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IXL often has a bad rap amongst students. While it is easy for teachers to use and assign, misuse of the program and an overemphasis on drill will cause burnout for your kids. Whether you have been using IXL for years, or have yet to start, read below for three ways to get your class excited about using IXL. IXL in Centers/Stations As your students move through rotations in your math or literacy class, it is often challenging to have work that all students can do independently. Whether it is gaps in learning, struggling readers, or lacking background knowledge, there are many...

NWEA MAP data is powerful and can be put to great use to accelerate student learning and Khan Academy offers personalized math practice using NWEA scores.

Think of your favorite ice cream flavor. Can you guess how many workers it takes to produce that delicious cone of mint chocolate chip? 🍦We celebrate these (and all!) workers on Labor Day.

Celebrate the achievements of workers in the United States throughout its history with the exploration of Labor Day.

Check out these ready-to-use resources that may help you weave Labor Day into your instructional day a little easier!

Finding new and creative ways to engage students can be challenging. We know that it is best practice to use multimedia content in the classroom, which helps the teacher engage the students and in turn helps the student to be more involved and retain more information from the lesson. Sometimes finding those resources and strategies, however, can be difficult.   Subscribers to Discovery Education have access to an extensive collection of multimedia resources, as well as a collection of creative, research-based instructional strategies, known as Spotlight on Strategies (SOS).  These strategies are presented by teachers for teachers to support implementing multimedia...

Do you recognize this binder? If you have never seen this be sure to reach out to Tara White and she can help get you the resource. Turn to the first page and follow the directions to access your digital playbook resources. When you use your access code you will be able to get to a website to access Digital Anchor Charts Roadmaps (Editable or Filled in) Signs / Printable Cards Worksheets Videos FAQ page Lesson Ideas Watch the video below for a quick walkthrough of the digital playbook. Digital Anchor Charts If you watched the walkthrough, you saw the...

“For decades I’ve argued that, as the stories once told around a campfire are now being told with the glow of a computer monitor, we must ensure that the new forms of storytelling are as compelling as the old.” David D. Thornburg, PhD Are you looking for ways to get your students thinking and creating their own compelling stories? Below are many ready-to-use templates that can help students think about stories they’ve read or heard and apply it in an independent and/or collaborative way. These templates can be used to reflect back on stories as well as to plan ahead...

For some teachers, bringing technology into an elementary classroom can be overwhelming. What tools should you use? How much is too much? Or enough? What if the kids break their iPad? While these are all valid concerns, you’d be amazed at how seamless the experience of integrating edtech into your class can be. First of all, the kids are already used to using technology in their daily lives, so you don’t have to worry about going through that awkward learning curve (unless it’s for you!). Secondly, rather than turning kids into zoned-out zombies, when used correctly, technology will actually stimulate...

Creating and using common behavioral and academic language across grade levels within our schools increases success and accessibility through repetition and consistency. SIOP has taught us that visual cues provide needed support for English Language Learners. In our team, we are implementing common language and visual support together to create common icons in our digital lessons can increase accessibility for all students.  As a second grade teacher, I have learned that providing consistent icons on my Seesaw activities creates a more user friendly and accessible activity for all students. I spend less time helping students know what to do and where to go so...

I’m an advocate for teaching children coding. From our 5 year olds sitting anxiously on carpet squares, to our 18 year olds just itching for graduation day, I believe all students should be exposed to coding in their classrooms. I want to believe that a lot of people agree with me, but sadly, this is what we hear most often: We already have so much to cover. Isn’t this just one more thing? And let me tell you, we get it. You DO have a lot to cover. So, let us help you. Let’s talk about how we can embed...

I don’t necessarily love everything about teaching math. But I DO love number talks. What are number talks? Number talks were created to help teachers engage with students in mental math. Number talks can be a way to help students make sense of mathematics, develop computation strategies, communicate about math, and work on reasoning skills. They are a short, 10ish minute, math conversation aimed at building number sense. Students are generally seated together away from any math tools. Students are presented with a problem, are given tink time, then share out methods on how they mentally solved the problem. Your...

Struggling with how to teach the inauguration in your classroom? Below you will find lessons, read alouds, primary sources, and seesaw activities to help students better understand this day in history. Read Alouds Utilizing picture books can be a great way to introduce challenging topics for students. Below you will find two different book lists, and also two different picture books that are read aloud on YouTube with corresponding lesson plans you could use and adapt to fit your needs.  This list of books for election day includes stories that are applicable for Inauguration Day. Senate.gov has curated a list of...

Looking to celebrate MLK Jr day in your classroom, but not sure where to start? Find resources here.

Holding kids accountable for their reading at home (or even in class) is always a challenge. Kids are getting better and better at “fake reading” and are often unfocused. Even having parents sign a piece of paper saying their child read for 20 minutes is unreliable. Having children record themselves talking about their reading can be a new way of holding kids accountable for their reading. Book Talks Using the Camera It’s important to make sure the book or passage your student intends to read is at their independent reading level. This especially true given that we’re all working at...