COMMON CORE

I know we're are all on Summer Break...but I am trying to keep myself from going stir-crazy. (broken ankle=couch potatoe). I have been looking for resources to make implementing the Math and Language Arts Common Core a little easier. One resource that I stumbled upon is called "Teachers Pay Teachers". This is an online teacher store where teachers can sell lesson plans, posters, games, and activities that they have made. many of these teachers are highly skilled educators, not to mention, way more creative than I could ever be. One item that I purchased was a Common Core Planning Pack. It has a Beach theme. (there are lots of other themes that you can find). In the planning pack is a set of posters that are "I CAN..." statements for each of the Common Core Standards for both Math and Language Arts. These statements are also provided in a check-off list form. I paid $6.00 for the pack. I also purchased a couple of sets of Task Cards, ($2.00 each). They can be printed and laminated, then used in centers, or for whole/small group games. What a timesaver for me! So if you are interested in taking a look at some of these resources go to http://teacherspayteachers.com You can wander through the site or you can search....use the terms common core, common core math, common core language arts; or you can search for my current favorite contributors: Rachel Lynette, or Charity Preston. Don't forget to check out thinkcentral...that is the GO MATH online resource. Lots of amazing stuff there to help with your lesson planning!

Ready.... Set.......

Well, not exactly, but the technology part is close. We all have our new computers. Thanks to John Mealey each of our individual printers are functional. We can also find printers and add them... For those of us who like to print to the Labs. Be aware that some of the lab printers are out of ink, so you will need to wait until Paula gets back. I plan to go in today to test out how things work with our Document Cameras. I don't foresee any problems. Core Academy next week!

Kleinspiration is having an absolutely MASSIVE giveaway for achieving 1000 followers. It's not enough that this blog is amazing in sharing lessons, ideas and activities. Now others who are just as amazing are giving away some of their best stuff. As an added bonus.... All of my favorite bloggers are here in one place, so you can check them out and follow some amazing educators. .

First day of Summer. Hope you are all relaxing and rejuvenating. I am working and participating in an online books study, Guided Math by Laney Sammons. I am learning some really good stuff.

On the "working" side. The Tech crew has been in every classroom in the district, and we are a bit ahead of schedule in some areas and a few days behind in others. Most of our laptops for the mobile labs have arrived. The bulk of our new computers will arrive on Monday.
All of the labs have been dismantled. Almost all of the requested mini-labs are in place (except some 4th, 5th, and 6th grade mini-labs). We have removed all of the teacher computers at the High School, and have installed their new computers.We have removed most of the teacher computers at the Middle School (except for those being used for Summer School).We will begin replacing those next week. HMK and Offices will follow.
Our new computers are pretty amazing. They are an all-in-one model from Dell which means you get a screen - NO TOWER - that's it!  If you requested a USB keyboard and mouse, we had to order them separately, so what you will see is a wireless keyboard and mouse until the others come in. (We will then come around and trade them). We have already installed the batteries but you need to turn the switches on for them to work.We will probably leave a paper with explanations on how to get your doc cam & projector going, as soon as we get to that point.

Have a great summer!

Antsy Kids

Here's an idea or two for those kids that just can't sit still......
Great Seating Ideas
Thanks to PositivelyPersistentTeach for these ideas!

Daily Five

I just  discovered that there will be an online study group in July that will be studying The Daily Five and Cafe books by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. If you have an interest in The Daily Five this would be a great way for you to learn what it is all about and how to implement it in your classroom.
A calendar of events is posted at We Read -We Blog-We Teach . This will also be the discussion site.
This will also be a great opportunity for those of you who are wanting to start a Professional Learning Network to make some contacts with other teachers.

See you there!

Just found a great compilation of resources from a blog. These resources are for Language Arts Common Core for fourth grade but 3rd and fifth grades are linked below the download.

Some of the resource are single download from Teachers Pay Teachers. You can download these by creating an account -- really simple and no cost.

Some of the resources are online games and interactives. Even if you have no plan to use the common core next year, these are some amazing resources.

HoJo's Teaching Adventure

 Pinterest

Have you used PINTEREST as a classroom or instructional resource?????
Pretty cool ideas. Need an invite? ..... Let me know.

Professional Development in Our District

Almost the end of the year…

Seems like we all get so busy during the school year that we just don’t have time to do much beyond what we are required to do at school. Last summer I began to learn about Personal Learning Networks or PLN’s. As my PLN grew, I found lots of opportunities for Professional Development online. Some were free and some cost very little. (The last one I did was Virtual Teaching Expo’s Everything’s Intermediate… a four hour course, costing $19.95; before that I was doing a series with Whole Brain Teaching that cost $1.99 per hour).
As we were all frantic to get our portfolio’s done, I asked if we could use these hours. (You get a receipt for the ones that you pay for, and most give you a PD certificate). The Administration in our District has approved these online Professional Development hours under the following conditions:
1. You must get the Professional Development approved by your administrator; and
2. You must be willing to share what you have learned in a faculty meeting, or by other arrangement.

I am willing to pass along what I find online to all of you via our website http://hmktech.blogspot.com and I would hope that if any of you find something good, you will share also. (Just shoot me an email about it with the website). I will also be passing along information about other Education Blogs that I find. I am not going to send out a separate email each time that I post. I did that intermittently this year and some folks did not like that practice. So… if you want to keep up with the Blog, bookmark and subscribe to it (At the very bottom of the page); or Follow by Email ~ this will email you when the site is updated, (email will not come from me); or just check it every week or two.

I am also willing to play detective and find stuff for Staff members. If there is something that you need/want to know more about that is educational, or technology based, let me know and I will see what I can find for you.

Hope the rest of the year goes smoothly for all of you!

Online Professional Development

ONLINE Professional Development

In my last post I mentioned that the District will let us do some online professional development. As I did all of mine prior to this decision, the sites and information that I am providing here HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED. If you see something here that you would like to delve into, YOU need to go to your administrator and get it approved for yourself. You cannot just go in and say “This was on the website and I did it” and then expect it to be automatically approved.
That being said…. Here are a few sites that have Professional Development:

The Annenberg Project: This is the first PD site that I ever used. They have some great stuff. It is all Video on Demand, which lets you watch, when you want.  You can also get college credit for a minimal fee.  http://www.learner.org/index.html  

Whole Brain Learning: An interesting and different look at teaching and classroom management. I use several of the activities and techniques in my classroom. They use podcast on demand also; and some live feed stuff.  http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/

Virtual Teaching Expo: I did this one most recently. They currently have five options, ranging from K-6. The session that I attended was “Everything’s Intermediate” – featuring Interactive Notebooking; Integrating Technology;  Modifying Math Instruction to Increase Student Understanding; and Successful Strategies for English Language Learners. I really liked the Interactive Notebooking session and got some great ideas out of the others. One of the instructor’s presentation style made me insane but I still would have taken the course, if I knew that ahead of time. Their sessions are live on a certain “Launch Date” and then on-demand after that. You can also contact the presenters. If you sign up before the launch date you get a virtual Goodie Bag of handouts and freebies,that are related to the session. http://virtualteachingexpo.com/howitworks.php

FEBRUARY CHALLENGE

This week I am doing something a bit different. Instead of giving you a website (or two), I am giving you an idea… a suggestion… a learning opportunity… a challenge.

As educators we should be the ultimate example of lifelong learning. We should constantly be learning new things about our craft.

I was introduced to a term a few years ago that has helped me do just that: P.L.N.
It stands for Personal Learning Network. A Personal Learning Network looks different for each person. It is a collection of activities, plans, places on the Internet, or people, that you touch-base with on a regular basis; that help you learn new things that relate to your career or your life.

You all have a PLN right now… it consists of your family and friends; colleagues; books; social networks; email, your phone… Your challenge is to broaden this!

My first attempt in building my PLN was to learn about podcasting. In the beginning I set aside one hour each week. I would “google” my topic and investigate the sites that appeared. I was shocked at the amount of information there was! I found enough information that justified spending time in finding podcasts to use in my class to teach with; and to invest in the purchase of several MP3 players for my students to use them individually/in pairs. I also encourage my students to use my UEN website to access more podcasts to listen/watch outside of school.

The point here is that I learned something to help my teaching and my students’ learning. I did not have to go to an in-service, nor did it cost me more than some time to learn about it.

My challenge to you this week is to start building your own PLN. Choose a topic that relates to your teaching. Have you been using the same lesson or activity for eons? See if you can change it up. Are your kids not responding to a tried and true lesson like they used to? Is there something in the new Common Core that you have to teach soon, that you are not too familiar with?

For now try to use the Internet to find information about your topic. Use your SEARCH engine (Yahoo, Google, Ask ~whatever you have or use). Type in your grade level, use a + sign and the topic.
(Example: fourth grade + what a good reader looks like?)– then click search.

When you have decided on your topic, let the group know what you are doing by visiting the Wallwisher page-  http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/hmkPLN  -and attaching a post-it note. (don’t forget to include your name). Others can post ideas for you here or can email ideas to you! 

Have fun with this! Feel free to ask for help. Shoot me an email if you don't see me everyday. Or ask someone who has posted on the WALL.

Have a great week, and Happy Valentine's Day!

For Faculty Meeting Monday

So one of the things that I would like to do for the 4-6 Faculty Meeting this Monday is to get us all to share what we are doing with our Document Cameras. Most of us have been using ours for over a year now and we never have time to share anything.
So I've set up a WallWisher for this specific purpose:
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/doccam4-6
If you would(or if you check your email over the weekend) you can add something to the Wall before the meeting. That would be great!

See you all on Monday!

[For those of you in K-3... your input would be incredible too! I have seen some amazing ideas in our building and it would be wonderful if we could all SHARE ~ even if you think your ideas and activities are simple. It will only take a few minutes to do this.
I will give the URL of the WALL to Sherrie and she can share with you at your meeting too!]

FLIPSNACK

This is a great tool. Copy what you have created in PDF form to a Flip Book. This site also has easy tools for podcasts; banners; photos; videos; and quizzes.
Cool Stuff!

Science Videos and other stuff....

The Wild Classroom currently has a video that features Moab on its start page! This site is all about our wild world. It contains both short podcasts and longer videos: ecology-based biology and biodiversity videos and activities. Pretty Cool! http://www.thewildclassroom.com/

For those of you with an iPad or Touch here is an app with APPS ~KINDERTOWN: http://www.kindertown.com/ An app store for kinder parents or grandparents so you can find REALLY good apps to put on your device for the younger kids that are not just games. Touted to be all educational and reviewed by educators.

Simple Science Videos from Free Tech4 Teachers http://vimeo.com/user697789/videos short, kinda dorky, but memorable songs and videos for science

.

TENMARKS: an online math supplement for your curriculum: http://www.tenmarks.com/tmother/teacher-index You do need to create an account but it is free. I haven’t checked for ads.

WIRED TO LEARN: http://challenge.appup.com/#Challenges This is a CONTEST to win $25,000 for our school. We would need one person to write a 500 word essay on why we need the technology and then get people to vote for our essay. Small schools have won these kinds of contests by utilizing their social network connections of every person in their schools and getting the local news involved… any takers????

SHARING

I would like to share this video on sharing with others that I got from Richard Byrne’s site (where I get a lot of sites and inspiration ~ Thanks Richard!). He got this from somewhere else, but that is the whole point of sharing…..

MATH

So this time I'm going to give you some math sites that have been rattling around in my bookmarks. ENJOY!

K-5 TEACHING RESOURCES for MATH: http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/index.html

WOW! This site is amazing. Much of the site is free downloads to enhance whatever it is you are currently teaching. I was looking for activities on Problems Solving and Math Journaling this weekend and hit the jackpot. They have a download for math journaling that looks incredible. I am getting it today. (It does cost $7.00 however). If you are interested in seeing it, let me know.
They also have a monthly newsletter that you can subscribe to.

http://mrsspruiellatschool.weebly.com/math-journal-resources.html This site has incredible amounts of information on “Guided Math”. This is like teaching with centers or rotations. Great Ideas and things to print and use.

MATH GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS FOR 4^th grade: http://www.sw-georgia.resa.k12.ga.us/MGO_Grade4_8_1.html

SOME Fact Games:
http://www.multiplication.com/interactive_games.htm

http://www.fun4thebrain.com/addition.html

http://www.fun4thebrain.com/subtraction.html

Happy Halloween

 So here's my gatherings for this weekend... Hope Halloween doesn't suck your enthusiasm out of you this week....

Some Veteran’s Day links:
http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate_americas_freedoms.asp
http://www.va.gov/kids/k-5/multicontent.asp?intPageId=3

READY-TO-GO: TeachersFirst’s ready-to-go, projectable classroom activities are designed for either whole class or student-centered use. (some really cool stuff here) http://www.teachersfirst.com/exclusives/ready-to-go.cfm

FEATURED SITES:
http://www.teachersfirst.com/feature-arch.cfm?id=288

For those of you who are thinking outside the box (or at least trying to) when it comes to math instruction… here’s an interesting TED TALK…
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-help-stop-math-from-sucking.html

Lastly.... For those interested in how we might use ipads in the classroom…..
http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/2011/10/38-sites-on-using-ipads-in-classroom.html#.Tqta02BveLG

Remind 101

This is an interesting tool that I am looking into using. REMIND 101 . It is a broadcast text messaging service. Phone numbers are NOT exchanged. Parents or students must sign up for the service. You can send out reminders to parents or students about upcoming class activities; field trips; tests; programs... anything that all of your class needs to know about.

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: 10 Ways to be a Terrible Teacher

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: 10 Ways to be a Terrible Teacher: Teaching is a noble calling. That is why when a teacher doesn't behave nobly it breaks trust and we get upset. I have to admit that I've h...

Random sites this week....

Globetracker's Mission is just one week from its official embarkation date. Read the preview episode now, then pack your bags. Plan to travel throughout North America via weekly episodes from October 23 until late April. Your students in grades 2-6 will learn standards-aligned geography, map skills, landforms, and more by following Geo and Meri's weekly blog. Vote to decide what the teens should do next. If you have Google Earth, trace the Mission with the Google Earth files offered with each episode. Find Globetracker's Mission any time from the TeachersFirst home page, under "Ready to Go."

http://www.abcya.com/ Computer Activities by grade level.

Mummy http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/mummy.html
A site for virtual mummification… includes instructions! 

You might want to consider signing up for the newsletter from We Are Teachers…. Great information, ideas and leads on grants big and small… http://www.weareteachers.com/

Have a great week! 

Focus on Science

WOW.... I haven't posted for a while... :-) ... guess we've all been kinda busy. 

This week I thought I would search through my bookmarks for SCIENCE Resources for everyone.

BBC – those folks across the pond have some really incredible online resources for their teachers. This one called Science Clips is divided up by age groups so you will have to sift through them. You may find content for 7 year olds that fits into our 5^th or sixth grade curriculum. Pretty cool though….
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/index_flash.shtml

And one more from the UK -- http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/

Our own UEN has science interactives also. Third and fourth are on top, scroll down to see fifth and sixth:  http://www.uen.org/3-6interactives/science.shtml 

[UEN does not have a K-2 SCIENCE section but has a list of interactives  here: http://www.uen.org/k-2interactives/index.shtml  ]

UEN also sponsors the new version of sci-ber text. Sci-ber text is an online textbook written by Utah Science teachers (quite a while ago). It has content area reading and activities: 3^rd – 9^th grades http://www.uen.org/core/science/sciber/sciber4/
For those who like the original Sciber Text, it is here: http://utahscience.oremjr.alpine.k12.ut.us/

Windows2universe: I just stumbled on to this one. Has lots of “hands-on” activities>
http://www.windows2universe.org/php/teacher_resources/activity.php

 

Baltimore County Schools- This site is organized by their grade level standards—a bit different from ours, but LOTS of ideas and resources—you will need some time for this unless you are looking for a specific topic: http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/curric/elem/Escience.html

 

Science Spot - I have used this site for years. Lots of really usable stuff. This is the main site: http://sciencespot.net/ which is directed at Middle School but has lots of good ideas. My favorite section is the KidZone: (which is not linked to the main page) http://sciencespot.net/Pages/kidzone.html

This site is a list of really old “hands on” activities that have been around for ages. So old, in fact, you can tell some were typed on a typewriter. Most are very solid and classic learning activities.
http://youth.net/cec/cecsci/sci-elem.html

Have fun and teach some "hands on" science this week! 

Some Stuff I Forgot

When I sent the last Blog in I forgot to add these items... someone asked me about The Hat... and someone else asked about a timer; so here you go...... 

5 Simple timers to use with your projector: count up or count down; some with sound effects.

The Hat: Randomly selects names that you put into the Hat. Will also do partners. 

Stuff You Gotta Try: a cornucopia of STUFF…. This site is amazing. Be sure to check out the Blue LINKS at the top of the page too.

GLOBETRACKER and other fun stuff

This is a website program that I have used intermittently over the last couple of years. It is an interactive story for kids in grades 2-6 that teaches geography skills. The story is different each year. During each weekly episode the two characters, Mary and Geo, report about their adventures of working for their Uncle GT. There are pictures, content reading, vocabulary, clues to consider, and maps. Google Maps applications are used but not required to learn and enjoy.Your class can even vote on which direction the story should take. It also has a Twitter account so kids can track it if they have accounts, or you can track it via your teacher account.

This year's storyline takes the kids through North America. The program runs from October through April, with a review in May. THIS link will take you to the informational page. The Preview Episode is HERE.

If you want to use this program and you think you may need some help, let me know. I will be glad to stop by and give you a hand. 
There are a couple of teacher sites that I use that I have passed along before to various folks. Check them out and see if they would help you:

  http://www.HaveFunTeaching.com this one is mostly for primary teachers. Lots of cool learning songs. Fourth and fifth graders may enjoy this too.

     http://www.survivingateacherssalary.com  Tips and deals, coupons and information on stuff for teachers.     www.freetech4teachers.com   Sometimes amazing ideas and online links for teachers trying to integrate technology.