Trailblazing with iPads in First Grade

Hemlock first grade teacher Amy Sullivan and teacher aide Dara Perlow explored enhanced modality/multi-media practices utilizing iPods and iPads at an educational conference this fall.

“Garden City School district has long had a reputation for providing the highest level of instruction to its students,” said Mrs. Sullivan. “Our success, in part, comes from applying best practices and constantly staying ‘ahead of the curve.’ In the early grades, through various modalities, Garden City has implemented a well-planned comprehensive balanced literacy program. Through a generous donation by the Thomas DiPietro Foundation, our school was able to secure six iPads to further enhance opportunities for student achievement.

“We quickly came to the realization that we have only begun to scratch the surface for the potential of these devices as learning tools,” Mrs. Sullivan continued. “For example, utilizing these devices in a primary classroom, having access to ‘Reading a-z’ applications (both fiction and nonfiction), allows guided reading groups to be conducted on an individual basis using the iPad to read the text. Students then participate in a ‘Literature Circle’ where they discuss a variety of questions. These questions are not only text-based, but include the concepts of cause-and-effect, main idea and details, compare-and-contrast and critical response. In addition, this application allows for the teacher to conduct highly accurate running records/assessments as the students read along on the iPad.”

When examining the balanced literacy component of the first grade classroom, reading and writing are essential, she said. The iBooks application has become a virtual browsing box for children to continue to explore their quest for knowledge and reading. Additionally, the ePub program provides virtually instant access to a wide variety of contemporary and classical literature, much of which is available free of charge. The ‘Notes’ application allows students who may be hesitant to write in journals the opportunity to learn keyboarding skills, to have a place to write down their thoughts and to use technology just as they see their parents and teachers modeling these exact concepts.

In addition, iPads add a tactile element to the learning experience - a vital skill for today’s 21st-century digital native. iPads as part of our daily balanced literacy program provide a consistent, extensible and measurable component of our students’ education and are a great addition to our first-grade classroom for the upcoming year, and many years to follow, Mrs. Sullivan said.

The first in-depth project Mrs. Sullivan’s class engaged in involved working through the “Writer’s Workshop” component of balanced literacy to create “Our Family,” a collection of autobiographical stories created on the iPads about the students’ families.

“The students are thrilled to upload their family photos into their own works of non-fiction. Using the iPad for this project has enabled the students not only to explore and use beginning typing skills, but they learned how to import photos into documents using the iPads, a skill even their parents may not be familiar with. The incorporation of rich media is allowing our students to create content in a way that is more familiar to them. Today’s digital native is surrounded by a world of rich media, so updating traditional teaching methodology is critical to learning relevancy,” Mrs. Sullivan emphasized.

But the class is taking the project one step further.

“We are compressing their family stories into a virtual book,” noted Ms. Perlow. “It will be kept in the application iBook--which is a virtual book shelf similar to a Nook or Kindle. In January, the class is going to create an 'animals in winter' podcast. Students will assemble an animal research page that we will scan into iTunes to create a podcast. We are very excited because Apple, the company that manufactures iPads, has asked us to document on film the steps of this process for possible inclusion on the company’s website!”

Mrs. Sullivan collected a few student comments about the introduction of the iPads to their classroom:

“This is fun...but it’s hard!”

“These are awesome!”

“I love learning in first grade!”

“I like using these because it does not feel like work!”

“I like trying the different apps!”

“The iPads are great because they help me practice my math and then I will know it better!”

“I see my mom and dad type on our computer but I think typing on the iPad is more fun!”