April 2017 Picks

April Blog | App of The Month | What's Happening |
New- Online Practice | New- Printables | Answer Keys |
Teacher Resources | Parent Resources | Technology Tips |
Other Areas of Interest | Common Core |
SAT and ACT Test Preparation

April brings Autism Awareness Month, National School Library Month, World Health Day, Earth Day, Passover, Easter, and much more. Visit our monthly newsletter to see all the details.

April Blog: Got a Middle-Schooler? Here are some Homework Tips

Got a Middle-Schooler? Here are some Homework Tips

This month's blog is Got a Middle-Schooler? Here are some Homework Tips. Middle-schoolers - those loveable (well, sometimes) creatures who just don't know whether they still want to be kids or grownups yet. If you have one lurking in your household, he or she may be struggling with this whole issue of homework. There is a lot of it, and it is definitely different from the homework in elementary school. In this blog you'll find 8 tips to help with getting control of the academic journey which is middle school. Guest blogger Kerry Creaswood is a successful writer and blogger. Her topics of interest are education and self-improvement.

App of the Month

Every month we are going to feature a different, and hopefully FREE, iPad/iPod/iPhone/Android educational application. Visit our ever-changing app page.

The App of the Month for April is Soundtrap - Make Music Together By Soundtrap AB ( iOS / Android ).

With Soundtrap you can make music and collaborate with others online! The tutorials in this app are excellent and make it easy to get started creating music. The 750 loops and over a 150 intruments that are included in the free basic subscription are simply amazing. If you need to go even further, with add-in purchases you can access hundreds of software instruments and thousands of high quality loops.

Plug in your own instrument, use the software instruments available in Soundtrap or just record a song directly with a mic on your iOS device. It's super-easy! You can record, edit and collaborate on your songs wherever you are on almost* any device: everything is stored in the cloud!

Moreover, with Soundtrap you don't have to be alone in your creative moments. You can share the fun of making music in real-time with friends using text and video chat and real-time collaboration.

Soundtrap Features:

• Create music with a large set of high-quality loops in variety of genres.
• Record vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass and other instruments.
• Use preamps and large number of high-quality guitar, bass and vocal effects.
• Play the built-in sampled instruments (piano, organ, synths, drums and more).
• Save all your recordings in the cloud for easy access from all devices.
• Invite friends to collaborate on your recordings using text and video chat.
• Share your recordings on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.
  

Soundtrap is available for both Apple and Android devices.

Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later on Apple devices and Android 4.4 and up on your Android device.

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS MONTH?

Here are some of the April events that you can celebrate or make note of this month:

1. Autism Awareness Month - I4C has an Autism Spectrum Disorder page where you can find information and websites. Visit our Autism classroom tools as well as our Autism parent resources. We also have an entire area dedicated to exceptional children, including ADHD, assistive technology, learning disorders, and more.


2. National School Library Month - Explore our extensive section of Library Resources. Find librarian resources, physical libraries, virtual libraries, presidential libraries, and museums.


3. World Health Day (4/7) - Obesity numbers are rising and controversial food additives continue to cause harm. Reinforce good habits using our Health resources page, discussing everything from breakfast basics and food pyramids to daily hygiene, drug and alcohol abuse, and heart health. We also have links to physical education and nutrition and wellness too.


4. Passover (4/10-18) - Learn about the Jewish holiday of Passover this week! Find Passover history, games, and activities on our Passover resource page.


5. Easter (4/16) - Happy Easter! Celebrate this holiday with I4C's Easter resource page, filled with tons of fun crafts and projects.


6. Paul Revere Rides and Revolutionary War Begins (4/18-19/1775) - The famous Longfellow Poem reminds us all of Paul Revere's Ride. Learn about that midnight ride, what it meant, and even see the route he took. Explore the conflicts that led up to the Revolutionary War. Find timelines, lesson plans, and interactives all explaining the cause and effects of the American Revolution.


7. Earth Day (4/22) - Honor the earth today! Check out our Earth Day page for fun activities, crafts, projects, and lesson plans. We also have Earth Science resources for you to use in your classroom.


8. Hubble Telescope launched (4/25/1990) - Learn about what the Hubble Telescope has discovered, view beautiful pictures of the cosmos, and find out how the telescope works. Find Hubble Telescope educational resources here. Explore our Space page for elementary school to find fun activities and check out our Astronomy pages to learn about our solar system, stars, and our universe.


9. Take Your Child to Work Day (4/28) - Today, share your workplace with your child. Teach them about what you do during the workday and how what they're learning in school relates to your career. Here are some helpful planning tips for teachers and parents. Find ideas of what to do in your workplace, whether it be in an office, a university, or at home.

New- ONLINE PRACTICE AT I4C

Internet4Classrooms now offers Online Practice and Interactives, covering Kindergarten to Eighth Grade Common Core Mathematics. Look for a rapidly growing variety of thousands of practice quizzes tied to the Common Core State Standards, School Subjects, Activities, and Holidays.

Check out our Online Practice Quizzes! More grades and subjects coming soon!

New- COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS PRINTABLES AT I4C

Internet4Classrooms offers Printables, covering Kindergarten to Sixth Grade Mathematics. Look for a rapidly growing variety of thousands of practice worksheets tied to the Common Core State Standards, School Subjects, Activities, and Holidays.

Check out our Common Core Printables! More grades and subjects coming soon!

Answer Keys




We have thousands of answer keys for our printables worksheets supporting the Common Core Standards.

Remember that you can sign up for answer key access here: https://i4c.xyz/n89msyv.





TEACHER RESOURCES



1. Many historical events happened this month which you can cover in your classroom. Check outI4C's History page for lesson plans, videos, activities, and other resources to supplement your lessons!


2. April is Autism Awareness Month, and we know it's becoming more recognized in our children and classrooms. Browse our Autism Classroom resources as well as parent guides. Our Exceptional Children area also combines teacher tools for ADHD, Dyslexia, Gifted, and other learning and behavior disorders.


3. Why was there a Midnight Ride? Watch this great video of how kids describe Paul Revere and the Longfellow Poem "Paul Revere's Ride." (NOTE: There may be an advertisement before the video that I4C does not control.)


4. This Earth Day, find fun activities, projects, and lesson plans you can use on our Earth Day resource page. We also have great Earth Science resources for you to use in your classroom.


5. Be sure to check out I4C's collection of free educational iPhone and iPad apps!


6. Remember to visit our Teacher Tools section! This home page contains all the topics you need to use during the school year.


7. Go to our grade level help for lesson plans, activities, instructionals, and tools organized by grade and subject.



PARENT RESOURCES



1. April is Autism Awareness Month. Learn about visual symbols and timetables that can aid in communication and find other parent resources on Autism.


2. Easter and Passover fall around the same time this year. Find fun Easter projects and Easter brunch ideas. Learn the history behind Passover, including the holiday's traditional foods and customs.


3. Earth Day is April 22nd. Show your children why we celebrate Earth Day. Get them involved in recycling. Check out earth day projects you can do at home.


4. Be sure to check out I4C's collection of free educational iPhone and iPad apps for you and your child!


5. You can always visit our Parent Resources page to get grade level practice sites, find online sources, and information pertaining to homework, special needs, reading help, and more.


6. Don't forget our Technology Tutorial section in case you need refresher courses in your computer skills.





TECHNOLOGY TIPS



1. Refresh and Maintain your PC's performance : Computers, just like cars, bikes, and girlfriends, need regular maintenance in order to perform at their best. In this video you'll find some tips to make sure your PC isn't getting clogged up with rubbish/garbage/.temp files: HERE


2. Having Problems with Fingerprint Touch ID on your iPhone?: Touch ID is the fingerprint-reading system Apple includes on some of its iPhone and iPad hardware to securely unlock the screen or acknowledge mobile payments. While usually reliable, it can be stymied by factors like dry winter skin or a cut that alters your fingerprint a bit. Lotion, sweat, moisture, oils or other liquids on your hands can also disrupt fingerprint recognition on the iPhone and other smartphones, too. If you are having problems, try the tips found: HERE.


3. Are you using these 11 buzzworthy edtech tools?: Things move fast in the edtech world, and we hear all the time from teachers how hard it can be to keep up. Take a look at the EdTech Eleven: a monthly list of noteworthy tools generating buzz in the edtech world. While these aren't recommendations or ratings, what you'll find on the EdTech Eleven is a quick and current list of trending tools you might want to check out. You can find out more: HERE.






We also have other basic instruction in Microsoft Office, including Word 2007, Excel 2007, Powerpoint 2007.





OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST



1. Resources for Educators - In this section you can find classroom resources for Exceptional Children, Smartboards, Character Education, Web 2.0 Resources and other topics.
2. Resources for Parents - Parents can find resources
   on assisting their children with homework, time management, Internet Safety, subject area resources, grade level resources and more.




Common Core State Standards at I4C




Our Common Core State Standards are full of resources for every individual standard. Students can take control of their own learning by clicking on the page with the standard number, and choosing their own resource to practice that skill.




Check out our Common Core Math High School Algebra Standards, Common Core Math Standards, and Common Core ELA Standards.




SAT and ACT Test Preparation

Free Online Practice Resources for ACT Tests and SAT Tests! I4C now offers free SAT and ACT vocabulary and math quizzes. Join our SAT and ACT Test Preparation program and log in as much as you'd like. Students can take practice tests on 5000 vocabulary words or over 1000 math problems. Parents and Mentors can log in to monitor your scores - including seeing which vocabulary words that were missed. Interactive quizzes allow the test taker to retake and study as much as they want.




Sign Up Here for ACT Test & SAT Test Preparation!