5 Reasons you should be using Boom Cards in kindergarten     Whether you are teaching remotely,face to face, or a hybrid of both using Boom Cards is a great option when teaching kindergarteners. Here are 5 reasons why using Boom cards to teach is a successful strategy. #1 Boom Cards are self checking. Why are self-checking activities so important to our students? When students engage in self-checking Boom Cards they receive immediate feedback on their work. We all need people who give us feedback. That’s how we improve. — Bill Gates They receive “real-time” information about their learning. This information can increase their confidence and inform their future practice. #2 Boom has sound For the vast amount of us, we will have students in our classes that have skills and knowledge that have huge ranges of levels. We are called upon to provide differentiation in every lesson we provide. Kindergarten teachers need to scaffold learners who have special needs and for students for whom English is not their first language. Our ELL students and our students with special needs have unique learning needs and it’s up to teachers to meet those nedss. Boom Cards provide that scaffolding and...

Learning to read sight words is a crucial step in increasing reading fluency. Regardless of what you call them, trick words, high-frequency words, or sight words. We can all agree our kindergarten students need to be able to read these allusive words. If our students struggle with fluency they will lose comprehension. Our early readers need a library of sight words that they can read quickly and correctly.  Many kindergarten teachers ask “How do I teach sight words to my kindergarten students?”. There are many tips that help teachers create lessons to increase fluency. You can read about strategies here  Using Boom Cards is a great option when teaching sight words.  Here are 5 reasons why using Boom cards to teach high-frequency words is a successful strategy. #1 Boom Cards are self-checking. Why are self-checking activities so important to our students? When students engage in self-checking Boom Cards they receive immediate feedback on their work. We all need people who give us feedback. That’s how we improve. — Bill Gates Students receive “real-time” information about their learning. This information can increase their confidence and inform their future practice. When our kindergarteners receive immediate feedback it can have a positive...

Have you seen color by code Boom Cards? Color by Code Boom Cards are simply amazing. We all love Boom Cards. They are self-checking, digital task cards that make learning feel like a game, but the color by code feature brings “working until you finish” to a whole new level. How does the color by code decks work? We have all see worksheets that have our students color in certain sections with different crayons. My kindergarteners have always enjoyed creating the image and they make for a great bulletin board display. However, Boom cards take that wonderful color by code activity and digitize it.  As your kindergarten students work through the deck, more and more colors begin to emerge. Each slide shows a progression in the picture. I add a little extra hint on my Boom Cards. The crayon friend helps my student guess what color will show up on the next slide. That type of engagement makes color by code Boom Cards even more fun for your math and literacy centers. “Wait, I need to finish” Oh, how I love those words. When a student is highly motivated to finish their work it’s like music to a kindergarten...

Teaching in 2020 forced us all to change – quickly! Well, that was one crazy year! Teaching in 2020 made us all change and quickly figure out how to teach kindergarten in a brand new way. As we enter 2021 we are still learning how to teach our kindergarten students in a new way. Whether you are still remote, hybrid or face-to-face teaching in 2021 will continue to be different. So our traditional teacher goals will need to adjust to the new reality of teaching. Here’s the good news, change isn’t always a negative thing. Change can be a real positive in our students’ lives. Here are three tips for teaching in 2021. #1 Learn When the world stopped in March of 2020 we all needed to quickly learn how to teach remotely. We didn’t have any time to make a plan. We had to build the plane while we were flying it. However, we knew our students needed us and we quickly adapted. But here’s the thing, so many of us started doing everything. We all tried new teaching strategies. Our administrations seemed to change the expectations daily. As we settled into using Zoom and figure out the...

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Which Boom membership level should I use? Boom learning has burst into classrooms all over the United States. Although it may seem as though Boom has been an overnight success, those who were using tech long before the pandemic have long enjoyed the features of Boom. The one question so many teachers have is “Can I use Boom for free?” The short answer is Yes. However, once you see the features of the paid membership and  you realize how inexpensive it is. The real question should be “why wouldn’t you have a paid membership” Let’s look at the features of each level then you decide which works best for you. Boom Learning Starter Membership is free. If you are on the fence about trying something new and want to get your feet wet, this is a great place to start. At this level you can search the Boom Learning site and TPT for free decks. There are literally 100’s of decks to choose from. You can comfortably find a deck for most skills. Here is a free deck to get you started Boom offers sections (think different classes) and with the starter level you get 1 section with 5...

Top reasons why teachers should be using Boom Cards in  Kindergarten. Boom Cards are digital task cards that provide students with immediate feedback on their answers.  However, that’s not all that is provided with Boom Cards. Kindergarten teachers can access a report feature that includes student accuracy.  The most impressive feature on this digital platform is that students love playing Boom Cards. There is an element of fun that is not present on other platforms. Students receive an audible “ding” with a correct answer. Receiving that feedback makes learning feel like a game. Learning feels like a game. The Boom Learning platform offers so many features that engage students. From mystery pictures, to escape rooms, to video mini lessons, Boom cards take learning to another level. Read more about teaching sight words with Boom Cards   Kindergarten students aren’t the only ones loving Boom Cards. Teachers can easily assign decks to students. One of the great features is that Boom can be assigned both Google Classroom and Seesaw.  Kindergarten teachers can assign decks with either a hyperlink or a fast pin. Boom Cards are versatile they can be played on multiple devices.  Kindergarteners can access their decks on iPads,...

How do kindergarten students start the year virtually? Kindergarten students all over are starting school remotely. As leaders debate how to go back to school safely, teachers everywhere are wondering how they can build relationships with their students during remote learning. When schools closed in March teachers had already developed relationships and classroom culture. It was hard, but teachers everywhere quickly figured out how to end the year virtually. But now it’s back to school season and teachers are faced with brand new students. Kindergarten students are starting school in a whole new way. Teachers have to meet their students virtually. Suddenly ending the year seems like a cakewalk compared to starting a new year. So many questions, so much unknown.  The single most important element in a classroom is relationships. I can say this with 100% confidence that the single most important element in a classroom is relationships. The relationships you form with your students, with their parents, with your co-workers. Relationships are the foundation of all learning. So how do you build a relationship with a 5 year old over Zoom? So how do you build a relationship with a 5 year old over Zoom? Here are...

3 Tips for using Google Classroom in Kindergarten During Remote Learning So many teachers and students have been thrust into using Google Classroom during school closures. If this is the first time your kindergarten students have used Google Classroom I have some tips to make the transition from classroom learning to remote learning a little easier on everyone. Be kind to yourself First of all, be kind to yourself, we are all trying our best, and there will be good days and bad days. No one could have prepared for this and we all need to give ourselves just a little bit of grace.  Here are my top tips for using Google Classroom for the first time. #1 Use content they know. There is a steep learning curve for you, your students, and your parents. Learning a new platform can be difficult.  Start with content you know they are comfortable with. Even though your kids may have mastered the content – they are learning how to log in, access the lessons, and submitting lessons. Make sure the content is easy. This really is about the process not the product. Matching upper and lower case letters is a great place...

  This week has been surreal.  The implications for schools are unprecedented. Teachers have been asked to prepare for remote learning with only a couple of days notice, and in some cases hours. So many teachers are finding themselves faced with the challenge of getting up to speed with digital within a day or two. Take a deep breath, there is support for you. If your school and your students have been affected by closures here is a list of resources that may help. One of the major challenges that low income families face during closure is the lack on internet connection. Here is some information from Comcast   and Verizon  on providing free internet or discounted prices to low income families. Here are 2 free courses that will help get you ready to use digital Google Classroom is free and readily available to teachers and schools. You can set up a class in a matter of minutes. All you need is your school created email and password. The course will show you step by step how to add students, assign lessons, and a few tips for getting your students logged in. Google Classroom Course Boom Cards are self-checking digital...