I have been in the field of education for 27 years. I love what I do everyday; it is truly a passion and I can not imagine doing anything else! In 2013, I retired as the gifted, special services, and elementary curriculum director for a public school district! I design curricular materials anywhere from Pre-K to 8th grade, and I must say I am partial to classroom/behavior management and English Language Arts.
I have been in the field of education for 27 years. I love what I do everyday; it is truly a passion and I can not imagine doing anything else! In 2013, I retired as the gifted, special services, and elementary curriculum director for a public school district! I design curricular materials anywhere from Pre-K to 8th grade, and I must say I am partial to classroom/behavior management and English Language Arts.
This packet is a great idea for classroom management! In this packet, you will find six sheets of “Your Turn To Talk Tickets!” Students might place two or three tickets at the top corners of their desk during a direct instruction activity. When a student has a turn to talk in response to the activity, after speaking that student can give you one of his/her tickets. When the student’s tickets are gone, he/she can not talk again until the activity is different. You can make many, many variations for these tickets! Additionally, there are six other pages of “You Owe Me” tickets. These tickets might be issued to students when they forget and interrupt instruction and other students’ learning. These tickets state that they will owe you time! These tickets suggest that time is taken in increments and not all at one time!
This is a set of ten mini-posters with a math strategy for students to use as they employ the “Standards for Mathematical Practice” on each poster. These posters are perfect to place in a math classroom above the white board for easy reference. When students are stuck on a step in a math computational problem as well as a word problem, they can utilize these mini-posters with the strategies on bright colored paper for easy reference! A must for any math teacher!
This is an awesome set of notes for positive praise for the month of October. The set of three different positive praise notes are set against an October background and will bolster the motivation level of your students and will be a great source of encouragement. These notes can be given daily or weekly attached to signed papers. It is a great way of communication. Notes include statements such as: "I helped a friend, I tried hard, I finished all of my work,... etc."
This is a powerpoint for training and instructional purposes. You will find fourteen slides. Ten of these slides explain homework and study shortcuts that have been proven to be beneficial to upper elementary, middle school, high school, and college students. As well, these strategies have been found to be very helpful with students and adults diagnosed with ADHD. These slides can be used in a focused faculty session, professional development session, or a professional learning community session in working to develop these strategies among teachers to teach students. As well, these slides can be used in working to equip students with these strategies. Finally, these slides can be used in a "Parent University" atmosphere to provide parents with training on the strategies as well.
How many of us have great intentions when it comes to placing on our "To-Do" list making a positive call, email, text, etc. to one of our students' parents to communicate with them something great their child has achieved. While we have great intentions, all too often, it "slips to the back burner" and doesn't happen as often as it should. Use this resource to make sure this happens, and use it as a tool to make sure that within a given amount of time most all of your students have received that magic "bellsouth" call expressing something that everyone can be proud of... we know that many times the not-so-positive phone call, email, text, etc is received so much better and more positive when a positive piece of news has been shared as well along the way. Use this log to keep track of your communication as well as a tool to utilize at parent conferences-- great tool to begin the year with not to mention how much students will love your efforts!
Evidence suggests that children who reverse numbers or letters may have a visual tracking problem that produces dyslexia. Use these “blue bandages” to place under the text or problem that students are working on to help them focus. The “blue bandages” might be placed on a craft stick for more durability or laminated for longer use! This resource packet contains thirty “blue bandages.” Students will be able to focus better on keeping up and tracking as they read with this tool!
Think for a few minutes how much time you spend each day trying to gather assignments for students who have had to check out early or have been absent all day. It is a very important task; however, we know that it can take valuable time. This resource is to help you out! Don’t spend any more time scurrying through your lesson plans to make sure you don’t miss any of the make-up work and/or announcements that your student(s) may have missed. Use a page each day to stay “ahead of the make-up work/announcements/what's for homework syndrome.” This assignment book is very similar to student assignment planners that are sometimes given to students at the beginning of the year. On each page, first, there is a small space to record the date. Additionally, there is a space for you to document who was absent or checked out early etc. The biggest area of the sheet is a space for you to jot down, throughout the day, assignments that were given to students. By jotting them down, you can very quickly look and gather materials quickly for these students. There is also a space dedicated to any important announcements that were made and/or notes that might have gone home or project directions, etc. This area is for all of those other important things that are communicated to the students that the student who is absent doesn’t hear or receive. The last area on the sheet is that of a space dedicated to place any homework assignments that were discussed, assigned, and/or gone over. By placing all of the information in one spot daily, this becomes a huge time-saver and we all know how valuable our instructional time is. I have included sixty-five pages in this packet but I encourage you to download as often as you need throughout the school year!
Educators, from novice to veteran, will all reap benefits from participating in this book study/field guide experience in an on-going professional development activity. This resource can be utilized and implemented in many different facets and scenarios.
The following are a few examples of its implementation:
(1) An independent professional development completed by oneself to improve his/her leadership skills;
(2) A small group, possibly a PLC, of colleagues who work together either in a grade level or department/content area who want to improve leadership skills;
(3) A group of novice administrators looking to improve his/her leadership skills;
(4) A superintendent with a group of school site administrators who want to collectively improve leadership skills; and
(5) A literacy coach who is coaching to improve the leadership skills of a cadre of
teacher leaders.
The following can be found in this resource of 50 pages:
(1) A summary of the three fables;
(2) An introduction of the entirety of the story/fable for the reader;
(3) A character’s list for the reader;
(4) Charts to complete that correspond to specified pages and activities;
(5) Approximately 130 discussion questions to complete as the fables are read and
discussed in small group;
(6) Fill-in-the-Blank statements that correspond to specified pages within the story;
Activities to Complete Include the Following:
(1) Activity 1: “Worthwhile Work”
(2) Activity 2: “Meaningless Jobs”
(3) Activity 3: “Commitment and Buy-In”
(4) Activity 4: “Values vs. Goals”
(5) Activity 5: “Hold or Roll”
(6) Activity 6: “What’s Our Why?”
(7) Activity 7: “What’s Your Mantra?”
Additionally, there are 10 mini-posters to illustrate each of the three fables and utilize, when needed, for small group discussion.
Gung-Ho! as you all work through this professional development activity regarding improving your leadership skills!
Related Products Include:
(1) Professional Development Book Study: The Energy Bus Leadership Guide and Workbook
(2) Professional Development Book Study: Are You Educating a Fish in a Tree?
(3) Professional Development Book Study: Our Iceberg is Melting!
How many of us have great intentions when it comes to placing on our "To-Do" list making a positive call, email, text, etc. to one of our students' parents to communicate with them something great their child has achieved. While we have great intentions, all too often, it "slips to the back burner" and doesn't happen as often as it should. Use this resource to make sure this happens, and use it as a tool to make sure that within a given amount of time most all of your students have received that magic "bellsouth" call expressing something that everyone can be proud of... we know that many times the not-so-positive phone call, email, text, etc is received so much better and more positive when a positive piece of news has been shared as well along the way. Use this log to keep track of your communication as well as a tool to utilize at parent conferences-- great tool to begin the year with not to mention how much students will love your efforts!
If you have not had the opportunity to read the book, A Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, now is the time! The novel, A Fish in a Tree, is eloquently authored by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. This e-book product is a companion book study that may be utilized in several different ways including: (1) individual professional development to renew your own professional growth and learning; (2) a faculty and staff book study as a summer or really anytime of the year book study for professional growth; (3) a guide or workbook for an assigned reading in a graduate course; and (4) maybe an entire faculty and staff summer read to help better understand the world of dyslexia as part of a school improvement process! Specifically, this book is a companion book study for educators or anyone else that wants a different look into the world of a child/teenager, and/or adult
dealing with dyslexic tendencies/characteristics 24/7.The opportunities are limitless for how one might utilize this product best! You make the decision!
This novel is written around the infamous quote: “everybody is smart in different ways. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”
Do you see them as “your children” before you see them as “your students?”
Do you foster the importance of standing out rather than fitting in or just satisfying the status quo?
How do you think these students “find their grit” to face challenges such as the
ones Ally did?
Ponder and reflect as you read ahead…