Thursday, April 1, 2021

Earth Day Digital Escape Room

9:51 AM

Earth Day is April 22! I can't believe how fast time is going! I've always wanted to create an Earth Day resource, but I never could figure out what I wanted to do. Now, since I found genial.ly, the most amazing tool to help me, I was able to create a digital Earth Day escape room. The nice thing about making my escape rooms with genial.ly is that there is no need for kids to need to make copies from Google. Many school districts are not allowing students to make copies from outside their districts. Ugh! A hurdle, but it made me have to think outside the box. Watch this video to see a little more about the escape room.


Now, I have to admit, I got a little carried away with this escape room and there is a lot for each of the sections. However, I have the PERFECT solution for the length! This is how I would handle it in my classroom:
  1. Discuss Earth Day and have the students discuss what they know and what they would like to know. (KWL)
  2. Assign the escape room using Google Classroom or other LMS like Canvas, Blackboard, etc.
  3. Have the students read the scenario and instructions located on the START button. Tell them you are going to just do one section a day and that they will keep track of their escape codes during the week. There is a planning page inside the escape room, however, students do have to make a copy of this for their Google Drive. You can make a copy of this page on your Google Drive and then send it to your students if they have trouble getting to it. The other solution is to have them use good ol' pencil and paper! :) I also put the planning page on TpT as an Easel digital activity, so you could assign it to them that way as well.
  4. Have students click on the #1 in the escape room to begin learning about the history of Earth Day.
  5. After they read, watch, play the games, and solve the clue, have a class discussion and tell them you will do #2 tomorrow!
Now, since there are 5 clues, that's 5 days of lesson plans for the week of Earth Day! Sounds like a winner to me!

I hope you and your kids have as much fun as I did with this Earth Day digital escape room. 



Oh, and happy April Fool's Day!

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Monday, March 15, 2021

Three Engaging and Fun Activities for St. Patrick's Day

4:08 PM



  • So, what fun stuff do you have for your little leprechauns to do this week? Any exciting ideas to go along with your 'MUST DO' learning activities? If you are wondering just how to keep everyone engaged, I have a couple of ideas for you. This St. Patrick's Day DIGITAL Escape Room is a fun and engaging way for your students to review language arts skills like:
    • inferencing
    • contractions
    • synonyms
    • homophones

Plus, this escape room is streamlined with genial.ly, so no one has to 'make a copy' in order to use it.
Watch the video to check it out, now.


Click HERE to get your kids excited about learning this St. Patrick's Day week.


Do you need some math plans? How about trying out a math mystery. I now have them in a NARRATED, DIGITAL version made using genial.ly, as well as my original printable, paper version. Click the pics to check them out for yourself. 

Not sure if you'll like the digital math mysteries? Click HERE to try a couple of FREE ones first.











Have a great week!
                                                             
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Thursday, October 1, 2020

Halloween Digital Math Mysteries - Now with Narration!

3:57 PM
Happy fall y'all! It has been a beautiful start to fall this year. Last year it seems like we went straight into winter! 

I'm not sure if you knew that I retired in 2018. Well, I was loving it and then, in August, I went back to my old school to help a friend in her classroom. The next thing you know, the principal is calling me into her office to chat. The first thing she asked me was if I would like to teach a 5th grade, in-person class. I said absolutely not. Then, she asked if I could take a medical leave for a 1st grade teacher AND it was teaching virtually. So, of course, I thought...how hard could it be? 

WELL, I'm here to tell you that it was MUCH more difficult than I thought! I was in tears on day 2! It is an amazing amount of work and I'm sure you already know that! Well, that teacher still hasn't returned and I am now doing 1/2 days which is much more manageable. Wow! Teachers should be getting medals for the jobs they are doing nowadays!

Because I was able to go to 1/2 days, I am able to keep up with my Teachers Pay Teachers store. And, I have to tell you, I am just so excited to show you my newest version of my math mysteries! This is the second-grade version. Students have the option of being read to or reading on their own. Then, they answer the math problems with just a click. If they get the correct answer, the story continues If they get the wrong answer, they get a 'stopper' and click to go back and try again! So cool! Take a look at this video to see just how it works.

   

I am going to use narration for older grades as well, but the kids will just have to click the play button if they want to. I thought that would be good, especially for students who may have difficulty reading.

I have 1st and 2nd grade versions ready to go now, but I am working on 3rd and 4th grades as we speak!

Also, there is a Google Forms included in these digital versions as well. If you prefer to use Google, this is a good option. However, there isn't a narration option on Google. To have that, it would take the students to another site and no one wants that! Click the pics to check out these fun, engaging activities, just in time for fall break and Halloween!


             

I hope you are having a great start to your school year. Talk soon!

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Monday, August 3, 2020

Digital All About Me Activities for Google Slides

2:40 PM
Hi everyone,

How is everything going with your Back to School planning? Are you going to be in the classroom or are you teaching virtually? I think we probably need to be ready for both this school year! Because of the uncertainty, I've been making a lot more digital resources and have been turning my old favorites into digital resources as well. 

Last week I was at the pool with my homies and asked what they needed for their classrooms. All About Me activities were one of the biggies. This is what I came up with. Be warned, this is the wordy version of the video. You can watch a quick, fast-forwarded version, HERE. (Also, there is a video in the resource for kids to watch so they will know what to do when creating their book.)  


If you would like this activity for your classroom, you can pick it up HERE. And don't forget, the Teachers Pay Teachers sale is Tuesday, August 4 and Wednesday, August 5 and you can get up to 25% off the items you buy. Just use the code BTS20 at checkout. 


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Sunday, July 12, 2020

Turn Your Teachers Pay Teachers PDFs into Digital Resources

2:42 PM
Some stores on Teachers Pay Teachers now have the option to turn the regular PDF resources you have bought, DIGITAL! It's easy to do and you can delete the pages you don't want to send to your students. You can send them one page or 10. It's pretty neat.

You also can:
  • add text boxes for students to write answers
  • add extra instructions for students
  • highlight areas that need student attention
Students can:
  • highlight answers
  • type answers in various colors
  • circle answers with a pen or highlighter

If a store has this capability, you will see this:


Watch this video to see how you can begin making student resources digital.

Here are some free resources you can try it on. Pretty exciting!

             

                         


Thanks for stopping by!
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Monday, June 8, 2020

Digital Breakout for Summer

12:27 PM

Having the kids at home has been a bit challenging. So what can you do on those rainy days? I know some people are still in school and trying to find fun stuff to do with the kids can be a challenge. So why not use an escape room to keep the kids engaged?! 


Breaking Into Summer is an escape room loaded with puzzles for students to celebrate heading into summer in an engaging, and interactive way. Students must solve 6 clues to unlock the codes that will help them 'break into summer'. 


How does it work?
Students begin on a webpage with the scenario. They follow the directions given in the underlined letters. They are then taken to the digital escape room. Students click the start button for the first lock and the first clue. There are six clues and locks in all.

Clues include

  • solve a maze and use the letters for a code word
  • find the hidden words for a code word
  • solve a jigsaw puzzle for a secret number code
  • total the Scrabble tiles for a number code
  • play a memory game for a scrambled sentence code
  • watch the blinking lights for a sentence code

Check out this video to see a little preview.



This escape room should take your students approximately 30-45 minutes to complete, depending on student ability levels. A time limit may be given, but this can cause stress so determine what is best for your class. Some of the benefits of kids using these in teams are:

  • Develops teamwork and collaboration
  • Builds critical thinking skills
  • Promotes problem-solving skills
  • Promotes communication
  • Paperless and No Prep
  • Reinforces concepts
  • Engaging and fun!

Click here to pick one up for your kids! 
 

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Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Digital Memory Books with Google Slides

5:36 PM
Hi friends,

This crazy school year is about to finally come to a close. I'm so proud of all you teachers out there! I have heard all sorts of amazing stories about what teachers have done for their kids and it makes me smile. Just a little longer and you can breathe a little easier.

Every year, I love making yearbooks with my kids. So I decided I would make one for use with Google Slides. It's a lot of fun and I've even included a video for the kids to help them learn to insert pictures, edit them, and play around with the slides.



Check out this short video to give you an idea of what is included with this memory book.


If you would like one of these awesome memory books to use with your kids, just click here or click the pic.

Oh, and by the way, when you download this resource you will need to give TpT permission to drop it into your Google Drive. It does NOT give them permission for anything else!

Have a wonderful and relaxing summer. Stay safe and be well!

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Sunday, April 26, 2020

Word Families with Google Slides for Distance Learning

7:23 PM

Using word families to increase the number of words a child can master is very effective. Instead of learning a couple of words per spelling pattern, a child can learn many more words without much extra effort, making it an efficient way to learn new words. I have always had my students make new words with magnets, rubber stamps, dry erase markers,...whatever we could find. Well, now we need to do things a little differently. Making words with Google Slides is a great way to achieve this method of word work in our new distance learning world.
Learning to read can be difficult so beginning with words that follow a particular pattern is a less confusing way to help our younger students learn to read. Word families or 'chunks' provide that predictable pattern and since the words rhyme, it makes them fun to read!
I hope this making words pack will help you with your distance learning challenges. Click here to get your free packet.
You are wonderful and your students love you. Keep fighting the good fight and stay safe!

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