How Did I Miss This?

Looks like this has been around for a while; but you really need to take a look at Bloomz! Teachers and schools can save time by having all the tools they need to communicate with parents in one easy-to-use (and FREE) app. Here is a list of Bloomz Full Feature. It is available at the Apple store, Google Play-Android, on Desktops (online), or for SMS (text). Here is a short 2 minute overview:



It is easy to work, easy to update, and extremely helpful for planning parties or conferences! Great for getting donations for your classroom in a timely manner. BLOOMZ is FREE, award-winning, time-saving to engage families, and keep busy parents in the loop. Check their SUPPORT Center to answer your questions. Bloomz has it own Behavior Management within the app. No longer do you have to go to another site. If you want to do some comparing with other applications, here is a Parent Communication App spreadsheet completed for you. Check Bloomz out today!

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Posted in app, bloomz, classroom, communication, parents, schools, support, teachers

Thank a Teacher Today, Don't Delay!

Teachers are amazing and have dedicated so much to teach our students. Many are mothers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, etc. They have made many sacrifices throughout the year searching for lessons and new methods to engage today's students. Please take the time to thank a teacher today. Now is the time, don't delay. They need our encouragement and praise. We all would not be the person we are today without the teachers that have touched us in the past. I know I have had many who have influenced me and think of them often, even if some have gone on to meet our Lord. Bless you Teachers of today and the past. Oh, let's not forget about the Future teachers. They too, need our prayers.

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Posted in Appreciate, teachers, Thank, today

Help Your Brain Think

 We all have benefited from learning with graphic organizers. Teachers know how important it is to tie learning with some sort of visual. I ran across this site that has interactive graphic organizers that can be used in the classroom with your digital devices. Students can organize their thoughts and create better content from these resources. This site even includes teacher notes on how to use each graphic organizer. Check HOLT's graphic organizers and see if one of these tools can get your brain to think. ENJOY :-)

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Posted in graphic organizer, holt, learn, teach, teachers, visual

Do You Teach Super Sentences?

I understand how stretched teachers' budgets are and how many teachers spend their own money on teaching supplies. Teachers do this because they care for their students and want to provide the best learning possible. That is why I love sharing websites that offer free resources and opportunities to download teaching resources. Today, I ran across this poster for Super Sentences by Teaching Packs. Every so often, they allow you to download one of their resources. I have found some great visuals on Story Starters which is in another post.  I hope someone who reads this will be able to use the Super Sentences. My students always enjoyed creating super sentences in class as I know yours do. Here is where you can download your own copy.

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Posted in budget, ELA, grammar, money, Resource, sentence, super, teachers, Teaching Packs, UK, writing

A Sacred Trust: Are Your That Light?

Listened to this powerful video in appreciation to teachers everywhere! Hope you are truly dedicated to your calling and profession like this song expresses. Thank you Dr. Jeff Goldstein for sharing it.
To all the wonderful and dedicated teachers in our District: thank you for being the light!

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Posted in assessments, career, dedicated, Dr. Jeff Goldstein, light, NCESSE, students, teachers, testing, trust

New Wave of PD

First there was the great EdmodoCon2014, the online conference that was LIVE all day, then I see that Evernote will soon be putting their own Conference, but I am not sure it is free. Now I just ran across this Streamathon given by Discovery Education. This must be the new wave of PD for teachers by sharing your product in a convenient style. I was able to catch some of EdmodoCon2014 while I was working and it was exceptional. The only problem is that I needed to hear ALL of it instead of the bits and pieces caught in my busy day. The good news is that EdmodoCon2014 recorded the event, so you can go and catch the presentations in their entirety here. Here is the information that I have received about the upcoming Streamathon on October 25, 2014. I love the idea of making it a party with all your teacher friends and/or groups. Or if you rather enjoy the comforts of your home in your PJ's just watch it there. That's the beauty of this new wave of PD that is being offered by the BIG names in Education. 

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Posted in discovery education, edmodo, education, Evernote, PD, professional development, teachers

Teacher Appreciation Week

To all the great educators out in the blogosphere! You are so important and hope you rekindle those things that brought you to Teaching. Here's a great video that will encourage you.

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Posted in appreciation, educators, encourage, teachers

Zondle and Learning.com

 Have you heard about Zondle? I was working with a 5th grade teacher today (+Summer Diamond) and she shared a game she created for her students on Greek and Latin root words. There are many different templates to choose from in Zondle and teachers can post their own questions or use ready-made activities or quizzes. Zondle also has a feature where you can compete against another class. I suggested that she use the embed code that Zondle supplies to post the lesson in Learning.com's platform. We were able to create the lesson and have it ready to assign within 10 minutes. If you do not use Learning.com another option would be to post it on a Google site or even a wiki. Here is a video that explains what Zondle is.

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Posted in Embed, Google site, LDC, Learning.com, teachers, Zondle