Learn Zillion is a FREE site for teachers. The site launched 2,000 free lessons for grades 3-8 this week! All of the lessons are aligned with the Common Core and were created by amazing teachers all over the country. When you go to the site: www.learnzillion.com you have the choice between Math or Language Arts. Once you choose, you can search the site based on grade level, strand, standard, or you can search for a specific key word. The lessons include a video lesson, quiz, lesson slides for an interactive white board, and teacher commentary about the lesson.
Learn Zillion also has an organizational tool that gives teachers the option to save specific lessons in a calendar for them to use in the future. This allows teachers to plan ahead with ease.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
The Leaders of Bonlee
I had the honor to spend Thursday morning with the staff of Bonlee School located in Chatham County. While visiting, Trisha Caviness gave me a tour of their newly redecorated school. This year Bonlee School will be focusing on Stephen Covey's The Leader in Me and the 7 Habits. They have spent a very busy summer decorating their school so students, staff, and visitors are able to see leaders everywhere they look. I had a wonderful time talking with teachers about student leaders. The students of Bonlee School are in for a treat when they return back to school. The newly painted school, energy from the teachers, and the focus of the 7 Habits will make for an amazing school year!
Below are some pictures of Bonlee School.
Below are some pictures of Bonlee School.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Ray Childers Elementary School
On Monday I also had the opportunity to visit Ray Childers Elementary School which is located in Burke County. As soon as I walked into the building I was welcomed and made to feel part of their school family. The energy in the school was amazing and everyone was motivated and excited about the new year to come. While there, I was able to talk with the faculty about what makes a good teacher. Is it just high test scores and tests? Or is it something else? Something that comes from deep inside all of us. For most it is the reason we decided to enter the education profession... HEART. We had wonderful discussions about the following quote:
"Modern education is premised strongly on materialistic values. it is vital that when educating our children's brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts, a key element of which as to be the nurturing of our compassionate nature." - Dalai Lama
As I drove away from the school I thought about all of the amazing things that the teachers of Ray Childers Elementary School are going to accomplish this year. With the excitement and motivation that all of the teachers have, I know they will make a positive impact on every child in their classroom. Thank you teachers for all that you do everyday!
Here is a press release from Ray Childers' local newspaper: http://www2.morganton.com/news/2012/aug/20/nc-teacher-year-visits-burke-school-ar-2534683/
"Modern education is premised strongly on materialistic values. it is vital that when educating our children's brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts, a key element of which as to be the nurturing of our compassionate nature." - Dalai Lama
As I drove away from the school I thought about all of the amazing things that the teachers of Ray Childers Elementary School are going to accomplish this year. With the excitement and motivation that all of the teachers have, I know they will make a positive impact on every child in their classroom. Thank you teachers for all that you do everyday!
Here is a press release from Ray Childers' local newspaper: http://www2.morganton.com/news/2012/aug/20/nc-teacher-year-visits-burke-school-ar-2534683/
Kids Read and Ride Program
On Monday, I had the opportunity to visit Marvin Ward Elementary School which is located in Winston Salem/ Forsythe County. While there I was able to speak with many teachers about the upcoming school year. We discussed the new Common Core, why we entered the teaching profession, and childhood obesity. They shared with me that in order to motivate students to read and make an impact with childhood obesity they started a Kids Read and Ride Program four years ago. The way the Read and Ride program works is that teachers sign up to take their students into the Read and Ride Room. This room is full of... stationary bikes! Students then have the opportunity to read their favorite books and magazines while they are riding their bikes! Students love it! What a great way to motivate students!
If you would like to check out their Kids Read and Ride program please click on the link below.
http://kidsreadandride.com/
Below is a preview of what you can find on this wonderful site!
If you would like to check out their Kids Read and Ride program please click on the link below.
http://kidsreadandride.com/
Below is a preview of what you can find on this wonderful site!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Web 2.0 tools and Excited Teachers
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to C.B. Eller Elementary School which is located in the Wilkes County School System. As soon as I walked into the front door of the school, I could feel the happiness and excitement of a new school year about to begin.
I started by showing examples of the project based learning assignments that my students worked on last year. I explained how my students worked on PBL assignments not only with students in our classroom, but also with students across the state and abroad. I then walked them through many of the Web 2.0 tools that my students used such as: ooVoo, Voki, blabberize, eduglogster, kidblog, and edmodo. Once I had finished speaking, the fun part began. The principal of C.B. Eller gave all of the teachers time to work within their grade level and create a lesson using one of the Web 2.0 tools that I had showed them. That way each teacher was able to walk away from the meeting with a new tool that they could use in their classrooms.
If someone would have walked into the media center while all of the teachers were working on their Web 2.0 tools, they would have thought they had walked into some sort of a party. The laughter, noises, and excitement was enough to put a smile on anyone's face.
As I left the school that day I found myself thinking about how lucky the students of C.B. Eller are to have such excited and wonderful teachers. Teachers who are more then willing to go above and beyond to make the classroom engaging and motivating. Teachers who are not afraid of change or technology, but instead realize that this is the direction that the world is headed. And most of all teachers who care about their students success.
I started by showing examples of the project based learning assignments that my students worked on last year. I explained how my students worked on PBL assignments not only with students in our classroom, but also with students across the state and abroad. I then walked them through many of the Web 2.0 tools that my students used such as: ooVoo, Voki, blabberize, eduglogster, kidblog, and edmodo. Once I had finished speaking, the fun part began. The principal of C.B. Eller gave all of the teachers time to work within their grade level and create a lesson using one of the Web 2.0 tools that I had showed them. That way each teacher was able to walk away from the meeting with a new tool that they could use in their classrooms.
If someone would have walked into the media center while all of the teachers were working on their Web 2.0 tools, they would have thought they had walked into some sort of a party. The laughter, noises, and excitement was enough to put a smile on anyone's face.
As I left the school that day I found myself thinking about how lucky the students of C.B. Eller are to have such excited and wonderful teachers. Teachers who are more then willing to go above and beyond to make the classroom engaging and motivating. Teachers who are not afraid of change or technology, but instead realize that this is the direction that the world is headed. And most of all teachers who care about their students success.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Back to School
With the beginning of the school year here, I will be honest and say that I feel a little sad that I won't have my own classroom this year. However, I do want to say good luck to all the teachers that will! Here are a couple of sites that I found that might be helpful for the beginning of a new school year.
Enjoy!
1st Day ideas: http://teachbytes.com/2012/08/05/21st-century-icebreakers-10-ways-to-get-to-know-your-students-with-technology/
Book lists connected to the Common Core and Essential Standards: http://listbuilder.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StandardsBrowseView?storeId=10001
Free audiobook for kids: http://storynory.com/
Apps for teachers: http://appadvice.com/applists/show/apps-for-teachers
iPads in the Art Room: http://ipadsintheartroom.weebly.com/index.html
Wonderful ways to use google docs in the classroom: http://soxnevad.edu.glogster.com/bulletin-board
Thursday, August 2, 2012
August State Board Meeting
mClass/Reading 3D:
During this month's State Board Meeting it was discussed to have mClass/Reading 3D Diagnostic Testing mandatory K-3 in the year 2013-2014. The law states
Technology:
The idea of a Bring Your Own Device model was discussed by Dr. June Atkinson. She discussed that in the future 50-60 percent of our Professional Development for teachers can be delivered by a personal device
Important quotes from the day:
"Digital Education will be a game changer for education. The world will not be the same."
"I want to see technology 24/7. Learning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in all counties with the use of technology."
Tune in to the GCS Committee in September for a brief summary on digital learning and digital literacies.
Thank you:
Dr. William Harrison states, "I want to thank those teachers who do it every day. Those teachers who work 24 hours a day. And we have not demonstrated this support in the past couple of years. We believe in teachers and support teachers. There are not enough that appreciate teachers the way they should."
Dr. June Atkinson states, "We are proud of the hard work that our teachers, students, and educational staff do each year."
ABCs:
http://testabc1116.dpi.state.nc.us/abcs/
High School Graduation Rate:
For the year 2011-2012 our state has a graduation rate of 80%. Which is an increase from 2010-2011.
DPI Site:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/
During this month's State Board Meeting it was discussed to have mClass/Reading 3D Diagnostic Testing mandatory K-3 in the year 2013-2014. The law states
“Kindergarten, first, second, and third grade students shall be assessed with valid, reliable, formative, and diagnostic reading assessments made available to local school administrative units by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11(a).”
The state began the mClass Reading 3D Diagnostic initiative in 2009. It is felt that by having mClass mandatory across the state, then this law will be met. After much discussion it was decided to move this to a First Reading for the month of September.Technology:
The idea of a Bring Your Own Device model was discussed by Dr. June Atkinson. She discussed that in the future 50-60 percent of our Professional Development for teachers can be delivered by a personal device
Important quotes from the day:
"Digital Education will be a game changer for education. The world will not be the same."
"I want to see technology 24/7. Learning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in all counties with the use of technology."
Tune in to the GCS Committee in September for a brief summary on digital learning and digital literacies.
Thank you:
Dr. William Harrison states, "I want to thank those teachers who do it every day. Those teachers who work 24 hours a day. And we have not demonstrated this support in the past couple of years. We believe in teachers and support teachers. There are not enough that appreciate teachers the way they should."
Dr. June Atkinson states, "We are proud of the hard work that our teachers, students, and educational staff do each year."
ABCs:
http://testabc1116.dpi.state.nc.us/abcs/
High School Graduation Rate:
For the year 2011-2012 our state has a graduation rate of 80%. Which is an increase from 2010-2011.
DPI Site:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/
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