SMARTboard Tool Directions: My Preposition Activity

This can be used with any lesson where you want students to drag and place one image onto another.

Preposition Activity (Inserted background)

Open a new Page in your NOTEBOOK software.

On the RIGHT side of the page, look for the image of the picture within a frame (below white paper, above paperclip) CLICK one time.

Click on ENGLISH AND LANGUAGE ARTS and then STORYTELLING. Then, look below this set of links and click on “Notebook Files and Pages”

Use the scrollbar to review all options, then select the background you like, and drag it to the blank page.

To see your background, click on the “piece of paper” icon on the right side of your screen. If you want to delete a page, select it. A small grey box should appear in the top right corner of the picture. Click on the black arrow inside the box. A menu will appear and you will be able to “delete page.”

Continue to scroll down to “People” to fill in your background. You can drag and drop, or delete people as you wish.

To resize an image, click on it; then use the white circle in the bottom right corner to drag it to the size you want. The Green circle at the top of the page allows you to rotate the image.

Throughout the gallery, you will find many pictures and images you wish to use. I found the mouse I used for my preposition activity under “Nursery Rhymes” and “Hickory Dickory Dock.” You will want to use the “order” option under the menu in the grey box to bring your mouse forward on the page.

This is not a perfect science, you will have to play around, and be willing to suspend your disbelief… the kids like it, though!

SMARTboard Tool Directions: Erase to Reveal

Erase to Reveal

The idea behind this is that you use your eraser to reveal an answer. You might use this in a math problem, or vocabulary, or simply for fun.

To begin, type a sentence or math problem:

5 + 3 = 8

You might consider locking the problem in place. (Use the grey box to do this.) You can also adjust the size of the problem with the white circle.

Next, click on the pen tool, select the largest thickness, and the color that matches the background of your page.

Color over the words or numbers you want to be revealed. In the above case, the “8.”

When you are ready to use this, use your eraser to “reveal” the answer.

Consider these options: (Perhaps you erase to reveal what I’ve underlined.)

George Washington was the first president of the United States.

Sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch are the five senses.

The three primary colors are red, blue and yellow.

SMARTboard Tool Directions: The Magic Tunnel

The Magic Tunnel

To begin, select a blank page. Using your toolbar, find the shape icon.

(This is a blue circle and orange square overlapping)

Select the option to create a rectangle. When the cross-hair symbol appears, drag it down and to the right to create a box. Click on the black arrow. Using the color palette option, change the color of your background and the color of the box.

To do this, first click on the area OUTSIDE of the box you drew. (The background.) Next, click on the color palette and select any color. I like to use bright colors. The background (and the box) should become this color. Now, click on the box (look for the “work box.”). Click on the color palette again and select a color for the box. You should have a page split into two colors. You might have to play around a little to make the boxes look the way you wish. There is no real “order” for coloring in the boxes—feel free to do it whenever you want.

Lock your box in place.

Now, draw another box (you can also use a circle to create a cylinder) and center it part way across both of your original boxes. Click on your black arrow, and then on the color palette. Change this box to a third color. If you want, you can type a phrase into this last box (The Magic Tunnel), but you do not have to. For now, leave the box unlocked.

Type an equation and position it on the left side. Next, change the font color of the first part of the equation to match the RIGHT side color. For example, if you use green on the left and blue on the right, color the first part of your equation in BLUE. Change the second part of the equation (what you want revealed) to the color on the left side.

If you “grab” your equation now, and slide it “through” the tunnel (it will go in front), you will see how the parts appear and disappear. Now, you need to arrange your blocks so that your tunnel works.

Click on your tunnel, select the grey box and look for the “order” option. Choose “bring to front.” You will have to do this with each equation you create.

**In order to keep the tunnel magic, you will want your students to only drag the equation THROUGH the tunnel. **

SMARTboard Tool Directions: Unveiling

Unveiling

This is my name for covering something with a colored box and then moving the box to reveal what’s underneath.

This is pretty easy to do. First, type whatever you want to hide. Arrange it by size and color, and then lock it in place using the grey “work box.”

Next, go to your toolbar and select the shape tool. Choose a shape (in this case, I used a rectangle.)

Drag the rectangle to the size you want, and select it so the grey box appears. Under “properties,” select FILL COLOR and choose the color you want to use.

I typically clone the box so I don’t have to make it over and over again.

You may need to arrange the box so it will sit on top of what you want hidden. To do this, use the “Order” option under the grey “work box.”