Ready for Back to School? Part 3

So, time is trickling away – school starts next month…already? Yes, already.

If you haven’t yet started looking at the next school year and how you will be teaching the same subjects, it is time to mix it up a little. Make learning fun and I bet the year will be a better experience for both you and your students.

I received an email a couple weeks back about “Five Fun Videos” to incorporate into your classes. Students today love technology and they love watching videos. Keeping your students involved and motivated takes some creativity on your part as a teacher – here are some fun ways to teach science, math, and, cyber-safety.

There are two different videos in the list for science. The first is Charlie, who has created a couple of “Fun Science” videos. He makes learning about the Doppler Effect and the moon. He has many other videos on many different topics (procrastinating, cooking, making balloon animals, etc.). I highly recommend the Fun Science videos for the classroom and your students just may enjoy watching the rest of his videos on their own.

The second science video shows different “Party Tricks” that can be discussed and some even attempted in science class. So, go ahead and make learning about chemical reactions and physics fun with Professor Wiseman.

There are plenty more science videos available on both YouTube and TeacherTube, so go explore this summer and make learning about science even more fun.

Next, we have a math video with Mr. Duey rapping about fractions. I know, rapping…ugh! But, remember, you need to appeal to your student’s interests, not yours. This is a fun way to reinforce fraction skills.

How, about having a little bit of fun with video? Are you thinking of having your students create short videos to show what they have learned on a particular topic? Remember, having students demonstrate what they have learned is a nice alternative to paper/pencil tests. Watch Matthew Weathers and how he creates fun April Fool’s videos for his classes and presentations. He has also created videos to show you and your students how to make fun, interactive videos.

The last video shows what life would be like in “Real Life Facebook” . After viewing this video, I would not recommend it for your classroom, but have fun watching it at home. A better alternative for secondary grades, is the “What if Facebook was Real Life?” and is set in a high school. This video can be used to teach about using common sense and introducing a cyber-safety unit.

Have fun with incorporating videos and even making videos this next school year. But, remember, before showing any videos in class make sure you have pre-viewed the entire video.

Ready for Back to School? Part 2

Last week I shared two online book options (Storyline Online and Skeleton Creek). This, week, how about something for your classroom? Are you keeping the same room or are you moving to a new room? Maybe you are getting a new computer, more students, or just want to change the room for better flow.

Example floor plan



Classroom Architect is a fun way to play with the set up of your room before you start moving desks, tables, bookshelves, etc.

Start by choosing the dimension of your room, then drag objects (desks, shelves, tables, rugs, etc.) onto the floor plan. You can rotate, easily delete, and even draw your own objects.



Classroom floor plan tools and canvas

Look at an example floor plan and listen to an audio description of the why’s behind certain placement of centers and desks (currently, there is an elementary example, but junior and senior high examples will be available soon).

Do you want to set up your classroom for optimal learning and exploration? Read about learning goals for setting up your floor plan.

When you are all done, print your new floor plan and take it to school. Or, if you want to play with the arrangement a little more, save it.  Keep in mind that the saved floor plan can only be viewed and edited on the computer that it was originally created on.

So, go have fun and arrange your room without breaking a sweat.

Ready for Back to School? Part 1

I know a lot of teachers that work during the summer collecting new ideas, materials, and lesson plans in preparation for the next school year. As a parent, finding fun ways for your kids to practice skills over the summer can be a daunting task (let’s face it, we don’t want to work when we are on vacation, why would they?).

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to share with you some fun websites to help the transition to the new school year a little easier and add a little bit of fun for teachers, parents, and students.

I’ve been having fun finding new interactive websites for reading this summer. I’ve found two that I really enjoy – one for elementary and one for middle school and up (even adults are enjoying this one).

The first site, Storyline Online, is a website filled with stories read by actor’s (e.g. Betty White, James Earl Jones, etc.). Each story has streaming video of the actor and the pictures from the book as well as activities to accompany the story. There is also a nice caption option that accompanies each video and can be turned on and off.

The second site, Skeleton Creek, is a series of interactive books/videos written by Patrick Carmen. It is a series of four mystery books, well, really journals. The journal entries are written by the main character, Ryan. Throughout the entries, the reader is then sent to the website to view videos related to those entries and help tell the story and solve the mystery.

Have fun reading and enjoy the rest of your summer!