Book Categories Puzzle

 

ABCs

Adventures

AnimalsandNature

Celebrations

EarthandSky

FamilyandCommunity

Imagination

MusicandRhyme

PeopleandPlaces

 

BrainPOP

 How to Get BrainPOP For Your School & Classroom | BrainPOP

BrainPOP is a great resource for any subject! They are short videos and to the point. Which ones have you tried?

I love BookFlix

 

BookFlix is a fantastic reading platform from Scholastic. It pairs a story kids can watch with a book they can read afterwards. There are puzzles for each set of books such as word matching, which came first, and fact or fiction. If the student is interested further, there is a Dive Deeper section with a link to Explore the Web on the topic. The platform is setup by category with nine to choose from. From there the student or teacher may easily find something fun to watch and read. I like this tool as an independent learning source. Students can have the freedom to explore different topics and find something that interests them. It is also straight forward. If we are studying about the civil right movement in class and the kids want to learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is easy to find a pair of books on BookFlix. In what ways have you used BookFlix in the classroom?

Check out Epic!

 

Epic! is a digital library packed full of books, comics, videos, and audiobooks. Teachers and students can find materials among a great variety of topics. As teachers, you can assign your students books and quizzes. Most books display recommended age range and number of pages. You can pick the type of reading level you would like displayed such as Lexile number, AR, DRA, GR, or simply the grade level. The books will also note if they include a quiz. Epic! will let you make your own collections of books, which you can share with others. It also learns what you like and makes recommendations. Today it recommended to me my favorite Magic School Bus from when I was a child – Inside the Human Body! What books would you assign your students?

My Teaching Philosophy

    I believe that getting to teach others is a privilege. Children’s minds are like sponges that soak up everything. As adults that spend most of their waking hours with them, we need to make the most of the time we get with them. We have a great responsibility. I have not only worked in a school for the last eleven years, but I essentially grew up in schools. My mother always had an office at school, and I grew up around teachers. I have seen people that teach that do not want to be teaching. It breaks my heart for them and especially for their students. Students need to be in an environment where their education is a priority. School needs to be a safe place to come every day. They need people they can trust. School is more than reading, writing, and math. For some kids, school is where it is warm. Where they get a guaranteed meal. School is where they see a friendly face. As educators it is our job to make sure that our students are cared for in addition to making sure they get an education.

    Working with kids is so much fun! I learn as much from them as I teach them. They are hilarious. The memories that stick with me are the funniest, strangest, things that students have said to me over the years. I know that we cannot fix everything. I have learned that the hard way. We can do our best every single day and hope that we can make a positive impact in the lives of our students.