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helps families connect & build bridges between home & school, by amy mascott

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      • activating schema
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      • inferring
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      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
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    • environmental print
    • fluency
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    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
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      • new for us foods
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      • teacher appreciation
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practice reading, speaking, and thinking: an app for connecting

home / digital literacy / iPad for learning / practice reading, speaking, and thinking: an app for connecting
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practice reading, speaking, and thinking: an app for connectingI’ve spent most of my adult life on a quest for a magical something that will help bridge the distance between my home here in Maryland and my home in the Keystone State.

My parents and two of my sisters are still up north, and though I thought it would become easier as time went on to be 3+ hours away from them, it’s just becoming more and more difficult.ย ย  Maddy, Owen, and Cora always wish to see their Nanny & Pap, their aunts and cousins, and my heart aches for my sweet nephews.ย  (Sure–I miss the adults too, but the baaabies!!)

So although Skype, Facetime, and the like seem like natural fits for us, for technological–and financial reasons–they just haven’t worked out.

Recently, though, I was introduced to an app that will not only help my three kiddos practice their reading, speaking, and thinking skills–it will also help them stay connected to their friends and family.

I love it.ย  It’s clever and easy.

practice reading, speaking, and thinking--an app for connecting

my SPOKEnPHOTO albums on my shelf

And it can be used in creative ways so that kiddos can even practice reading, speaking, and thinking. In my opinion, it’s really an app for connecting.

And for a gal whose family is far away? Love.

Here’s the skinny. . .

  • Practice Reading, Speaking, and Thinking– An App for Connecting: This app is so new, it’s hot off the presses this very morning.

It’s called SPOKEnPHOTO, and it is just that: spoken photos.

practice reading, speaking, and thinking--an app for connecting

photos from any of the albums on my iPad can be used for my SPOKEnPHOTOs

Though we are only now learning how to use it, what I really love about it is that it can be one photo or an album of photos– a quick message or a whole story.

And I love that it requires a little thought–and if wanted–a little bit o’ love.

Recently we were invited to try out the app, and the kids and I created a ‘long distance love story’ for our cousins in Pennsylvania.ย  (It’s from all of us, but Brady is our main player since Maddy, Owen, and Cora only make but really rare appearances on teachmama.com.)

 

practice reading, speaking, and thinking--an app for connecting

Our ‘Missing Wyatt’ album. . .

practice reading, speaking, and thinking--an app for connecting

. . . and the kids recording their voices . . .

practice reading, speaking, thinking

. . . choosing photos, singing songs, and being silly for our Missing Wyatt’ SPOKEnPHOTO album.

You can see first hand our ‘Missing Wyatt’ SPOKEnPHOTO album. Take a look.

Even if you don’t have an iPad, because I shared the link to my album with myself via email, it’s available on the web. So anyone can receive a SPOKEnPHOTO, but the photo–or album–must be created with an iPad, iOS 6.0 or later.

I see a boatload of learning potential of this app.ย  I look forward to:

  • having the kids practice reading to their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents;
  • sharing fun photos of events and having the kids narrate, summarize, and explain what’s happening;
  • encouraging Owen to show off his new speaking skills and practiced words via photos of his smiling face;
  • letting the kids loose with this–giving them the iPad, letting them take photos, and then having them think about how they can fit together for a story to send to family;
  • keeping track of the SPOKEnPHOTOS we create as memory tools throughout the year;
  • receiving SPOKEnPHOTOS from our cousins–and hearing how much the boys are growing and what they’re learning;
  • eventually being able to print out the albums into books–which I think is totally cool!

 

practice reading, speaking, and thinking--an app for connecting

ย my own ‘Long Distance Love Story‘ . . .

As a member of a small group of bloggers who was invited to try out this app, I created my own ‘Long Distance Love Story‘ as part of the collaborative Long Distance Love Story Album.ย  Check it out so you can see how others have creatively and thoughtfully used SPOKEnPHOTO. ipad apps for teaching and learning

I truly appreciate that each SPOKEnPHOTO is easy to create, and they’re even easier to share.ย 

All you do is choose a photo, name it, and you can add your own sound bite to it with the press of a button.

Each and every photo can have up to two minutes of sound attached to it. So in that way, you can send a short message with one photo–or the real creative thinking comes into play when you put a series of photos together in an album.ย 

How cool is that?!

The possibilities are really endless, but this teacher-mama’s thrilled about the reading, speaking, thinking–and connecting!--support that this app offers to hear kiddos for some sneaky after-school or weekend learning!

What do you think? What do you love about this app? How would you use it? What catches your eye? I’d love to hear it! Do share!

 

fyi: I was compensated for my time in reviewing and evaluating SPOKEnPHOTO.ย  All opinions, as always, are only my own, influenced only by my experience as a parent and educator and by my three little photo-creators and memory-makers.

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

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Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
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So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

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Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

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What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia
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(Part 2) 

The series will be shared on IG stories, on tiktok, on the teachmama facebook page, and in the Take 5 newsletter. 

Look for the logo on social, and if you want to receive the whole thing via email, then sign up for Take5 on the link below. 

Iโ€™m really excited about this. Itโ€™s taken a long, long time to create, and the only thing I ask is that you, once viewing it all, could take 2 minutes to give me some feedback. There will be a google form on the last of the slides, at the end of the series. I thank you, I appreciate you, and I look forward to learning along with you.

Join the Take 5 list if you want this series to land in your inbox: 
https://take5.teachmama.com/

#raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher teachersofIG dyslexia teachreading
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Hi and thank you for your interest in watching my โ€˜de-mystifying dyslexiaโ€™ series. 

My name is Amy Mascott, and Iโ€™m a reading specialist and former high school English teacher. Iโ€™m also the creator of teachmama.com  where since 2008, Iโ€™ve helped families make meaningful connections with their kids and build bridges between home and school. 

As an educator, Iโ€™m always trying to share important informationโ€”bc I really think that when we know better, we do better. This series is part of my final project for a course Iโ€™m taking through Advancement Courses called โ€˜understanding dyslexiaโ€™. 

And as a reading teacher, I need to know all I can about this condition. What I realized is that I had a lot to learnโ€”maybe you, as a parent or teacher yourself, can also stand to learn a little bit. 

Maybe, like me, youโ€™ve grown up thinking that dyslexia was a condition where people read letters backwardsโ€”b for d or p for g? Maybe you thought, like I did, that if a person was dyslexic, they saw all of the letters jumbled together on the page? Iโ€™m here to tell you that both of those things are untrue. 

So if you would like to learn a little about dyslexiaโ€”if you would like for me to โ€˜de-mystify dyslexiaโ€™ for you, then follow along! 

(Continued on next VIDEO)

#readingteacher #teachersofIG #demystifyingdyslexia

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Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
View
Open
How can people with dyslexia learn to read? ๐Ÿค”

Here are the 3๏ธโƒฃ elements that reading instruction should contain in order to be most effective for students with dyslexiaโ€”

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #readingteacher #teachreading #dyslexiaawareness
View
Open
Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia
View
Open
(Part 2) 

The series will be shared on IG stories, on tiktok, on the teachmama facebook page, and in the Take 5 newsletter. 

Look for the logo on social, and if you want to receive the whole thing via email, then sign up for Take5 on the link below. 

Iโ€™m really excited about this. Itโ€™s taken a long, long time to create, and the only thing I ask is that you, once viewing it all, could take 2 minutes to give me some feedback. There will be a google form on the last of the slides, at the end of the series. I thank you, I appreciate you, and I look forward to learning along with you.

Join the Take 5 list if you want this series to land in your inbox: 
https://take5.teachmama.com/

#raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher teachersofIG dyslexia teachreading
View
Open
Hi and thank you for your interest in watching my โ€˜de-mystifying dyslexiaโ€™ series. 

My name is Amy Mascott, and Iโ€™m a reading specialist and former high school English teacher. Iโ€™m also the creator of teachmama.com  where since 2008, Iโ€™ve helped families make meaningful connections with their kids and build bridges between home and school. 

As an educator, Iโ€™m always trying to share important informationโ€”bc I really think that when we know better, we do better. This series is part of my final project for a course Iโ€™m taking through Advancement Courses called โ€˜understanding dyslexiaโ€™. 

And as a reading teacher, I need to know all I can about this condition. What I realized is that I had a lot to learnโ€”maybe you, as a parent or teacher yourself, can also stand to learn a little bit. 

Maybe, like me, youโ€™ve grown up thinking that dyslexia was a condition where people read letters backwardsโ€”b for d or p for g? Maybe you thought, like I did, that if a person was dyslexic, they saw all of the letters jumbled together on the page? Iโ€™m here to tell you that both of those things are untrue. 

So if you would like to learn a little about dyslexiaโ€”if you would like for me to โ€˜de-mystify dyslexiaโ€™ for you, then follow along! 

(Continued on next VIDEO)

#readingteacher #teachersofIG #demystifyingdyslexia

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