Please note that we will not be updating this page again until the end of August. Have a great summer!

Below is a compilation of many of our favourite websites. Some of these websites are informational ones, and other websites are ones that your child can use to review the skills taught in class. Read the brief description beside each website link to find out more about this site and how this site can benefit your child.

There’s also a list here of various apps that we’ve used with the mobile technology we use in the classroom. The description beside each app name will tell you about the devices that are compatible with these apps as well as the cost of the apps. Please note that some of these apps are free and some cost money.

Throughout the year, we’ll be adding website links and app information. This information will be added after these resources have been used in the classroom. If you have any questions about the links or apps discussed here, please feel free to email us (Gina Bucciacchio or Aviva Dunsiger), or add a comment to this page with your questions.

School Board/Information Websites

School Year Calendar For The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board – This is a link to the 2012-2013 School Year Calendar.

Transportation Department For The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board – This is a link to the Transportation Department Website. By clicking on this link, you will be able to find the phone number of the Transportation Department as well as the e-mail addresses of different people at the department. Please pose all bussing questions directly to this department.

Ancaster Meadow Website – This is a link to our new school website. Check back here regularly for updates.

Curriculum Documents – Here is a link to the Ontario Government Website. From here, you can download the curriculum expectations for all subject areas from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

Mobile Apps

A parent mentioned to me (Aviva) today that the apps listed here are only for iPads and iPods. Her family has a Blackberry Playbook though. This afternoon, I sent out a tweet asking for some Word Work apps for the Blackberry Playbook, and a wonderful teacher from York Region shared this link with me. Some of these Playbook apps look like they’re for a younger audience, but there are also numerous examples of apps for Grade 6 students. If you want some more suggestions, please feel free to email me, and I’m happy to do some investigating.

Animoto – (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – Free – Students can create their own slideshows here, just like they do on the Animoto website. These slideshows are a great way for students to share their thinking in a variety of different subject areas. Students can add photographs, videos, music, and text to these slideshows. Here’s an excellent example of one about acceptance. We have an educator account for Animoto, so if you want an upgrade to your free account so that you can create full-length slideshows, please email me (Aviva) and let me know. I’ll send you the code via email to create this upgraded account.

Boggle – (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – $0.99 – This app is great for students to work on spelling familiar and unfamiliar words. Many students use this app in class during Word Work activities.

Edmodo (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – Free – Students can use this free app to sign into Edmodo: a private, social networking tool that we’re using for our Global Read Aloud.

Educreations (iPad only) – Free – Students can use this app to record their thinking in all subject areas. They can draw pictures, upload photographs, and add audio to create their own screencasts. We use this app a lot in math. It’s very similar to ScreenChomp. You need to create an account to share screencasts on this app.

GarageBand (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – $4.99 – Students can use this app to remix music and create their own songs. This app can be used in Math, Science, Social Studies, and/or Language to share learning in new ways. Awesome possibilities for Arts integration!

Hopscotch (iPad app) – Free – While this is a programming app, it’s also a great way to review rotations, translations, and coordinate grids (in math). Students can apply what they’ve learned in class as they do some simple programming as well.

iMovie (iPad app) – $4.99 – This app allows students to create their own movie trailers, and edit and add in special effects and sounds to pre-recorded movies. This group of Grade 6’s used iMovie to finalize their Order of Operations movie.

Minecraft (iPod Touch and iPad app) – $6.99 – This app allows students to apply their knowledge of 3-D figures, volume, surface area, and coordinate grids, with some fantastic building options. There’s also a computer version of Minecraft, but the price is more expensive. Please note that many students enjoy using this app just for gaming, but it can also be used for educational purposes, as demonstrated by a variety of writing, social studies, and math activities that the students created using Minecraft this year.

My Story (iPad App) – $1.99 – This app allows students to create their own digital storybooks. They can draw pictures or insert photographs, write text, and even record themselves reading their book aloud. 

NFB Pixstop (iPad App) – Free – This app allows students to easily create stop motion videos and Claymation videos. This is a great way for students to share their knowledge on a variety of curriculum topics.

Pages (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – $9.99 – This app is great for writing activities, as it’s easy to share completed work as well. Sharing options include emailing out your work and converting it to PDF. Thanks to the student in Miss Bucciacchio’s class that recommended this wonderful writing app!

Scrabble (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – There is a free version and a $9.99 version – This app is great for students to work on spelling familiar and unfamiliar words. Many students use this app in class during Word Work activities.

ScreenChomp (iPad only) – Free – Students can use this app to record their thinking in all subject areas. They can draw pictures, upload photographs, and add audio to create their own screencasts. We use this app a lot in math. It’s very similar to Educreations. You do not need to create an account to share screencasts on this app.

ShowMe (iPad only) – Free – Students can use this app to record their thinking in all subject areas. They can draw pictures, upload photographs, and add audio to create their own screencasts. We use this app in math. It’s very similar to ScreenChomp and Educreations. You need to create an account to share screencasts on this app.

SMART Notebook (iPad only) – $6.99 – This app is a simplified version of the Notebook software that students use on the computer. You can open Notebook files in the app and manipulate them. You can also use this app to create digital storybooks, and even record information instead of just writing it down.

Songify (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – $2.99 – This app allows you to read text into it, and then choose a song tune to take your text and turn it into a song. It’s a great introduction to poetry, and a wonderful way to combine Language and The Arts. Many students enjoyed using this app as part of a Hamilton Spectator song writing activity.

SoundNote (iPad app) – $4.99 – This app allows you to draw, write, and talk all at the same time. It records the thinking in line with the text, and allows you to listen back to your notes at the end. This app is almost an iPad version of the Livescribe Pen. You can share your notes later as audio files and/or Adobe PDF files.

Strip Designer (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – $2.99 – This is a great writing app. Students can easily create their own comic strips using pictures that they draw or photographs.

Word Q (iPad app) – $24.99 – For students that struggle with spelling, this app offers choices based on predictable spelling patterns. It also reads the word aloud. You can also highlight the sentence and have the app read it back, helping students correct run-on sentences or sentences with grammatical errors.

WritePad (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad app) – $3.99 for the iPod Touch and iPhone app and $9.99 for the iPad – This app is great for writing activities, as the students can write using a keyboard or they can actually print on the app instead. There are many sharing options too: from emailing out your work to tweeting it out.

Literacy, Math, Science, and Social Studies Websites

105 The Hive – Find out more about this student radio station that our students will be broadcasting on this year. Students will get to create media texts for various audiences on different curriculum areas. We can’t wait to get Ancaster Meadow on the radio!

Animoto – Students can create their own slideshows on this website. These slideshows are a great way for students to share their thinking in a variety of different subject areas. Students can add photographs, videos, music, and text to these slideshows. Here’s an excellent example of one about acceptance. We have an educator account for Animoto, so if you want an upgrade to your free account so that you can create full-length slideshows, please email me (Aviva) and let me know. I’ll send you the code via email to create this upgraded account.

AudioBoo – Students can create their own free podcasts on this website. This is a great website for oral language and media literacy. Please note that you need to sign-up for a free account to access this website.

Bitstrips For Schools – The students in my (Miss Dunsiger’s) class have already started using Bitstrips For Schools to create comic strips on a variety of topics. This website is great for voice and point of view as well as media literacy. If you would like your child’s login information, please email me, and I’m happy to send it to you.

Commons – We use the Commons for blogging. Students have their own username and password to login. They can publish posts about their learning, as well as comment on posts by other students. There’s also an Activity Stream where students can communicate with other students in the Board about what they’re learning in the classroom. We also have a private 6BD group, where students can share their thoughts with other students in our class. We now have an Ivan group, where students can reflect and make predictions about The One and Only Ivan. A few students have also joined the Board’s Minecraft Group and Bruce Trail Trek group to share their thoughts on these two topics.

Division Fact Websites – These websites have not been used in class, but we suggest students use them at home if they struggle with remembering the division facts. During our unit on measurement, we noticed that many students struggled with recalling these facts. We will do more with division this term, and it’s important that students have this foundation. Thanks for reviewing these math facts at home with your child!

Edmodo – We’re using Edmodo to communicate with other classes from around the world in the Global Read Aloud. Students are reflecting on The One and Only Ivan, and sharing their thoughts on some important issues that the author raises in this beautiful story.

EQAO Practice Questions – Students can visit the EQAO Website and complete previous tests, where they can practice their reading comprehension, writing, and math skills. Answers are available on the website as well. Students can even assess their own work and “bump up” their marks.

Glogster – Glogs are interactive, online posters that can include images, audio clips, and video clips. Students can create their own accounts as part of our class account. If you want the sign-up information, please email me (Aviva), and I am happy to send it to you.

GoogleDocs – The students in Aviva’s class have already signed up for their Board GoogleDocs account, and many students have started using this account to collaborate on writing activities and partake in peer editing. There’s a great example on the power of GoogleDocs here. Students are now using GoogleDocs to collaborate on Media Literacy Projects as well as Social Studies/Drama play scripts.

Mal and Chad – Students can read more of Stephen McCranie’s comic strips on his website. They can also learn how to create the different characters in his comics. This website is great for reading, writing, and art.

Multiplication Fact Websites – These websites have not been used in class, but we suggest students use them at home if they struggle with remembering the multiplication facts. As we started our unit on prime and composite numbers, we saw that many students struggled with quickly recalling the basic multiplication facts. Students need this knowledge for this math unit as well as future multiplication problems. Thanks for reviewing these math facts at home with your child!

Prodigy – All students have brought home username and password information for this online game. This is a great way to review the key math concepts taught throughout the year.

Scratch – This is an online programming website where students can work on rotations and translations: applying what they learned in math class this year. Please note that you can try this website out without joining it or downloading any software.

That Quiz – Students can create their own quizzes on this website (on various topics and at a variety of levels) to review the concepts learned in class. This is a good way to review math computations, and it’s also a good way to practice answering math multiple choice questions. Please note that the levels do not directly correspond to grade levels, so you may need to play with various options.

Today’sMeet – We regularly use Today’sMeet as a backchannel to discuss learning in the classroom. Students can take you to our Today’sMeet Rooms to show you the conversations. They can also add more to these discussions.

Vocaroo – Students can create their own free podcasts on this website. This is a great website for oral language and media literacy. Please note that you do not need an account for this website, but eventually, your recordings are deleted. 

Wordle – Students can create their own word clouds here by typing in text of their choice, or even copying and pasting in text. The bigger the word, the more often that it’s been used in the text. This can be great for editing, as students can put their entire writing assignment into Wordle and look for the larger words, possibly going back and making some changes to their word choice. This is also great for brainstorming, as students can see a visual representation of their ideas. Miss Dunsiger’s class used this website together for a shared writing activity on “Grade 6.”

World Wide Telescope – This free program for Windows or Mac Computers allow you to view the planets and explore space. This not only connects with our Grade 6 Science expectations, but students can take what they learned and write about it (connecting to our Language expectations as well).

Zimmertwins – Students have been using Zimmertwins to create their own movies. This website is great for voice and point of view as well as media literacy. If you would like your child’s login information, please email me (Aviva), and I’m happy to send it to you.