Help your students understand how nonrenewable resources do not last with this hands-on science activity that is perfect for any elementary teacher!
How to create an end-of-day routine that leaves your room spotless, every time!
The Sprinter and Transit are both really great vans for van dwelling because of the size and capabilities you’ll have for the conversion. They offer the chance of fitting all the necessities of a home into a vehicle without feeling too cramped. Both have different features and therefore, have different reasons for going with one or ... Read more >
Setting up a kindergarten classroom at the beginning of the year can be an exciting, yet overwhelming. Whether you are a student teacher, or this is your last year teaching elementary school, I'm here to share
I’ve rounded up some of the best science movies for middle school here on my site Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
Are you thinking about cycling In Slovenia? Here are the best Slovenia cycling itineraries for a bike trip around Slovenia.
This post shares a no prep, fall themed physical and chemical changes activity that will engage your students.
From stunning lakes to lively cities, Canada has a lot to offer. Check out these things to know before going to Canada to learn more about the country.
This critical thinking activity is all about getting your students to think deeper and to synthesize in your elementary classrooms via forced relationships!
Prompting kids to dream about what they want to be when they grow up will help them to think about more than just the present and is...
Have your students think OUTSIDE the box by thinking about how this picture is NOT a picture of a cloud...but something else they think of! Students love to draw and color these fun sheets. Can be used for morning work, a brain break, or a center!
Thinking about implementing a Daily Three reading structure for reading rotations? Check out this post for details and example activities for each roation.
Thinking of ditching the big wedding and eloping somewhere awesome instead? Here are 5 reasons to elope! Let this artice be your enabler!
Almost exactly a year ago we installed the brick flooring in the mudroom, laundry room, and half bathroom. When we installed it I knew I loved the look, but had no idea how it would actually function and hold up in real life. Would it be easy to clean? Catch all the dirt? Can you...
From Montreal and beyond, how to plan a road trip across eastern Canada.
Over more than a decade, the author has developed a 14-point plan for encouraging students to engage deeply with math content.
Through the years I have had a few students with selective mutism. When I met my first student with S.M., I thought she was just very shy. For this post, I will call her Sally but that is not her real name. But, after a couple of weeks of school, it was clear that there was more going on that a case of shyness. That is when I asked for a meeting with Sally's parents to get their insight into what was happening. Her parents told me that she would only talk to the people in her immediate family and one neighbor. She wouldn't even speak to her grandparents or cousins. After observations and meetings with her pediatrician, counselor, speech pathologist, she was officially diagnosed as having selective mutism. Luckily, Sally's parents were very open to ideas and happy to try anything that we suggested. Sally's mom would send me something to school on a weekly basis. Sometimes it was a bag of cookies that Sally and her mom had baked together. Other times Sally's mom let her pick out a packet of stickers to donate to our class. Sally's job was to hand the item(s) to me. We set the following goals: 1st: Hand the item to the teacher without mom standing beside her. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 2nd: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 3rd: Hand the item to the teacher and say you're welcome. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 4th: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher and say you're welcome. I said thank you but did not ask her any questions about the item. 5th: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher and say you're welcome. Answer teacher's question with one word. I said thank you and then asked her a question that could be answered with one word - usually a yes/no question. 6th: Hand the item to the teacher while looking at the teacher and say you're welcome. Answer teacher's question with 2 or more words. I said thank you and then asked her a question that required a few more details. Once again, Sally's parents provided extra support to help her build relationships with her classmates. Sally and her mom loved to bake. Usually students only brought treats for their birthday. I gave her mom permission to send in treats more frequently. When Sally passed out the treats to her classmates, she was concentrating on the actual process of passing out, and less about her anxiety about communicating with her classmates. We set goals for this too. 1st: Pass out treats without teacher support. 2nd: Pass out treat and make eye contact with classmates. 3rd: Pass out treat, make eye contact with classmates, and smile when student says thank you. 4th: Pass out treat, make eye contact with classmates, and say you're welcome when classmate says thank you. Sally received weekly support from our school counselor. Our counselor let Sally choose a buddy come with her. She and the buddy played games in the counselor's office. In the beginning, Sally would only smile and shake her head for yes or no. But, over time she slowly began to whisper to the counselor and her buddy. I think it helped that there was only one buddy and they were in a quiet office so she felt more comfortable. By the end of the year, she was able to invite 3 buddies to go with her. As you can imagine she became very popular because she got to pick her buddy(ies). Word quickly spread that if Sally chose you, you got to go play games. Students wanted to sit by her at lunch and invited her to play games with them at recess. There are different reasons why a student may have S.M. Sometimes it is an anxiety issue. Click HERE to read more about this topic. Interested in reading more posts? Click on the pictures below.
What are the 10 Best Jobs for a Midlife Career Change? Discover the answer here.
Keep all of your lesson plans for the whole school year in one streamlined easy-to-access place with a Google Sheets Lesson Plan Template!
As teachers, we all know that assessments matter. It’s important to check student understanding and provide meaningful feedback. After an assessment every teacher faces the same challenge…now what? Do I reteach the students who haven’t mastered the concepts, or move on so others don’t get bored and I can cover everything? How do I make […]
Help the learning process with these simple strategies for making studennt thinking visible. Perfect for middle and high school English classes.
*Google Slides and Print Option* *Rubric Added!* About this Product This product came as a result of my students’ love of the biography series “Who Was…?” If you have not looked into this series, I recommend that you do! They are a fun, easy read that offers an engaging way for students to learn about historical figures and important people. Although this product is based on this series, this product could be used for any biography book or project. This is a nice way to integrate Reading, Writing, and Social Studies.🛑 Are you a member of the TLL Membership? These materials are already included. If you are not a member, click here to learn more. The TLL Membership gives you an all-access pass to hundreds of ELA resources for teachers in Grades 3-5. How I Used this Product In my 3rd Grade classroom, I used multiple copies of the same book or books and paired students in partnerships. In my school, we have a 30 minute Reading Intervention Block. I began this project with students who were not pulled out or working with me in small groups during this time. This was a nice way for students to work independently or in partnerships. It also created an extension for what they could already do as readers. Plus, they had so much fun! I let them work on this project in their partnerships. This held several benefits. Many students who were not pulled out or working in small groups tend to be higher level students OR students who have untapped potential. Allowing them to work on a project like this can extend their learning, as well as find new ways to enjoy reading. While other students had special groups or went to see other teachers, it was nice for these students to have their own project too. The Poster Page is a template that you could use for students to turn in with the essay or you could use this as a planning page and then have students create a larger poster on their own. I assigned it as homework and was pleasantly surprised at what my students turned in. I saw a wonderful increase in engagement by students who had shown little motivation or enthusiasm for reading. You can see the photos in the preview or in the product itself. Please know I updated the pages after the photos were taken with more detail and provided the poster template. Good luck to you with this project! If you have any questions, please contact me! You might also LOVE... Reader’s Notebook Anchor Charts My Opinion Matters! {An Opinion Writing Unit} My Life is A Story {A Personal Narrative Writing Unit} Buzzin' in Book Clubs {Book Club Reading Unit Resources} Newspaper Article Writing Unit {Here's the Scoop!} Opinion Writing for a Literary Response Current Events Writing {What's the Scoop?}
We all need hope in our lives. Enjoy these 20 hope quotes. Let these quotes on hope help you through difficult times.
Good morning! :) One of the most important things to me is how you arrange your classroom. I always think about a few things when considering how to arrange my classroom... -Can my students all see the SMARTboard from their desks without having to turn around? -Can my students access all of our classroom materials without having to move something? -Can my students scoot out their chair without bumping into a desk or another chair? -Can I move around the classroom with ease? (Without having to squeeze through desks?) -Can I see ALL of my students from my desk? -Can I see ALL of my students from the meeting table? Sometimes I have to arrange the room, and then tweak it a little to make sure all of the above questions are answered YES. I've had my desks arranged in many different ways during the years. However, my favorite arrangement was when I had tables. I would take tables any day over desks! Tables facilitate cooperative group work and give the students so much more work space. However, tables are not always available to you. So, in that case, I would arrange my desks like tables. When I taught specials classes and had mostly small groups of kids at one time (between 6-10 kids most of the day), I had my classroom set up with my meeting table in the middle. I liked it being in the center of the class. It was more like the central meeting place instead of stuck in a corner. This is what my room looked like: If you want to see some examples of my classroom seating arrangement, you can see one of my previous posts about how to set up your classroom. Here is a screenshot from a PDF file I found about classroom seating arrangements from Effective Room Arrangement by Carolyn Evertson, Ph.D. & Inge Poole, Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/case_studies/ICS-001.pdf I love several of these arrangements... especially the one in the middle on the right. Except I would probably face my student's desks towards the SMARTboard and not my desk. I don't teach from my desk, therefore I wouldn't want their desks to be pointing toward mine :). Check out the link to the PDF above for lots of great information (and bigger pictures). I also found this awesome site: Classroom Desk Arrangement. You can choose your class size, then it has several different arrangements you can choose from. It looks pretty cool... here is a screen shot of the welcome page: This Pinterest Board has a lot of great classroom ideas! :) http://pinterest.com/luv2teach/classroom-layout-and-design/. Scholastic also has a pretty cool Classroom Set-Up tool. It allows you to create your classroom layout and has all of the shapes already made. You just "draw" it on the screen... pretty cool! The only thing I don't like is that you can't turn any of the desks at an angle. I kind of do my own version of this each year by drawing my classroom on a Microsoft Word document. This way I can save it, re-arrange it and re-use it all year long. The last website I will tell you about is Classroom Architect. It is a pretty neat website. It lets you choose your room's dimensions, and then lets you drop and drag all of the furniture into the classroom. It is pretty easy to use and looks nice when finished. Here is a screenshot of what it looks like: Below is a link to a basic classroom seating chart that I created on PowerPoint. If you don't have PowerPoint but have a Google Account and access to Google Docs, you should be able to manipulate it there as well. Save the file, then re-arrange the desks and furniture by just clicking and dragging! :) Grab the green dot at the top of each item. This will allow you to rotate the item you've chosen. Delete items not needed and save your new template! :) UPDATE: 9/13/17 I've created more versions of the seating chart below that are still fully editable, and have put them on my Teachers Pay Teachers Site. Please click the link below for the FREE download! Link: FREE Seating Chart Well, I hope that these websites and information has helped give you some ideas on how to arrange your classroom! Be inspired & have a wonderful day! :) That's all she wrote, ------------------------------------- P.S. Did you know that I started my own company, Camp Partridge? ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online camps for children and teens ages 10-16 who want to be digital creators and authors! ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers online courses for parents struggling with remote learning. ⛺️ Camp Partridge offers resources for your classroom! I would be honored if you would share Camp Partridge with people you know who need or would enjoy our camps and courses! 🧡
There are many things to do in Lerici. The town has a lot to do and see. Apart from the delicious food and caruggi, Lerici is a great base to have delicious seafood and enjoy Ligurian seaside
Before you install barn doors, learn how to frame a doorway for barn doors. Here are step-by-step instructions to update your doorway.
The classroom decor choices you make significantly impact classroom management. Click to read the dos & don'ts of decor in special education.
Thinking about taking a trip to El Salvador? You´ve come to the right place. See the best things to do in El Salvador in this blog post.
The before and after pictures of this stucco exterior update show an amazing remodeling transformation that brought new life to our home.
You never know the words of encouragement from you that your kids will carry with them the rest of their lives. This beautiful image came from an extremely popular post on Bounceback Parenting called “64 Positive Things to Say to Kids“. This print gives you a visual reminder of the the positive things we all need to hear. Designed by Brent Almond of Design Nut using the words written by Alissa Marquess Zorn, this poster features modern colors and word art that will fit in the nursery, the dining room or office. Hang it in a playroom or a classroom to have an easy to glance at list of simple yet powerful things you can say to encourage and empower. 8.5 x 11 high resolution PDF - This size makes this easy to print on your home printer. RECOMMENDED for PRINTING - I suggest photo paper or high quality cardstock and selecting "photo" when printing for best results. IMPORTANT: This is for PERSONAL USE ONLY. You may not reproduce this print for sale or group distribution. By purchasing this digital file, you agree to the license agreement here: http://bouncebackparenting.com/digital-print-personal-purchase-agreement/ The files will be available for download immediately after payment is confirmed on your Etsy "Purchases & Reviews" page. Due to screen and printer differences colors will vary slightly. 64 Positive Things to Say to Kids: ©Alissa Marquess, originally published on creativewithkids.com You are loved You make me smile I think about you when we’re apart. My world is better with you in it. I will do my best to keep you safe. Sometimes I will say no. I have faith in you. I know you can handle it. You are creative. Trust your instincts. Your ideas are worthwhile. You are capable. You are deserving. You are strong. You can say no. Your choices matter. You make a difference. Your words are powerful. Your actions are powerful. Your emotions may be powerful. And you can still choose your actions. You are more than your emotions. You are a good friend. You are kind. You don’t have to like what someone is saying in order to treat them with respect. Someone else’s poor behavior is not an excuse for your own. You are imperfect. So am I. You can change your mind. You can learn from your mistakes. You can ask for help. You are learning. You are growing. Growing is hard work. I believe you. I believe in you. You are valuable. You are interesting. You are beautiful. When you make a mistake you are still beautiful. Your body is your own. You have say over your body. You are important. Your ideas matter. You are able to do work that matters. I see you working and learning every day. You make a difference in my life. I am curious what you think. How did you do that? Your ideas are interesting. You’ve made me think of things in a completely new way. I’m excited to see what you do. Thanks for helping me. Thank you for contributing to our family. I enjoy your company. It’s fun to do things with you. I’m glad you’re here. I’m happy to talk with you. I’m ready to listen. I’m listening. I’m proud of you. I’m grateful you’re in my life. You make me smile. I love you.
Thinking about taking a day trip to Tangier in Morocco, from Tarifa in Spain? Well I can confirm - YES it's possible & this is how you do it!
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
Hello! About a year & a half ago we completed an addition to our home. I never really blogged about …
Explore the most powerful advertisements about social issues that are raising awareness and making an impact. Also, read how to make effective ads.
Have you been wondering, what the heck is a one-pager? Are you ready to discover the OODLES of ways you can use it in your classes? Click through to find many engaging ways to use a one-pager with your secondary ELA students today.
Classroom management and thinking through how my classroom will run is more important than the decorations and arrangement! Do you agree? My classroom has several different strategies set up; and as needed, I will adjust accordingly as my students arrive and I learn their needs. Today, I have 8 Classroom Management Tips for you to […]
So, are you itching for winter break to get here or what?!? I am drowning here, people! Between report cards, conferences (for my students and my own kids!), shopping, baking, parties, wrapping... DROWNING!Don't get me
When I first started as a wedding photographer, I had a general shot list that I worked off of for every wedding. I didn’t consult it much throughout the day, but it was a nice crutch as I fi…
