Tag Archives: unlock the teacher

July 11, 2013 · 11:07 AM

Five Week Summer Syllabus for Social Studies

Week of July 15

Create a graphic organizer on Africa and cite or describe the following:

Website Resources

Week of July 22

Create a graphic organizer on Australia and cite or describe the following:

  • Three major religions, population, three major trades, type of government, natural resource(s)

Website Resources

Week of July 29

Create a graphic organizer on Europe and cite or describe the following:

  • Name the countries that make up Europe, identify and describe three major religions, population, three major trades, type(s) of government, natural resource(s)

Website Resources

Week of August 5

Create a graphic organizer on Asia and cite or describe the following:

  • Name the countries that make up Asia, identify and describe three major religions, population, three major trades, type(s) of government, natural resource(s)

Website Resources

Week of August 12

Create your own world map that displays the location of Africa, Australia, Europe and Asia.

  • Include the countries that make up Africa, Europe and Asia
  • Map must be hand-made and not computer generated

May we continue to seek knowledge in all things~

Denise

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April 22, 2011 · 9:13 PM

We Have Added Many Great Educational Resources and Games…Check it Out!

From Flannagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice awesome 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!

May we continue to see knowledge in all things,

Denise

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April 1, 2011 · 6:17 PM

A Fabulous Middle School Teacher Utilizing “Out of the Box” Techniques to Teach Peace

Unlock the Teacher Team travels into many schools and I always enjoy going into St. Mary’s School in Royal Oak.  The atmosphere is inviting and the teachers are friendly.  We wanted to tell you about a fabulous teacher utilizing “out of the box” techniques to teach peace. Linda Irwin teaches middle school literature and even if that knowledge wasn’t known, one could tell just by walking into her cozy room! 

 
While visiting this past week, I coud not help noticing this awesome bulletin board as I walked down the hall in front of this classroom.  I walked in and asked Mrs. Irwin all about it.  The students are reading, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
 
Students are working together by individually designing a quilt square that will be added to a “Quilt of Peace” created by the entire class.  I was fortunate to have witnessed one child designing one of these squares, that was beautifully done.  When asked, the students were so excited to share insights from the book and excerpts from the great discussions they were having in class generated around their reading.
 
As a certified ELA teacher, whenever I hear students excited about reading, my heart soars!  Great job Mrs. Irwin for passing on you passion and utilizing relevant and current books to engage your students. 
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
 
 
 
 
If you ever wonder if middle school and high school students are paying attention to business, politics and world affairs, we are in various schools and take every opportunity to ask students about their thoughts…they are very aware of the world around them… AND they have an opinion.
 
We will be utilizing the month of April to shower you with Best Practices we find as we wrap up this school year.  If you know a fabulous teacher and want to tell us about it, we will share it and celebrate with you.  We are blessed to have such dedicated educators in this country. Please join us in celebrating their efforts!
 
May we seek knowledge in all things,
 
Denise 🙂 and the entire Unlock the Teacher Team
 
Email your pics and favorite teacher bios to teachme@unlocktheteacher.com
 

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March 30, 2011 · 12:52 PM

Thank You for All the Support of Literacy Campaign in March

 
 
We are working on our calendar of events for next school year now.  If you or your school would like to have us come in and provide one of the many workshops we offer, please let us know so we can pencil you in.
 
 
We love hearing from you and sharing your ideas too.  We are creating a massive resource section on our website for educational and non-profit grants.  We will be launching this information in April.  If you or your school has a great Best Practice to share or is in need of information, we would love to hear from you.  It is through the sharing of knowledge and positive collaboration, that we will create a better tomorrow for our children, our future!
 
May we seek knowledge in all things,
Denise

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March 3, 2011 · 6:59 PM

ePublishing Teen Workshops in Schools this Week were Inspirational

ePublishing Teen Workshops in schools this week were fun, engaging and inspirational. Our team had such a great time this week going into schools, talking and working with teenagers about how to utilize their great ideas and talents to earn college money.  There are so many successful teen authors out there.  The groups we met with shared books they are reading or have read and were amazed that some of them were written by teens. 

When we brought up the Eragon series, each school group cheered or expressed loudly their love for this series.  Out of hundreds of teens, only a handful knew Christopher Paolini history and how as a teenager he wrote Eragon. TeenReads.com  is just one of many sites we recommend in our workshops, for teenagers to seek out information on their favorite authors.

Author Ashley is another great example we use to demonstrate how teenagers can turn their crazy dreams, ideas and thoughts into eBooks and be successful.  One of the neatest pieces to Ashley Author’s story is that her whole family participates in the process…much like Christopher Paolini family.

In our community ePub workshops or small group workshops the parent-child collaboration seems to draw huge interest.  We are currently working with a principal who loves the teen/parent workshop idea and we are developing a workshop specifically tailored to his audience in his district.  Children have great ideas and if we only pause and listen, there is much we can learn from them.

Speaking of learning, one K-2 group that we met with this week were so cute but so full of ideas that after our eBook Reading Workshop, we met as a team and wrote down some of their ideas; a plethora of great ideas from wise children under the age of 8!  This is a great reminder that we should always seek knowledge…

More to come as I begin to write down these great ideas from children to share. 

Knowledge is meant to be shared, may we seek it and share it!

Denise

P.S. If your child or classroom has a good idea and you would like to share with us and our readers, we would love to read it!

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February 24, 2011 · 2:37 AM

Thank You!

This is a THANK YOU blog for all of you who have so generously responded to this blog, passed on the word and through your generosity, allowing me to share the good in education. 

I am so grateful for the support, the positive comments and the dialogue with local and …not so local school districts about training packages.  The “ePublishing Workshop for Teens” is a hot topic and I will post some mini clips of our next workshop this Friday, to share the enthusiasm that young people are having when they see the wonderful opportunities for their writing.  As an educator, it always gives me goose bumps to see students get excited or find validity in the work they produce in the classroom; it is a win-win for educators, students and families.

Recently, we provided a min-ePub training for 8 students and parents. Everyone in attendance came prepared with laptop and samples of writings: short stories, poetry, cartoons etc.  It was a teachable/learning moment when the parent realized the amazing work their children were capable of producing, and for the teens as they discovered that their authentic work, their ideas, dreams and creativity were not only good, but inspiring for all the adults in the group.  The coup de grace of the training was when all participants realized the opportunities that were available with ePublishing authentic work. They discovered, that they could utilize proceeds to  establish college funds, travel adventures etc. with publishing authentic, creative eBooks.

We give our next ePublishing Workshop this Friday to 100+ teens for a local school district, and I personally cannot wait!

Did you know that the author of that amazing Eragon series was a teen when he published Eragon as an eBook? Of course, Knopf Publishing, a part of Random House, picked it up and signed the whole series within months. An example of a family working together to make a dream come true.

May we continue to seek knowledge in all things…

Denise

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February 13, 2011 · 8:44 AM

“The Many Mysteries of the Beach” with an Academic Focus to Hit Barnes & Noble this Week

An Academically Enriched Children’s Literature Book

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. 

May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,

Denise

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February 10, 2011 · 1:28 PM

Academically Focused Children’s Books

I will be working on epublishing two new academically focused children’s books with parent and teacher resource section.

 
 The goal of The Many Mysteries of the Beach is to introduce and enhance academic science vocabulary and sight words. This book will also have a resource section for parents, pre-K and elementary educators. The paintings for this book were painted by Mary Sharon, my mother, who while living with my husband and me for the last ten years of her life, would sit out on the back deck and paint.  She lost her battle with Colon-Rectal cancer in 2005. Her passion for life, reading and art are evident in her work, as her paintings tell a story all on their own. 

 The academic focus for The Many Mysteries of the Beach are sight words and science facts.

The goal of Phonics Friends’ Adventure is to promote literacy while enhancing the cornerstone of reading, phonics.
 
The academic focus for this book are phonics, sight words and science facts. This book will come with a parent/teacher resource page.
 
 
Together, through positive collaboration, we all can make a difference for our children, our future.
 
May we seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
“acte non verbe”

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February 9, 2011 · 1:32 PM

“Katie’s Farm” to “Katie’s Farm Adventures” Promoting Literacy Campaign

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!
 
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
 
~Denise
 

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February 9, 2011 · 11:01 AM

“Veggie Tales”

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 Tale movies 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.

Veggie Tales Provides Moral Stories We Can All Learn From

May we continue to seek knowledge in all things!

~Denise

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