Events

Our Content Specialists have created blog posts. Below is a short “tasting” of each blog article and you can click to read more! Enjoy the tasting. Elementary K-6 Closing the Gap: Reading Strategies for ALL Students | Anita Pratt The Science of Reading is gaining recognition and support from more and more educators across the country. Research is suggesting that our brains are not wired to learn to read the same way we learn to talk. We learn to talk by listening to others and following their lead, but reading has to be explicitly taught. Phonics has to be systematically...

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!

Students love an opportunity to celebrate a holiday. Unfortunately, I often forget to plan for holidays until the day before and I find myself in a last-minute pickle searching for engaging activities for my students. If you are anything like me and have yet to make plans to celebrate Veterans Day, check out some of the resources below.  Our Youngest Learners Letter Writing Veterans Day is a great day to have our students practice their letter writing skills Use. Consider using this free, printable thank you template if you’re looking for a simple paper-pencil activity. Here you can find it...

Did you know that April is School Library Month? Here are 7 ideas on how you can incorporate school library month into your classroom. D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) day. Pick your own date and hold a Drop Everything and Read day! Have a block of time that everyone (including staff) just reads. Stage a read-in where students wear pajamas and get cozy while reading! Host a “Book tasting”. Librarians are always happy to give suggestions on less-well-known books that your students may enjoy! Learn more about a book tasting here! There is also a digital genre book tasting seesaw...

What is Institute Day? All elementary and middle school teachers get a full day of tailored PD. This is a fully-virtual conference with sessions to choose from throughout the day. Topics will range from productivity tips in Seesaw and Canvas to engaging all students with accessible and meaningful activities in school and at home.  What can you expect to learn? There will be learning opportunities in the tracks of: Instructional Technology: Tips, tricks, and suggestions on using technology to engage students in learning. Exceptional Learners: In bowling, it’s the 7-10 split. Meeting the needs of both ends of the curve...

Okay, so it’s not quite a bracket but you have to admit the title is catchy. This spring our PD website is overflowing with options for Elkhart teachers! The Ambassadors have been working on several options to carry on the energy from the secondary institute on February 6th and to prepare for our next eLearning Day on April 1st, which will be the first eLearning day for the elementaries. (Seriously, it’s on April 1st, this is not an early joke.) We’re going to try a few new methods for offering PD that makes it easier on you to attend and...

It’s been a while since we’ve sent an update of upcoming professional development available. Here’s a list of the currently scheduled workshops for November and December 2019. You can sign up for all PD options on the PD website. November Date/Time Title Location Weds 11/20 @ 2:50 – 3:20 ECS Staff Site Overview Online Fri 11/22 @ 9:00 – 10:30 SIOP Module 3 Make Up PLC at the Admin Building Tues 11/26 @ 12:00 – 4:00 CPI Refresher Course PLC at the Admin Building December Date/Time Title Location Tues, 12/10, 7:30 – 3:00 CPI Full Training PLC at the Admin...

Welcome to Springappalooza, the blog series with some simple tasks and challenges to bolster your app skills. If you complete all challenges by Friday, May 3, you’ll be awarded a special Springappalooza 2019 badge and sticker to help you strut your stuff. Week 1 – Make a GIFWeek 2 – Artistry Finding primary documents or photos online can feel like a treasure hunt, particularly as the documents get older. The Library of Congress hosts a massive digital collection of items new and old that are publicly available on their website through a handy search form. The main website works well...

Welcome to Springappalooza, the blog series with some simple tasks and challenges to bolster your app skills. If you complete all challenges by Friday, May 3rd, you’ll be awarded a special Springappalooza 2019 badge and sticker to help you strut your stuff. Week 1 – Make a GIF So many pictures… What happens when you can’t find a free-to-use image for a project? This is where a little creativity comes in. Today, we’d like you to use Sketches School to make your own copy of a copyrighted photo. Start with a definitely copyrighted photo. The general rule of thumb is...

It’s April (soon) and we’re celebrating with a four-part series we’re calling Spring-app-alooza. These are not read-for-an-hour-then-struggle ideas. These are family friendly, low investment ideas to think through over the month. How will this work? Each week in April (yes, including spring break), a blog post will publish with something to take a look at or try out. All you need to do is read the post and take a look at the resource. Each one has been picked to help students think outside the box about their learning and equip them to communicate those ideas. If you participate on...