February Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

Welcome to our February Teacher Talk.  All of us from the Teacher Talk collaborative would like wish you a Happy Valentines Day.  We have so many fab things this month from Field Trips and ELA and reading ideas, to celebrating Black History Month and President's Day, you don't want to miss reading these blog posts from some awesome educators. 

If you're interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs and blogging buddies and our blog linky, sign up here....The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names. 

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Have I Ever Told You?
By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning 

 Adding more to the air than love this February.
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Ya Gotta Love Field Trips or Not!
By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

 

I was inspired to write this blog post after listening to my 3 podcast buddies tell about their Field Trip Follies: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, on our podcast, We Teach So Hard. I, too have stories to tell. So pull up a chair, sip some wine and read on…

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Black History Month Celebration
By Michelle Webb of Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching

 Showcase your students' learning with a black history month celebration. Show your students learning creatively, inviting parents along the way. 
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Design a Monster: A Makerspace Activity
By Laura Cripe of Under One Roof 

 Makerspace activities are all the rage these days. Learn how my kids used our makerspace to design and create their own Halloween monster. This is the perfect activity for elementary students who are too excited about Halloween to do any kind of regular school work.
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How to Choose Between Eager of Anxious
By Charlene Tess of Charlene Tess

 Be sure to say what you mean when choosing between "eager" and "anxious."

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 Writing with Colors

By Erik Arndt of Insights to English 

 I've found that using colors when writing on the whiteboard can be helpful in multiple ways. Colors can be used to create associations in the minds of learners, and the more you repeat the same method of color usage, the more those associations will strengthen in the learners' minds. Using these associations, students are quicker to find mistakes or identify what they're supposed to do.

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Is Dyslexia a Gift?

By Gini Musmanno of Reading Spotlight  

 Can dyslexia be considered a gift? Read this post before you decide.

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Put Your Heads Together to Brainstorm

By Sally Hansen of Purposeful Plans

Brainstorming can be an intimidating and daunting task for many students.  It's hard for young writers to come up with ideas for a topic without having a lot of life experience.  It is necessary to brainstorm WITH your students in the beginning, then gradually hand over the responsibility to students once you have taught them strategies and skills to use.

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Valentine Tabletop Decoration Gift for the Family

By Margo Gentile of Margo Gentile 

 Your older elementary(gr.4+) can make this beautiful Valentine tabletop decoration gift for their family. Part construction/part craft, the kids will enjoy making this project. It even lights up.  

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Differentiation in the Classroom
By Marcy Howe of It's a Teacher Thing

Differentiating in your classroom can be a lot easier than you may think. Learn five easy ways to differentiate in your 4th through 8th grade classroom and help all students succeed.
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Valentine's Day Help
By Lisa Robles of LisateachR's Classroom

  Here's your go-to for some Valentine's help!!
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3 Questions to Get You Through Teacher Evaluation Season
By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs 

 It's that time of year...You're going to be observed and evaluated. What will you teach? Sometimes, it feels like a dog and pony show. These 3 questions will help you authentically reflect on your growth.
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 Tried & True Bookmaking: Pop-Up Book
 By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

Here's an oldie but a goodie: the pop-up book. Kids (and adults) never get tired of making these because there are so many options for creativity.
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Inlinkz Link Party

January Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It's 2019! Time sure flies. We have some great ideas for you in our January edition of Teacher Talk. So hurry on over to see what these creative educators are doing this month.

If you're interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here....The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.

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Success Begins with Baby Steps

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

Are you one of those people who starts the new year with the intention of making goals for yourself but never quite follow through? If you said yes, you're in the majority, statistics show that only 8% of the people who make goals keep them. Why do so many of us, me included, fail at goal setting?

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Culturally Responsive Teaching

By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning 

 Is your classroom culturally responsive? This post might surprise you!

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Tried & True Bookmaking: Poof Book

By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools 

 There's nothing like making a book to get students excited! They oooh and aaah, as if it is magic! This blog post is the first in a series: Tried and True Bookmaking. 
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 How To Respond to Incorrect Answers
By Gini Musmanno of Reading Spotlight

 Have you ever wondered if there is a helpful way to respond to students’ incorrect answers— a way that will improve not only their comprehension, but also their mindfulness when they are reading and participating in class discussions? Here are some constructive tactics to use in replying to incorrect answers.
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 How Do Velcro Dots Help to Regulate Behavior
By Margo Gentile of Margo Gentile 

 This was a spontaneous last resort behavior mod intervention that was really effective! Whatever works!
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 THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF ZERO, The Exponent- Why Any Number to the Zero Power Equals One
By Vicki Rauch of Scipi 

 Sometimes my college students like to ask me what seems to be a difficult question. (In reality, they want to play Stump the Teacher.) One such infamous question is, "Why is any number to the zero power one?" Find out how I showed them that the answer is always one using patterns.
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 Goal Setting for the New Year: One Word
By Lisa Robles of LisaTeachR's Classroom

 Be intentional! Choose one word to focus your year.

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 Be My Valentine Treats
By Charlene Tess of Charlene Tess 

 Here are a free Valentine's Day lesson idea and a free activity to help your students correct run-on sentences.
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 Hook Your Students in Writing
By Sally Hansen of Purposeful Plans 

The hook isn’t just the attention getter at the beginning of an essay. Get your students interested in the type of essay by playing an activity before you teach!
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Roses are Red: Using Poetry in Reader's Workshop
By Tracy Willis of Mossy Oak Musings 

 Poetry + Reader's Workshop = Common Core & Complex Text! It's a winning equation. If you're not using poetry in your reader's workshop, you're missing out on some phenomenal learning opportunities. This post is chocked full of ideas to help you incorporate poetry 
into your workshop.
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 5 Easy Ways to Implement Differentiation Into Your Classroom
By Marcy Howe of It's a Teacher Thing 

 We all want to help every student succeed. Learn 5-easy ways you can start implementing differentiation in your classroom today.
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An InLinkz Link-up