Thinking Frames are used to help students begin the thought process by providing a model for organizing their thinking. They should be used in any classroom K-12, regardless of level or content area. When to use: during class discussions when answering questions during quick writes as starter/exit ticket to show what they know about a […]

“There’s no such things as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams October is National Bullying Prevention month. I like to focus on getting students to spread kindness and feel the benefits of being kind versus being mean to others. Many children play social games, […]

Genius Hour, a movement of inquiry-based and student-directed activity, allows students to choose and investigate a topic of their choosing. Lee Araoz began facilitating Genius Hour because he wanted to lessen the compliance mode of instruction and increase the energy and motivation of his students. Genius Hour is based on Google’s 20% policy, where employees […]

Baby Shark: Annoying Song or Gateway to Learning?   If you haven’t seen this yet, you’re one of the last few people to be able to say that. But now you’re here, so: Well, now that Baby Shark is stuck in your head, it’s time to deal with it. Walk into a room and just […]

“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” – Jane D. Hull A few weeks ago I sent my first parent newsletter to 400+ parents. The newsletter (a link and pdf) was emailed to every parent with a Spanish version as well! Next […]

Because I Can   Yesterday at school, my wife spent the first fifteen minutes of the day hugging a colleague whose best friend had passed away the day before. Cancer had taken the life of her friend, a 30 year old woman with a 5 year old son. No words needed to be spoken between […]

I wanted a way to have paperless book clubs. It keeps my students engaged and it is a great way to not have to print a ton of paper. There are times when I want organizers filled out, other time they are app smashing, creating a product in another app and sharing within Seesaw. I […]

I recently took on a new position teaching 400+ elementary students Computer and Technology. After the first few weeks of going over procedures and an introduction to computers, I noticed my students were getting restless. I’m taking the time before we go into coding to help students learn about giving instructions, since the most important […]

I’m back! Working on trying to get at least an update a week on here! Life took over and got busy, that’s for sure. This week in fifth grade, I bring you, iPad deployment. My kiddos are 1:1 and have their new iPads for the year. I wanted to have a lockscreen with their class […]