Create Like Phoebe

“Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you? / Smelly cat, smelly cat, it’s not your fault.”

Phoebe Buffay, F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The One With All the Bell Ringers

A simple bell ringer template for the reading classroom. Check out this free resource at my TPT store! a latte of blessings & giggles –…

The One With Classroom Blogs and Wikis

This school year, I have created a classroom blog for my Advisory, Social Studies, and Science classes. I am in hopes it will be the consistent force within our days as we go up against varying schedules of online and in classroom learning. It will provide support information for the assignments that we complete as well as house our expectations, etiquettes, and procedures for the class.

The One With the Article of the Week

Jenna uses these as homework in her middle school English/Language Arts classroom. Vale Middle School shares an article each week that is available to teachers and students free of charge. The middle school also provides scaffolded questions for each article based on CCSS which are editable so you can modify them to meet your student’s individual needs.

The One With A Different Kind of Icebreaker

Hi, I am Mrs. Cullip. I absolutely love engaging students in the process of learning through activities, readings, lectures, and games so that they better understand the world in which they live. What do you love about what you do?

The One Where I Eliminate the Classroom Pencil Problem

The solution to the following: “Mrs. Cullip, I do not have a pencil!” “I could not do my bell ringer, because I did not have a pencil.” “May I have a pencil?” “I cannot find a pencil” “I left my pencil in my last class” “I gave my pencil to a friend.”

The One With the Write About App in the Classroom

We want students to be able to grow as writers; I am a firm believer that more writing practice makes a better writer. The more you write, the better you become. I read that a student should be writing more than what the teacher is grading. Write About gives students a place to do just that. Students create the post assigned by teacher, on their own topic, or through the variety of subjects/ ideas available on the site. Students can receive feedback from teacher. Published posts can be read and receive comments publicly, privately, or through specific groups.

The One With the Voxer App in the Classroom

One specific way to use this application is creating a virtual literature circle, creating a place for groups of students to continually and actively discuss the books they are reading. Providing students with the platform to share thoughts and ideas of the literature and gain further insights through the information gathered from their class-mates and teacher. Application assists with both time and differentiation for a better student focused classroom that a teacher can effectively manage.

The One With Literary Selfies

A literary selfie is an amusing, relevant term to describe an autobiography to students ages 11-14 years. I believe, reading about the lives of extraordinary people through autobiographies and personal memoirs is a great way to learn about their stories; not only to receive information, but to inspire and challenge readers as well.

The One That Says, To Blog is to Teach Yourself What You Think

The student writes the blog post sharing thoughts on what was read based on the questions presented by the teacher, then participates in the discussions written by classmates which enables the student to see the subject on different levels through the eyes of his or her classmates. The student can reflect on these readings and leave a comment producing feedback for the author of the post.

The One With My First Classroom Tour

My classroom environment is home-like and comfortable; yet, invigorating and vibrant. You see bookshelves, lamps, floor-rugs, a reading area, walls decorated with student work, and curtains hung on the windows giving a sense of belonging. You also see a word wall, an objective bulletin, a large activity calendar, individual student mailboxes, and a homework station giving a sense of focus toward working. You hear the voices of students working together on their literacy project, incorporating what they just read in their book clubs. You smell the aroma of a pumpkin spice wick less candle on my desk, that freshens the room just so. My classroom could be described by a visitor, as an environment conducive to the learning process.