Starting the Year Fresh: Classroom Organization Tips That Last
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Looking at Ourselves in the Mirror
CategoriesJanuary 28, 1986
January 17, 1991
September 11, 2001
March 17, 2020
What do all these dates have in common? They’re days that left enduring impacts on my generation. Every generation experiences events that etch into their minds forever. In my case the abiding events to date are the space shuttle...
Facilitation of Successful Online Learning Experiences: Pointers, Tips & Tricks
CategoriesWe are all dealing with difficult times in our day-to-day teaching. We’re working harder than before to bring meaningful lessons to life and making sure students are staying engaged and progressing through this unprecedented situation. But let's face it - now that we have done this and as we enter the final weeks of the year many of us recognize the value in incorporating virtual teac...
Teaching and Learning During COVID-19
CategoriesAs we begin another week at home adjusting to life with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s heartening to witness the commitment, compassion, and creativity of educators across our nation.
Within my own community, meals were provided by the school district on day one of the school closures. Educators worked hard to connect with families to check-in and answer questions based on th...
How one Crisis will Change Education Forever
CategoriesHow will you take advantage?
When educators across the country started back to school in August and September having outlined classroom plans, prepared curriculum maps, planned field trips, auditioned students for plays, musicals, band, and sports they wouldn’t have imagined that in the blink of an eye they would all be out the window. I sure didn’t. ...
How to Embrace the 21st-Century Classroom: TRY
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A Classroom Visitor
Let’s imagine for a second you are Abraham Lincoln standing in the middle of a modern day classroom in your long coat and stovepipe hat. You look around to see rows of student desks waiting for eager young minds to fill them. Y...
Featured Teacher Kaylee Lo - May 2019
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Kaylee recalls with certainty “I knew in first grade that I wanted to be a teacher someday,” which to me seems early. I focused on jokes, snacks and naps back then. She was so impressed with her teacher that she made efforts to...
Creating a Chromebook Classroom: Chromebook Expectations
CategoriesAs I begin to share my journey with you regarding the implementation of Chromebooks into my classroom, I will start with the basics because that is where we always start when it comes to introducing anything new in an elementary classroom. I set clear expectations for how my students use the Chromebooks just like I set clear expectations for my students and how they conduct themselves in my cla...
1st Steps in Creating a Chromebook Classroom
CategoriesWhat teacher wouldn’t love a class set of laptops? Engaging students with online content, differentiating instruction, and saving time by not having to make copies are just a few of the things that more technology in the classroom allows a teacher. I have the great privilege of being a part of a pilot program within my school district that has...
Integrating STEAM into your Curriculum
CategoriesIf you have been a teacher for any length of time, you have more than likely heard of STEM in regards to instructional methodology. Like any other new or trendy learning system or instructional method, teachers can be intimidated by the STEM acronym because they simply don’t know enough about it. The Connecting Link offers a course titled Integrating STEAM into your Curriculum. N...
3 Teaching Practices of the 1930s Reimagined: Using Technology in the Classroom
CategoriesMy grandma, Florence, was born in 1914 – years before the spiral notebook was invented, decades before the ballpoint pen began exploding in our pockets, and nearly a century before the Apple iPad hit store shelves. Remarkably, today-at the age of 104 years old-Grandma Florence has been using her own iPad for emailing, Facetiming, and Googling for the past four years.
Grandma Flo...
Create an Enrichment Experience in your own Classroom: Part 1
CategoriesGain a deeper understanding of forecasting the weather. Go on a trek through the Arctic Tundra. Learn about STEM careers in the United States Navy on board the USS Nimitz. All of these things are possible without even leaving the classroom through the use of Virtual Field Trips (VFTs)!
Teachers are often faced with figuring out just how to engage their students throughout the 180-day...