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".

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.

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!

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.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone has a happy holiday and a great New Year!

Behavior Interventions

Working with children who exhibit difficult behaviors in the classroom can be a challenge at times.  But it doesn't mean you have to design and implement elaborate interventions in the classroom in order to achieve success.  Sometimes just the simple can be just as effective.  Below are some suggestions to consider:

1.  Post a class schedule.  Add photos for those students who cannot read.
2.  Alternate challenging activities with maintenance-enhancing activities to prevent student frustration.
3.  Break assignments into "chunks". 
4.  Explicitly teach test-taking strategies.
5.  Teach organizational skills explicitly.
6.  Be aware of how the student communicates.  Do they use a lot of body language?
7.  Provide opportunities for group participation.
8.  Serve as a model for the students.
9.  Let students know your expectations up front.
10. Give clearly stated learning objectives to students.

These are just a few ideas of how to help students who might be acting out in class.  What are some tips that have worked in your classroom?

Using Books to Support Social Emotional Development Book List pdf free ebook download from www.ccdh.org

Using Books to Support Social Emotional Development Book List pdf free ebook download from www.ccdh.org

This is a great resource of children's books that promote social and emotional learning.  Take a look!