Word Wall Lessons on the iPad

One of the initiatives our team has taken extremely seriously this school year is the "word work" from the word wall.
I always have had a hard time incorporating this into my day. We also do a lot of "making words" lessons and I had found it difficult to keep my students engaged.

Last week I began using an app called ABC Magnetic Letters. It worked wonders. My students were able to sit close to the word wall with their iPads on their laps as they worked on the words on the wall. They weren't worried about their handwriting because the letters are in rows at the bottom of the app. They could just grab them and build words like they would at the magnet center. Except that they can all do it at the same time. Differentiating happens with the words they chose to build.

The word making lesson had always been hard because the students usually had to keep track of paper letters and they were easy to lose and dull to manipulate; with the app, everybody can make the words at the same time. I really enjoy using this app and students benefit from the letters being readily accessible.

Oh the wonders of having iPads!