Are You Looking for Non-fiction Material for Students to Read?

Jazz up your lessons with some great non-fiction articles for your students to read! Check out the suggestions below to incorporate in your classroom:

• DOGOnews - the leading source for current events, news and non-fictional content for ELA, Science, and Social Studies. Thousands of news articles and original content added daily for students, teachers, and schools. Other DOGO media includes DOGObooks, DOGOmovies, IDOGO, and DOGOteachers
  
• Newsela - has an app or website to access nonfiction in any subject. Many articles are from sources like the Associated Press, Washington Post, and Scientific American. They have material in five reading levels to engage K-12 students in high-interest nonfiction, current events, primary sources, speeches, biographies, and historical news. I love how you can filter your search by choosing grade level and also by reading skills. There are 8 different reading skills that you can filter: 
     
            1) What the Text Says
            2) Central Idea
            3) People, Events & Ideas
            4) Word Meaning & Choice
            5) Text Structure
            6) Point of View/Purpose
            7) Multimedia
            8) Arguments & Claims
  
• TweenTribune - News from Smithsonian for K-12 teachers. Locate news articles and assign stories with a single click through digital devices. They have a "Monday Morning Ready" newsletter as prep for the week ahead if you want to incorporate easy weekly lesson plans. TweenTribune also has Weekly Videos that answer questions from Smithsonian experts.
  
• Kids Discover Online -  Award-winning library of science and social studies material on any device, at any time. Free sign-up to get started. Kids Discover has been around for over 25 years and now is online! Go to the Resources tab to read from their blog, or on infographics, or their Quick Reads section. Of course, there is also a Kids Discover app for devices!
  
• KidsHealth - Most visited site on the Web for information about health, behavior, and development from before  birth through the teen years. Really 4 sites in one, having sections for parents, kids, teens, and educators. KidsHealth is more than just the facts about health. It provides families with perspective, advice, and comfort about a wide range of physical, emotional, and behavioral issues that affect children and teens.
  
• NASA Stories- go here to get current articles about NASA events and the current missions or launches in progress.  Check out the archived stories and all the different tab categories. There is a whole section for students, as well as a NASA Kids' Club with games to play to learn more about NASA.

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Posted in articles, current events, devices, educator, games, health, news, newspaper, non-fiction, online, parents, Reading, resources, science, skills, Smithsonian, Social Studies, students

Do We Need a Reminder of This? Teach how they Learn!

Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

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Posted in apps, cell phone, desktop, devices, infographic, language, mobile, online, PC, Smartphone, tablets

Fun Online Snow Activity

Well, it is cold outside and I wanted to share a fun online activity in support of Southeast Texas' coldest day this season. It is suppose to be down in the low 20's tomorrow. So friends, grab those devices, computers, and go to this site to create your OWN unique snowflake. It is called SnowDays-It's Aways Snowing Somewhere . Create your own and then you can share it, print it, and if you really are crazy about it, you can order items for a cost. I like that it has an UNDO feature, so you can get specific on how you want yours to look. If you hover over the snowflakes, you can see all the different places people are from who have created ones. There have been over 12 million made. Here is one I have made. I can't wait to see yours. Enjoy the cold weather.

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Posted in cold, online, share, snowflake, tool, Web 2.0 tool

Give Studyladder Another Look

Teachers, if you have not checked out Studyladder lately, now is a great time to give them another look. They have made some great changes and it is FREE (did I say free) for teachers. If you list your students before the end of September, they will receive EXTRA access, free to any of the tasks you set up. (Normally, there is 3 activities per day from home) What is Studyladder? It is a web based educational program designed by teachers like YOU. For grades PK - 7th or for those students needing some remediation. They cover content in Mathematics, Literacy, and more. What's great is that it can be used at school and at home. What I like about it is the interactive activities for the SMART boards. That is enough said, right? Simply go to www.studyladder.com and check out the resources for yourself. Hope you find it useful for your class!

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Posted in e-learning, free, interactive, IWB, online, Resource, studyladder, tool

Saturday PD on March 29th

Region V is hosting an EDCAMP at Warren ISD on March 29th. You can follow them on Twitter here:

@EdCampESC5

When: March 29, 2014—8:30 AM—4:00 PM

Where: Warren High School, Warren ISD, Warren, Texas

Address: 405 FM 3290 South, Warren, Texas 77664

According to Region 5, the teacher-led professional development is for anyone who wants to improve their craft. It allows choice and voice at the edcamp. The great thing about an edcamp is that it is FREE! No fees, but you need to register here, just in case the attendance gets above capacity. It will be help at Warren's high school. Join us for the first EdCamp ESC5! You will have a fun-filled day of learning, networking, collaborations, or just lurk around and see the excitement.

Now for those of you who do not wish to wonder out to Warren, but prefer staying home on Saturday. There is another opportunity for a free online event held by Simplek12.com. (Thanks, Woody Cox) They are offering free webinars all day long. You can register for the topic that interests you the most. Below is their schedule:

• Digital Differentiation: Tools to Support Flexible Learning Paths for Personalized Learning
- Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 10:00:00 AM EDT 

• Transforming Education with Personalized Learning and Differentiated Instruction
- Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 11:00:00 AM EDT 

• Differentiate Instruction and Energize Lessons with QR Codes
- Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 12:00:00 PM EDT 

• Techniques to Help Reach All Learning Styles: Enhancing the Way You Use LiveBinders
- Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 1:00:00 PM EDT 

• Lessons That Talk: Create Differentiated and Online Lessons with Screencasts and Audio
- Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 2:00:00 PM EDT 

• Differentiating Lessons to Meet the Common Core
- Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 3:00:00 PM EDT 

• How To Get The Most From the Teacher Learning Community
- Saturday, March 29, 2014 @ 4:00:00 PM EDT

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Posted in edcamp, ESC5, free, learning, online, PD, professional development, Simplek12, warren isd