Looking for some blog post ideas to inspire you? Here are 50 travel blog post ideas to help you get rid of writer's block!
Do you need the perfect working blog post schedule, bonus if it comes with a easy to follow template? Are you stuck trying to grow your blog? Can someone just give you a step by step plan so you’re not floundering around anymore and chasing every shiny object? Sure! I can! I’m Suzi, a mom of three...
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
"It was like herding cats!" That was my answer to my husband the other day when he asked how my day had gone. Seriously, the days I have first and second graders are just hard - fun, but exhausting. That is until I found the SECRET to STEM and the littles! Are you ready for
Get stuck while brainstorming new blog post ideas for lifestyle blogs? Check out this ultimate list of 100+ blog post topics
How to write a blog post – a simple guide for beginner bloggers to create a successful blog. So, you’re a new blogger! Congratulations! It’s such an exciting journey. And can be extreme…
Teaching area and perimeter in your upper elementary math class? This blog post shares a collection of ideas for teaching area and perimeter!
I like using Gerald McDermott's Native American folktales to teach the Common Core literature standards. The trickster tales are always a delight!
Learn how to structure a blog post for SEO and your readers with our handy guide.
Use STEM engineering activities in elementary school as a fun, engaging, and meaningful way to tackle the Next Generation Science Standards.
Teaching the geologic time scale has always posed a bit of a problem for me in my Biology classes. My students don't need the depth of knowledge that they might get in an Earth Science class. On the other hand, the concept of geologic time and the appearance and evolution of life on Earth is VERY important to my class. One of my most favorite sayings, "Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" (Theodosius Dobzhansky, American Biology Teacher, 1973.) is a mantra in my classes. We can't teach cellular respiration without the concept of endosymbiosis, and we can't teach endosymbiosis until our students know the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, etc, etc, etc. The history of life on Earth is (or should be!) woven into every single lesson we teach in a Biology class. Then "What's the problem?" you might be asking yourself. My problem is time. Not geologic time; just time to teach. It is a real struggle to cover everything in a year that needs to be covered! My solution was to find a way to quickly cover the concepts of geologic time and the evolution of life on Earth, without taking weeks to do so. Here are my goals. I want my students to: Know was is meant by the "geologic time scale." Be able to visualize the enormity of geologic time. Know when life first appeared on Earth. Know the order in which various life forms appeared. Know the importance of fossils, especially traditional fossils, to the study of evolution. Understand how scientists are able to date fossils that are found in various rock strata. Understand the relationship between mass extinctions and adaptive radiations. Have a clear and concise understanding of what happens in each era of Earth's history. I am extremely pleased with the activity I put together to accomplish these goals. This resource can be used in conjunction with your other lessons and materials you use on this topic, OR, (and here is the best part!) it can be used as a stand-alone activity that quickly covers the above topics in just a couple of class periods. The printable version is perfect for traditional classroom settings, but there is also a digital Google Apps version for distance learning and 1:1 schools. If you need to teach this fast, this is the activity for you! What concepts are covered in this resource? Definition of the geologic time scale. How the geologic time scale was developed by scientists. Relative dating and Radioactive dating. Earth’s history is divided into 4 Eras which are subdivided into smaller periods. How to read the information on the geologic time scale reference table. Comparing lengths of geologic time. The order of events in the evolution of life on Earth. Transitional fossils. Estimating the age of organisms based on relative dating. Rock strata. What will the students be doing? Students complete a 6-page handout on the geologic time scale and complete a 2-page timeline of the history of life on Earth. Students make a circle graph of the time spent in each era. Students use the included Geologic Time Scale Reference Table to answer a series of 30 problem solving questions. Students make a scale diagram showing the length of each era. Students look at pictures to evaluate characteristics of certain organisms. Students complete a relative dating cut and paste activity. Students using relative dating to estimate the age of certain organisms. Students complete a 2-page cut and paste timeline activity showing the evolution of life on Earth. Students are guided through an exercise that allows them to compare all of Earth’s history to one calendar year. As much as I love teaching these topics, there is a limit to what we can expect our students to absorb. We can't ask them to learn every event in every era, period, and epoch in geologic time. I have certain key events that I want my students to know, so I put together a one-page table outlining the most important events in Earth's history. The beauty of this resource is that with this one-page reference table the activity can be used as a stand-alone lesson. The students don't need prior knowledge or prior teaching. This lesson can be completed in two 1-hour class periods right before you begin your units on evolution. I would suggest having a biology textbook handy if students are seeing this information for the first time. There may be a few vocabulary words that they would need to look up. If you are in a big time crunch, let the students work in groups for one class period, and complete complete unfinished portions for homework. You can find this activity in my TpT store by clicking this link, and here is what you can expect to find included: 6-Page printable and editable student worksheet set 1-Page Geologic Time Scale Reference Table 2-Page Timeline Worksheet 8-Page Teacher Guide and Answer Keys All images needed for the "cut and paste" portions of the activity. Paperless digital google apps version for use in Google Drive, Google Classroom, Microsoft OneDrive, or similar. I hope this article has given you something to think about, and some new ideas on how to teach geologic time to your biology or life science students. Have fun teaching!
Welcome! This blog post features a guided tutorial of how to create a drip sculpture inspired by one of my FAVORITE contemporary artists, Dan Lam. Before exploring this project, check out Dan Lam's eye catching drip sculptures on her website here and her Instagram page here. Dan Lam’s "tactile, technicolor sculptures use unconventional materials to
Teaching area is engaging and authentic with this hands-on applied math activity! Students arrange furniture to find the area and perimeter of their house.
10 inexpensive rewards to use in your middle school class.
Creating a nourishing, empowering , and transformative experience for women at a retreat starts with the planning of inspiring and enriching workshops. In this article, we are going to list 17 empowering workshop ideas you can implement at your next retreat.
A simple, super smart way to motivate your students to turn in their homework.
This activity was our first one since COVID-19. I was able to do one in February, my first one in this ward. Working carefully with the Relief Society & the Bishopbric we got permission to do a…
Teaching growth mindset can be done with read-alouds! Rosie's Glasses is a great book for this. Get ideas for using this book to teach being positive.
Writing your book is enough of a challenge. Many of us have sat staring miserably at a blank screen, cursor winking mockingly, trying desperately to pull our thoughts together to form a sentence. And then (hopefully) another. It's rarely easy, and even on good days when your Muse is with you, there's still that niggling self-doubt to contend with. I have nothing to say. And even if I did, who's going to listen? But if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you also need to consistently craft mind-blowing blog content to grow your audience – while you write your book. ...
How to write your first blog post? You don’t have to be an expert on anything to blog. Simply contribute your authentic words by writing from the heart.
Do you and I run in the same circles? Doubt it. Although we do share at least one circle: teaching. Right? And if you and I ha...
I talk quite a bit about classroom management on my blog. I have to be honest here. I have tried so many different things. I have tried the clip chart, I have tried check marks, I have tried the “flip the card”. NONE of them work for me. The book Dream Class really changed my thoughts on...
Are you wondering if you can eat pasta on a renal diet? Pasta and kidney disease can be tricky, let me walk you through what to do with pasta.
Valencia is such a cool city for a getaway. From its beautiful old town to the City of Arts and Science, check out what to visit in Valencia...
If Montezuma had an Instagram account, what would he say when Cortez arrived in 1519? My fourth graders have some ideas. We are finishing our study of the conquests of the Inca and Aztec empires and have been reading about … Continue reading →
I am always looking for ways to streamline data collection. In the past, I was only tracking the behavior of students if it was related to an IEP goal, or if we were beginning to notice a spike in behavior. And while this worked, it isn't always enough. This year I found a way to track all of my students' behavior in less than one minute a day... AND I don't even need to pick up a pen! To make this happen, I use two things: Google Forms (check below for the FREEBIE!) and an Amazon Fire tablet. While you don't need the tablet to use Google Forms, it does make it more convenient for staff to document behavior without having to access the computer. Google Forms is free and easy to use. It is basically a survey that gathers and analyzes any type of information. I will be honest, I have always been a bit resistant to using a tablet for data collection for a couple of reasons. 1. I give all of my tech to my students. 2. TECH IS EXPENSIVE! (or so I thought...) The Amazon Fire tablet is actually pretty inexpensive. You can typically find them for less than $50, which is a killer deal. Now that I have the tablet I find that I use it for far more than just data collection, but that's a topic for another post! Now that you know what I use, here is how you can make it for yourself! First, download a copy of the Google Forms Digital Classroom Behavior Log. Open the file and click on the link. You will be prompted to save a copy of the Google Forms template. Next, type all of your students' names in the left column. You can also change titles for each behavior rating to meet the needs of your classroom. And... that's it! Your form is all set up! Pretty easy, right!?! Now it is time to give it a test run and view your responses. Don't worry, you can delete your responses later. Click on the preview icon in the upper right corner. This will bring you to the actual form that you will fill out to track behavior. Select one of the behavior options for each student and add a note at the bottom to detail any incidents that happened during the day. Then hit the submit button to record your information. Click "submit another response" to head back to the form. Are you ready to take a look at your responses? Click on the orange pencil in the upper right corner to get into editing mode. Next, click on the responses tab. This will give you a your data in a bar graph. Hover over each bar to get more detailed information. You can also download the responses in a Google Sheets file. This is a great option if you need to find information from a specific date or time period. Now that you have had a chance to play around with the form, you may want to delete the information that you submitted so that you can start fresh with your students. Just click on the 3 dots in the upper right corner and select "delete all responses." This Google Form is easy to access from anywhere with an internet connection. All you need to do is access the URL. This can be done by creating a bookmark, or saving the link to your desktop. Would you like to see a video of these steps in action? Click on the video below and I will walk you through of the entire process. Are you ready to give it a try? I would love to hear how it goes for you! (This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I only link to products that I personally use and find beneficial. Please click HERE for more information.)
The pencils are sharpened, your classroom is clean and the bell rings…gulp…here they come! My feelings on the first week of school are conflicted. On one hand, it’s one of the most important weeks. Explaining and practicing the class procedures and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Success is vital. On the other hand, I’m so excited to start teaching my historical content that waiting until all the expectations are explained requires a lot of patience! Every teacher has their own plan of action for that pivotal time. Here are 5 things I can’t live without during the first week of school: One: An Icebreaker. I aim to try and make kids feel comfortable in my classroom on day one. One of my favorite little activities is Fact or Fiction. Each student receives a small slip of paper and they’re instructed to write one fact and two fictions. Then each person (including myself!) introduces themselves and we all try to guess which statement is the fact! It’s a great way to quickly learn about each other. Two: Classroom Information and Expectations. This is every teacher’s staple, I know, but it had to go on the list because it’s a must-have! When you’re making your own, spell everything out – from the obvious grading procedures and late work policy to how to pass back papers and when to sharpen pencils and go to the bathroom. Trust me, leave no stone unturned. Your classroom will function much better if you set the tone from day one. (Oh, and don’t forget a seating chart!) Three: Fun and Games. On the second day of school, I love to start class with a little game. It’s a great way for the kids to start practicing our classroom procedures and expectations while getting familiar with their teacher and classmates. Here are some of my favorite games that I use during the first week of school: (P.S. Some of these activities can be found in my Back to School Activities resources! Click the grade level you’re teaching to check them out: Sixth, Seventh, Eighth) InstaFriend: This activity gets students moving around the room and interviewing fellow classmates! Their InstaFriend paper has a series of descriptions and characteristics. When they find a student who matches the description, they write their name in the box. Each name can only be used once! Right or Wrong: I love skits. LOVE THEM. I like to introduce students to the idea of skits during the first week by allowing them to create their own based on our class expectations. I first divide students into small groups of 2-3. Each group then randomly receives one of our class procedures or expectations. As a group, they have to work together to create two mini skits – one showing the RIGHT way to follow the expectation, the other showing the WRONG way. They get to be silly and I get to reinforce my class expectations. After each skit I happily point out all the positive behaviors as well as each time a class policy was violated. It’s a light-hearted way to grab their attention and create a positive atmosphere all while practicing the laws of the land. Classmate Bingo: I love to play this game at the end of the first week. I give each student a blank bingo board with a large selection of personal characteristics, hobbies, etc. at the bottom. The students choose 16 off the list and create their customized board. Then, I randomly select characteristics from the list. If a student has that characteristic on their board, they have to write down a student’s name that matches the characteristic – but no cheating! They have to use what they’ve learned about others during their first week of school to try and win the game. Four: A Pre Test. After a few days of class information and fun, it’s time to start getting down to business. Each year, I make a short pre-test on the information they’ll learn about that year. It gives me a chance to see what the kids already know and gives them a feel for what subject matter they’ll be learning about in the coming weeks. FYI: Your pre-test probably won’t take the whole class period. Make sure to have plans for other activities, too, on the day you give your pre-test! Five: A Writing Activity. True fact: when I tell kids they’re going to do a writing activity, they groan every time. It’s a signal that the “real work” is about to begin. Luckily, they’re always relieved when I assure them that this activity will require very little research because it’s about a subject they’re experts in – themselves! I have a few different activities to choose from each year. Here are some suggestions: Student Survey: What are your strengths? Weaknesses? What do you hope to learn in this class? These are just some of the questions I ask students in the survey. The more I know about my students, the better I can help them achieve success in my class. Write Away: A staple of many: write a letter to a future you! I ask students to write goals for the year, dreams they wish to see realized, and questions they want to ask their “End of the Year” self. I tuck these letters away and revisit them during the last week of school. I’m Ready: Like every middle school history class, we do a lot of writing and students always have to back up their reasons, statements, etc. with evidence to support their claim. In this writing activity, students have to identify which class rule or expectation they believe is most important and provide evidence to support their claim. This activity both reinforces my classroom policies and secretly gives me a preview of their writing proficiency. Have I left anything out? If you have any fun plans for the first week of school, share them in the comments. I’m always looking for new ideas for my classroom!
Not sure, how to do SEO for blog posts? The post explains exact steps to write a seo friendly blog post and optimize your blog post with keywords.
One of my favorite things about the Orff Schulwerk philosophy of teaching is the ability to go from something relatively simple to an experience that is complex and exciting. You start with a song, add in movement, add in new layers, add in an ostinato, include a game, move students […]
Do you teach simple machines? They can be so much fun to discuss and explore. They are awesome to create simple...
There are three kinds of teacher-decorators: those who were born for Pinterest, those who can’t, and all the ones in between (such as the broke, the tired, and the I-have-no-time-to-decorate). However, making a classroom appeal to middle and high school students doesn’t HAVE to involve serious crafting or expensive, time-intensive projects. Check out these tips from me and Bonnie from Presto Plans as you prepare your classroom for the fall (or at any time of year that you want to give it a boost!) You might also like Sara's more recent blog post, Inside My Farmhouse Classroom Makeover. 1. Have a color scheme (if you can) Sara: My principal gave each teacher the paint for one accent wall, so that shade of turquoise inspired the rest of my blue decor: milk crates, bulletin board borders, etc. It helped unify the room to make it look pulled-together instead of random. I've also learned about the importance of contrast. Even a full-blown rainbow color palette can look clean and cohesive (instead of cluttered) if you pair it with black or white to balance it out. Bonnie: If you are looking for inspiration for colors that look great together, check out this Pinterest board. There are lots of combinations that will help you choose colors when you are shopping for classroom materials. 2. Stick to a few favorite fonts Sara: Just like businesses create a brand, you are creating a classroom “look” or persona that you will be known for... or, at least a mood you will create. (Friendly? Professional? Fun? Minimalist?) Try to pick a few fonts that most of your labels, signs, and other wall-hangings will consistently use. For example, I used the Google font Crushed to make and laminate labels for my whiteboard (see below), along with mint-colored painter's tape. 3. Make your classroom library a focal point Bonnie: Your class library should draw students in and works well as the focal point for any English classroom. Here are a few things you can do to make your library stand out: Give bookshelves a makeover by rolling them a new coat of paint and/or taking the shelves out and attaching wallpaper or scrapbook paper to the back. Put a few floating shelves on the walls near your library area where you can feature particular novels recommended by students. Add comfortable, flexible seating near a library to make it more welcoming. These items can be more expensive, so shop around online or scour garage sales until you find seating that may work. Use old books as decorations! When a book is unusable, find a way to repurpose it. One easy way to do this is to cut out the pages and write a reading-inspired quote in black permanent marker on top of the page. Frame the page and put it on your bookshelf! Sara: If your classroom library is small, nonexistent, or needs some attention, check out this blog post for more ideas about how to strengthen it. 4. Display student work Bonnie: Use student work as decor by making a framed gallery wall. All you have to do is pick up some inexpensive 8x10 frames (check your dollar store) and arrange them on your wall. When you get a piece of exceptional student work, add it into the frame! If you don’t want the hassle of buying and hanging frames, order a pack of mixed color picture mats and use them to frame student work on a bulletin board. Sara: Another way to get student work on display (while also practicing literary analysis!) is to have them complete this Quote Illustration and Analysis assignment; students use Canva (or any tool you wish) to make an inspirational or literary quote come to life. The results are stunning! 5. Use author-inspired decor Bonnie: Find ways to incorporate the authors you will be studying into your classroom decor. You can do this by featuring fun facts or by sharing quotes by the author. For example, I use an interactive Shakespeare Hashtag of the Week bulletin display that exposes students to one quote from a Shakespeare play each week. If you don’t want to make your own, you might even consider assigning an author to each student and having them develop a bulletin display with a biography, fun facts, and quotes that you can swap out weekly. Sara: Don't forget to interject moments of literary ALLUSION or author-inspired inside jokes as well, like my favorite light switch art... 6. Make your posters work together Sara: On at least one bulletin board or section of wall space, add some symmetry or consistency by hanging posters in a similar style (color, font, or other), or by displaying images that have a common theme. For example, check out these posters of stylized quotes to get some English class wisdom on your walls. Bonnie: If you are looking for some ideas of common themes you could use for posters, try some of these ideas that could work in any English classroom: funny grammar quotes or fails, literary terms or genres, author quotes, famous lines from literature, idiomatic expressions, or jokes using puns! To read more about my favorite bulletin board ideas for middle and high ELA, check out this blog post. "English is Weird" poster set 7. Make displays that are EASY to update Sara: Two of my favorite bulletin board spaces were ones that took VERY little effort in updating, so I didn't have the self-imposed pressure to redo the whole thing multiple times per year. For example, my Word Nerd Challenge is quick to update on a Monday morning because all I have to do is add this week's word to the list. (I made each word tile a magnet that can go on my whiteboard!) I also made low-prep Quote of the Week flipbooks of reading and writing quotes, which students often asked to flip FOR me. I used Command hooks and spiral binding to hang it on a cabinet. Do you have additional ideas? Tell us in the comments!
ALL ABOUT EARTH Get ready for a month filled with so many fun activities to teach your kiddos all about our planet Earth . I teach this unit in April so it coincides with Earth Day. I’ve loaded up this blog post post with read aloud book ideas, free videos you can share with your students,
At this time of year (end of August) I have so many mixed emotions. I am sad that the summer is drawing to an end, but I am excited for the new school year: envisioning my new students and the project
A detailed look at my Switzerland trip itinerary. Includes travel times, planning tips & a summary of places I visited during my 2 weeks in Switzerland.
Process art vs. product art in early childhood education: Discover the role of each approach and explore photo examples.
The start to the school year for newcomer ELLs can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking. It is our job to set them up with tools to help them feel comfortable exploring a new language in a
In this post, I offer 10 teaching tips for new college instructors. Find advice about course design, the 1st week, grading, & campus resources, starting...
I recently came across this idea on Pinterest, and I LOVE it. I am sorry, I don't know who the original credit goes to for coming up with this idea is...if you can claim it - let me know :) As we all know, getting students to understand the whole IDEA of a proof is difficult. Then throw in theorems, postulates, reasons, statements UGH...it's too much. The reason I love using Uno to start teaching proof is that you begin the lesson with something students are familiar with - many have played Uno before. The general idea is to give students some number of Uno cards. There is a card for them to begin with [GIVEN] and a card for them to end with [what they are trying to PROVE]. Students are also given some number of additional cards. Then they are asked to find a way to get from the GIVEN card to the PROVE card by playing a hand of Uno. For example, start the students with this layout of cards. Students may realize that if they start with the blue 8, the game could proceed by playing the green 8, then the green 1, the yellow 1, and finally ending with the yellow 3. The cards must be played in this order...if they aren't, the rules of the game are not followed. After a bit, you could introduce the Wild Card - it can be played just like in real Uno...you can use it to change to any color. It helps you move through the game, or in our case, the proof. Students must realize that they can't complete the game without using the Wild Card to change to the green color. After the students understand the idea, you could provide students with extra cards that aren't needed for the proof, but could be included. It isn't WRONG to put them in the proof, but they make the game (or proof) longer than necessary. Or, you might be given an extra card that CAN'T be included in the game - it doesn't fit at all. For example, In this case, the 5 isn't necessary at all. It's tempting to use it after the blue 0, but then you can't proceed without any of the other cards. Notice that we could just use the red 0 and the red 7 to finish the proof. The red 2 isn't necessary, but could be included. The proof would just be longer. After students understand the idea of sequencing the cards, then you can introduce the two column proof format. Want to try using this in your class? Join my email list and I'll send you a packet with everything you need to give it a try! Join My List! I'll email you the packet so you have everything you need to have your best intro to proof EVER! Send me the Uno Packet! We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.
Want to help the students in your French classroom use more vocabulary? Check out these French vocabulary sheets and ideas on how to use them!
This blog post is full of ideas for the First Week of Kindergarten. Includes book suggestions, activities, and links to accompanying ideas.
Get the easy steps and learn how to turn a picture into a svg for Cricut or any cutting machine.
