Using old iPhones in the Classroom!

I was super bummed when I found out at the beginning of the school year that I had to turn my iPad back in to the school.  Since our school only has 10 iPads the teachers have to share the iPads between each other every year.  I was really upset that I was losing my iPad because I had planned to have one of my literacy centers be an iPad learning center.  On my drive home from work I couldn't help but think, “What in the world am I going to do for that center now?!?!"  Then it hit me! I could use my old iPhone that was sitting in a drawer somewhere. All I had to do was erase all the stuff on that old phone, download some learning apps, then I could have my center idea back! Not only that, but I asked my mom and brother if I could have their old iPhone's too!

Now instead of the students having to share the iPad between each other – they now have their own iPhone with the learning games!  The iPhones don’t even need wifi for the students to play the games.  I just download all the apps from home.  Not only do the students LOVE to go to this center – but it works as an awesome center.  The students are actively engaged the entire time and they are learning the whole time.  This really helps while I am reading one-on-one or with a small group of students during the literacy center rotations.  I don’t have to worry about the students at this center.  They stay quiet and engaged the entire time! J

Here is how I cleaned off my old phones to get them ready for my students:

Click on SETTINGS – GENERAL – RESET

Then, click on ERASE ALL CONTENT AND SETTINGS

After I erased all the content and settings I put all those extra apps that my students don’t need to click on in a folder labeled Misc.  I sent that folder to the last screen page on the iPhone.  When I was teaching this center to my students I made it a rule that the students cannot click on anything but games – or else they would lose their iPhone game privileges.

Next, I added restrictions to the iPhone. This will make it where the students cannot click on apps, such as Safari, YouTube, etc. that would not be appropriate for them.

To turn on these restrictions click on SETTINGS – GENERAL – RESTRICTIONS.

Click on ENABLE RESTRICTIONS

Then turn off any apps you do not want the students to have access to.  It will even remove the app from the home screen.  I turned off Safari, YouTube, camera, location, and mail accounts off.  If your school has WiFi – I would make sure to turn off iTunes after you have downloaded your apps.

Since my old phones were 3G’s it was a little more difficult to find apps for these phones.  Not all apps are compatible for this old of a phone.  But with a little bit of searching I found plenty of apps that would work.  I made sure that all three phones had the exact same apps so there would not be any fighting over the phones!

 

Math Game Apps

 

Literacy Game Apps

 

...

Grandparent’s Day Craft

Every year I always search the internet for a cute, simple craft for a gift during our Grandparent’s night.  Every year my search for the perfect Grandparent’s Day craft ends up in a loss.  So this year I decided to make something for my students to create for a Grandparent’s Day gift.  Since Grandparent’s night always happens during the first couple weeks of school – it’s hard to fit in a lot of time for extra crafts with our busy schedules.  So these crafts are super easy and simple! 

 

 

For this craft the students just stamp their handprint and sign their name.  I of course supply a picture that I took of them during the first day of school.  You could also just have your students draw and color a picture of themselves in that box as well.  

 

I tape the handprint on the paper so it folds open as if it were blowing a kiss and the message "Blowing lots of kisses your way!" is revealed....

 
 

For this craft the student just stamp their handprint, sign their name, and write their age.   

 

I always like to have two crafts sitting on each student's desk during Grandparent’s Night because so many of my students have two sets of grandparents that show up for Grandparent’s night.  I would hate for only one set of grandparents to leave with a special gift.

 

 

 

 

Click HERE to download my Grandparent's Day crafts from my TpT store!

...