SMART Board Lessons

“How about some good web sites for primary grades in reading and math… connected to the smart board… thanks.”

This request from a friend who is a second-grade teacher led me to four web sites (three, actually… but you’ll see) that have some very good lessons that primary teachers can use. The unexpected blessing is that these sites also have good lessons for other grade levels in K-12!


The first two sites come from Amphitheater Public Schools in Tucson, Arizona. Their teachers (K-12) have written some high-quality lesson plans that help them--the teachers--to embed technology into the curriculum. Some of the lessons involve ways--both innovative and effective--for students to use the Internet, and others use higher-level thinking along with technology integration.

They also list other useful resources. For example, I found the Literacy Center (http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm#), an early literacy site for primary teachers. It has games that can be played on the SMART board.

http://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/whiteboard/eleminteractivesites.html

http://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/edtech/lessons/second.html


The next web site comes from Hillside Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts. The Cyberventures page (http://hillside.needham.k12.ma.us/cyberventues/index.html) contains a variety of information worth examining. However, the web site I chose for this blog entry contains activities (K-5) especially for SMART boards.

I had fun with the Virtual Geoboard (http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_277_g_1_t_3.html) and I like the chart (http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx) that maps web sites appropriate for use with an interactive white board based on subject and age group.

http://hillside.needham.k12.ma.us/cyberventues/smart_board_activ/smart_board.htm


The last web site I’ve chosen with SMART board lesson plans and activities (K-12) is from the pdtogo web site that I mentioned in a previous (December 8, 2006… http://teaching21c.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html) blog entry on SMART boards. These pdtogo podcasts began in January 2006 and still continue. The URL that I’ve bookmarked for you is the lesson archive page. It allows you to look over the entire list of podcasts up to this point… or to examine them based on categories such as “math lessons” or “reading lessons” (see the right-hand column). These podcasts are fun to listen to and/or watch and they include bits of other useful information in addition to SMART board lessons.

Two examples of the lessons available from pdtogo include these literacy lessons for primary students. SMART Board Lesson 56 has a SMART Notebook file (chickachicka.notebook) that can be downloaded for a primary lesson for matching sounds, pictures, and letters. Lesson 62 includes a file for a jeopardy-style game for an early years lesson about letter sounds. Both of these lessons were developed by a kindergarten teacher in Canada.

http://pdtogo.com/smart/?page_id=28


As I examine lesson plans from each of these sites, it is obvious that they are designed by teachers who know well both their students and the content they are teaching. The web sites are chosen especially for the fact that they contain good lessons for the primary grades. However, the quality doesn’t stop there. Check out these sites even if you teach other grades.

SMART Boards are Becoming Popular Classroom Tools

What technology that was developed in 1991 has become the popular “emerging technology” for today’s classrooms?

The first blackboard was used in a Philadelphia school in 1809. The blackboards were made from lumber. Their covering was a mixture of egg white and carbon from charred potatoes. Chunks of chalk were used to write on the surface and the erasers were cloth rags. “Blackboards” later became “green” boards, although they still required chalk.

Black/green boards eventually became “white” boards and we used markers to write on them.

What eventually replaced black/green/white boards?

The answer to both questions is the interactive white board. Although there are several versions of this tool, the best-known one is probably the SMART Board.


Whether you want to learn more about how to use SMART Boards before you have one in your classroom or you’re searching for resources to use with the SMART Board already in your classroom, you will find lots of information on the Internet. Here are a few sites to get you started.

If you know of some other great sites, please share them!


RESEARCH...

I looked for results of research concerning the use of SMART Boards in the classroom. I expected to be able to create a list of advantages and a list of disadvantages discovered when using SMART Boards. Well, the two lists are a bit lopsided!

Web sites examined to learn about the research…
http://www.waukesha.k12.wi.us/WIT/SmartBoard/benefits.htm
http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk/pubs/smartboard.htm
http://www.techlearning.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=51200657
http://tusdstats.tusd.k12.az.us/planning/surveys/online/exsums/smrtbrd.asp

Advantages
• collaborative
• easy to use
• effective for whole class instruction
• enthusiastic and positive classes
• improved overall student learning
• improved student attitudes
• improved student behavior during class
• increased student engagement
• increased students’ levels of participation
• instruction is more organized
• interactive
• lessons were clear and dynamic
• points could be highlighted using the pens
• proved successful in many subjects
• quick to learn to use
• reliable
• students received more attention from the instructor
• students were motivated
• visualizing complex phenomena may help some students

Disadvantages
• initial problems, such as classroom movement and setting up of the SMART Board
• initial cost and eventual replacement cost of computers, data projectors and their replacement bulbs, and the SMART Boards themselves


LEARNING HOW TO USE SMART BOARDS…

http://www.atomiclearning.com/smartboard
Atomic Learning has a series of tutorials for the SMART Board Notebook for Windows computers. Two of the videos in the series may be viewed by anyone; the remainder of the series is available to subscribers.

http://smarttech.com/trainingcenter/macintosh/trainingmaterials.asp
SMART training center, training materials for Macintosh users

http://smarttech.com/trainingcenter/windows/trainingmaterials.asp
SMART training center, training materials for Microsoft Windows users

http://wiki.monroe.edu/index.php?title=SMART_Board%2C_Introduction_to
introduction to SMART Board

http://pdtogo.com/smart/?page_id=28
SMART Board lessons podcast


RESOURCES…

http://client.cant.ac.uk/gii/home.asp
great information and communications technology ideas

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/
SMART – educator resources

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/SAP/default.htm
SMART – accredited software

http://www.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/SB/SB.html
SMART Board resources

http://www.d131.kane.k12.il.us/Bardwell/smartboard.html
SMART Board ideas

http://www.iwb.org.uk/
free interactive whiteboard resources

http://www.juliethompson.com/SMART.html
great K-3 SMART Board sites

http://www.taconic-learning.net/b2evo/index.php?blog=10&title=search_strategies_for_finding_web_sites_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
search strategies for finding web sites useful for SMART Boards