Soooo cute! On her resource-rick website, Shari Sloane, an educator and consultant, features important first words on pillowcases. These might be distributed to all students (they could even be made by students with fabric markers and old linens) or they could be given to just a few learners needing extra practice. Maybe even an end-of-the-year […]
Visual schedules, reminder strips and more
If you have students with autism or other disabilities who need the help of visual supports, you may want to examine the photos and examples over at Do2Learn. Picture schedules and visual directions can help students become more independent, learn unfamiliar tasks, and reduce their anxiety about new routines (e.g., checking a book out from […]
Cell animation resource
John Kryk, biologist and artist, has created a phenomenal web resource for educators. His cell biology “movies” will be a great supplement to lectures and whole class discussions. The clips would also work well during a stations/centers lesson where learners had many different ways to study cells (e.g., watching clips, reading about cells).
End of day dismissal checklist
Over at Teachers Notebook, you will find this great checklist to help your students become more independent at the end of the day. The best news, however, is the price: FREE! Thanks to this generous elementary school teacher, you can download this visual support and create this exact dismissal chart for your room. All learners will […]
Just a picture
Have you tried giving your students a photograph as a prompt for a writing assignment? How about giving them a photo and telling them they have the freedom to write in any style they choose? John Spencer at Education Rethink does exactly this with his students and gets many creative assignments in response-poems, short stories, […]
TODD’S TECH TUESDAY: Seeing stars
On occasion, we will feature some applications for smartphones and tablets that are available for purchase from Apple iTunes and Google Android stores. Today we’ll feature Starwalk, available through iTunes for both iPhone and iPad (SkyMap is a similar application for Android devices). Many learners are fascinated with the stars, planets, and other objects in […]
FUN FRIDAY: Shiny sight words
I love sensory stuff in the classroom and thought some of you would too. This idea would be great for teaching, but could also be used as a practice game in the home (maybe a project for the long winter break). Fairy Dust Teaching is the site featuring this whimsical idea of making sight word […]
Think tangrams
If you are currently teaching tangrams (or you will be in the near future), you must check out this differentiated lesson plan and learning agenda on the topic. You will find these goodies at Think Magnet//Laughing and Learning Through Teachable Moments. Shelisa, a former teacher, gives great tips and ideas of how to make the […]
