I love using literature to engage, inspire and make connections in math class. A colleague showed me the book, "The Secret Birthday Message" By Eric Carle. This wonderful book is about a boy who receives a letter written in code. The boy decodes the secret message by following the shapes in the letter. I thought it would be the perfect read aloud for an iPad lesson that I created this year for a kindergarten/grade 1 classroom called Shape Detectives. Students take a photo of somewhere in their classroom that has many different shapes. They then open an app that they can annotate on the picture like Draw and Tell, Skitch or Explain Everything to name a few. Students then find the shapes in the picture and trace over the shapes. Finally, have students record themselves naming the shapes.
A quick tip: When little ones cannot read yet, task cards can be tricky. Create a QR code with a sample of what the finished product could look like and sound like. Glue the QR code to the back of the task card, so if your student needs a reminder, all they need to do is scan the QR code and go! Here is the video and QR code for the above task card:
If you liked this lesson please check out my book, Innovate with iPad - Lessons to transform learning in the classroom that has many more practical lessons that will fit perfectly into your curriculum!
