Smore! Flyers

Smore is a website that allows you to build quick, easy flyers within minutes! It is a great alternative for Word or Publisher. You can design a flyer from a basic template or you may want to choose to create one from scratch and add your own content.

The super easy format gives you the option to change the design, background, colors, and font. You will also see navigation arrows next to each section as you hover to view the different layout options for that section. Below is an example of a personal layout flyer. However, you can drag and drop to rearrange the sections, delete sections, or add as many as you would like to customize it.

Students can have fun creating posters, flyers, or invitations for a topic being covered in class. They can make a personal flyer for a character in a story, a personal flyer to display at open house, or create a snapshot of a story they have read. For example, they could add pictures for the setting, add text for the summary,  bio to discuss the author, or even a video or link to to provide additional information. Smore can also be a great tool to create a classroom newsletter. I like to use it because it can be easily shared through Facebook, Twitter, email, or a direct link. If you get a chance, it's worth checking out.

 *I used the spelling flyer in the post because that is how it is referenced on the website.

Author's Purpose Freebie!

As I was visiting classrooms the last few weeks, I noticed many of the teachers had anchor charts or signs posted for author's purpose. However, not many used the catchy phrase, It's as easy as PIE". So I decided I should make my own printable signs for them so I could share out with everyone. It's a fun way for students to remember the author's purpose: persuade, inform, and entertain. I know there are lots of other versions out there but if you would like one more, click to download the freebie!

Good news! This also prompted me to finally setup my TpT store so please check back often because I'll be uploading and giving away lots of other freebies in the future.

You've Been Boo'ed! Freebie

"You've Been Boo'ed" is probably known for it's fun way of sharing treats and Halloween cheer with neighbors and friends. It's a great activity that becomes contagious because so many love joining in on all the fun. At my campus several years ago we modified "You've Been Boo'ed" to apply to our staff members. Instead of leaving treats at each others classroom doors, we actually just placed them in teacher boxes and waited  to see everyone discover the goodies! This was really easy because our mailboxes were in a separate room so we could easily sneak in and out without being discovered. I still have my Halloween gifts that were given to me and it was nice to see how quickly it caught on. By the time Halloween arrived, every staff member had received a nice little treat. Since, it's October (already!) I thought it would be great to make a few of the signs and share out so you could enjoy the fun as well. I revised the poem a little to fit nicely with the campus setting. If you haven't ever been "Boo'ed" before, I hope you consider starting the tradition this year. Just start off by leaving a bag of treats at two classroom doors and sit back and watch the Halloween cheer! I always like to check out Pinterest for some great ideas. Click on the link below for the "You've Been Boo'ed" freebie.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/36080283/You%27ve%20Been%20Booed.pdf

If you would prefer the original version and not the classroom, please email me and I can send it to you.

Fun Reading & Math Sing-a-long Videos

The Alphabet Video by Have Fun Teaching is a catchy way to sing the alphabet with your class. It reviews the letters of the alphabet as well as the letter sounds. I saw a few kindergarten teachers use it with their students and they absolutely loved it! The students were engaged and singing along with it the entire time. They especially like singing along to it around 1:30 of the video when the tempo speeds up.



Alphabet Video from Have Fun Teaching on Vimeo.

There are also many videos to review sight words such as: you, I , said, it, and, to, the, and so on. The video constantly repeats the sight word, spells it out, and uses it in a sentence for students.



Sight Word You from Have Fun Teaching on Vimeo.

Have Fun Teaching has math videos for counting by ones, twos, threes, and all the way up to twelves. I liked Count by Five which you can check out below.

Count By Five Song from Have Fun Teaching on Vimeo.

The Sing-a-long videos are perfect for getting the students up and moving in a productive way. Plus they love seeing and singing with them. If you want to see all the videos that are listed, you can check them out here: http://vimeo.com/havefunteaching/videos. There are currently 79 total available. Another plus, it is compatible with iPads and iPods so you can have the students listen to them during listening center or as practice after completed lessons. Enjoy :)

Reading Bear

I hope everyone has gotten off to a great start of the year! It's been crazy busy for me lately so I'm a little behind on posting. I started my new position as a literacy specialist and so far I'm love it! I think what I like most is being able to observe so many different classrooms and grade levels. There are a lot of awesome teachers out there and I love picking up and discovering new tips & tricks while visiting their classrooms. One of the main focuses in the district's literacy block is finding time or activities to support our Word Work lessons. So, I thought I would post about a website that would support and be engaging for students to learn phonics and word work skills.

Reading Bear is a fun, interactive website that helps students learn to read. It reviews all the main phonics rules and guides students through hands-on practice. You could have students practice with Reading Bear during center time, or use it whole group with your interactive whiteboard. It doesn't replace your lesson but it can provide scaffolding, especially for your struggling readers or ELL's. The most important question...is it free? Yes, it is completely free to use. You may also choose to register for an account that will allow you to save quiz scores and track presentations, but it is not required. If you are looking for interactive phonics lessons, center activities, or just an alternative to Starfall, you might want to check out Reading Bear. Hope you find it beneficial :)

Dropbox

I know everyone has probably heard of Dropbox but this really is my top "can't live without" Web 2.0 tool. If you are not using it, you truly are missing out on a great productivity tool. I would used to carry around tons of flash drives and try to remember where I put them or try not to lose them. Honestly, I very seldom use them anymore because Dropbox takes care of all that for me. It is basically a virtual flash drive that is always there and you never have to worry about losing it, and you can always have access from anywhere there is internet. Currently, I have Dropbox on my home computer, work computer, iPhone, and all my other technology devices. The moment I add or modify a document it instantly updates it to all the other devices. I can't tell you how convenient it has been to pull up documents on my phone when I need them. Anyways, I have been accessing files all night from Dropbox so it prompted me to make a quick blog post about it. I will now leave everyone with a bit of humor below!

I think this pretty much sums up how a lot of us are feeling at the moment!

Spell with flickr

By now, most of you have probably seen the personalized name frames that spell out each letter of the name uniquely. My colleague Cathy came across Spell with flickr several months back and introduced it to me. The website basically creates the same effect in such a quick, simple manner.  You type in a name, phrase, or word and Spell with flickr creates it by pulling single images from flickr and using it to generate what you have typed in.

Now the really cool part! You can click on each individual letter and filter through images of the letter until you find one that you like; so, you have the ability to do some customizing. Notice the B and A are the same style of letter. After browsing through a few of the letter B's my word "Back" now looks like this...

I am all about simple so I thought this would be a good resource to share. Besides, think about how much fun students could have practicing their spelling words like this!