Lots of tweets about using the Seesaw app in elementary classrooms focus on seamlessly it connects school to home. And I agree.

But I often use it in my kindergarten classroom to increase engagement and buy in. Today a guided reading group was a little squirrely. It seems Halloween is right around the corner and today is Monday!

So after a couple false starts and hearing myself repeat directions, I taught them how to read their new book on Seesaw. Distractions and fooling around temporarily cured. 😊

We practiced reading the book several ways at the kidney table. Then they were set free.

The directions are: Take a picture of the cover then record yourself reading.

It was our first go at this as part of guided reading so with more practice, they’ll get better at following the directions and I’ll be able to add more complexity to their tasks.

It’s also great for that authentic audience piece of any project or learning that we want our kids to internalize. I know how excited their families will be to hear them read and I try to pass that along to the kids.

One more quick note. Last year I had many pieces of paper for each kid for many purposes. Some would land in their folders, some would go home, I would try to keep some for artifacts. This year all of their reading and writing work is in one journal and all of their math in another (with different colored duct tape on the spines). They enjoy seeing all of their work and I love having it all contained!