Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Do you have an app for that???


These days people seem to trade app names like kids used to trade baseball cards.  "Do you have this one?"  "What about this one?"  Those are statements I hear frequently in teachers lounges lately.  The National Center for Learning Disabilities recently published an article on apps for Androids.  It is titled, "Our Community’s Favorites Android Apps".  While I'm more of an Apple person, I don't want to leave out apps for those who use PC based apps.  What are some of your favorite apps?  Right now I'm loving Timer Touch 2 for my iPad.  It is a great visual timer for students. 

Monday, August 5, 2013

Starting school: New rules and procedures!



Starting school is exciting! It is also a time for students to learn new rules and procedures from their teachers.  These rules and procedures will help students have a smooth and successful day.  It could be anything from "how to sharpen your pencil" to "how to walk in the hallway".   The questions teachers ask themselves is....how do I encourage my students to follow these rules and procedures?  This is where Class Dojo can help!  Class Dojo is a behavior management tool online where teachers can award students points for positive behavior.  The best part is it is free!!!  WOOHOO!!!  Teachers can take attendance, award points, and even run reports on behavior.  Parents can use a code to sign in and check how their child is doing in class.  Students can even get a code to check their own behavior and design a personal aviatar to be displayed with the class.  So take a few minutes and head on over to Class Dojo and see how it can help.

Friday, July 26, 2013

SYNC 2013 Titles Revealed


Head on over to http://www.audiobooksync.com/2013/04/13/sync-2013-titles-revealed/ and download the latest and greatest in adolescent audiobooks for FREE!!  I love finding stuff for free and this resource was recommended on the AdLit website.  So click the link and let your preteen/teen have some great audiobooks to listen to as they wait for school to start soon.  Do you have any other audiobook website recommendations?  Let us know in the comments section!

Monday, April 22, 2013

It's State Testing Time!

From http://learninglaffs.blogspot.com/, from the blog This Week's Education Humor
 
State Test Time with Braindon and Dimmy
 
Braindon has a nutritious breakfast of cereal, toast, fresh fruit, and juice.
Dimmy has some Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and a Red Bull.

Braindon makes sure to bring a #2 pencil with him for test day. 
Dimmy either brings two #1 pencils or half of a #4 pencil.

Braindon remembers to take advantage of the process of elimination when he is not sure about an answer. 
Dimmy likes c’s for a while, then switches to b’s for some time, and then goes back to the c’s.

Braindon uses the scratch paper provided to figure out the most difficult math problems. 
Dimmy uses the scratch paper provided to create a funny drawing of the test proctor.

Braindon reminds himself to slow down and take deep breaths when he is feeling stressed by the test. 
Dimmy reminds himself of the joke he heard on the bus today and laughs quietly to himself.

Braindon marks the questions about which he’s not sure so that he can go back later and reconsider his answers.  
Dimmy crosses out the questions that bug him.

Braindon appreciates the content knowledge, skill, and cunning that went into creating each test item.  
Dimmy passive-aggressively expresses his disdain for the test through incidents of noxious flatulence.

Braindon uses break times to drill himself on the mathematical formulas he has committed to memory. 
Dimmy uses break times to drill himself on the excuses he’ll use when his parents see his state test scores.

Braindon – if he finishes a section before the allotted time expires – rechecks all of his answers. 
Dimmy – if he finishes a section before the allotted time expires – runs around the room collecting high fives.

Braindon can’t believe – after all of his worrying – how easy the test really was.  
Dimmy can’t believe how time flies when you are working really hard on a funny drawing of the test proctor.


 
 
 
 

Monday, April 1, 2013

STEM websites for teachers

Many school districts are moving middle and high schools towards a STEM model to prepare students for the future.  STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.  This interdisciplinary problem-based inquiry learning can be confusing for parents, students, and educators who have never faced it before.  I would like to share some websites that can give additional information about this topic.

National Council for Teachers of Mathematics:  www.nctm.org
National Science Teachers Association:  www.nsta.org
International Society of Technology in Education:  www.iste.org
STEM Education Resource Center:  www.pbs.org/teachers/stem
PhET (free simulations):  http://phet.colorado.edu
CAST Science Writer for lab report writing:  http://sciencewriter.cast.org/welcome
Khan Academy:  www.khanacademy.org
Nobel Peace Prize:  www.nobelprize.org/educational

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Looking for some grammar help? Head over to ChompChomp!

My oldest child has long had difficulty naming parts of speech.  He just finds that type of work boring.  Well now I have found a great website that offers videos, downloads, games and more!  Theses free resources all revolve around the topic of grammar.  So head on over to ChompChomp and give it a try. Just click on the link at the bottom of the page and then dive into all of the resources available. :)


Monday, February 18, 2013

Here's a great Math freebie for March!

As usual, I was scrolling through Pinterest and found a great March math activity for free.  Head on over to this link for a Bit o Math Balarney-true/false equations.  It is a free download on the TeachersPayTeachers website.


Sunday, February 17, 2013

Dibels freebie using word search!


Head on over to Simply Kinder for a fantastic free Valentines and Kinder DIBELS word search freebie.  I know Valentines is over, but it is never too soon to start putting stuff aside for next year.  

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Fractions, Fractions, Who can add or subtract fractions?


My 4th grader is drowning in the world of fractions lately.  Denominators, reduce to the lowest form; he doesn't know which way to turn.  I spent some time looking on Teachers Notebook and found this great FREE resource!  Click on the link and it will take you to a free set of items to help students practice adding and subtracting fractions.  If you aren't a member (have to in order to download!) then it is easy to sign up.  It is free to register for the site.  You can even search the site for just free items.  I've been looking for two days and still haven't gotten through it all.  So head on over and download your free Adding and Subtracting Fractions item and let me know what you think about it.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Blogs to check out...

I have been haunting Pinterest and have found all types of new blogs to check out that offer items for free for educators to download.  I thought I would share one here.

If you are looking for a literacy freebie, then head on over to Speechie Freebies.  There you can find a great freebie to go with the book "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Chick".




Sunday, February 10, 2013

A fantastic new resource!



Oh boy, am I in trouble.  I came across a new resource and have been downloading things all weekend!  I came across a great website, Teacher's Notebook.  This is a website where teachers post their creations and other teachers can download them for free or a small price.  Now, I'm all about the free items.  Let me tell you, I have spent all weekend downloading the free items only and I haven't scratched the surface!  This has also been a fantastic way to find new blogs by educators.  It has really reignited my excitement for teaching.  So head on over there and take a look.

Friday, February 8, 2013

A Behavior Resource....

Today I would like to share a behavior resource with all of you.  I have joined the Pinterest craze like most people.  One board on my page is all about behavior resources.  If you head over to http://pinterest.com/oneald/behavior/ you can check out what I have pinned there.  I try to add to it almost every day as I come across items.  I also have an education page, reading stuff page, and a math stuff page.  So click away!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

The start of a new year.....

I have been writing for this blog since it's beginning.  The idea was to find resources for teachers that were useful and to make sure that those resources were items they needed now, not in the future.  I would ask everyone around me every time we spoke, "What do you need?  What are you looking for?".  But I found that getting people to find and use my little resource was the hardest part.  As a result, I stopped writing and posting to the blog.  For that I am sorry to those who did stop by.  

In the last few weeks I have found a renewed energy in finding resources and sharing them with others.  So I'm going to try again!  :)  If there is anything you are looking for in education, just leave a comment and I'll try to find it for you.

Today I am sharing an infographic that I found on Pinterest.  It was very interesting to me because I have seen the effects of lack of sleep on children.  Please take a look and let me know what you think about it.