We were taught many lessons of grammar, spelling, pronunciation, etc. Read this blog to know the lessons of communication which we missed in school.

This week we celebrated Choose Respect Day at our school to combat bullying. It was a very powerful day which included Choose Respect t-shirts for everyone, a wonderful play put on by the Grade 6 class (I definitely teared up it was so great!), and a few adorable, thoughtful crafts! Check out the picts below! Students had to brainstorm positive ways to be respectful and decorate their t-shirt with them. Also, we made handprints with a cross in the middle. Black tempura paint, white acrylic paint, flourescent pink paper and squares of black construction paper were all that was required. They turned out beautifully. Thankfully, I had a lot of help with the hand print portion! Black paint is hard to get off! Thanks to the amazing crew of teachers and staff at St. Joseph School! We are an amazing team! This coming Monday my little nutty crew:) is in charge of the assembly. Our virtue is perseverance! It's a BIG word for grade 1 but they pull it off! We created some I Can poetry and read with the proper tone it is really cute!! I CAN paint. I can't read hard books, YET!! I can dance, I can ride my bike. I can sing. I can't whistle, yet!! You can learn about perseverance in my new packet of printables and activities. It features the activity above, as well as a T-shirt inspired craftivity like we did for Choose Respect Day! This is just a little hint as to what we have been up to for Career Day! More pictures and ideas to come in the next post! Stay tuned!!!

The communication game can help build a good foundation in writing and communicating. If you are looking to grow your young writer’s listening and description skills, then this language arts exercise is for you. Plus, it’s fun! This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement for more information. Writing is Communicating Writing is the […]

Download a new playlist to list to in the car or classroom. These songs will build your child's literacy skills.

New research suggests that the highest-performing teams have found subtle ways of leveraging social connections during the pandemic to fuel their success. The findings offer important clues on ways any organization can foster greater connectedness — even within a remote or hybrid work setting — to engineer higher-performing teams. Doing so takes more than simply hiring the right people and arming them with the right tools to do their work. It requires creating opportunities for genuine, authentic relationships to develop. The authors present five key characteristics of high-performing teams, all of which highlight the vital role of close connection among colleagues as a driver of team performance.

I don’t know if you ever ask yourself this question. "Will these 5 kids EVER get to grade level?" "How can I help?" "I have tried everything!" {Cue melodramatic soap opera music}. This year I have a few little souls who just need so so so so much from me, and it’s never enough. But I have learned a few little tricks that have been Ahhhhh-mazing. I have 3 comprehension tips for you today! Use your Fall curriculum at the Guided Reading table in the Spring. Do this with your struggling readers: We are reading the stories in “small group” that we read “whole group” in August. I have to tell you the kids are thrilled beyond measure with themselves. The last time the class was interacting with this material it was way too hard for them. Now it’s just right! That feels so good to them! Never mind that it is far below grade level. They could be reading a far below grade level “little reader” book and feel terrible about themselves. Instead, they can “see” how much they have grown and they are beaming! They are flying through the stories. I mean FLYING, and we all know that success breeds more success. We are reading about 2 stories a week, maybe 3, and have moved on to the second anthology! Breaking it down: Do they really have to eat the whole banana in one bite? Of course not, but as simple as it sounds these kids have a hard time trying things bite by bite. They “think” they can’t do hard things, so often they won’t even take the first step or the first bite.We have to cut it up for them, like babies until they build confidence. I am hoping that someday they will be avid readers, and that when they look back on first grade they remember being proud of themselves at my reading table. Helping them read accurately and build rich mental images: I created some pages on making mental images/following directions, and it really helped my kids in Trimester 2. This is one that I did with my whole class in January. They read and interact with the text in order to learn to focus and to build richer and more detailed metal images. These pages will also tell you really quickly who is not reading carefully. The "following directions" poster is helping students throughout the whole day! I see them access the poster in math as well as English Language Arts. The unit grows in complexity ever so slowly over the course of 35 school days. There are 35 half sheet activities and a test. I hope this unit helps your students shine! It has made a world of difference in my classroom.

Build phonological skills with this rhyming activity. Erase Me is fun to use for an all about me unit and is super easy and quick to prepare.

LinkedIn is an amazing tool for networking and the job hunt, but it can also be a venue for making some big career blunders. LinkedIn Career Expert Nicole Williams shares the mistakes she sees users making over and over.

I don’t know about you, but it took me a LONG time to figure out how to build...

Think of yourself as a coach.

Listening Larry is back, and he’s learned a few things about neurodiversity. It’s true that when we listen, we often use each ear. But listening is more than receiving what we hear! Listen, Learn, and Grow is a delightful rhyming story that explores the many ways kids can use their whole body as a listening tool. And here’s a hint: Listening looks different for everyone! Readers will join Larry and his friend Lori in their classroom as they discover that listening is more than just “hearing” with their ears. It’s about using their eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, body, brain, and heart to help them remain regulated, focused, and engaged so they can be successful learners at school. As a bonus, Listen, Learn, and Grow also includes a variety of activities that educators and parents can use at home, in the classroom, and in the community to encourage whole body listening throughout the day.

What is post traumatic growth? What are the indicators of post traumatic growth? Your path to overcoming trauma starts here.

Poetry can build a strong foundation for a variety of reading and writing skills. In particular, Poetry in fourth grade builds on reading, speaking, and listening skills. Bringing an array of presentations of poems into the classroom is extremely important. As students listen orally to a poem they will gain the skills and knowledge of hearing words and putting them together into thoughts and emotions.

It can be hard to figure out how to get your podcast heard. Learn about the re-purposing technique of saving time and growing your podcast!

This read aloud companion goes along with Wilson Rawls's Where the Red Fern Grows. Enhance your students' comprehension of the novel by asking relevant questions and allowing them to respond in their journals. **PS--Check out my Where the Red Fern Grows Assessment here!** Edit March 2021: This product is now digital! Re-download to use Google Slides™ OR an updated print version. The "Read Aloud Bookmark" series was developed out of my need to make read alouds more meaningful. How often do we rush through reading and run out of time to foster higher-level thinking and comprehension? This product will fix that problem! How does this work? I’ve created bookmarks full of discussion questions for the novel. Simply print the bookmarks on cardstock (front and back if you prefer). In the top left corner, punch a hole in each bookmark and secure together with a ring. Leave this in the novel as you read and refer to it as needed. Alternately, you can print a copy of the bookmark for each student. They can use it with their personal copy of the novel and use the questions as journal prompts! As students listen, they can also answer the discussion questions in their journal! I've provided 2 questions for each chapter. The Jump-Start Question is intended to be read BEFORE you start reading the chapters. These questions allows students to recall events from the previous chapter, make predictions, and build on previous knowledge. The Sign-Off Question is to facilitate discussion AFTER reading the chapters. These questions allow students to analyze characters, summarize, sequence events, etc. PLEASE NOTE: I also have a full novel study for "Where the Red Fern Grows" in my shop. These journal prompts are the same as those included in the novel study bundle. If you are looking for a more complete study, you can find that product here. **************************************************************************************************************************************************** I love feedback! Please comment and rate this product so I can continue making the products you need! **************************************************************************************************************************************************** Looking for more Read Aloud Companions? This product is part of a READ ALOUD THROUGH THE YEAR BUNDLE!! Click here to save! Included in the Bundle: Out of My Mind Holes Where the Red Fern Grows A Night Divided A Wrinkle in Time Ella Enchanted The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 Tuck Everlasting The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Last Holiday Concert

Teaching children to make a mental image as they read is a critical step in developing fluent readers. Debbie Diller says that "when readers create mental images, they engage in text in ways that make it personable and memorable to them alone" (from Reading With Meaning). Children use all five senses to make a vivid picture in their minds of what they are reading. Sometimes when we are teaching young children to read, we get so caught up on the accuracy of reading - we can easily forget that the reason we read is to enjoy what we are reading and understand what we read! If we spend so much time on the mechanics of reading, it could burn a child out to reading. Sad. :( So, we had our first lesson in imagery today using a poem by Jill Egglton. I love using her poems because the language is easy for children to understand, they often rhyme, and they use many high frequency words. I saw a friend do this in her classroom and thought it was a really great idea. I started the lesson by connecting to a book that we had read earlier this week (Plaidypus Lost -- more on that tomorrow!). Before I read that book, I asked them to picture something that they had lost. I told them when they were doing that they were creating mental images. I read the poem, "Ding-A-Ling" to the children - they love this poem, and it's so easy for them to picture the man in the poem. I read the poem 2-3 times, and asked the children to close their eyes and make a mental image after each time I read it. I then asked them to create a picture of the man that was in the poem. We later discussed the things that were similar in our pictures (the hair, the nose, and the bells) and what was different. The children came to the conclusion that the pictures were different because they all created their own mental images! Here is a portion of Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning book if you would like to read more about mental images and comprehension.

These ELA podcast pairings will help you design engaging text sets for you middle school and high school English classroom!

Product: French Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening: Meet Manon - Distance Learning About the Product: This is an engaging teaching resource for mastering French that revolves around a fascinating character named 'Manon'. Learners will develop their language skills through interactive activities such as reading a story about Manon, participating in listening exercises and using key facts about her to fuel their creative writing and speaking in French. Features of the Product: Rich storytelling sequences Incorporation of vital grammatical elements like verb tenses and pronouns. Creative writing exercises based on Manon's life events. Aimed at upper-intermediate learners this material is designed to progressively build understanding through several steps ranging from examining personal information about Manon before proceeding into clause construction. It then further extends into engaging listening sequences followed by determining missing words in written portions resonated within auditory sections—ensuring that sentence structure comprehension is soundly built. Note: The product has been crafted condidering its usability in different educational settings - whole group scenarios within traditional classrooms or small online study groups making it compatible for distance learning. ‘Meet Manon’ provides definitive means for improving French reading, writing, listening and speaking even during remote learning situations. Creativity with Language Learning : Learner can take an exciting dive into the French language by constructing more stories around Manon helping them further enhance their creative skills as well as linguistic competency. They can exchange narration lines with friends verbally or written leading opening ways for infinite fun-filled plot twists stimulating learning amid laughter! In Conclusion: The product’s makeup presents a unique blend of methodologically structured grammatical practice and creative storytelling. Thus, this package is likely to bring amusement while extending French language proficiency in upper-intermediate level learners spanning grade 10, 11 and 12. French Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening - MANON - Distance Learning

Jenna Kutcher pulls back the curtain to her online shop and shares how she made $218,000 in one year on Shopify. Tune in to hear if a shop would be a good fit for you and where exactly to get started.

It's time to decorate the Christmas tree, but the thin bundle of branches isn't exactly what the kids had in mind. Mr. McBoom encourages each student to add his or her own special touch, and together they create the perfect tree. Winner of the 2018 Preferred Choice Award from \"Creative Child Magazine.\"\n\"I hear lots of good thoughts, but think a bit longer. If you work together, can you make the tree stronger?\" It's time to decorate the class Christmas tree, but the thin bundle of branches isn't exactly what the kids had in mind. Mr. McBoom encourages each student to add his or her own special touch, and together they create the perfect tree. Through storytelling, Baxter's Corner(R) pursues its mission to inspire young children to develop positive social skills that affect behavior choices. Each book features fun filled pages that Go Beyond the reading with a series of questions and learning activities that focus on an important point for your young listener or reader, including: \"What do you think\" questions Fun facts about the featured animals Social skill activities \"Stop and think\" situations that show the effects of choices we make \"Parents and educators share responsibility to engender in children empathy and a sense of responsibility. The children's books from Baxter's Corner help adults teach these essential skills through delightful stories. As an educator for 40 years, I appreciate the Go Beyond feature at the end of each story. With the activities in this section, parents, grandparents and educators can turn story time into opportunities for lessons about the impact of the choices we make.\" Suzanne Cooke, RSCJ Independent School Administrator Miami, Florida About Baxter's Corner(R) books: Gerome Sticks His Neck Out - Gold Award Recipient \"We have a passion to help families grow emotionally, physically and spiritually. Parents and educators know that products and services bearing our seal of approval are high-quality and also a great value.\" Dawn Matheson, Executive Director Mom's Choice Awards(R)

Are you ready to feel better about yourself and improve your current mindset? It all starts with the respect and self-love you have. Learn how to build your self-worth today.

Learn how to keep people with negative intentions out of your life.

Reading chapter books aloud to children is a wonderful way to build vocabulary, develop mental images, and model fluency. Sharing a chapter book with a child for the first time can be a magical experience. *This post contains affiliate links. My son was 4 years-old when he was ready to listen to a chapter book. ... Read More about Favorite First Chapter Book Read-Alouds

Let’s get beyond ourselves and help our students do the same. The following was originally posted by Tim Elmore of Growing Leaders.

Leaders with this type of intelligence take time to acknowledge their emotions—then regulate them.

Lots of block activities for preschoolers and even toddlers using common blocks that are found in most homes - wooden blocks, Legos, and ABC blocks.

These ESL speaking and writing task & picture cards are the perfect way to use pictures and audio to promote authentic conversation and vocabulary development. The cards can easily be differentiated depending on the levels of your ESL students, and the pictures will grab your students’ attention. Speaking in a new language can be very intimidating, but when you do it in a fun and engaging way, students will quickly begin to get over their fear and try to speak. The task cards are great to use as a daily warm-up which helps your ELLs get their brain ready to learn in English. The consistent routine and expectation of doing one every day help your students grow quickly because they know what to expect. The repetition also builds independence. What’s Included: *240 Speaking and Writing Task Cards (enough to cover the entire year) *Printable and Digital versions *Seasonal Pictures and Prompts *Everyday Item Pictures and Prompts *Differentiated Writing Pages   Looking for more products for ELL students?  Everything You Need for ELL Newcomers MEGA Bundle Let's Connect!  Looking for more support? Click here to sign up for a free yearlong scope and sequence for newcomer and intermediate ELLs! If you have any questions or ways I can help, please feel free to email me at [email protected]

Les Professions - French Taboo Speaking Game Les Professions - French Taboo Speaking Game , also known as Jeu de Taboo en Français, is an innovative resource aimed at enhancing students' proficiency in the French language. Designed for students from grades 7 to 12, this dynamic tool combines vocabulary building and conversational practice in an engaging game format. The game revolves around the theme of 'professions'. The pack contains: 30 sets of cards featuring profession-related terminologies in both French and English A version entirely in French suitable for immersion classrooms Versatility and Scalability The game's versatility allows teachers to modify it based on their students' skill level. The package comes with detailed instructions on two unique versions of this grammar strengthening activity: classic Taboo and 15 MINUTES MAX. Kick-Up the Excitement with Time Challenge In the classic version, students describe a term without using certain 'taboo' words listed on their card. In contrast, "15 MINUTES MAX" spices up language learning sessions by introducing a timed challenge. Educator’s Progress Tracking Tools To aid educators even further, tools are included for tracking student progress. These include a dedicated sheet for recording new words learned during gameplay (nouveaux mots). Teachers can then use these lists during review sessions or integrate them into homework assignments; thus providing opportunities for self-paced learning outside school too. Adapting to Teaching Settings & Themes The modifiable nature makes it fitting for various teaching settings – be it interactive whole-group activities or competitive small group games. It aids in enhancing not only reading comprehension but also spoken French skills. It adheres to school-level World Languages curriculums focussing on mastering French professions, thus ensuring language familiarity across diverse cultural contexts. Delivery & Usage The resource is provided in a zipped file containing both PDF and .jpg files, making it apt for use on digital platforms or within classroom infrastructures. Summary To sum up, "Les Professions - French Taboo Speaking Game" provides an academic environment that promotes rigorous yet fun language immersion experiences. It makes abstract foreign culture-related topics easy-to-grasp applied concepts reinforcing long-term memory retention. Les Professions - French Taboo Speaking Game - Jeu de Tabou en Français

Today's leaders will require vastly different abilities and approaches to guide tomorrow's workforce.

Explore the importance of building relationships and trust with children in counseling. Discover effective counseling practices for fostering positive changes.

"I would rather take an imperfect job for an awesome boss--because an awesome boss is going to accelerate me--rather than the perfect job for a boss that's not going to take any interest in me."

Book Synopsis From the award-winning author of the Dreamland series comes a new dark romantic fantasy about a young woman finding hope in her powers of destruction.The Thief Kingdom is a place hidden within the world of Aadilor. Many whisper of its existence, but few have found this place, where magic and pleasure abound. There, the mysterious Thief King reigns supreme with the help of the Mousai, a trio of revered and feared sorceresses.Larkyra Bassette may be the youngest of the Mousai, but when she sings her voice has the power to slay monsters. When it's discovered the Duke of Lachlan is siphoning a poisonous drug from the Thief Kingdom and using it to abuse his tenants, Larkyra is offered her first solo mission to stop the duke. Eager to prove herself, Larkyra accepts by posing as the duke's potential bride. But her plans grow complicated when she finds herself drawn to Lord Darius Mekenna, Lachlan's rightful heir. Soon she suspects Darius has his own motivations for ridding Lachlan of the corrupt duke. Larkyra and Darius must learn to trust each other if there is to be any hope of saving the people of Lachlan--and themselves.Welcome to the world of Aadilor, where lords and ladies can be murderers and thieves, and the most alluring notes are often the deadliest. Dare to listen? Review Quotes An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Romance "A spellbinding read...A dark, lyrical fantasy that merges vast worldbuilding with the best of romance tropes." --Kirkus Reviews"The novel is a quick read from the first page, and romance and adventure abound. Readers of The Princess Bride will find this novel a welcome read, as will the news that there is a second book to come in the series." --Booklist"This character-driven, high-stakes fantasy romance is a captivating read and the first book in a new series." --BuzzFeed"It's so easy to lose yourself in Mellow's evocative and engaging prose. Song of the Forever Rains blends excellent world building, wonderful character dynamics, and slow burn romance. I'm already looking forward to the sequel." --Charlie N. Holmberg, Wall Street Journal bestselling author"A story so immersive, it will haunt you long after the last page." --Staci Hart, bestselling author"From the award-winning author of the Dreamland series comes a new dark romantic fantasy about a young woman finding hope in her powers of destruction." --The Nerd Daily

We’re gonna cover how to make your brand more word-of-mouth-friendly, so you can generate referrals and turn your small audience into a big one! why this matters Make your brand word-of-mouth-friendly: Makes you more memorable. Telling a more word-of-mouth-friendly story about your brand ma

Pressure to speak English in the workplace continues to grow as more and more companies invest in globalizing their teams. However, mastering a new language requires time and resources that many people — especially adults who are no longer in school —struggle to find. EF Education First annually releases the world’s largest study of English proficiency in various countries and industries. They have distilled the lessons they’ve learned through their work and from the literature on second language acquisition into a few tips that highlight how people can learn English more effectively. If you’re a professional looking to improve your business English, consider incorporating these into your learning plan: set specific goals, create study habits, use authentic English materials, and join a positive learning community.

Every now and then we need a confidence boost, sometimes more than others. Listen to these TED talks to boost your confidence and motivate you to do more!