I'd like you to meet my friend, Bailey... {And a deal!}

I don't do the 'hard sell thing' very often- mostly because it makes me break out in a nervous sweat... BUT sometimes important causes call for stepping our of our comfort zone, right? So here goes nothing...

Bailey's Story

One of my son’s best friends is a silly, sweet little boy named Bailey. He loves to swim in the pool, dance to music …and play with trucks.

Bailey also has a special super power: he has autism. It gives him the ability to love unconditionally and find joy in life’s little things. Autism also presents a few challenges and we are so proud to see how hard Bailey works to overcome them.

He inspired his mama to start Bailey’s Buddies, a team for Autism Speaks that raises money to change the future for all who struggle with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

You can find out more about Bailey's Buddies and Autism Speaks here.

And I've got a steal of a deal for YOU!

In honor of Bailey, I’ve created a truck-themed SuperPack for the little super hero in your life.

 

100% of the proceeds from this packet will go toward his mom's Walk for Autism Speaks group.

This packet is ONLY $2.99. My other preschool packs are $5, but I figured I'd make this is a win-win for everyone: you get a deal and you also get to help change the future for all who struggle with Autism Spectrum Disorder!

It would be perfect for your kids, your classroom, or to pass along to a friend with kids. 

Can you help me spread the word?

Bailey's mom always says 'it takes a village to raise a son with Autism' and I was wondering if you could be small part of that village?

I would LOVE if you would share this post or these pictures with your friends. Just one click can make a big difference to those who live every day with Autism. Thanks a million!

Organizing Group Supplies

After seeing how much you all liked this classroom desk arrangement, I knew I needed to share this idea I saw on Pinterest that could easily be added to that arrangement (or to any group, really). 

The idea:

Autumn over at First Grade Teacher Lady came up with a great way to take her groups to the next level:

{via}

I seem to be in a plastic drawer kick lately. Every time I go to Walmart, I end up buying a wide set, or a tiny set, or a medium set with little drawers on top... you get the picture. 

How To Use It In Your Classroom:

Besides my obvious obsession with these drawers, I think this is a great idea because it keeps all of the supplies that the group might need throughout the day right at their fingertips. No more wasting 5 minutes to pass out journals or markers. Just have that week's group leader pass them out to their neighbors. 

It also keeps their desks from overflowing (though let's be realistic: you are still going to have that handful of kids who somehow find five million random little objects to cram in their desk, right?!) 

If you use the L-Shaped desk arrangement in your class, you could easily use the casters that come with these drawers to make this mobile. They could be rolled to the side when you want to use that spot for your chair during reading groups. (It would also make a great side table for you when you're teaching your small groups.) 

Hmmm.... you could even have one of these in the corner of your room that you roll around with you for small group teaching. It could house the materials you need for teaching your small groups with math supplies in one drawer, reading in another and writing in the third.

We use these drawers at church to house Legos and other building toys. When the lesson runs short (or the service runs long), the kids get to pick a drawer and take it to their group to build until their parents come. This could translate into a great storage system for your indoor recess games or toys.

Do you see now why my house is dangerously close to becoming overrun with plastic drawers?

They have so many great uses!

These are similar to the ones that Autumn uses in her class (I've never seen that top organizer on one before... might just have to add this baby to my rare plastic drawer collection):

But these might work too if you have a need for a few smaller drawers instead of 3 large ones:

What tips do you have for organizing the supplies for each group?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Want more Pinterest goodness? Check out my board: BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.

Super Teacher Tip #14: Start a Movie Book Club

Encourage independent reading by starting a Movie Book Club. Oooo- we had some fun in my class with this one!!

Here's the basic gist of the Movie Book Club:

• I'd pick an age-appropriate book that was also made into an age-appropriate movie. 
• I'd give the kids a deadline by which the book had to be read and the AR quiz had to be passed (if you don't have AR, you could just make a quick 10 question quiz that students can take to prove they read the book).
• Those students who read the book by the deadline would be invited to stay after school one day and watch the movie. They'd bring their pillows and a bag of popcorn with them to school that day and we'd watch the movie while I did my after-school paper grading and lesson planning. 

A few ways you can make this work in your room:

• Instead of doing it after school, you could offer to let the kids eat lunch in the room and watch it over three days.
• Send home a parent permission slip if the movie is PG or higher. No point in upsetting parents by making it a surprise.
• Make the book your read-aloud book that you do with the kids and spend a few minutes each day reading it to them. Then the whole class can watch the movie.
• Instead of taking the AR quiz, you could have students write a short book report- we need to slip in a little writing practice when we can, am I right?

If you need help coming up with some book/movie combos to use, check out this list of 150 books that have been turned into movies.

What fun things do you do to encourage reading in your room?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What's a"Super Teacher?" Any teacher that's trying his or her very best to create effective teaching moments and provide a positive classroom environment.  We Super Teachers aren't perfect teachers by a long-shot, but we are always striving to become better teachers. Read more Super Teacher Tips here!

Want to share some of your own Super Teacher Tips? Just leave a comment below.

5 Fun Ways to Teach Writing

{via}

I don't know about you, but I always had to work extra hard to get my students excited about the writing lessons and assignments. It just didn't seem to be a naturally fun thing to them and many would get frustrated or bored within a few minutes. Their short attention span didn't lend well to focusing on writing a story or essay for a longer period of time. Well, it's time to change all that! Here are five simple ways to make your writing lessons fun and engaging. 


1. USE THE STUDENTS AS PROPS

{Via}

Kids LOVE anything that gets them moving or actually doing something. As often as possible, use the kids themselves as visual aids and get them out of their seats.

USE THIS IDEA: Sorting word cards into correct part of speech? Tape a 3x5 card with NOUN, VERB or ADJECTIVE to the forehead of three students. Have them stand at the front of the class. Have the other students pick out a word card and tape it to the correct person's arms, head, etc. 

Psssst! This is one hands-on idea that I included in my Parts of Speech Activities resource. There are many more- check it out!

2. CREATE A CHARACTER

Have kids create their own characters at the beginning of the year, complete with fictional families, hobbies, and personality traits. Throughout the year, have students practice different styles of writing as they write stories about their character's adventures. They have so much fun making up a whole other life for their character.

USE THIS IDEA: You can use this fun resource I created to guide your students through making their own personal characters. Each unit explores one of the main types of writing: descriptive, narrative, explanatory/research, or persuasive. They also include a few mini lessons to help you reinforce specific writing skills. At the end of the year, combine all their stories together to create a book about their character's adventures.

3. MAKE A GAME

 {Via}

Turn your lesson into a game and see the interest levels soar! (Hint: Make it boys vs. girls to really get them fired up! Heehee) 

USE THIS IDEA: Print off a set of generic game boards that involve the players rolling a set of dice and moving from one end of the path to the other (check out these free ones here and here) . You can use these boards for any subject or topic. Create a set of 3x5 cards with questions pertaining to your lesson topic and require that the player answer one card correctly before they are allowed to roll the dice. 



4. CREATE A BOOK

 {Via}

Allow them to publish their written work somehow, whether in a class newspaper or magazine, on an online blog, or by making their own books.

USE THIS IDEA: Choose someone to make the books for. Pick a younger grade, a teacher who is going to have a new baby, a child in the community who is in the hospital, etc. Explain that you are going to create books for these kids. Have these stories include writing skills that you are currently working on (including descriptive adjectives, synonyms, character traits, etc). Let the students draw illustrations to their stories when they are done. Giving them this project gives them a reason to write and acts as a great motivator. 

5. GIVE STUDENTS A PURPOSE

{Via}

Give students a purpose for their writing. Explain the reason they are writing this letter, story, speech etc at the beginning of the project so they can get excited about it.

USE THESE IDEAS: Write letters to soldiers or a pen pal class. Have each student choose something about their school they think should be changed and have them write a persuasive essay to the principal about why he or she should make that change. Write poems for Mother's Day or Father's Day. Write a 2 minute play about a current social studies topic you are studying and act it out.

What are some fun ideas you've used to spice up your writing lessons? 

Creative Inference Activities

Jennifer (Also know as The Teacher Next Door) Shared a fun inference idea on YTA's Best Teaching Tips and Tools board that I thought were clever and simple- a great combination! 

The first were a few pictures that your students could look at and then draw inferences from:

Why is his tongue blue?

{via}

Why is he carrying a Santa suit?

{via}

What I love about these images is that there is an element of fun in both pictures that will grab the attention of each student during your lesson. I also love that you could really use any picture that tells a story...wouldn't every kid in your room REALLY be engaged if you used class pictures that you'd snapped the previous week? Fun!

Another creative inference activity came from Mrs. Gilchrist at Amazing Teacher. She had her kids find one item to put in a paper bag, write clues about it, and hung them in the room for an instant inference game!

{via}

This might also make a great 'get to know you' activity for the beginning of the year. Students could reveal what is in each bag and how that item represents something special about them. 

--------------------------------------------------------------

This is just one idea that was pinned to the BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board on my Pinterest page. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.

Mini Books

Nancy over at Can't Stop Smiling in Second Grade shared this fun and simple (and money-saving!) idea that could work for almost every subject area. She takes skinny composition folders- 20 pages or less- and cuts them in half using a paper cutter. Then, they can be used to make mini books about whatever subject they are currently working on. The sky is the limit on what you could have your kiddos put in each one! I may be wrong, but I feel like I've seen these skinnier notebooks at the dollar store. Has anyone else found a place to get them?

{via}

--------------------------------------------------------------

This is just one idea that was pinned to the BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board on my Pinterest page. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.

Fiction and Nonfiction Sorting Activity

Kelly over at First Grade Fairytales found a fun activity that's also my favorite F word....FREE! She used the book club stickers that come in the mail, along with sorting circles to create an instant, hands-on nonfiction v. fiction sorting activity. 

If you didn't have sorting circles, you could easily use white boards with circles drawn on, embroidery hoops, or just two pieces of construction paper. 

{via}

--------------------------------------------------------------

This is just one idea that was pinned to the BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board on my Pinterest page. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.

DIY Classroom Display

Here's another great find from my Pinterest board: BEST Teaching Tips & Tools. The creator just used a paper towel holder, binder rings, and clear page protector sheets to create this simple display.

{via}

Here's how you might use it in your classroom:

• Put each child's name on a label and stick it on a page protector. As students receive back papers that they are proud of (good spelling test, nice picture, etc), they can choose to put it in their sheets. The best part: they decide what goes in there and it's their job to change it out for a new one whenever they wish. Even your most struggling student will have a place to proudly display his or her best work.

• Use the page protectors that are designed for 4x6 photos. Print off class pictures throughout the year and create a class photo display. Parents and administrators can see at a glance what you've been doing all year (plus kids just love to see pictures of themselves!).

• As students read a good book from your classroom library, have them fill out a simple book-report form and present the book to the class in a quick one-minute presentation. The forms can then go in the page protectors and you've created a reading resource that students can use as they try to decide what good book they should read next.

• At the end of each unit- as a review activity- have students draw a picture of one thing they learned in this unit and write a short summary about that fact. Add these pages to the display all throughout the year as a record of what your class has been learning. 

UPDATE: I received an email from a lovely reader named Michelle last week who saw this post. She teaches in the middle/high school setting and had some great ideas for using this display in a secondary classroom. She suggested using it as a quick reference for student data that you could keep on your desk. Here's what she wrote:

"The teacher's desk version could include the following:  
- class rosters
- seating charts
- daily agendas
- standards/benchmarks per unit
- weekly lesson plans
- charts/graphs of class achievement data 
- group assignments/arrangements 
- textbook numbers
- participation tracking sheets.  

These are things that we normally keep in separate binders or plan books.  If student data was coded (to protect privacy!), then the information would all be very helpful for the regular teacher on a daily basis but for paraprofessionals in and out of the room different days/times, substitutes, progress monitors, administrators, and other visitors needing to see class data without interrupting your teaching and students' learning, too!  ELA teachers in middle and high school classrooms could also track books read by students throughout the year for silent reading time without having to dig in a file card box or student notebooks."  

Wow! I love these ideas and I love that she was able to take something useful she found here and think outside the box. Thanks for sharing, Michelle!

--------------------------------------------------------------

This is just one idea that was pinned to the BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board on my Pinterest page. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.

Gifts That Get Kids Reading!

As a teacher, I'd often get asked about certain 'kid products' and whether or not they had any educational value. Now that I'm also a parent, I am always on the search for a fun toy or gift that will help my children develop healthy bodies and minds. 

I decided to put together a list of toys that encourage kids to learn, grow, and explore the world around them (and boy, did I have fun choosing my top ones!). 

Each week, I will share one of these lists:

Toys That Get Kids Outside!

Toys That Get Kids Moving!
Toys That Get Kids Thinking!

Toys That Get Kids Creating!
Toys That Get Kids Reading!
Toys That Get Kids Imagining!
Toys That Get Kids Exploring!

Be sure and subscribe to my feed so you won't miss any of these goodies! :)

*** Click on the links to see current prices and customer reviews.

1.Read All About Me!- I used to love to create my own books. I'd come up with the stories and painstakingly draw illustration to match. Then I'd make my parents read them. Over. And Over. And Over. This fun gift can give you that joy too ;) It's a complete book kit where your child is the star!

2. Write Me a Story Books- This series of picture books comes with images, but not words. Kids are encouraged to use the blank pages and included stickers to create their own version of the story.

3. Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Books- Y Do you remember these from your childhood? Well, they are back! I love these updated versions that allow kids to decide how the story plays out by choosing which directions a character will go. I read these books over and over because every new combination of choice resulted in a completely different book!

4. Anna Banana Jump Roping Book- Pair this book with a brand-spankin' new jumprope and you've got the perfect gift: one that encourages reading and being active! This book teaches a bunch of new rhymes to say and play when your kids are jumping rope.

5.Huggle Pod Swings- I already introduced you to these fun swings here, but I thought they would also make a great place to curl up and read a good book.

6. Highlights Magazine- Oh my! I loved getting this magazine in the mail every month! I remember checking the mailbox for it every day to see if it had arrived. My brother got Ranger Rick (which I loved just as much!). I was excited to see that they also have a version for preschoolers called High Five and one for toddlers called Highlights Hello. Needless to say, these went straight on my kids' Christmas lists!

7. Sparkle Stories- This is a monthly subscription to an online audio story site for kids. They create the cutest stories that you can download and listen to in the car, doctor's office, or as a nice way to end the day as a family. My favorite ones are their Martin and Sylvia series. Sign up for their newsletter to receive free downloads from time to time!

8. My Own Mailbox- This gift not only encourages reading, but writing and creating as well! Get one for each child in your house and you'll have letters flying back and forth before you know it.

9. Create-Your-Own Book Kits- Here's another great open-ended gift that encourages reading, writing, and creating all in one!

10. Reading Canopy Fort- What little girl wouldn't love her own cozy place to read- inside or out?! Just hang, throw down some soft pillows, and you've got an instant reading oasis!

Check out the rest of this series for more great toy and gift ideas that are teacher recommended:

Toys That Get Kids Outside!
Toys That Get Kids Moving!
Toys That Get Kids Thinking!
Toys That Get Kids Creating!
Toys That Get Kids Reading!
Toys That Get Kids Imagining!
Toys That Get Kids Exploring!

Many of you are teachers or parents...do you have a toy you'd recommend that encourages reading?

Make An Adjustable Reading Level Folder

Rachelle shared this great tip on her blog, What the Teacher Wants. She uses strips of velcro and a laminated folder to create an adjustable reading groups chart: 

(source)

You could also use this idea for keeping track of DRA reading levels, Word Study groups, or just as a template for randomly assigning groups for any classroom activity. I would often split kids into groups for a 15 minute activity a few times a week. Here's how I might have used this folder (had I been lucky enough to have it!): put all the names in a cup, pull them out randomly and place them on a strip of velcro. Each strip is one group and it allows me to see who is in that temporary group, then pull all the names off when I am ready to create new ones the next day. 

--------------------------------------------------------------

This is just one idea that was pinned to the BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board on my Pinterest page. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.

Sight Word Floor Game

Here's another anonymous idea I found on my BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board. If anyone knows who to credit for this great idea, please share!

Putting sight words on the floor would create an instant game. Students could compete to see how far down the path they could get. Another version for older children could be to write vocab words or review questions on each card. 

It might be easy to use floor tape or painters tape for this idea if you plan on pulling them up or changing them often. Both options leave little to no residue, which your janitors will greatly appreciate.

How might you use this game in your classroom? 

--------------------------------------------------------------

This is just one idea that was pinned to the BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board on my Pinterest page. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.

Great Sites: Put Your Flashcards Online

In the last twenty years, the internet has drastically changed the way we do daily life, from how we shop to how we stay informed and connected. As teachers, the web can be an incredible source of great ideas and helpful sites....but it can also be very time-consuming finding the sites that are the most helpful. During this series, I will be doing that research for you and highlighting some of the best websites out there for teachers.

Today's Featured Site:

Quizlet is a simple website that allows you to create online flashcards. Your students can practice with them on their own (it has a feature that will read the cards to the students for those who are struggling readers) or as a group.

One feature I think it fun is that it has a matching game called Scatter. In this game, the cards are scattered all over the screen with both the front and back showing. Students must drag the front of each card to the matching back. The site times the students to see if they can get faster and beat their previous time. I can see this being a great whole group game if you use a SmartBoard or other touch screen board. Students could run up to the board one at a time and match one card, then race back to their seat and 'tag' the next student in line. Record the group's time and race again to see if they can beat it!

Have you ever used this site before? What did you think? We'd love to hear your feedback!