December - Month of Giving Part 4

December...already?!!

As the holiday season is upon us I find myself coming across the coolest stuff on Pinterest for the classroom. The more I see, the more I miss the classroom. I just love seeing learning!

Right now I am super focused on researching possible ideas for our summer program! I love this part of my job. I love thinking "out of the box" and doing things that have never been done before. I am working on my proposal and lets just say that it involves.....PIRATES and FOOD! Don't want to give it away just yet.

But enough about me....this post is another opportunity for me to share some great FREEBIES from some of my fellow teacher creators!

The first FREEBIE comes from Janice Malone. She has designed a close reading reference cards for students and teachers!
 This reference card can help students and teachers when close reading!
You should also check out her Opinion Writing product! Nine easy steps for students!

The next teacher creator is Suzy Palmer. Her FANTASTIC FREEBIE is a all about multiplication and even features QR codes that let students check their answers! I love how she integrated technology into this. You know kids will work hard to check their answer on that QR code!



The next teacher creator is Aimee Salazar from Primarily Speaking! This SUPER cute FREEBIE is a must! Get your students excited about writing with Roll A Story - Superhero Edition.

 You can find more of the Roll A Story boards here.

The final teacher creator for this post is Melanie LiCausi from Mrs. L's Leveled Learning. Her FREEBIE is specifically for all those 5th grade teachers out there! Check this out!

 Oh, but it doesn't stop there.....check out more of her goodies here!

Please remember to show these teacher creators some love by following them on TPT if you like what you see! If you didn't find anything in this post for your classroom, no worries, I have lots more to share. Stay tuned....

November....Month of Giving Part 3

Happy early Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope that on Thanksgiving you enjoy the great food and Gobble 'til ya Wobble!

For Part 3 of a Month of Giving I have a few more freebies to share with you!
The first Freebie comes from Burke's Special Kids. She has some great stuff for little one. Here freebie is a math puzzle that the little ones will enjoy putting together. I can see how this would be a great addition to a math center for sure!


The next FREEBIE comes from Linda Nelson from Primary Inspiration! Perfect for CCSS 1.MD.C.4! Tallies can be so tricky for the firsties!  I also came across a paid product that is jam packed with math games on a hundred chart!

The final FREEBIE  for today is from Neetu Pinkerton of Cinnamon's Synonyms. 

Are you frustrated, irate, or enraged with the lack of descriptive words that your students use? (See what I did there?) This FREEBIE is all about descriptive words and offers a visual understanding for students. What a GREAT FREE resource for a writing center!

Enjoy the FREEBIES and enjoy your holiday weekend!

November....Month of Giving - Part 2

Greetings!

It is that time again....going to share another great freebie with you from a fellow TPT'er, Kelly Mallory! Let me tell you, she knows her math stuff! She is a former middle school math teacher turned elementary teacher. She know what students need to be successful in middle school.

Check out this Multiplication freebie from Kelly!

She has some really great ideas! You can keep up with her creativity on Facebook by clicking below!



Here is one of her paid products that I thought was GREAT!      
If you like what you see, send her a tweet @kellys3ps! You know teachers love mail...we also love TWEETS!


I like her style!

More freebies coming soon!

November...the month for Giving!

Greetings!

I am honored to be a part of group of fellow creative men and women who just love creating materials for teachers. This month I would like to share some of the wonderful things out there with you ....in the spirit of giving!

Check out these AWESOME FREEEEEEEEEEE Multi-Step Constructed Response Decimal Tasks cards!

I love that it is seasonal so kids will love it AND it comes with everything you need to engage students! I imagine this would make for a great partner or group activity. Imagine the conversations your students could have!

Click on the cover of the item to go get it for FREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

April has an amazing blog you can visit here. I am in love with her love with the book report mobiles she has posted on her blog! She even has pictures posted of student samples. They are impressive!

She has some great ideas! Look what else I found!

Even more GREAT stuff for engaging students!

This is a paid product but soooooooooooooo worth it!

Take it from me...these are some Rockin' resources! 

Here is a tip....QTIP

Last week I had the privilege to attend the 2014 AMLE conference in Nashville, Tennessee. It was an amazing experience and I learned so much. In fact, I am still going through my notes and researching all of the amazing things I learned. I saw Dave Burgess, the author of Teach Like a Pirate, Kim Campbell, the creator of the SOAR program, Grace Dearborn, and many more. I walked away so very motivated to share the strategies that I learned and to also incorporate things into my role as an Instructional Specialist.

Some of the great sayings I noted were....

• "If the butt goes numb, the brain goes dumb!" - Kim Campbell
• "Find something more to be concerned about then a test score." - Dave Burgess
• "It's not supposed to be easy [teaching], it is supposed to be worth it!" - Dave Burgess

Another thing that I heard, not from a session that I attended, but from the recap from one of my colleagues was this..... QTIP.

Quit

Taking

It 

Personally

This has been rolling through my mind all night. I think that this is something that needs to be put out there. 

Teachers need to QUIT TAKING IT PERSONALLY!

I recently overheard a conversation about students being tardy or absent. After listening for what seemed like a long time, it hit me! The anger and annoyance were fueled by her taking it personally that students are absent or tardy. It is so bizarre to me to hear teachers be upset with children.....CHILDREN....when they are tardy or absent. Why not just value the the time you have with that student? Why not make the most of that time with that student? Kids don't want to be late...it is out of their control!

I beg of you....if this post makes you think....GREAT....if you know someone who needs the tip QTIP, give it to them. 

Next time a child walks into a classroom late, greet them with a smile, tell them you are so glad to see them. Make their day, make them smile, make them feel safe! 

Happy Happy Halloween!!

I just love, love, love Halloween! The outside of the house is decorated. We purchased a few new ghouls this year! The spider webs are scattered all over the house, trees and bushes! We even have a very large spider is nesting on the side of the house. I love it all! My daughter has her costume. My office is still trying to decide what we can be as a group. It is all just so fun!

So, since I am in the spirit, I wanted to offer a free, yes....FREE product for all the other Halloween lovers just like me!

Click on the image to go to my TPT store to download it for FREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Happy Halloween!!!!

This kid is my hero!

So I can't believe I didn't see this video a year ago when it happened, but I am so glad that I have seen it now. I viewed it via Facebook earlier this morning and I just can't get it out of my mind.

You can view the video and a candid interview here.

I think I have watched it at least ten times.

My first reaction was "Way to go kid!"

Then, I admit that I became a little bit emotional. You can hear and feel the frustration of the student. The more the words sank in, the sadder I became that students in America are exposed to this kind of teacher each and every day in classrooms.

Honestly, I think more students should take a stand and fight for their education. Now, I am not trying to start a riot, or encourage students to go at their teachers, but use their voices and be honest about what goes on in classrooms.

In the video, Jeff, the student, talks about how he is meeting with school officials. Although not much detail was given on the nature of the meetings, I really hope that it was because the administration took the time to hear what Jeff had to say. He speaks the truth.

I instantly thought back to a time when I was in high school and I refused to take a "pop quiz" in an English class. I had been absent and did not know the material on the quiz, but the teacher insisted that I take the quiz as it was not HER fault I wasn't at school. Yep. You read that right. I refused. I, too, was kicked out of class. I didn't take the quiz and was not given the chance to make it up. I got a big fat ZERO. The zero grade was my punishment from administration. I remember my parents even had to meet with the teacher, but I don't remember how that panned out.

Jeff's outcome was much better than mine. Why? He got the attention of the administration and well....a lot of people. It only takes one.

In my position, I have the ability to walk in and out of classrooms all over the district I work in and I most often see wonderful and amazing things. (I keep telling myself to carry my phone with me so that I can take photos and put them on here to brag about the amazing teachers I see!) Unfortunately, I do see teachers like the one that Jeff confronts in the video.

Teaching is hard. It is a full time, even off the clock job that takes a lot of preparation and planning. I don't pretend that it is an easy job. Teaching is not for everyone. You must be committed, determined, knowledgeable, nurturing, and so much more. More importantly, you must be supported by the school staff, administration, and district. Most often what I see is that when teachers don't know a better way to do something they fall back to the traditional packet "teaching" style that Jeff is against in the video.

This video does serve a higher purpose. It is a reminder to teachers, support staff, administrators, directors, and all educational leaders that we must support teachers and offer on-going professional development.

I am glad that Jeff's video moved me like it did when I viewed it this morning and ten times since. It is honest. It is raw. It is the reality of what is going on in some classrooms. This is one kid that changed his view of school and what he wants out of life. He sees the value of education.

But this is only one student! I hope that kids see this video on Facebook or YouTube and take a stand. All students deserve a QUALITY education, not someone who just throws information at them.

Plus.....packets kill trees! Save the trees!!!!!


Thank you, Jeff Bliss.

I am done........For now.