Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon” Series Games and Activities for Tweens and Teens…Great Teacher Resource Too
http://www.alagaesia.com/
John Flannagan’s “Ranger’s Apprentice” Series Games and Activities for Tweens and Teens…Great Teacher Resource Too (one of my favorite series)
Given all the many online resources available to both educators and parents alike, one can spend a whole week educating our youth on days like today…President’s Day and answering the who, what, where and why questions that arise.
The Teacher’s Guide is a fabulous resource site, that provides lesson plans, tips on integrating technology, White Board lessons and so much more.
A to Z Teacher Stuff is a neat site that has theme-based puzzles, lesson plans and great educational resources to utilize at home or in the classroom.
Education World is one of our favorite online resources. This site offers lessons broken down by discipline and has a wealth of lessons to choose from.
When we share the good in education, we all benefit!
Example of Teacher-Generated Sound Chart to Help Emerging Readers with Phonics
Dolch Phonetic System Classroom Materials Organization
Use a plastic file cube to store materials. One hanging folder for each Dolch list will hold all of the game and practice materials. Add a 2nd hanging files for each Dolch list to hold flashcard sheets to give to a student when he/she moves to a new Dolch list. The student takes this list home for practice. Keep your record binder in the cube too.
It might be helpful to print the materials for each list in a particular color. This makes it easy to get stray flashcards and other materials back into the correct folder.
laminate or use clear contact paper on the flashcards. Laminate or contact the whole sheet before cutting. This helps, because the students love to review with them and they can go home once completed for additional review.
Game boards, bingo cards etc. can be laminated or placed in plastic sleeves. Three hole punched plastic sleeves are very cheap at Costco. They are actually a much cheaper and a faster way to protect the game boards. (I hole punch the cards to and put on ring sometimes for the students.)
Give each student a practice booklet to keep. The student brings the booklet to testing sessions. The teacher can write helpful hints in the booklet for the student and “stamp, star or sticker” completed lists.
Record Keeping:Maintain a pocketed binder for student and class records.Store testing lists and or testing flashcards in the pocket of the binder.Maintain individual records, a class graph, and a status of the class.
Test each student every week or two. They will “bug” you to test them. As a teacher, you will begin to see their confidence rise. In a regular classroom setting, teachers can grab a couple of minutes here and there for testing: during SSR, during an art project, while at the computer lab or library etc. Regular testing does not have to be
built into the schedule.
I prefer to do my own testing, so I can observe errors and help the student by giving little individual mini-lessons. If you use an aide or volunteer to test, make sure you demonstrate to them how you want your testing done. You are seeking automatically with the words. If the student takes more than a count to 5 to read the word, he/she doesn’t know the word well enough.
• Word cards with words that contain familiar spelling patterns (or blends, rimes, digraphs, etc.)
Lesson:
Tell the students that they will be reading cards with familiar word patterns. Then,
1. Ask a student to read the first word card. Give the student no more than three seconds to answer.
2. If the student reads the card correctly, place it face down on the table. If the student cannot read
the card, tell him or her what the word is, emphasizing the pattern, and place the unread or misread card in front of the student.
3. Show the following word card to the next student, repeating step 2. Repeat until all word cards have been read or given to students.
4. Have the students who have cards in front of them attempt to read those words again. If they are able to read the card quickly and easily, take it back.
5. If a student misreads any words again, have the student keep the card and ask him or her to practice reading it.
Adaptations:
To check for comprehension, ask students to use each word in a complete sentence.
Instead of using word patterns, use cards with sight words written on them, and have the students use the words in sentences.
This is a great activity for parents to use with their emerging readers at home too. There are many weeks left to summer, Happy Reading!
Practice identifying fractions and operating with fractions. **This is my learning style
These are some great math sites I found while conducting research this morning. The fractions sites are SO good, that I had to share. I hope these sight help make the learning process fun for your math learner!
In one of our Writing Workshops in May, I was thrilled to spend time with Amy Foret. She is a young mom who is a wife and a mother of two. Her articulate and well-read daughter is 7 and she has an amazing son who is 5.
Her daughter started reading when she was only 3 1/2, and has been writing stories since she started kindergarten. Now she is in second grade. She reads about a book a night, and writes at least one short story a week.
Please check out and welcome these new writers to WordPress and the writing arena.
For all of our readers who love to get great ideas on books to utilize in classroom or read to your child, we highly recommend Amy’s blog MY Garden Patch of Books.
Please check it our and share your thoughts here on your great reading finds 🙂
I am on my way to VA to meet with Trisha and conduct some Unlock the Teacher LLC “How to ePublish” Workshops…
Stay tuned as the next Katie’s Adventure eBookis almost ready to hit Barnes and Noble.com. The OLQM first graders who wrote and illustrated the book did an amazing job!
You learn something every day if you pay attention. ~Ray LeBlond
From Flannagan’s Ranger’s Apprenticeawesome site for tweens, teens and educators, to Christopher Paolini‘s Eragon site with games galore, this blog has tried to add some great educational resources for all to enjoy.
The goal is to add educational resources to help home school parents that write-in and ask us for resources. This blog will continue to add and share resources.
Have a wonderful time exploring these fabulous sites.
P.S. The Ranger’s Apprentice site has a contest going on now!
Mysteries of the Beach is on sale now at Barnes and Noble and can be downloaded for your child’s enjoyment and to utilize as an educational tool. This is a complete science unit (k-2) on the ocean, all inside one book.
We have included hyper links throughout, which make it an ideal teaching tool for classrooms with Smartboards. Regardless if you are teaching a class, small groups or an individual student, this book is a great resource.
We have recommended additional websites and resources to enrich both the academic and enjoyment areas.
Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of support! For those who have already purchased the book, please share your experiences and/or children’s comments about Mysteries of the Beach. We will be publishing the coloring book attachment piece for 99 cents soon.
We are excited to share with you the books being launched March 1st for our Unlock the Teacher LLC Promoting Literacy Campaign. We appreciate and look forward to all comments.
As many have already requested, we will donate any of our eBooks to schools, libraries, hospitals or any facility that helps children and promotes literacy. Our goal is to share knowldege and promote all that is good in education!
A “mysterious” narrator takes the reader on many mysteries to be learned at the beach. Learn about the many animals that live on the beach while enhancing sight words and scientific knowledge. This book is includes a parent and teacher resource section. For parents or any caregiver, this is a great tool for exploring the teacher within and creating wonderful teaching moments for the learner in your life.
Reading is the cornerstone of all learning. Regardless if the book is hand held and made of paper, or if it is stored on an electronic device, the words open the door to the imagination, not the physical object.
If we are to teach and be effective in the 21st century, then we need to know its language and understand its abilities as a learning tool.
Technology is here and it is not going away, in fact, it is changing by the minute. The goal should be to embrace the good aspect of incorporating technology into the learning platform.
All Proceeds Dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Literacy Fund
My mother named this series of paintings, Katie’s Farm. Her birth name was Catherine and when she visited her grandparent’s farm, they would call her Katie. However, given that there is a fabulous story already in print titled Katie’s Farm, I will be modifying title. I found this to be fitting, given all the amazing adventures Katie enjoys on the farm with her cousins, friends and her favorite horse Sarah.
Thank you again for all the amazing support via email, Facebook and Twitter. We will keep you posted on details and hope that you will begin the thought process of supporting this literacy campaign, through purchase of books to enhance literacy across the curriculum for all these schools.
Reading is the foundation that supports all learning!
While watching The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything this past weekend, I was reminded how these videos are so uplifting for all viewers. As I sat on the floor with my children singing along to the great tunes, I watched as both my son and daughter were engaged with the movie’s message.
All the Veggie Talemovies I have seen have incorporated wonderful songs. However, the most important contribution that each movie offers is the strong moral message. The moral or character attributes being promoted in each movie, is so creatively intertwined into the story line.
For more information on parent and teacher resources, incorporating the use of the many Veggie Tale lessons, check out the following article at Suite 101.
Odyssey of the Mind
An international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.
Math Chimps
Great online math games aligned to the Common Core State Standards~for ages 4-16
Oceanhouse Media
Great educational book apps and so much more. Check out often for FREE downloads to help your child learn letters, phonics & math!
Team Building and Problem-Solving Strategies for the Classroom
Odyssey of the Mind
An international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.
Unlock the Teacher 
