPads are up and going!  We are so excited to have them as an addition to our library.  Our students are eager to use them and to demonstrate their learning with them.  We got a charging and sync station last week, making it easy to hook the iPads up and give them a charge all at the same time.  I really like the sync box.  It opens like a garage door with a key for security.  The only downer is that the iPad cords are really long, so I coiled them and held them fast with a twisty-tie.

My fourth graders enjoyed using them in conjunction with a project they were working on in their classroom of making a poem book.  To add to their books, I had the students make a type of poem called “Phoetry.”  They made their Phoems by taking pictures of things around the library in pairs and groupitos.  They chose one of their photos and wrote words in different fonts to describe actions, impressions, feelings or places represented in the picture.  I used this activity to address the standard, “Present information clearly so that main points are evident.”

Next, I used the iPads with my sixth graders.  Using their CPS e-mail, they e-mailed their PowerPoint presentations of an African American Musician to me and I responded back.  The next day, they sat in groups and each group got an iPad.  On the iPads, they accessed their PowerPoint presentations through their email and presented to their group.  The group evaluated each group member’s presentation using a rubric, addressing the standard “Work in groups to evaluate products and presentation.”   

We look forward to using these little guys more and more.  I am learning more everyday about different apps and features of the iPad.  It’s been a joy integrating them into the curriculum!!!  The students are thrilled to used them!