Ideas from a Reading Specialist–Current blogs consist of free online sites and programs for a reading classroom.
Even though school just started, conferences will be here before you know it. Preparing now will help to make conferences less stressful and hopefully more successful. Check out these tips for before, during, and after the scheduled parent-teacher conferences. Before the conference Early positive interaction before conferences helps to develop a rapport with the parents […]
4 Important Considerations for Starting the Year Right Setting the tone for a great school year is extremely important. Here are four important things to think about and suggestions for getting things off to a great start! Assign Seats Why does it matter and an easy solution There are many reasons to assign student seats. […]
Everyone looks forward to summer, yet it seems like boredom can quickly set in. Here is a list of activities/challenges for your students or for parents to share with their kids. Set a goal and see how many can be accomplished! Create Tap into your creative side. *Write a poem. *Compose a song. Write the […]
Easy Sign Up and Get Started The launch of Teacher Made was in September of 2020–and although fairly new to the game, this is certainly worth taking a good look. The APP is pretty amazing and is advertised as “forever free.” A pro version is coming in early 2021–but the free version is pretty robust! […]
I have jumped on the Boom™ bandwagon. I would like to encourage you to check it out! They are fun for your students and rather addictive to create. In today’s post, I would like to provide some answers to common questions to help you navigate the opportunities available in Boom™. What are Boom cards? Boom™ […]
Field trips make learning real and give students an opportunity to learn outside the classroom. If you want to take your students on a trip to a place far away or without the hassle of permission slips or worrying about COVID, a virtual field trip might be just the answer you are looking for. One […]
Share a historic event each day with your students. This is a great bell-ringer! Post on Smartboard or write on white board and discuss with your students to develop background knowledge. If you are searching for a way to develop reading skills, check out the differentiated passages (with comprehension questions) at the bottom of the […]
What is it? Problem-Attic is a database of more than 200,000 questions free for teachers to select, arrange, format, and print. Search the question bank, scroll for your target question, click and add to your document. Where do the questions come from? Questions come from state assessments (more than 25 states), New York Regents Exam, […]
School has only been going a few minutes, and already I have a bunch of tabs open with apps running, trying to keep my classroom organized and efficient. Laurens Koppers, a teacher in the Netherlands, solved my multi tab problem with a useful, free resource classroomscreen.com. His goal was to “use a free and simple […]
Just tap on the wheel and watch it spin. Randomly select a student to answer a question, select student groups, vocabulary word review, any pre-loaded decision or activity. No volunteers to present their project? Spin the wheel and select a “lucky” winner. The possibilities are endless. Need to make a decision at home? What’s for […]
Looking for an alternative class game to increase engagement and track class data? This resource was created and maintained by a high school student from Seattle. Teachers create “kits” and students use their own devices to answer questions, earning game money for correct answers or losing money for incorrect answers. Students can spend their money […]
Are your students doing projects and looking for photos? Concerned they may accidentally stumble upon images that are not appropriate? Do you want your students to understand how to accurately cite the images they use? Those are common requests from teachers, and your voice has been heard at “PHOTOS FOR CLASS.” Filtering The website indicates they believe […]
Looking for an alternative review activity your students will enjoy and that will give you instant formative data? Check out Plickers! This game is an alternative to the traditional “clickers”–with the advantages without the expense! This free tool is easy to use after the initial set up. There is no need for individual devices for […]
What’s It all About? NetSmarz is for students from kindergarten thru high school, parents, teachers, law enforcement and community leaders. It is sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to their website, they have three goals: educate children on how to recognize potential internet risks engage children and adults in a […]
Assessing readability through a website or using a readability formula can give the classroom teacher a general idea of the level of a reading passage. It is just that, a general idea. There is wide discrepancy between the formula used and the results. In addition, a readability formula does not take into account the student’s […]
Looking for a way to build engaging and informative assessments into your lessons? Add Pear Deck you your presentations! Advantages Works with google slides Templates for bell ringers and exit slips Custom questions including text, number responses, multiple choice, drawing* and draggable* responses * available on Pear Deck Premium Student answers can be displayed with […]
I really began to use Rewordify extensively when writing passages to differentiate instruction. My Day in History units (see end of article)provide a 9-10 grade level passage, an 8 grade passage, and a 6-7 grade level passage on a topic related to something historical occurred each day. I usually begin writing the most difficult passage, […]