Teachers, Show Us Your....Teacher's Choice!

Sometimes you have a week where you feel you have been graced by God, by family and by good friends.  This has been one of those weeks for me, so  I was very glad to get this School-Week Linky out to you each day.  It's a little bit late today, by my goal was to get it up before midnight - and here it is!

Today is Teacher's Choice! That means you can link ANYTHING up that you think will brighten a teacher's day. From bulletin boards, to classroom decor and classroom management to organization.  We want to see it all!  This link will be available until January 1st, so come back when you are ready.  Heck, you can link up more than once in the next few months!

I only ask that you share and get the word out so we can build up a really nice collection! Be sure to link back so your fans can find tons of great ideas!!

So...now on to my choice.  I decided that my choice is to THANK YOU all for coming to visit {and link} this week, so I am having a giveaway as well as a flash freebie.  Some you have asked for my Planbook calendar, so here you go.  I will leave the link up until MONDAY AUGUST 5TH...Enjoy :)

But wait...there's more! {That sound a little infomercial-ish, sorry!}  How great do you think you'd look in this little T-shirt on the first day of school?  I got the idea from a shirt I got a few years ago from (shhhhhhhh!) a kiddie shop.  Hahahah I was shopping with the girls and I couldn't resist.  I grabbed the largest size they had, lol.  Here's my version.  If you'd like one for yourself, enter the Rafflecopter below!  

Thanks for a great week everyone!  I look forward to sitting back and reading all of your blog posts this weekend! xo

Best of luck to all of my bloggy-teacher friends who are going back to school soon!  Have a great school year :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

Teacher, Show Us Your...Tech Tips!

Hi everyone!
I am on overload with all of the amazing posts that bloggers are linking up this week.  I am glad I have a few weeks of summer to read through them all!

Today, we are talking TECH! If you are like me, you love to incorporate as much technology in the classroom as you can, taking little bits and pieces from the thousands of bookmarks you've created.  There is so much available to incorporate, that I've started to feel a little like this:

Lovers of the book, Ten Apples Up on Top will relate to that image.  Sometimes managing all of the technology can feel a little like a balancing act...there is so much amazing technology out there and I want to expose my littles to it all!

I know I need a plan and I am in the process of working on that right now.  It begins with this book:

This book is helping me to solidify the process of using technology to drive instruction.  The goal is to put the students at the center of project based learning.  It's been an interesting read so far and I am highly intrigued by The Flipped Learning approach.

I've blogged before about some of the tech I use in my classroom, so I will just quickly direct you to my Edcanvas post {here}. I also use my Promethean Board on a daily basis...hard to imagine my teaching life before that board came to town!  Thank goodness for Promethean Planet as well, with thousands of resources available with one click!

Today, I would mostly like to focus on some of my favorite resources.  These are my go-to bloggers, websites and resources.  It's a lot...so pin and refer to as needed.  I just wanted to put much of it in one place (for my own benefit, too!)

Let's start with some websites and  resources.  I love the information that I find at the following places:

Edmodo (Set up like Facebook...for teachers...so many ways to use this tool!)

Edudemic (Education Technology for Students and Teachers)

Mashable (Stay up-to-date with the latest tech trends)

Edcrunch (Exploring the World of Edtech)

Scoop.it@ischoolLeadermagazine (Essential Information & Resources for 21st Century Education Leaders)

Here are two articles from EdTech Magazine...another one of my favorites.  You will see some of our favorite bloggers listed here for awards they have been given - hooray!

When I want to look beyond Promethean Planet for my whiteboard lessons, these are fantastic go-to blogs/websites...so many ideas and applications!

The Amazing Classroom Blog also has amazing tutorials!  Find them {here} THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

You can also stop by and say hello to Mrs. Meecham...she's got plenty of whiteboard goodies for you!

...and finally, from the bottom of my bloggy heart, I love these edtech bloggers. Please get to know them all {and tell them I sent you!}. Their information is so valuable and appreciated!

   

Whew! Great information, huh? That should keep you busy for a while.  I know you have more to share, so don't forget to link up today!

An InLinkz Link-up

Teachers, Show Us Your...Best Games!

I am so happy about everyone who has been linking up to this School-Week Linky so far. I was away from my computer yesterday, but I am looking forward to reading each and every post on Read-Alouds today!  The link will be open until January 1st, so feel free to link any time if you did not do so already!

We all know how much fun games can be in the classroom.  The learning that takes place through game play proves so valuable for my students.  They are having so much fun, they don't even realize that important concepts and strategies are being strengthened and reinforced in their brains!

One subject in which games are a constant in my classroom is math. The kids look forward to guided math time when they know that they will have an opportunity to learn and play together. Once in a while, {usually in between math units} I will throw a "Game Day" in there. On Game Day, the students rotate through all-game centers.  They go wild as you can imagine :)

Today I'd like to show you a set of games that my students really, really, REALLY love playing.  These games focus on addition strategies in particular...

They are from "Math Facts Heroes" series.  You can find the complete set {here} and by clicking below:

For stopping by today, you know I have a freebie for you :)  You can grab a copy of this Math Facts Basketball game by clicking below.  I'd love a follow for a download! :)

Now it's your turn...help us to build our game collections!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hey Teachers, Show Us Your...Favorite Read-Alouds!

Wow! What a great time I had reading through your blog posts about lesson planners! I bookmarked, pinned and downloaded.  I am so thankful for all of the new ideas I am grabbing! Because of the nice comments and questions about my binder, I am in the process of making it editable.  In the meantime, I'm throwing two freebies from my binder your way! Click to grab!

   

Today, we will be sharing something special to my heart- all of our teacher hearts, I'm sure...BOOKS!  In the Amazon Carousels above, you will find some of my favorite "go-to" books for starting the school year.  Some are old favorites and some are new additions to my library.   The first few weeks of school go by in a flash.  I find it's so important to have many great read-alouds on hand; both for lessons/activities as well as just for fun. There's nothing quite like gathering your littles on the carpet for a good book.  At this point, I have so many of the books memorized that I can spend time looking out at the kids' little faces as I read.  I love when they giggle, look surprised or perplexed- it gets me every time. Read-alouds early in the year also give me a sense of who is quick to participate, who is shy, whose answers are "right on" and whose comprehension is waving a big red flag at me. The most important reason for me to choose great read-alouds, however, is to show that I am a lover of books.  I love the covers, the illustrations and the words.  I show how interested I am in the characters and what is going on in the story.  I read with excitement, confusion, sadness, love and whatever other emotions the characters are going through.  And I have to admit, in the privacy of my classroom with my door closed, I love reading in character "voices" too - I don't hold back!   These early modeling examples of my "reader-ly life" sets the tone for reading behavior in my classroom.  It serves as a spring board for lessons on "Just-Right" and "I PICK" books as well as for lessons on the caring for and keeping of books. It's where I model fluency and expression and show the kiddies how cool it is to read this way!  In my room, we are big on reading responses and throughout the year, my kids keep a Reading Response Journal.  It's what they do during our Daily 5 "Work on Writing."  I choose to do it there because we do an entirely different Writer's Workshop block. Here's a glimpse at some goodies I am working on to go along with some of my favorite read-alouds.  Currently, I am putting the final touches on these three products.  They should be available in my stores by the end of the week :)

Now it's your turn to link up! 

Be sure to spread the word to your friends that you are linking up and sharing! 

 Have a great Tuesday everyone!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hey, Teachers...Show Us Your Lesson Planners!

Welcome to the first day of the School Week Linky! Today we are talking about Lesson Planners.  Link up your blog posts (old or new!), products and stores.  Give us all a peek at what you have going on inside that lesson planner of yours!  (I would be so happy if you linked back to this post!) I am looking forward to seeing how you all stay organized from day to day.  I also love seeing how people set up their lesson plans - I am always on the look-out for great ideas!

Here's what I've got for you...

It's been a long time since I've used a store-bought planner.  I was never able to get all of the information I needed into those little boxes.  My plan book has changed and evolved over the years and I've learned that I enjoy having everything in one big binder so it's all at my fingertips.  I do, however keep a separate Student Data Binder, because there is too much information to hold in one binder.

I start with a cute cover that I think I will enjoy looking at all year.  Here are some examples of covers I've had in the past:

I use tab dividers to divide up all of the goodies inside of my binder.  I put my calendar and important dates in first. 

The next section contains my lesson plans.  I know it takes up more paper, but I like to do a plan for each day rather than "a week at a glance." I've recently gotten glasses, so I like to be able to see everything nice and easily!  I've changed the format a little each year, but this is what I have for this year.  I saved it as a template so I can just add in the Objectives/Standard, Content, Delivery and Assignment.

To keep track of what I am teaching, I keep curriculum guides and Common Core Checklists in the next few tabs.  Here are two examples:

I save the last few tabs for school-related information, including original copies of my class lists in case I need to make extra copies for day to day use.  I also hold on to district phone numbers, technology information, etc.  I also have a sheet to keep all of those computer log-ins/passwords on!  This year, I also added a "Notes" section so I can keep my PD notes handy in my binder as well!

That's a look at what's inside of my planner...It's ready for September (but I am not sure if I am yet!) For visiting today, I have a little freebie for you...Just click on the picture to grab it! Now you can keep track of birthdays, too :)

Now it's your turn!  I can't wait to see your planners!  I will keep this Linky up until DECEMBER, so come back and link up whenever you are ready.  

Stay tuned for tomorrow when we link up our favorite read-alouds!  Here is the line-up for the rest of the week..Ready, set, SHARE!

LINK :)

An InLinkz Link-up