Talk About Writing

Hi!  I know that all of us spend a lot of time during the summer reflecting on our teaching, and researching new ways to make it better.  If you haven't discovered Stenhouse Publishing, I would like to recommend it as another great resource for your browsing pleasure.  They have begun their, "Summer Blogstitute" and the first post is great food for thought.  Mark Overmeyer, author of "When Writing Workshop Isn't Working" and "What Student Writing Teaches Us" has posted about some of his experience and conversations during conferences with students.  I love his comment that we need to encourage students in doing the "work of a writer", and not just tell them their writing is good.  This is especially important when they have shown an understanding and are incorporating features of a mentor text we have introduced them to.  Here is a link to his blog posting:  http://tinyurl.com/talk-about-writing.  The Stenhouse Publishing site also has links to other authors you might like to check out, as well as, several entire books to preview online!  I am reading one now titled "Teaching with Intention" by one of my favorite authors, Debbie Miller.  Enjoy!  

Free Resources from Edutopia

Hi again! I am always on the lookout for great FREE resources to pass along to you and thought you might like to check out the following from Edutopia.  They have guides for parents, classroom management, brain-based learning, teaching with the new media, and much more.  While you are on their site you will also find some very interesting blog posts from their group of experts.  Keep learning and growing!!

iPads in the Classroom

Hello!  I have put together a little list of sites (in no particular order) that have information and resources for using iPads in the classroom.  There are so many of us just getting started with iPads and we need all the help we can get.  So...why not share and learn together!  Isn't that what professionalism and learning is all about?  Anyway, here you go!  Check these out and have fun with your iPad!!!  P.S. I will let you know when I find more good resource sites.

Videos - iPads in Education

Best Math Apps for 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade

FREE iPad Apps for Educators and Parents!

Classroom Technology - Apps for Education

technology rocks. seriously.: ipads

App Store - Common Core Standards

Apps in Education: Assessment Apps by Vicki Windman

http://www.livebinders.com/media/frame?myurl=http://ipads4education.ning.com/#

http://ipads4education.ning.com/

teachwithyouripad - Blooms Taxonomy with Apps

iPads in Education - Exploring the use of iPads and mobile devices in education.

Metcalf Laboratory School: Apps In The Classroom | Making education better one app at a time

Organizers - Apps with Aptitude

Teaching Happily Ever After: Luna Interactive Projection Camera Giveaway

Teaching Happily Ever After: Luna Interactive Projection Camera Giveaway!  Head over to Ashley Cross' blog to enter this giveaway!

Awesome Math Resources

Hi - I just wanted to pass along a some great CCSS Math resources for you.  The first one is get2MATH K-5 with links to many, many resources.  Another is,  The Michigan Department of Education has many resources for each of the standards, and it was brought to my attention by Dr. Nicki's Guided Math Bog.  She has a ton of great resources available so you definitely need to check it out.  I attended several of Dr. Nicki Newton's workshops in Chicago and she is amazing!  Happy web surfing!

I want to share with you two great online resources I recently learned about.  This first site is no doubt going to become one of my  FAVORITE free websites for math, spelling, sight words, and phonics.  Arcademic Skill Builders is totally FREE, and with Arcademics Plus teachers can upload class rosters and actually track student progress.  This company is totally committed to adding more games and functionality to their product, so visit often to see what's new! They also have an iPad app!

If you haven't checked out Thinking Blocks, you will definitely want to.  One of the great features is the Watch Video component.  It's like having your own model-drawing tutor, so if you are a little foggy on how to draw models to teach the CCSS way of doing things, it's for you!  One note, while you can choose the range of numbers you want to use, the smallest range is 0-50 so it might not be a good fit for Kinder or beginning of the year 1st Grade, but definitely worth checking out.  Get in there and play around with it!

Author's Tea

We had a fun afternoon the final week of school - it was our "Authors' Tea" when our "firsties" shared all of the wonderful writing they had been doing all year.  In my room we followed the format of Maria Walther's Month-by-Month Trait-based Writing Instruction which was very effective.  My students were always very excited and eagerly looked forward to writing in their journals each day.  They also loved writing little stories and sharing their creations with classmates.   In preparation for the Authors' Tea, students decorated a paper bag "writing tote" to hold their monthly journals and booklets.  They were then given time to look through their writing and place post-it notes on the pieces/pages they wanted to share with their families.  As they viewed their work from the beginning of the year and compared it to their most recent work, they were amazed at how much better they had become.  I heard many comments like "I can't believe that is my journal", I am soooo much better now!"  My heart swelled with pride, and my eyes filled with tears as I thought about how far my students had come this year.  (This is one of the many reasons I LOVE teaching 1st grade.  There is so much growth!)  I look forward to celebrating with an "Authors' Tea" again next spring!

Common Core Humor!

Are you sent into a state of panic when trying to adjust to the new CCSS, or do you break into a nervous sweat when hearing about the requirements for new teacher evaluations?  If so, then sit back and enjoy this video clip!

Free Live Webinars!

Hi again! I just wanted to give a shout out to the crew of SimpleK12 for the amazing free live webinars they offer to teachers, administrators, etc. I have taken several over the past few days and have signed up for many more for the month of June. If you haven't discovered this awesome resource, I strongly urge you to check it out. You will learn some wonderful ideas for using technology in your classroom, as well as, other extremely useful resource information. They also have a wide variety of resources available inside the TLC web site. I hope to have you join me in some of the upcoming webinars! Hear's to ongoing professional education! (Did someone say that teachers get the summer off?) :)

http://simplek12/tlc/

Heart of a Teacher