Movie Clip Monday

Techie Turtle Teacher

It's MOVIE CLIP MONDAY!!!!

Sometimes we just need a good laugh! This is for all my first grade teachers...You know you have been there during a math lesson! :0)

Some of my blogger friends have linked up with some more video clips for you.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing a You Tube Video Safely in the Classroom

Sharing a video with your kiddos can be a fun and engaging part of any lesson.  We do want to be safe when we share though!  First, PREVIEW, PREVIEW, PREVIEW.  We always want to watch the video before we ever show it in a classroom. Unfortunately, there are videos that look "child friendly" but they are not! Also sometimes when a video ends there are ads or suggested videos that come up at the end.  These ads and videos may not be appropriate.  You can use Safe Share TV to safely watch You Tube videos. It's easy peasy to use... just input the You Tube video link and Safe Share generates a safe link to the video.  When you use the link the ads and suggested videos will not appear at the end. Love it! 

Standards Based Teaching

So this year my district has started standards based assessment/report cards for grades K-5. I'm no longer in the classroom so I have watched from afar. I've seen tears...I've listened...and I've coached as well as I can with little experience in this endeavor. However, with a semester under our belt and some time to reflect I really see the benefits of standards based teaching.  No longer are we bound by a curriculum.  We pick the best from the curriculum we have and use our professional judgement to add,add, and then add more to our lessons. We have freedom now which opens up so much for our students!!! It also allows our teachers to be creative and engages our students. It's exciting to watch!  We by no means are experts but we are so much better at it now then we were on August 5. Can't wait to see how good we are at it by May 23!  

Recently, we did some planning with each grade level and mapped out the 3rd nine weeks.  When planning we found several gaps between the curriculum and what was expected in the standards. So...being the instructional partner that I am...I began searching for additional items to help teach these standards. Because first grade is my comfort zone I started there.  I really couldn't find what I was looking for so I created something for them and wanted to share with you guys too. :0)

Graphic Organizer for RL 1.4

Graphic Organizer for RL 1.5

  

Emperor Penguins and TLC

One of my very first creations for TPT was an Emperor Penguin Scrapbook...Not bad for a first timer but I recently took another peek at it and knew it needed a little TLC! So....I gave it some! I reorganized the unit and made it look a little prettier. My firsties loved making the scrapbook and I think yours will too!!!

I have revamped the pages above but wanted to show you an example of some the pages my firsties created.  Grab the Emperor Penguin Family Scrapbook and engage those kiddos!

Reading Response Activity for Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett

Hey my friends...did I mention how much I loved craftivities when I taught 1st grade???? WELL....I DID and so did my firsties.  It was a fun and engaging way to learn!!! Jan Brett is one of my favorite authors and I have a lot of her Christmas books so....it was only natural to create this latest craftivity...a reading response activity for Christmas Trolls. Grab it HERE.

Make 3 Wishes...A Different Kind of Give Away!

I have the most incredible hubby ever!!! He lets me bounce my ideas off of him all of the time and then he gives me some GREAT ideas!!! This next idea came from him!!! 

I want to create the items that you guys really need and want! So what better way to do that then to get input from you!!! So...Make 3 Wishes was born! Here is how it works:

Download the Make 3 Wishes document from my TPT store HERE.

List up to 3 items you want created.
Over the next few weeks I will be choosing ideas and creating! 
• If I choose one of your ideas you get the product for FREE and an additional $10 worth of product. I will email if your idea is chosen. It’s possible that I could choose all 3 ideas you submit. That would mean 3 FREE products and $30 worth of product total!! WOOHOO! 
•Just for submitting your ideas you can also list an item that you would love to purchase at 50% off. I’ll put that item on sale and email with details.

You will email the completed copy to learningwithfirsties123@gmail.com.

Can't wait to see all the great ideas!! 

Thanks for being such awesome teachers!!!

Do You "I Can"?

This year I have moved to a new school and play a part in the leadership team as the instructional partner. It is an expectation of the team that I can statements be posted.  But we knew that the teachers needed the research that supports why we use these statements. They needed the "why" so that the statements could be used effectively. Just like our students teachers need purpose in what we do. We embedded a short PD in our instructional meetings that gave our teachers the "why." I want to share the article with you guys so you too will know why I can statements are so IMPORTANT!!! Take a moment to watch the short PowToon and read the article.  I can statements are powerful!! They will make a difference in your students' learning.  Watch for more posts about I can statements, formative assessments and more...

"Knowing Your Learning Targets"