Over the last few months, I have had the extreme pleasure of working with some amazing educators in our district. We are beginning a new PLC journey in our schools so we have been collaborating on the best way to transition to truly effective PLCs. During one of the sessions that we had, I brought up the difference between a classroom teacher and a school teacher and what these teaching differences can mean to a PLC, our schools, district, and most importantly--our students. I had first run across the comparison when reading The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros (You need this book if you have not read it yet--like Amazon it ASAP!). Looking at the differences between classroom teachers and school teachers is meant to help teachers realize the power of collaboration. The teaching community should be just that...a community! Just think of how much stronger the learning experiences that we strive to create for our kiddos could be if we would be more mindful ...
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Do You Flocabulary?
This time last year, I was a fifth year teacher who had just moved from second grade to fifth grade. Everything, from the content to the new age of my students, made me feel like a brand-new, first year teacher all over again. I was clinging to the advice of my colleagues and social media teacher connections to help me get my feet set on the ground in my new role as a 5th grade ELA and Social Studies teacher. One night, I was participating in a Twitter chat when someone shared about a cool technology tool that they were using in their classroom to help share content in an interesting way. The amazing tech tool was Flocabulary. This time last year, I had never heard of Flocabulary and now I don’t know what I would do without it! If you are not familiar with what Flocabulary is, you can check out a post here. I am just so excited about how this amazing resource has transformed our classroom, and I want to share these ideas and information with you. ...
Part 1- Unique Picture Books for Social Studies
As a Social Studies and Reading teacher(who also happens to be an AVID book lover), I am always on the hunt for picture books that I can use to help teach content topics, introduce important people and events, and bring some joy and excitement to learning. That is why I am so excited about the following 4 books. I learned about most of these titles while I was at Nerd Camp this past summer and knew that they would be valuable stories for me to share with my students. The first is Unspoken by Henry Cole. Three major things make this book a must have. 1) The book has no words. The story is told strictly through the remarkable black and white illustrations. This also means that the students are encouraged to really pay attention to the details of the pictures and the sequencing of the illustrations in order to piece together the storyline. 2) The story offers a unique twist on the Underground Railroad. Instead of telling the story through the eyes of a ...
