Tuesday 31 July 2012

Resources to Start Off Your Week 28

     Last week I posted about Under 10 Minutes which is an awesome resource for ed tech videos and now I've found another similar website which is a trove of ed videos!


MIT Video
- MIT Video hosts more than 100 channels that users can easily search and view!
  Scroll through their channel lists by subject area or for specific topics you may be
  studying in your class.
- Not only could you use these videos to supplement your lessons but students
   could also use these videos to research a specific topic.
- http://video.mit.edu

video channels, educational videos, videos for the classroom

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Sunday 29 July 2012

Newbie Blog Hop Award Love

     Last week I joined the Newbie Blog Hop hosted by Janis' Newbie Blog Hop over at Grade Three is the Place for Me! I've found some AMAZING blogs and met some great bloggers from around the US and Canada. (If you haven't linked up with her yet I recommend you head over and check it out).

     The support from other teaching blogs is always incredible and I'm happy to say that this blog hop was no exception. I have been re-awarded the One Lovely Blog Award, The Versatile Blogger Award and the Liebster Blog Award! Crazy right!? I want to send a BIG thank you out to all of the ladies who nominated me for this award:

- Mrs. M from The Daily Cupcake... a Kindergarten Blog has been teaching for almost 20 years and posts very detailed posts as her classroom adopts the Daily 5 model. 
- Carrie at The First Grade Derby began blogging after inspiration from Pinterest! (Aren't we all addicted?) Like Mrs. M, her classroom also uses the Daily 5. 
- Stacey blogs at A Ray of Kindergarten Sunshine and has JUST begun blogging! Head over and share some support :) 
- Jessica from Tales of a First Grade Teacher has just posted a GREAT first day of school survival kit! 


To keep the love going, here are the rules:
1 ) Follow the person that gave you the award if you don't already
2 ) Link back to the person who gave you the award
3 ) Pass the award on to 15 more bloggers.

     I am reposting my top 15 picks from when Becca at Fun 4th Resources awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award, so if you missed them the first time, here they are :)

1 ) Dandelions and Dragonflies











2 ) Wolfelicious









3 ) 2nd Grade Pad











3 ) 2nd Grade Pig Pen









4 ) Down Under Teacher

 








5 ) Teachery Tidbits








6 )  Sweet Times in First











7 ) Strings, Keys & Melodies







8 ) For the Love of Teaching












9 ) Miss Kindergarten











10 ) Just Another Day in... First Grade












11 ) Little Miss Kindergarten









12 ) Lesson Plan SOS








13 ) What the Teacher Wants











14 ) No Doubt Learning














To keep the love going, here are the rules:
1 ) Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2 ) Include a link to their site.
3 ) Include the award image in your post.
4 ) Give 7 random facts about yourself
5 ) Nominate 10 other bloggers for the award.
6 ) When nominating, include a link to their site.
7 ) Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

7 Random Facts About Miss L
1 ) I am going into my 6th, and LAST, year of university which means that at this time next year I will be a Certified Teacher!
2 )  My fiance and I have one pet, a grey and black kitten named Mr. Cuddles.
3 ) My favourite sports team is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, go blue & gold!
4 ) In less than one year I will no longer be Miss L as I am getting married and will be "Mrs. T".
5 ) I am addicted to every type of home design show on HGTV.
6 ) I make the most amazing brownies that don't require any milk, butter or oil.... wouldn't you like to know the recipie!?
7 ) I drive approximately 800 kilometers a week for my summer job in a small car with no air conditioning.

     I am re-posting my top 10 picks from when Diane at Schoolhouse Treasures awarded me this award, so if you missed them the first time, here they are :)

 
  If you missed my first post about the Liebster Blog Award, this award is given out to new blogs with less than 200 followers to highlight our efforts in the blogging world.To keep the love going, here are the rules:


1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. Thank the giver and link back to them.
3. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

     I am reposting my top 5 picks from when Ms. Julie aka Southern Teacher awarded me the Liebster Blog, so if you missed them the first time, here they are :)

1 ) My Whole Brain Teaching Blog
- The only other Whole Brain Teaching blog I have found from a Canadian teacher!
- Liann has provided me with so much support both on the WBT forum as well as
  through her blog.
- She is also part of my list of Whole Brain Teaching resources under my Fav
  Websites page.

2 ) Miss Read Gets Schooled
- Miss Read and I have been "blog friends" right since I started blogging!
- She just finished up her degree this past month and I loved hearing all her
  adventures as she went through her student teaching placements and now
  as she looks for a teaching job.

3 ) My Whole Brain Blog
- Carole is one of the WBT interns for 2012/2013 and has a great blog started up!
- Her blog posts are incredibly detailed, insightful and always have great pictures
  showcasing her WBT classroom! Its a great stop if you really want to learn more
  about WBT.

4 ) For the Love of Teaching
- I was referred to a great PLN that lead to me finding Diane's blog shortly after that.
- Diane blogs about education and her use of the BrainSMART program which shares
  some similar ideas about learning as WBT. Since we found each other she has been
  so supportive of my blogging and learning more about education!

5 ) Prairie Inspiration
- Mary is one of my favourite connected educators from Manitoba!
- We share a lot of ideas through Twitter as we are both going through the education
  program in the same province, although at different universities. She has been a
  great support to me and shares all of her classroom ideas on her blog.

Thank you again to ALL of the bloggers who have nominated me for these awards. 
Please check out some of the great blogs I passed the awards onto because they truly have some amazing resources :)
 

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday! The First Hour

     Last week I was lucky enough to be part of the WBT Live Chat (no video) regarding The First Day of School. Although we were able to have a great discussion and share a lot of great ideas, many people were asking and hoping for an actual Webcast to watch. Well Coach B has the answer to your questions and if you missed the live viewing yesterday you can still watch the Webcast video on the WBT website!

     Check it out at your leisure and learn about:
- Setting up your room (walls, whiteboard, etc)
- Learning student names quickly
- Emphasizing positive classroom behaviour, what can you let slide?

With school starting up again for many of my American friends I now that this info will come in handy for you :)

Monday 23 July 2012

Resources to Start Off Your Week 27

     I am so excited about this week's resource that I found! I've been posting lots of ed resources over the past 27 weeks but what I haven't really considered is how difficult it may be for some teachers to figure them out. I know that there have been some resources where I have had to spend A LOT of time figuring them out. This week's resource can solve that problem once and for all!

     As always, I will be adding this to my list of Fav Websites.

Under 10 Minutes: How to Use Education Technology Quickly
- New to blogging? Twitter? Prezi? How can these be used in the classroom?
- This GREAT website features short, under 10 minutes, videos of straight-
  forward tutorials on how to use different ed tech resources in the classroom.
- Definitely a go-to for any teacher!!
- http://www.undertenminutes.com/

how to use ed tech, education technology, ed tech tutorials, videos on ed tech


Happy Monday everyone!

Friday 20 July 2012

Newbies Blog Hop

     If you haven't heard yet I am midly ridiculously obsessed with teaching blogs! After blog stocking for a few months I decided to begin my own and Miss L' Whole Brain Teaching blog was born! Six months after that I was offered a position with Whole Brain Teaching as an Official WBT Blog Bug and my blog obsession was launched even further.

     I LOVE how education blogs offer endless learning opportunities for teachers and their students. I can't even imagine how teacher's did all of this before the internet, I'd be lost! In the spirit of things I am linking up with Janis' Newbie Blog Hop over at Grade Three is the Place for Me!



1 ) What state province are you in?
- I live in a small rural community in Manitoba, Canada

2 ) Your current teaching position:
- I am currently a student teacher going into my LAST year of education before becoming certified!

3 ) Your teaching experience:
- A have completed student teaching placements in a Grade 9-12 Social Studies classroom as well as a Grade 5 classroom. I have also substitute taught in pretty much every grade from K-12!

4 ) When you started blogging:
- I started blogging at the beginning of January of 2012 and haven't turned back since!

5 ) Share a blogging tip/blogging resource:
- To help search engines and then followers to find your blog make sure you properly label the photos in your posts.
 
Click on the photo and select "Properties"
Label your photos with an appropriate description:
- "Title Text" is the text that will appear when a mouse scrolls over the photo in your published post
- "Alt Text" is other descriptive labels that can help search engines find your work but will NOT show up when a mouse scrolls over the photo
When published your "Title Text" should show up when a mouse scrolls over the photo.
Your material is now more easily found through search engines!

Thanks for hosting this amazing blog hop Janis!

WBT Blog Bug Highlight: SUPER Super Improvers Walls

     As I make my way through all of the wonderful WBT Blogs out there I can definitely say that a major topic over the past three weeks has been the Super Improvers Wall (SIW). If you are not familiar with this behavioural management strategy, the Super Improvers Wall is a fun and long-lasting method used to increase student motivation WITHOUT pinning students against one another.

     Check out these amazing Super Improvers Wall (SIW) posts from some of my favourite WBT bloggers.

super improvers wall, SIW, super improvers wall camping theme

Melissa over at Mrs. Smith's 1st Grade Class has put together a gorgeous SIW to match her classroom's camping theme.

 






super improvers wall, SIW, super improvers wall hollywood theme


Ms. Julie at Southern Teacher WBT has created her SIW to compliment her classroom's Hollywood/movie classroom theme.




super improvers wall, SIW, super improvers wall


Amanda from Mrs. Amanda's Rockin' Firsties has created this great SIW after getting inspiration from other WBT bloggers!












super improvers wall, SIW, super improvers wall kit, super improvers wall freebie, super improvers wall owl theme


Liann over at My Whole Brain Teaching Blog has put together an adorable & FREE owl themed SIW Kit. Head over there to get your free copy and make sure to send your thanks for all her hard work!





Want to read more from great WBT bloggers? Check out the WBT Blogger Master List via Google Docs!

     To learn more about the Super Improvers Wall (SIW) check out the FREE e-book free, Whole Brain Teaching Model Classroom.

Thursday 19 July 2012

WBT Certification Update!

     A little under a month ago I added a brand new tab to my blog titled Whole Brain Teaching Certification where I've been posting links to the blog and forum posts I've been submitting for certification.

whole brain teaching, certified whole brain teacher, WBT

     Well since then I have still been actively working towards certification and trying to write posts about some of the theories behind WBT as well as specific strategies. I am happy to announce that I am almost at a THOUSAND certification points, yay!! Unfortunately I am unable to complete the video requirement until I begin student teaching in October so it will still be a while until I am officially certified. Until that time I will still continue writing and working towards gaining enough certification points to hopefully be eligible for some of the high WBT Certification levels.

     I have really been enjoying reading through all the certification posts on the WBT forum and the various blogs that I follow. I LOVE reading how WBT is being interpreted by teachers all over the world. I really think that this process will really help me have a deeper understanding of WBT and will be an asset when I am explaining WBT during a teaching interview one day!

989CP [as of July 19]
Medallions: Posts (15), Webcast (3), Instant Bonus (6), Conference (1), Artistic Blog (1), Blog followers (139)

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday! Emotions, Memory & Learning

“I think it is all a matter of love; the more you love a memory the stronger and stronger it becomes”
― Vladimir Nabokov

     Think back to your time in the classroom as a student.... do you remember what you learned on that specific Tuesday of Grade 10, what your teacher wore in June, all the steps in a logarithmic equation or how many assignments you completed during a certain week, probably not. Most likely, you'll remember the highs, how you scored a 98% on that one exam you spent hours studying for or winning the volleyball championship, and the lows, like how you were so embarrassed when your teacher spoke down to you in front of the class. In fact, "studies... have demonstrated that memory is better for emotionally arousing stimuli than for emotionally neutral stimuli" (Ely et al, 1999).

sad student, emotional memories, how emotions affect memoryFor me, my most vivid memory of high school is having my Grade 11 math teacher write my name on the board, for the whole class to see, to indicate that I had failed our midterm exam. I can remember every question of that exam like it was right in front of me. Why? Because I spent the remaining 40 minutes of that class staring down at it because I was too embarrassed and ashamed to look up. Erik Jensen summarizes in the opening two pages of his book that, "The emotional memories stick around. If, during childhood, a student felt embarrassed or humiliated by a teacher in front of the class, the incident might have left an emotional scar." This type of emotion, however, is NOT the type of emotion we want our students to experience in our classroom. When my students look back I would like them to remember my class because of a strong positive emotion coming from:
- The fun way we approached content
- Building strong relationships with classmates
- Completing meaningful projects
- Receiving support to succeed

     Chris Biffle introduces Whole Brain Teaching as, "... highly structured, educational tomfoolery. Whole Brain Teaching classrooms are full of task-focused laughter," where, "Humour and games are used..." Whole Brain Teaching classrooms are full of opportunities to engage our student's emotions in a POSITIVE manner and, thus, provide additional opportunities for our student's to build stronger memories of the material they are being introduced to. The following is a list, created by Eric Jensen (pg. 179), of four ways in which emotions can affect learning and how I believe WBT fits into these parameters.

HOW EMOTIONS AFFECT LEARNING

1 ) Emotions build long term memory
"The more intensely that you engage the emotions, the longer you’ll recall what you have learned." While traditional teaching methods do not necessarily invoke an emotional response, WBT methods are specifically designed to function around engaging our student's emotions. This can be the general silliness that can accompany our many voice and tone changes, the supportive atmosphere created by the "10-Finger Woo" and "It's Cool", the excitement generated by "the Scoreboard" and/or the involvement of participating in many of WBT's daily "Gestures".

2 ) Emotions serve a funtion
"It meets the needs, partially, of those learners who are kinesthetic, internal-feeling type learners." I've talked several times about how WBT is an amazing tool to help differentiate our classrooms as it meets the many multiple intelligences that we will see in our classrooms. Our students are not only hearing and seeing the material (linguistic & spatial intelligence) but they also get to interpret the material though the movement of the gesture (bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence). Furthermore, emotional responses provide an outlet for those students who connect with the intrapersonal intelligence aspect of Gardner's model.

3 ) Emotions foster love
"It helps instill a love of learning. The only way {you} will develop a real deep love and passion for a topic is to access emotions within the process of learning about it." I NEVER want my students to look back at my classroom and have memories like my experience(s) in math class. By engaging our student's emotions in a positive manner we can help our student's enjoy school and learn to enjoy learning.

4 ) Emotions can be fun
"It’s much more fun to learn when emotions are being engaged. It gets the blood flowing and makes it memorable.” WBT classrooms are fun! Compared to many classrooms who center on traditional teaching methods, WBT classrooms incorporate movement, include students as teachers, build anticipation and excitement and are so structured that silliness contributes to on-task behaviour. Like Coach B says its, "... highly structured, educational tomfoolery."

     Think of your classroom, do your teaching methods evoke an emotional response amongst your students? If it does, is it a positive one? Two weeks, two years, twenty years from now our students will not remember what we wore, exactly what we said or what their assignment was but they will remember how we made them feel. In the same manner that my math teacher's negative emotion allowed me to remember that horrific math exam, our positive emotions can assist our student's in remembering the content we are teaching.


834CP
Medallions: Posts (15), Webcast (1), Instant Bonus (4), Conference (1), Artistic Blog (1), Blog followers (134)

Background Research
Amygdala Activity Related to Enhanced Memory for Pleasant and Aversive Stimuli
Ely, Grafton, Hamann, & Kilts
Nature Neuroscience, Vol. 2 (1999), pp. 289-293.
 
How do Emotions Affect Learning: Emotional Memory
Judy Fishel
Breakthrough Learning (2012)

How Emotions Affect Learning
Robert Slywester
Educational Leadership (October 1994)

Organization of Concepts Relevant to Emotions and Their Regulation during Test Taking
Paul A. Schutz, Heather A. Davis and Paula J. Schwanenflugel
The Journal of Experimental Education , Vol. 70, No. 4 (Summer, 2002), pp. 316-342

Super Teaching: Over 1000 Practical Strategies
Erik Jensen
USA: 2009 Corwin Press 


The Handbook of Emotion & Memory: Research & Theory
Sven-Ake Christianson
USA: 1992 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Working Memory, Motivation, and Teacher-Initiated Learning
David W. Brooks and Duane F. Shell
Journal of Science Education and Technology , Vol. 15, No. 1 (Mar., 2006), pp. 17-30

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Resources to Start Off Your Week 26

     Ok I realize that it is Tuesday not Monday, we were away this weekend and I came home to find that life had caught up with me! Sorry to all of you who were waiting for a post yesterday, I broke the number 1 blog rule and wasn't consistent!! After some intense grocery shopping, laundry, work, cleaning, homework, etc I am feeling a little bit more caught up.

     Here are the resources I found this week, as always, I will be adding them to my lists of Fav Websites.

1 ) Imagine All the Water
- Did you know it takes 13L of water to create 1 piece of paper?
- This great website shows our students exactly what kind of impact daily activities
   can have on our water quality. Students can explore through text, images, videos,
   and activities to learn all about our relationship with water.
- Perfect for Science and Social Studies classrooms!

- http://www.imagineallthewater.eu/EN

how do humans affect water, water, water pollution, how much water does it take to

2 ) PowToon
- This new FREE website allows users to create cartoon-style presentations with
  awesome transitions! They remind me a lot of RSA Animate videos which I
  really like!
- It is still in the testing stage but I cannot wait until it is ready for the public!!
- http://www.powtoon.com/



Happy Monday.... Tuesday everyone!

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday! WBT in High School

Can Whole Brain Teaching be used in a high school setting?
Here are some concerned comments I've pulled off the WBT Forum.





      The fact is that although WBT strategies are being used more amongst elementary school teachers, they can and are being used regularly by many high school teachers as well! Check out these videos of WBT in action in different high school classes:

     Chances are we would probably change several aspects of our teaching if we were teaching a Grade 1 class compared to a Grade 11 class to best suit their age level. Whole Brain Teaching is no different. We can easily incorporate the gestures and team-teaching basics of WBT while still maintaining age-appropriate instruction. Remember, with anything we do in our classrooms, we modify it (consciously or not) to:
- Fit our own personality/comfort level
- Suit our student's needs
- Reflect our school's policies/rules/regulations
- etc, etc!

INTRODUCING WBT
     I have mentioned this several times on the forum but I am mentioning it here again, Coach B's advice during the Lesson 1 YouTube video is key! When teaching, our students know immediately when we are unprepared, stressed, unorganized, etc and this can be the #1 deterrent when it comes to student buy-in. Confidence and commitment sells! When you first introduce WBT to your students, whether that is at the start of the school year or in the middle of the semester you have to commit. Coach B suggests comments such as:

- "Now that you are entering Grade 10 you will be taking on more responsibility. As such, our classroom will be following the WBT learning strategies that will involve you actually teaching your classmates!"
- "At this point in the semester I begin using WBT learning strategies with my students. I know that you are ready now and I can't wait to show you."

     These types of comments imply that we have had it in our minds all along to introduce WBT in our classrooms at this exact moment. This is how I introduced WBT to my Grade 10 class when I was student teaching and they were behind it 100%. The students loved the idea that they were ready to begin this new strategy. Even if we, as teachers, are nervous or unsure about a new strategy our students need to know that we are confident and sure of ourselves. Once we waver or imply that these strategies are, "ridiculous" or, "meant for younger students" our legitimacy is immediately lost and we won't have student support.

MY EXPERIENCE
     I have used WBT with both a Grade 10 class as well as a Grade 5/6 class and had success with both age levels, but here is my WBT high school experience.

     The day before I began WBT with my Grade 10 class for the first time I decided to spontaneously "test-drive" some of the theories behind it. By this time I had read some of the free e-books, creeped on the WBT Forum and watched... then re-watched the videos but I was still nervous because it was so different than what I was used to. One area of difficulty in our class was having students remember to bring their supplies to class after their break. We would consistently have students coming and going because of forgotten textbooks, pencils, and assignments. Before break, as I was explaining to the class what supplies to bring back with them, I quickly realized that they were not listening to a word I was saying.... I can't blame them, it was almost break and our school was hosting a volleyball tournament in the gym! I quickly lifted up 4-fingers and announced, "I need everyone to mirror my gestures!" and waited expectantly until I had all 28 students with 4-fingers up in the air. I then proceeded to go through the 4 supplies they needed to return with, wiggling each finger as we counted it off the list. Wouldn't you have loved to see my expression when not ONE student forgot their supplies after recess?

whole brain teaching, does whole brain teaching work
whole brain teaching, WBT, does whole brain teaching work, how does whole brain teaching affect the brain?When I did introduce WBT the next day it went off without a hitch! I don't think I had ever been so committed to any one teaching method in my life (I really wanted to prove to myself it would work). As I explained that at this point in our time together we would be starting "Whole Brain Learning" I also had a PowerPoint with images of the brain and which areas were engaged during different activities. I explained that by using different WBT strategies we would be engaging more areas of our brains compared to when we were sitting and writing notes, which was our traditional method. Technically, we would be learning more even though we were writing LESS!! This was a huge selling point in our class because our history/geography class traditionally involved a lot of written notes as well as written assignments.

For the next 2 weeks we used the WBT strategies of "Class-Yes", "Teach-Ok", "the Scoreboard", "It's Cool" and "10-Finger Woo"; all of which worked perfectly in our high school setting. This fall I will be student teaching again for 6 weeks in a high school setting and will definitely be using WBT again. (I hope to even film my own class video for WBT Certification!)


HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS USING WBT
     For more information from full-time high school teachers who are using WBT check out these great blogs!
Whole Brain Teaching with Roxi Shayne (that's her class in the 2nd video at the start of this post)
Mrs. Molnar's Whole Brain Teaching Log 

     You can also join the NEW WBT-High School (9-12) Facebook group!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/497887850227243/

Tuesday 10 July 2012

WBT Live Chat!

The wonderful Nancy Stoltenberg, Director of WBT Certification, has asked myself and my lovely blogging colleagues Misty and Melissa to be part of tonight's WBT Live Chat!

In addition to discussion about the new WBT Grade Level Facebook team challenge we will be helping answer any of your WBT Blogging questions.
whole brain teaching blogs, WBT blogs, whole brain teaching teacher blogs, blogs about whole brain teaching

Join us TONIGHT for a WBT Live Chat (text only, no video this time).
Here is the newsletter invite sent out by Coach B:

To meet grade level teammates live, join Nancy Stoltenberg, Director of WBT Certification, this Tuesday, July 10 for a special, text only, electronic get together at WholeBrainTeaching.com.
5 PM    Western
6 PM   Mountain
7 PM     Central
8 PM    Eastern
Wib On!,
Chris “Coach B” Biffle

If you haven't heard, the new WBT Grade Level Facebook pages are going strong! Run on over and check them out! Bring your friends too!

Pick your grade level and join a WBT Facebook team!

Monday 9 July 2012

Resources to Start Off Your Week 25

I found some great resources this week! With summer holidays in full force, for most of us, these resources can be the perfect thing to add to your arsenal of supplies before school starts back up. 
As always, I will be adding these resources to my lists of Fav Websites.

1 ) Technology Tailgate
- This network of blogs features daily posts on the best tech applications
   for the classroom. With posts written by 15 teachers, you can always
   find the best tech information for the classroom!
* Definitely a must-add to my list of Best Resources for Finding Resources!
- http://technologytailgate.blogspot.ca/
tech resources for teachers

2 ) Museum Box
- This website allows users to create museum-style "displays" that easily
   organizes information about their topic or idea.
- Each display consists of up to 8 cubes that can showcase a main idea with
  each individual cube including video, image, sound or text information to
  support that idea.
- This can be the perfect website to create student projects on organize
   information for students.
* This website is a bit difficult to explain, but this video does a good job
   of explaining it.
- http://museumbox.e2bn.org/



3 ) Doodle Buzz
- This news generator creates organized lists of news-headlines along
   doodles that you create which provides students with a fun, interactive
   way to search information.
- Users use the interface to draw out a doodle of their choice and, once
   finished, news headlines appear along their drawing which can then be
   clicked on to open up the news source.
- This could be a fun way for students to search or can be used to create
  aesthetically pleasing search pages.
- http://www.doodlebuzz.com/
news generator for students, doodle buzz in the classroom
Can you make out the WBT?

4 ) 181 Google Tricks
- Online colleges has summarized 181 neat, helpful and time-savings tricks
  from Google's plethora of services. This easy-to-read list covers everything
  from basic searches and world news to viewing 3D ship wrecks and bulk
  spell checking.
- http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/06/25/181-google-tricks-that-will-save-you-time-in-school-updated/

how to use google smarter, google tricks, interesting google facts


Happy Monday everyone!

Saturday 7 July 2012

100 Follower Giveaway Winner!!





Its been a busy week and my 100 Follower Giveaway contest is officially over!
I want to send another BIG thank-you to all the wonderful ladies who sponsored the giveaway and offered up some amazing prizes, please check out their blogs if you haven't already:

- Amanda & Catherine at Teacher's Clubhouse
Melissa at WBT with Scrapbunny  

I had 30 comments on the 100 Follower Giveaway post, however, only 26 comments were official entries. I used a Random Number Generator and voila, comment 17 (of the entry comments) is the winner!!

Congrats Rachel, I am sending an email your way :)


Thank you to everyone who entered and supported me through this!
  

Friday 6 July 2012

WBT Blog Bug Update

whole brain teaching blogs, whole brain teacher blogs, WBT blogs, WBT teacher blogs

I am so excited! 
Misty, Melissa and I have been working hard and if you have been snooping around the WBT Forum lately you may have seen our new project!

Announcing the new WBT Master Blog List via Google Docs!

whole brain teaching blogs, list of whole brain teaching blogs, WBT blogs
Look at how organized it is!
We've accumulated all of the WBT Blogs we could find (there are over 70 of them!) and organized them for quick and easy use. This list allows you to search WBT Blogs by:
- Grade Level/Focus
- Name
- Years of WBT Experience
- Location
- Special Notes

*This information is taken from Blogger profiles, blog posts and the WBT Forum. If anything information is outdated or incorrect please comment below and we will change it ASAP.

*There are some blogs that we are still missing information from and are currently displaying an "NA" under certain headings. If you would like to supply the information for your blog please comment below and we will update it ASAP.

*If you would like your blog added to this list, please comment below and we will work on getting it added ASAP.

Also, today is the LAST DAY to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway contest!!
Make sure you enter before 9pm (central time), winner will be announced Saturday.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

100 Follower Giveaway!!

 I'm so excited, I've reached a blogging milestone... 
100 Followers!!

     I started this blog at the start of January 2012 after inspiration from an ICT class I attended in university. It was my New Year's Resolution to keep a blog to reflect on what I was learning through my university classes and about a new strategy I had learned, Whole Brain Teaching. Since then it has become so much more! I've learned so much and have been able to network with so many amazing teachers out there from all over the world.

     To celebrate I've been so lucky to team up with some amazing blogs and offer an amazing giveaway!!
long vowels, long vowels unit, long vowels activities, giveaway
Long v-OWL-s Word Work Unit (activities, spelling chart, rhyming, this unit has it all!) from Farrah at Mrs. Shipley's Fabulous Firsties
whole brain teaching, super improvers wall, how to introduce the super improvers wall, giveaway
WBT Super Improvers Wall Introductory Power Point (everything you need to introduce this behaviour management strategy to your students) from Julie at Southern Teacher WBT
teacher's portfolio, how to create a portfolio for a teaching interview, portfolio for a teacher, giveaway
Professional Portfolio Kit (everything you ever needed to know on how to create a professional teaching portfolio) from Misty at Think, Wonder & Teach
how to teach non-fiction, non-fiction unit, non-ficture terms, giveaway
Non-Fiction Text Feature Sign Pack (everything your students need to know about non-fiction literature from the table of contents to the glossary) from Amanda & Catherine at Teacher's Clubhouse. Amanda blogs at Teaching Maddeness.
free copy of my memories suite software, giveaway
My Memories Suite software (the perfect program to create everything you will ever need for you classroom!) from Melissa at WBT with Scrapbunny

     This is some amazing stuff and I know you want it! There are lots of ways to enter and for each entry make sure you leave a comment below stating how you entered and your email address so I can contact you when you win!

1 ) Follow this blog (if you already do make sure you still comment)
2 ) Visit one of the sponsoring blogs, follow them and leave a comment letting
      them know you stopped by (you can enter once for each blog!)
3 ) Post about the giveaway on your facebook page (leave the link in the comment)
4 ) Post about the giveaway on your blog (leave the link in the comment)

A BIG, gigantic, thank-you is going out to all of the wonderful blogs sponsoring this giveaway!!
Contest closes Friday, July 6th at 9pm (central time) and the winner will be announced on Saturday.
Good luck!

Monday 2 July 2012

One Lovely Blog Award Love

     About a week ago I posted that I had received the One Lovely Blog Award from Becca at Fun 4th Resources! I have been so blessed to be receiving these awards lately and I had so much fun nominating 15 other wonderful blogs to be a part of this with me.

     Since that time I have been re-awarded this blog award from Jill at History Teacher WBT! As the title of her blog suggests Jill is a History teacher who is also using WBT strategies in her classroom, just like me! I'm pretty sure we were meant to be blog friends from the beginning :) She has only just begun blogging but shares some great posts about how she is incorporating WBT into her classroom.

blog awards, whole brain teaching blog award

To keep the love going, here are the rules:
1 ) Follow the person that gave you the award if you don't already
2 ) Link back to the person who gave you the award
3 ) Pass the award on to 15 more bloggers.

     I am reposting my top 15 picks from when Becca at Fun 4th Resources awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award, so if you missed them the first time, here they are :)

1 ) Dandelions and Dragonflies










2 ) Wolfelicious









3 ) 2nd Grade Pad











3 ) 2nd Grade Pig Pen









4 ) Down Under Teacher

 








5 ) Teachery Tidbits








6 )  Sweet Times in First











7 ) Strings, Keys & Melodies







8 ) For the Love of Teaching












9 ) Miss Kindergarten











10 ) Just Another Day in... First Grade












11 ) Little Miss Kindergarten









12 ) Lesson Plan SOS








13 ) What the Teacher Wants











14 ) No Doubt Learning