Fighting the Summer Slide with Gamified Reading Challenges
This summer, transform reading into an adventure! Ditch rigid booklists and embrace creativity. Students earn points by completing fun challenges like blackout poetry, character art, and creating music playlists. With varied tasks and exciting rewards, summer reading becomes a thrilling journey.
Play to Learn: Carcassonne
In the second blog post in the Play to Learn series, we will look at the game Carcassonne. This game is similar to Settlers of Catan, in that it is a Euro-style game. The game is based on mechanics versus story and theme. Carcassonne is a tile placement game. Players are looking to match tiles and place tiles to gain experience points (XP) . Tiles are picked at random and have illustrations of southern French landscape. Meeples represent people in the game and score points for the players. There are four types of tiles in the game. Farmland,…
EduProtocol: Fast and the Curious
The Fast and the Curious EduProtocol is ideal for teaching new information such as math facts or vocabulary words. Anything that with repetition would improve understanding and more to long term memeory. This protocol spans five class days, using just 15 minutes each day. It is perfect to start at the beginning of the school week.
Math on the Move: Exploring Algebra with TI Rovers
Just a few weeks ago, I was able to work with students in Algebra I classes using the TI-Innovator™ Rover. In New York State, we have end of the year Regents Examinations, which are achievement tests aligned with New York State’s learning standards. This year, the Algebra I Regents was early, which allowed for me to go into schools to use the TI-Innovator™ Rover. Students got to explore math content in a hands on way, while also learning how to code! One of the schools I went to had students compete in Rover Olympics! Each group picked a country to…
Play to Learn: Settlers of Catan
One of my favorite hobbies is to play board games. There are many special moments in my life tied to playing games- meeting my husband, our proposal story, fun times with friends and so many more! Now when I mention board games, I am not talking about the classic ‘family game night’ games. I am talking about board games that have more strategy and themes involved in them. In many classrooms, we find Monopoly, Life, Connect 4, Candyland- the more classic ‘family game night’ games. What if we looked at some of these more strategic and thematic games that fit…
EduProtocol: Word Up Wednesday
Discover Word Up Wednesday, an EduProtocol that enhances vocabulary learning through collaboration and creativity. In just 5 minutes, students work together to complete tasks like definitions, synonyms, and memes. This engaging, low-pressure activity is adaptable to any subject, making learning both fun and effective.
📚 But Where is the Red Book? Introducing Talpa.ai Innovating Book Discovery!
Discover Talpa.ai, the revolutionary AI-powered tool transforming library interactions. Utilizing advanced LLMs from Anthropic and OpenAI, it ensures accurate bibliographic searches validated by Bowker, Syndetics Unbound, and LibraryThing. Seamlessly navigate genres, character data, and even identify books by cover design. Explore the future of library innovation at Talpa.ai today.
Canva Can Help with Bulk Award Creation
It's that time of year again, and I'm busy creating awards. With over 1,800 Battle of the Books awards to produce, handcrafting each one was not feasible. Canva came to the rescue with its user-friendly design and extensive templates, making the process easy and ensuring professional results every time.
Embracing the Fidget: A Transformative Approach to PD for Teachers
As a Mathematics Teacher Trainer, I’ve discovered that working with adults during professional development sessions is remarkably similar to teaching in a classroom. Teachers often joke that they are the worst students, and there’s some truth to that. Teaching is an exhausting profession. You’re always “on,” wearing multiple hats, and masking your true feelings to be the best educator for your students. The stress is compounded when you have to plan for a substitute teacher, knowing that your students might only receive review material instead of advancing in new lessons. You might even have to reteach the content upon your…
Another EduProtocol: Bookakucha
Imagine transforming the traditional book talk into an engaging, student-driven experience. Welcome to BookaKucha, a dynamic book presentation format inspired by the popular Pecha-Kucha style, crafted by Jon Corippo and Marlena Hebern in their book EduProtocols. What is BookaKucha? BookaKucha is a streamlined, classroom-friendly adaptation of PechaKucha, the world-renowned storytelling format known for its brevity and impact. In a typical PechaKucha session, presenters share their stories through 20 slides, each accompanied by 20 seconds of commentary. It’s the perfect blend of efficiency and creativity, often described as what “Show and Tell” always aspired to be. BookaKucha simplifies this even further…
