Squibler.io for Quick Writes

Writing is a skill that all students need, but often don't practice enough.  Recently my school has been focusing on QUICK WRITES as a strategy for getting students to write more often in class.  Quick Writes work because they are a fast method of formative assessment that help kids write with better fluency on topics they are learning about.

What is a Quick Write?

The idea is to have students write without stopping for 2-3 short minutes on either a given topic or a topic of their choice. The problem? Lots of students won't write for the entire 2-3 minutes.  They will say they are "thinking," which very well may be true...but that means that they are not writing for the entire 2-3 minutes.

A great way to have kids complete quick writes and force them NOT TO STOP writing is to use Squibler.io. This site helps them keep writing WITHOUT stopping! What happens if they stop? The writing deletes! No more having students "thinking" during a 2-3 minute quick write.

See my video below with an explanation of how it works!

Easy-Peasy!!! 

It's Constitution Day!

There are so many reasons to love hyperdocs, but one of the best reasons of all is that all of a teacher's content for the lesson is in ONE SPOT, which makes "I can't find it" excuses disappear.

I love this hyperdoc created for Constitution Day. In South Carolina teachers are required to teach students the importance of the Constitution on September 17th. Make your life easy and try this already made hyperdoc.

Find more on any topic at the hyperdocs.co.

Easy-Peasy Digital Breakouts

I'm so excited that I was able to present Easy-Peasy Digital Breakouts at the SC Midlands Summit this year. If you haven't gone to the @SCMSummit yet, next year you must go! Lots of great tech integration sessions for all levels of teachers. And if you haven't tried digital breakouts or scavenger hunts with your students, check this out. It'll be a great option for next school year.

Digital breakouts seem to be getting more and more popular. It's very clear that students are more engaged when they are working to beat the clock and each other. Often times though, the reality is that they take TOO MUCH TIME to create!

Time is something that no teacher EVER has...

Does this look familiar????

Well, guess what?!? Problem solved...In October the Flippity Add-On for Google Sheets came out with a new Scavenger Hunt Feature.  It is SO SO easy and fun to use!  Check HERE for my Easy Peasy Tutorial or see below for a quick video tutorial.

You are definitely going to want to try this! It's a TIME SAVER & your students will LOVE IT!!!

Using a Mantra to Power Through the Stress

It's that time of year when the stress is overwhelming and the end is in sight. I read an article this week that addresses ways to deal with mental stress through the use of a mantra, something I've tried before, but this particular mantra, really spoke to me. Check out the article by Ephrat Livni here, and remember, you got this. 😉

Mom's Fridge Rubric

Everyone loves it when their mom is proud enough to post their work on the fridge in the kitchen. Check out this awesome Mom's Fridge Rubric for judging the aesthetic quality of a student project. Nothing puts it in perspective like the ultimate acclamation - THE FRIDGE!

The fabulous Mr. Belcher, @mrnumerancer, math teacher extraordinaire at SVHS created this awesome rubric and let me share it with you. I think you could even modify this and create a wall-space in your classroom where the best of the best is posted and put that in the rubric criteria as well.

Is your student work #FridgeWorthy?
EASY-PEASY & CREATIVE!
Happy rubric making!

Happy "Don't Go to Work Unless It's FUN" Day!!!!

BALANCE LEARNING AND FUN

If your students aren't learning in FUN AND CREATIVE WAYS then you need to find ways to make it fun and creative.  TODAY is the perfect holiday to get them up, moving, learning, and having fun all at the same time!!!

GET KIDS UP & MOVING

Instead of having students read an article or chapter at their desk, try a 'Walk-About.' Photocopy the text they need to read. Divide it up and then tape it to the wall in different areas of your classroom. Even if it's the most "boring material," having students keep moving stimulates their brain, as noted in this 2017 Edweek article.

LET KIDS COLLABORATE

Put students into pairs, groups, or teams.  Students then 'walk-about' in their teams, read each section of the article or chapter, and summarize it.

GAMIFY YOUR ACTIVITIES

If you are worried about time, use a timer or music. Let students know that when the timer beeps or the music stops, they have to move on to the next station.  This will gamify the walk-about and will challenge students to "beat the clock" at each station.

CHALLENGE THEM

Use different summary techniques. Challenge students to use a 6-Word summary or an ABC summary so that they are forced to boil the material down to only what matters most.

GIVE KIDS CHOICE

Instead of having everyone write a summary of each section in a notebook, give them a choice. Maybe they want to use SeeSaw or Flipgrid to record their verbal or visual summary.  Maybe they want to draw a picture of their summary and then explain it. The choice is theirs!

REFLECT

At the end of the lesson, bring everyone back together to discuss and reflect. Have each group discuss a different section to put it all back together. Then use an exit strategy like sticky-notes on the board or a question posted in your Google Classroom for them to answer.

Easy-Peasy!

CONGRATULATIONS! You have just changed a boring reading assignment into an interactive, collaborative lesson, complete with gamification and technological integration - and it took NO TIME AT ALL.  It really is a FUN DAY at work!

Where did all the JOY go? How to build relationships and joy in your classroom in 5 minutes or less...

Being a student of the 80s and early 90s, my school experiences were exponentially different than the children in schools today. I don't think that students of my generation had nearly the worries that these new students have.  There were no social media issues, because it didn't exist, and there were no mass shooting drills and worries, and we certainly had way less testing and testing pressure on us.  We also were allowed to enjoy school.  There were pep rallies, school dances, and carnivals then.  These days we spend all our time starting from kindergarten on pressuring children to do their best on tests and showing them how to 'run, hide, and fight.' Pep rallies are eliminated because they interfere too much with test preparation and carnivals and festivals certainly would not be safe for our students.

Where did all the fun go? As teachers, we feel the immense pressures right along with our students.  That is why I believe it is our job to make sure that students still have the opportunity to find joy in school.

Is it really hurting our students to take 5 minutes to build classroom relationships? Resources like Edutopia's 5-minute film fest are a great way to build camaraderie and add joy to the classroom.  On this April Fool's Day take 5 minutes to create joy and conversation in your classroom using the April Fool's 5-minute film fest.  I love the math teacher at the end. Now that's creativity.  You can't tell me his students don't love him - and as a result - love math.

Check it out below. (Live Slide HERE.)

Live Slide HERE.