BOOKS!

My 13 year old cousins brought me some of their old books that they don't read anymore, but a lot of them are 3rd, 4th, 5th grade level that I can't really use in my 1st grade class! There are a lot of "Goosebumps" books as well as some beginning chapter books. If anyone is interested, I can bring them to Hopkins on Tuesday. There are about 40 books, so there are enough to go around! Just let me know if any of you are interested so I can bring them on Tuesday!

Thanks!

Erin

A great group!

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. ~Carl Jung

Names

Hey everyone!

I know a while back we had a nice class discussion about the strange names we have all encountered. Well I was reading the news this morning and I found this article about names in New Zealand that I thought I would share:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7522952.stm

Out of all the names they mention in the article, my personal favorite is "Yeah Detroit." 

Erin

PBIS

Positive Behavior Intervention System:
http://www.pbis.org/main.htm

Something to check out!

http://www.donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html

The Knack Faculty @ Michael's

Check this out...

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayArticle?articleNum=ae0572

Another Webite

Hey guys and girls, here is another excellent resource website. you should sign up for the newsletter as well, the send you monthly free resources.

LearningPage.com

also, you should sign up for the scholastics.com website newsletter, they're always offering free stuff.

i'm moving into my first apartment next friday and i own absolutely NOTHING!! there was a website where people give away basically free stuff when they're moving out or just because. if anyone knows what i'm talking about, i would really appreciate a hint about what this website is called. thanks guys!! and as soon as i get a couch and a pan, then i will invite everyone over for...pizza!

An interesting read...

This is an interesting read...a first-person account of a local high school student as he is recruited heavily to play football in various colleges around the country. He has clearly been cared for and loved by his family, teachers, and coaches. As a former sports producers...I always have a soft spot for student athletes...but it's important to teach our kids to be well rounded, community minded citizens and I think this young man is an interesting character who's on his way!
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/highschool/bal-va.austin11jul11,0,195763.story
=) Kelly

Baltimore City's best kept secret!

Hi Guys,

I wanted to share the following website with you to showcase the wonderful accomplishments and advances that both students and teachers can attain when standards and expectations are set high. This is a public city school, the students are randomly chosen by lottery, they are primarily african american, and the majority receive free or reduced meals, yet they have consistently outperformed the other 2 top elementary/middle schools for the past 2 years.
So, when people offer negative comments or "scare tactics" about your decision to teach in BC, just remember-- all things are possible for those who believe and strive to achieve.
have a great weekend!

http://www.ujimavillage.org/about_us.htm

Free Magazines

Hey Guys!

I was going to post this the other day but I forgot. The other day, our Hopkins prof mentioned that if you go into Target or Walgreens or anywhere that sells magazines, you can ask to have the outdated magazines instead of the store throwing them away. Apparently, they only need to mail back the covers to get credit, but the rest of the magazine is game. They would be great for class projects, whether it be cutting out pictures or finding articles to read. There are tons of kid-friendly magazines out there too! 

Books and Stuff

I wanted to share a great experience with you, and maybe someone will have a similar encounter. I went into a paperback trade store the other day. I was speaking with the woman that works there and I told her about teaching and BCTR and all of that good stuff. She told me that when I get my placement (yes, I'm gonna get the party, I can see it now....) that I should come back and take as many books as I would like. Obviously, I am not going to go in and be super greedy, but every little bit helps in developing your new classroom library! I just thought I'd throw that out there because you never know what you may get from people! It's always worth asking, so check out any local places like that that may be near you.

Also - I went online and ordered catalogues from every teacher supply company out there. Everything is way too expensive for my blood, but they are great resources! And it doesn't cost anything to have them sent to you. I looked through two of them tonight and found about a dozen things that I could easily make on my own and spend a fraction of the cost. (really cool stuff too!) I know we are all creative, but it's nice to not have to think so much after some of these very long days.

Impressive

Hi Everyone...
I just wanted to let you know what an impressive, thoughtful group I think you are. I love the amount of sharing that is happening within the group...both with great ideas and resources...but also with our personal beliefs and experiences. If you haven't done so...please take the time to read Jarret's post in response to the youtube video's Keli posted. I hope we all continue to share strategies and solutions to the obstacles we will face in the coming months. I have found all of your energy and excitement to be inspiring!
=) Kelly

This is an awesome website!
http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/printables.html

-Keli

Ms. Wallace is here

Hey y'all,
just wanted to make myself known up and through here!!

Anoooother Site!

I found this site:

http://www.kidzone.ws

It's just full of a ton more worksheets and different things... I'm actually using one of the connect the dots worksheets in my lesson tomorrow.

Erin

Good Times

Hey Guys!
I want to share something with you all that touches on our conversation that we had today during our framework session. As you know, many standardized tests are deemed unfair due to the many different backgrounds, cultures, and income levels that students may come from. I totally agree with this and many people have for many years now. I am embedding two clips from the show "Good Times". If you 're not familiar with the show, it is a 70's sitcom about a family living in the projects of Chicago. It was created by Norman Lear and lasted for about 8 or 9 years. Anyway, the clips are great examples of the issues with standardized tests. Enjoy!

-Keli

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKLIxTrunY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r0UtjDpEfw

Staples penny sale

Hey Guys!
I went to Staples today and stocked up on the penny sale. After I went to one store, I was so excited about my purchases that I went to another. If time had permitted, I would have gone to a couple more. There are limitations on the amount of items that you can get, but if you have your teacher ID, the limit is 25. I think at one store I got 25 mini hand sanitizers, 25 folders, 25 packs of 8 pencils and 4 mini 1 inch binders for a total of $1.86. The last day is tomorrow, so try to make it if you can, it's soooooooooo worth it! Also, Dollar Tree stores have an awesome "Teacher Isle" that has lots of great things to use in classrooms....decorations, books, supplies stickers, flash cards, activity books, and much more! I hope you guys have a great night. See you tomorrow!

-Keli

A follow up to Angela's post...Barnes and Noble Discount

Within the last month I went to Barnes and Noble for my educator/teacher discount card.  You just need to bring proof of your employment and then they give you a card for 20% off.  It seems to vary from store to store as to whether or not you can use it for just classroom materials or anything you purchase.  I used it this weekend for a completely un-school related purchase and wasn't questioned by the sales attendant.  

Sites and a nice program

I found two websites that look useful. One is teachertools.org, which looks like a gateway to many other resources and the other is internet4classrooms.com, which has a lot of neat award designs for students. I also saw at the Johns Hopkins Barnes and Noble that they are sponsoring a reading program for the summer. If a student in grade 1-6 reads 8 books (with a list of the books and their favorite part of the book) and gets a parent to sign it, they can receive one free book coupon from the store. I know it's a summer program but maybe they have something similar in the Fall. Also, in NH, I know that they had certain weeks for teachers to receive a 25% off coupon. I will keep my eyes open for that and let you know if I see that.

Worksheets

Hey again everyone!

I found another site that I really like:

www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/

They have a ton of different worksheets and handouts. I don't know how easy they are to print out since I haven't really tried yet, but they are definitely good for ideas if you wanted to re-create the worksheets on your own. 

See some of you in class in a little bit and the rest of you tomorrow!

Erin

First Day of School...

One book that I've enjoyed using on the first day of school is "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes (sp.?). You can then get to know your students by having them talk about their name or write about their name...etc. Maybe even an acrostic poem...
Ex.
S miley
A wesome
R eally fun
A great friend
H appy to be in third grade!

Just an idea for you!
=) Kelly

Freecycle

hi all,

this website is completely unrelated to education but I think it might be really helpful. freecycle is an online group you can join where people post what they are giving away for free. we have furnished much of our apartment from this group, but they also give away a lot of great kids stuff. they post about books & possibly other things like milk crates for storage or other materials that we might be able to use in the classroom. & it's all free! I bet freecycle baltimore will have a ton of users giving away great stuff! we belong to freecycle annapolis & I will keep my eye out for good materials for the classroom & let you know if I nab anything good that I might be able to share or give away.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclebaltimore/

http://www.freecycle.org/ (for those of us who live outside the baltimore area, they have groups all over the country)

good luck freecycling!

Children's Literature

Here is a website I came across...
http://www.carolhurst.com/

Hey Friends!
I've come across a couple of websites that I've found to be very useful...here they are!

www.justfreestuff.com/teacher.html
www.freakyfreddies.com/teacher.htm
www.kalama.com/~zimba/freeforteachers.htm
www.netrover.com/~kingskid/freestuff.htm

I also wanted to let you guys know that I really dig all of your positive attitudes and energy. I was so nervous that I would have a bunch of Negative Nancy's/Nick's in my group, because they are out there. I truly believe that we have an awesome group of brand spanking new teachers!!! You guys rock!


-Keli

Deals!

Hey Guys!

I was searching for special deals and discounts teachers might get and I found these sites:

http://www.teacherfreebies.com

http://www.fldoe.org/justforteachers/discounts.asp

The second one is more for the state of Florida, but there is a "Nationwide" section too! 

Erin

Heather F.'s websites :)

Hey friends! When I look back at many of the more challenging times I have had regarding students, and I feel as though many of those times have been "fixed" when I have stopped to think about what the child is needing- whether it be LoveandBelonging, Freedom, Fun, Power, or Survival(rarely this one.) Here is a website by one of our trainers, Bob Sullo. He is wonderful.

http://www.txascd.org/downloads/bobsullo.pdf


Another woman who is very "hot" right now, as Kelly said, but whom I also really love and recommend is Lucy Calkins. Her writing programs are inspiring for students and fun to teach.Here is a website you can peruse:
http://www.unitsofstudy.com/author_bios.asp

Also, if anyone is interested in Arts Integration in their classroom, I'd highly recommend the book "Third Space" and here is the website: http://www.aep-arts.org/resources/toolkits/thirdspace/ I will also bring in the book to share. Kids, for the most pat, love anything with music, movement, or theater. Bringing art, in any form, into your classroom, will surely produce magical results.

noraida's helpful websites

hi guys

i just wanted to share a few helpful websites for my fellow 1st grade teachers

www.lessonplans.com

http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/bowen/classrooms/first_grade/homework/homework.html


http://www.wrightgroup.com/index.php/home/everydaymathematics/emsecondupdate/familyletters/46?SID=2144

thanks,
noraida

Interesting Website

This is an interesting website I came across...and seems to cover all grade levels.
It is a paid site...however, it might be worthwhile to split the cost and then share the username and password.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/

Open Court

For those of you that already know you'll be using the Open Court reading program in some capacity...check out this website:
www.opencourtresources.com
=) Kelly

Staples

The penny sale is great! And if you take your BCTR Teacher ID, you get 25 of everything instead of how many they typically say. Just a quick FYI! :-)

Interesting Internet Resources

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had nice 3 day weekends. For student teaching this week Mrs. Ankobia and I are going to be teaching lessons related to letter and sound recognition. I wanted to share some of the websites I came across while doing my search.
1. www.atozteacherstuff.com. Had some really cute game/lesson plan ideas...got an idea for my lesson on this one!!!
2. www.internet4classrooms.com. Has really great activities/lessons that students complete on the computer. These seem more academic based than a lot of websites I have seen out there. At my school there is a computer lab with no computer teacher: If anyone else is in the same situation this website will be a great resource.
3. www.uen.org. This is the Utah Education Network website. This website has really great, creative lesson plans broken down by grade level. I really enjoyed the format the lesson plans were in once selected. The format includes Summary, Main Cirriculum Tie/Standard used, Materials, Background for Teachers, Intended Learning Outcomes, Procedures, Strategies for Diverse Learners, and many more!!!!

I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday and eating pizza for lunch:)

Natalie

Cheap Stuff!

Hey guys...
FYI...Staples is having their annual "penny" sale on some items you may be interested in for the classroom. Just watch the quantity limits! (The link is to the weekly ad)
http://staples.shoplocal.com/staples/default.aspx?action=entryflash&adref=staples_right_hand_nav&&cm_sp=merchandising-_-weekly%20ad%20right%20rail-_-weekly%20ad%20right%20rail
Also...from what I've heard, Target has loaded up on even more great stuff in their $1 bins...my source (haha) tells me that the Target in White Marsh is especially stocked!
Check Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. for great deals on kids books. Usually about 50 cents or 3/$1.00.
=) Kelly

Links

Hey guys!

I was Google-ing lesson plan ideas and I came across this website: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/ It has a lot of different educational game ideas for every subject. There are also a lot of craft ideas that would be fun to do in class. 

This site: http://www.teachertools.org/forms_dynam.asp has a lot of templates for different forms we might need- i.e. detention slips, behavior slips, as well as assignment sheets and other various things. I really like this site because you can download and open the documents in Microsoft Word, so it's easy to edit them as needed. 

The Smithsonian Education website is a GREAT source also! They have a section specifically for educators and you can find all types of information. They also have a section where you can choose your state and grade level and they will show you all the material that aligns with state and grade level standards. It's amazing. The website is: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.html

Hope these help!

Erin

Teaching Links...3 websites.

3 websites...

When we talked about student generated rules, I was a little unsure about how this would actually translate in the classroom.  I thought this website and lesson plan was thorough and seems effective in terms of how to have students generate classroom rules....

 http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Interdisciplinary/INT0039.html

This particular lesson plan is geared towards the older end of the elementary spectrum (grades 5 and up), but similar modifications could make it appropriate for younger grades. 

This website provides 5 minute fillers, to prevent the class turning into chaos when the lesson plan or day provides extra unplanned for time.  Some are foolish, while others are easy and could probably be filed away and used off the cuff.

www.education-world.com/a_lesson/archives/fillers.shtml

I like the education world website in general, so some browsing around may reveal other useful sites. 

A friend who is teaching (with Teach for America) was forced to change her bulletin boards monthy, amongst the other 1000 things she had to do.  This website has photos of bulletin boards for months, seasons, and subjects which may be helpful to 'reference' (copy?) when we start thinking of changing/doing bulletin boards.  

www.bulletinboardpro.com

-julie

Money and the Dollar Tree

If anyone else is like me, you're stressing about not wanting to spend too much money getting your classroom up and running in August, even though we're getting these HUGE paychecks from BCTR! There is a ton of buzz going around with the BCTR folks about all of the good stuff you can get at the Dollar Tree. THEY ARE RIGHT! I got tons of great stuff for $28! I know there can only be so many Dollar Trees in Baltimore, and with everyone going, they might run out of stuff quicker. I have FOUR different stores near me that I would be happy to check into if you want something that your store has run out of. Just be sure to give me all of the specifics of what you want, and I'll be happy to try and get it for you. (And I'm thinking I'll only charge a 5% interest. haha, just kidding - I think)

Money and the Dollar Tree

Words of Encouragement

Hi friends! I think that they overwhelment factor may be starting to reer is ugly head at many of us. It is tough to make it through those Tuesdays and Thursday without wondering at least once: "Why am I doing this?" I just wanted to start a thread where we could all help eachother get through the days by offering comforting or encouraging words. We need to remember that we are all in this together- and that for the most part, going through the same things.

:) Heather F.

Links From A Teacher

Hey guys, I just wanted to share a few links that my Mom (a kindergarten teacher in Maine for 23 years) shared with me:

Glossary of Instructional Strategies
Information about Learning Strategies
Teaching Reading

Several lesson plan sites:
A to Z Teacher Stuff
Education World
ReadWriteThink
Teachers.net

Hope these help!