December is Write a Friend Month

Thursday, December 1, 2016 No comments




Welcome to December Everyone! December brings cool weather, Christmas lights, hot chocolate and lots of fun. 

Did you know that December is "Write a Friend" month?



Image result for write a friend

Here are some resources that will guide you through "Write a Friend" month.

December Resources That Will Warm Your Soul

Wednesday, November 30, 2016 No comments


Are you busy? Of course you are, but this time of the year tends to be more hectic than other times. Because I know you are so busy, this post is dedicated to providing you with resources that you can quickly link to your curriculum without a lot of stress. 

Below are links to videos, websites, and flipcharts for you to use with your students.


Daily Writing Prompts
December Writing Prompts




Cyber Sale on Teachers Pay Teachers 11/28 -11/29

Sunday, November 27, 2016 No comments


Educators save up to 28% on resources sitewide. Sellers choose to offer discounts up to 20% and TpT provides an additional 10% promo code that's used during checkout. Most Teacher-Authors choose to set their sale at 20%, but that decision is up to you. 

I will be offering 20% in my own store, so please click on the image below to take a look.


To celebrate this sale I will be giving away a $10 Teachers Pay Teachers gift card/code. There are numerous ways to enter, but you must purchase an item(s) from my store to qualify.

To enter please fill out the Giveaway Tool below:

Gold Ridge is PURE GOLD!!

Thursday, November 17, 2016 No comments


I absolutely love Gold Ridge. It has been one of my favorite for years. Goldridge is an educational site that seems to continue to grow and provide great resources for educators.

Gold Ridge is PURE GOLD! This site is a must to add to your technology toolbox. Make sure to bookmark it today.


My Favorites

(You will see some of your favorite books and stories.)

(On this Dr. Seuss page, you get the full length books that you can show on your Promethean board…I am so excited about this one.)

(You will find some of your favorite books and stories.)

(Wonderful Audio books....8 pages with about 15-20 books on each page) I love this as I think with the music and the spoken words, the books truly come alive.

(Read-a-longs)

(Donald in Math Magic Land)

(Reading Comprehension practice)

 





November Resources that Rock

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 No comments

Happy November Everyone! The weather is finally starting to get cooler and I am enjoying it very much. The weather station said this morning that the weekend could bring in temperatures in the 30's..WOW! 

I hope you are having a great November so far. I wanted to blog today with some resources that you can use in your classroom and/or with your own kids.

I always have fun coming up with FREE activities and resources that parents and teachers can use in their classroom and with their kids. Enjoy and have fun!




EdTech Calendar
November 2016


Online Books
It's Fall!!


ActivInspire: Flipcharts


Smart Notebook


Videos


Games


Activities for the Classroom

**sign up for a free trial of Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr.**


Clipart: Fall Time


Printables: Fall Time


Songs and Poems


WIN a FALL themed bundle of 9 educational games for your classroom!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016 No comments

You can WIN a FALL themed bundle of 9 educational games for your classroom!! I will be giving away three copies of this awesome set...over 180 pages of interactive fun.

Enter by tomorrow 11/16 to win!
Tweet to WIN...click on the link below.

Blog Design Winner from the Restoring Hope for Louisiana Teacher Fundraiser

Tuesday, November 8, 2016 No comments


Our team knew that we wanted to say THANK YOU to all of the amazing teachers who have supported our fundraiser by purchasing a bundle or donating money. Shannon from Blogs Fit For A Queen has graciously donated a FREE BLOG DESIGN. When you purchase one of the bundles from the Restoring Hope: Love for Louisiana Teachers TPT Store and the WINNER IS....

Kaleigh VanderKamp

Congratulations Kaleigh!!

Assessment Tools to Take Instruction to the Next Level

Thursday, November 3, 2016 No comments

Here are a few of my favorite assessment tools. I have so many, but I will narrow today's post to only two. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.



Plant a Question...Grow an Answer
I love this tool as it brings my love of Word Clouds into a feedback tool. I can ask students any type of question and quickly see their answers. With this minimal and fast response feedback tool, I can evaluate my own instruction and quickly go over any misconceptions students may have based on the content taught in class. There are so many active learning questions one can ask with this great FREE tool.


SAMPLE APPLICATIONS

  • Before students read a text, watch a movie, or hear a lecture, they should be encouraged to brainstorm all they know about a topic. You could create an AnswerGarden much like a KWL chart.
  • AnswerGarden can be used as a backchannel discussion during a class debate, discussion, or lecture.
  • Whole-group brainstorming
  • Instructors can pose questions such as:
    1. What was the muddiest point in this lesson thus far?
    2. What is one vocabulary term you struggled with? 
    3. What do you know about __________?
    4. Electricity is……

Here is a how-to on setting up your own AnswerGarden:














I love that Quizlet offers so many fun and educational options. Another reason why I love it so much is that I can embed what I create into my Moodle course page for my students. Another feature is that I can also turn my flashcard questions into graded and non-graded quizzes in Moodle. Win Win for me!! 


SAMPLE APPLICATIONS

  • Create flashcards, games and other study tools for students. 
  • You can link your Quizlet class url within Moodle as well as Export your flashcards into your Question Bank to use for Moodle quizzes.
  • Each item (Flashcards, Test, Interactive Games, Learn, etc) can be embedded into Moodle.
  • An advantage over similar flashcard services is the option for student to play games using their sets of flashcards instead of just learning from rote memorization.


Here is a how-to guide on setting up Quizlet:



Make sure to check out these great tools. Stay tuned for more of my favorites in the coming weeks. Have a great rest of the week and weekend!!


Restoring Hope: Love 4 Louisiana Teachers

Monday, September 5, 2016 No comments

On August 11th, 2016, a stationary weather system resulted in torrential downpours with upwards of two feet of rain that devastated several parishes across South Louisiana. The extreme amount of rainwater, close to 7.1 trillion gallons of water, caused rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water to reach and exceed flood stages in the following days. In the blink of an eye, the water began rising and encroaching upon not just areas that typically flood, but the flooding waters found their way to places that had never even had the threat of flooding before. The widespread devastation of the rising water quickly destroyed countless homes, businesses, and schools.




As the water began to recede and people were allowed into the areas that were flooded, the full extent of the damage was visible. For many people, they lost an entire lifetime of memories and personal treasures. While the loss of personal property and people's livelihood were tragic, an equally tragic loss was the impact that the flood waters had on area schools. There are over 30 schools, both public and private, across several parishes that suffered significant water damage to their campuses. Livingston Parish alone had 15 public schools that suffered water damage with at least 8 schools that experienced extensive damage that will take months to repair. While the school buildings will have to be repaired to be safe for students and staff to return, this work will be done and funded through the individual school systems, but what can be done to help the individual teachers replace their classroom materials, personal items, and everything else that made their classrooms whole?

I'm pleased to announce that I have joined forces with an amazing group of Teacher Authors from Teachers Pay Teachers to create a fundraiser, Restoring Hope: Love for Louisiana Teachers. The core team behind Restoring Hope is comprised of Kristen from Teacher Playground, Andrea from This Literacy Life, Shannon from OCD in First, and Stephanie from The Creative Classroom. We came together and created the fundraiser as a way to help our fellow Louisiana teachers rise up and rebuild their classrooms. Our fundraiser has been made possible by the generous donations that we have received from 90+ TPT sellers that include high-quality products ranging from Kindergarten to High School. In total, there are six product bundles available and four donation options. The TPT store will go live on Tuesday, September 6th, 2016 and will remain open for at least 30 days. You can click the banner below to visit our store and support Louisiana teachers by buying product bundles or simply donating money to the fundraiser.




Where will we be donating the proceeds raised from the fundraiser?

One of the biggest pieces of this fundraiser was trying to decide where we would donate the money we raised for Louisiana teachers to ensure that it would be fairly and equally distributed to those in need.100% of the proceeds that are made through our TPT store will be donated to the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana's Disaster Relief Fund. This organization is donating 100% of all money that they receive to public and private schools teachers who lost some or all of their classroom materials due to the flooding.




Our team knew that we wanted to say THANK YOU to all of the amazing teachers who have supported our fundraiser by purchasing a bundle or donating money. Shannon from Blogs Fit For A Queen has graciously donated a FREE BLOG DESIGN. When you purchase one of the bundles from the Restoring Hope: Love for Louisiana Teachers TPT Store, you can enter for a chance to win! All you have to do is complete the form that is attached in the product bundle or donation page by October 15th, 2016.


We would like to take this opportunity to send out a huge THANK YOU to our sponsors who have donated resources to the fundraiser bundles. Without your help and generosity, none of this would have been possible. 

Bloom's Taxonomy (Revised) According to Homer Simpson

Thursday, June 30, 2016 No comments

Homer Simpson demonstrates the six levels of cognitive thinking according to Bloom's Revised Taxonomy.



Adobe Spark - Turn your ideas into impactful social graphics, web stories and animated videos

Wednesday, June 1, 2016 No comments

Adobe Spark is an easy to use tool for turning your ideas into compelling social graphics, web stories, and animated videos. This technology tool is a definite to add to your toolbox. Adobe Spark can be used on a computer as well as through the app.
  • Adobe Spark web app: a browser-based web experience for creating social posts and graphics, web stories and animated videos.
  • Spark Post: an iOS mobile app that enables anyone to create stunning social posts and graphics in seconds. (previously Adobe Post)
  • Spark Page: an iOS mobile app that helps users create beautiful web stories. (previously Adobe Slate)
  • Spark Video: an iOS mobile app that enables users to create compelling animated videos in minutes. (previously Adobe Voice)

I have been enjoying Adobe Spark as I  find it very easy to use. The possibilities are endless and allow you to really think outside the box with your students. I am including some links on how to utilize this great tool in your own classroom.

There are lots of instructional planning and collaboration ideas on the Adobe Education Exchange. https://edex.adobe.com/spark