Graphic Organizers Galore!

Follow the link to a collection of websites with TONS of graphic organizers for all ages.  Some are interactive to use online, and some are printable.  Enjoy!

Delicious Paragraphs

Interactive Burger Paragraph Writer
Follow the link above, and you and your students can type their sentences on the burger.  You can use it for paragraphs, or beginning, middle, and end with events in the middle, or an essay like the example shows.  The way to a kid's heart is sometimes through their stomach!... or is that men?!  Anh, one in the same.  :)

Monster Mania!

In case your school is like mine, and many children don't celebrate, or cannot be a part of Halloween celebrations, why not have fun using monsters as a theme for a unit of literacy.  Our grade level is reading the book, I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll.

We are planning to have students create their own monsters on this website called Monster Maker.

Then, the students will use their monsters to write descriptive stories.

Here is another lesson plan idea from...

 

Or, check out these sites for more ways to use the book I Need My Monster...

http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/html/fiction/my_monster/index.htm
http://www.flashlightpress.com/I_Need_My_Monster_Activity_Guide.html
http://www.flashlightpress.com/Make_a_Monster.html
http://www.flashlightpress.com/Activity_Guides.html

(Thank you to my teammate Donna, for finding these resources!)

The Whiteboard Blog

Great website with ideas for using your SMARTboard/interactive whiteboard!
Click here to go to The Whiteboard Blog.

Web 2.0 Tools

Awesome Wiki with examples and explanations of how to use different Web 2.0 tools.

Click here to go to Perk Up Projects wiki

Great resources for K-2, especially for literacy.

http://www.kellyskindergarten.com/

Online Conference Sign-up

Every year, after the first 9 weeks grading period, we schedule parent-teacher conferences with every child's parents to go over the first report card.  It's always somewhat of a paperwork mess sending notes back and forth between the parents to schedule these conferences. 

Click here to go to SignUp Genius's website

This year, I tried something new!  I LOVE it!  SignUp Genius is a way to create an online sign-up schedule.  You can email the parents in your class an invite to view your event. They click on the time they want to sign up for, and enter their email address.  It'll show up on the scheduling page for all parents to see which time slots are taken and which ones are still available.  Then, you can schedule the website to email the parents a reminder before the event.  All for my favorite price... FREE! :)