Tag Archives : #DecemberTeacherTalk


December 2021 Teacher Talk

 Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s December and time for our holiday version of Teacher Talk. Getting ready for the holiday festivities or just looking for some great ideas. You don’t want to miss what these creative educators are doing this month.
 
If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here…. The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.  If you decide to join, “Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions”
 
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An Amazing Holiday Values Lesson

I woke up this morning, December 19, 2021, and thought about how much things have changed since the pandemic. 

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A Celebration of Values for the Holidays

Ideas for bringing reflections and values to the celebrations of the season!

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The Best Gift of All: Connection

One of the biggest challenges I’ve noticed since being back in school in person is the need for conversational skills. In class during morning meeting, we spend time devoted to talking and interacting with one another. While I can foster this in the classroom, I know practicing communication skills need to continue at home.

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Giving Books as Gifts
Books make great gifts for everyone, but here are two keys for giving books that children, especially, will enjoy and that will motivate them to read even more.

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Measuring Snow – A Craft for the Un-Crafty
 
I am not a very crafty person; so, I am always looking for items that are easy to make that I can give to my grandchildren. One year, I gave them a snowman making kit that included buttons, a carrot, six rocks and two sticks. This year, I am giving them a Snow Measuring Tool. Not is it only fun to use, but it also helps them to practice using a ruler. Learn how you can make one!
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The Benefits of Literature Circles in the Classroom
Ever thought about using literature circles in your classroom as part of your reading program? Learn more about what literature circles are and why they are an effective addition to your classroom reading program.
 
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Good Writers Vary Their Sentence Patterns
 

Good Writers Vary Their Sentence Patterns and often place phrases and dependent clauses at the beginning of their sentences.

 
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5 Tech Tips to Keep Teacher Sanity
Technology Tips for Teachers in the Classroom.
 
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December 2020 Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s December and time for our holiday version of Teacher Talk. Getting ready for the holiday festivities or just looking for some great ideas. You don’t want to miss what these creative educators are doing this month.
If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.  If you decide to join, “Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions”
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An Amazing Holiday Values Lesson To Use Right Now!

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

I woke up this morning, December 20, 2020 and thought about how much things have changed since the pandemic, staying away from those we love, prejudice against those who are different, a separation of so many people in this country, bullying, and distance learning. This has been a very sad and stressful time in our lives.*********************************************

Hope is Just AheadBy Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

Adding hope to a New Years goal setting activity.
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Virtual Math Games to Engage Student Learning

By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

One of my struggles during distance learning has been how to keep students engaged during math. Breakout rooms have been the perfect solution! I digitized a few of the games I used to print out and laminate. They are no-prep and ready to use!
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When was the last time you took time for YOU?

By Renee Heiss of All-American Teacher Tools

You’ve been creating virtual lessons, implementing virtual rewards and discipline procedures, and possibly keeping up with in-class separation shenanigans, as well. It’s overwhelming and not what you signed up for, right? Here are some ideas to help you relax and enjoy a small part of your day or week so you tell yourself that you are special (channeling Mr. Rogers here!)*********************************************

My Rule #3 for Teaching Middle School

By Katie Auer of Loving Language Arts

 #3 in a series of tips for Teaching Middle School*********************************************

Civility in the Classroom

By Charlene Tess of Charlene Tess

Teaching civility in the classroom is a must.

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The Gift of No Homework

By Gini Musmanno of Reading Spotlight

Why not try giving students the gift of NO HOMEWORK this holiday season? For a week? For a month? For EVER?

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3 Easy Tips to Increase Engagement and Learning During Grammar Lessons

By Marcy Howe of It’s a Teacher Thing

Learn easy tips for increasing engagement and learning during your grammar lessons.
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Make sure you take a look at all the tips from our extraordinary educators.

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December Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s December and time for our holiday version of Teacher Talk. Getting ready for Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza and New Years, or just looking for some great ideas. You don’t want to miss what these creative educators are doing this month.

 If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.

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The Quiltmaker’s Gift: Anticipation, Generosity, Reading Lesson Ideas & A Freebie!By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs

In this post, I use a picture book, “The Quiltmaker’s Gift” to unpack our thinking about protagonists, antagonists, theme, conflict and persuasive talk and writing. This includes an idea for a motivating Generosity Challenge, too.
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Holiday Musings
By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

For some of us, this is a joyful time, but there are many who are alone, and unhappy.  Some have no money to buy gifts and others are out in the cold with no homes.  It breaks my heart realizing that some people feel alienated from their families which can lead to depression and in extreme cases, suicide. Our kiddos aren’t immune, they see what’s going on and may not know how to deal.  
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The Great Homework Debate Comes Home
By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

 

Thoughts on the place homework has in real life. What makes homework authentic and a part of lifelong learning?
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Hour of Code is coming: My top 5 web sites/apps!
By Lisa Robles of LisaTeachR’s Classroom

My top five programs/apps for coding!

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Identifying Learning Disabilities in English Learners
By Rebecca Olsen of 2livNearn

Distinguishing between the second language acquisition process and a learning disability can be tough, even for seasoned professionals. But it’s not impossible to tease apart the two in order to make appropriate educational decisions for students. Click to find out more!  
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How Many Ways Can I Use This Toy?
By Susan Berkowitz of Susan Berkowitz

If you’re gearing up for holiday gift giving, here are some tips for ways to build language through play.
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Wiggly Kids: 5 Easy Ways to Improve Thinking & Remembering!
By Thia Triggs of Print Path

 

Researchers have found evidence for the use of movement tools, but there are some children with whom these tools have the opposite effect.
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Geology Rocks!
By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

Teaching Next Generation Science Standards is easy with the help of theater arts! Students explore the various aspects of earth science while reading, speaking, singing, and dancing about the concepts!
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Bring History To Life With Informational Texts
By Michelle Webb of Teaching Ideas For Those Who Love Teaching

Tips on how to use more informational texts with your students.

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Don’t foget to click on the linkies and read all the posts




December Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s December and time for our holiday version of Teacher Talk. Getting ready for Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza and New Years, we have some great ideas for you. So hurry on over to see what these creative educators are doing this month.


If you’re interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here….The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.

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A Celebration of Values

By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

Reasons and ways to incorporate values into your lessons this holiday season.

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Election Musings in December

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

I came across this letter, written by a father to his children after the election. He said what is probably on many of our minds.

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Make Math FUN this Christmas!

Engage your students with these Christmas Math riddles worksheets! I began creating math riddles to make math more fun in my own classroom. I love hearing my students giggle as they solve the riddle at the end of the worksheet. Students solve problems, each problem has a letter assigned to it and the letters help to solve the riddle. It is a great way to combine fun and learning! Make math FUN!

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AAC From A to Z: A is for Aided Language Input

By Susan Berkowitz of Susan Berkowitz

If you are supporting an AAC user, you’ll want to watch this short video about using Aided Language Stimulation. This is the first step in implementing augmentative communication.

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Keeping Your Students Engaged After a Vacation Break

By Marcy Howe of It’s a Teacher Thing

Learn tips for re-engaging students after a vacation break.

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MAKING SENSE OF NUMBERS – BEYOND COUNTING

By Thia Triggs of Print Path

Many children enter kindergarten being able to rote count. What comes next? There are 5 key elements of number sense within a kindergarten age group. 

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Forging Connections By Studying Family

By Michelle Webb of Teaching Ideas for Those Who Love Teaching

Why Studying Family with young children is so important.

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My Top Five Christmas Read Alouds

By Lisa Robles of LisaTeachR’s Classroom

Here are my top five Christmas read alouds with some ideas fro activities.

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Four Quick Strategies to Check for Understanding

By Shametria Routt of the Routty Math Teacher

As teachers, we are constantly assessing our students and gathering formative assessment data to drive our instructional decisions. When we use student feedback and data to make decisions, we cut-down on the time spent teaching concepts and skills our students already know or aren’t quite ready for yet. Check out four quick strategies you can use today to check for your students’ understanding.

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3 Sure-Fire Ways to Keep Kids Moving for Math

By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

Keep students on task and engaged! 3 math resources that get students up & moving, while practicing math skills.

An Existential Tug-of-War: Making Thinking Visible with Tuck Everlasting

By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs

This post explores critical thinking routines using Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. It shows the diversity of thinking that can occur in one novel study with upper elementary students. 

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Please hop on over to read these December blog posts.


December Teacher Talk

 Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern
 
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Happy Holidays Everyone, Welcome to our December Teacher Talk Blog Hop.
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By Mary Moore of Moore Resources

 The Scientific Method is Fantastic for All Subjects and for Life! The Scientific Method is a great method to use for teaching students how to solve problems and investigate questions in all educational subjects along with solving life situations.

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By Lisa Robles of LisaTeachR’s Classroom

If You Give a Reindeer a Root Beer… Studying Circular Plot Structure Have your students learned about circular tales? Here is how I used it in my classroom.

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The Perfect Snowman Craft!

By Tammy DeShaw of The Owl Teacher

Do you want to create the most adorable Winter Craft as a gift or just for fun? Check out this inexpensive and fun craft idea of making snowmen – out of socks!

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Can You Make a Snowman?

By Susan Berkowitz of Susan Berkowitz

Making a snowman is a favorite activity for kids in the winter. Almost everyone knows how to make a snowman. But can they tell someone else how to make one? Can they articulate the steps? Join Max and Mo in their story and learn sequencing and comparing language skills.

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Teacher Talk: Student Self Assessment

By Marypat Mahoney of Just Add Students

Give students the opportunity to self-assess their growth and learning thus far in the school year.

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Teaching Young Children to Write Their Names


ByThia Triggs of Print Path

An unfortunate myth is that young children, 3 & 4 years old, should learn to write their name with an initial capital letter followed by lowercase, rather than all capitals. Research shows that to be incorrect and even detrimental, for several reasons.

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Christmas-Winter STEM Olympics

By Kerry Tracy of Kerry Tracy

Keep kids engaged this holiday season with five festive, fun, & fabulous Christmas/Winter themed STEM challenges that can be modified for use with grades 2-8! 


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Five Ways to Increase Students’ NWEA Math Scores

By  Crystal Brown of  Dr Crystal Brown

Do you want to make sure your students reach their growth targets in math? Learn five ways you can easily implement into your math instruction. 


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How to Help Beat the Holiday Blues

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

We all know that kids love to send notes to each other. This activity allows them to do that.


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What’s My Error? Extraordinary Math Hack

By Tammy Roose of The Tarheelstate Teacher

Do your students continue to make common errors when computing and learning different math concepts? Mine were too, until I instituted some fun error analysis with “What’s My Error?” problems! 

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Our Homes Have Stars

By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

Sharing the holiday spirit in a classroom of diverse faiths.


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Critical Thinking with Pattern Blocks

By Shametria Routt of The Routty Math Teacher

Did you know that pattern blocks can be used for more than just teaching shapes in your geometry unit– pattern blocks can be used all year long! The proportionality of the pieces extends the number of ways in which they can be used, including analyzing the characteristics and common attributes of two-dimensional shapes, identifying fractional relationships, and building an understanding of operations with whole numbers. Check out this 5-part series to explore ways to get your students thinking critically with pattern blocks!


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Tantalizing Tessellations: Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs

Project-orientated learning engages students and leads to critical thinking. It’s differentiation at its finest!

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Tips To Enjoy Holiday Teaching

By Michele Webb of Teaching Ideas for Those Who Love Teaching

Tips to keep holiday teaching fun and stress free.

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December in the Classroom

By Marcy Howe of It’s a Teacher Thing

Enjoy December in your classroom. Learn how to keep the curriculum challenging, your days calm, and find links to several “go to” items to help you enjoy December in your classroom.

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Magic Books Motivate Writing!

By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

Students buy-in to writing if it is in a book. This magic book motivates students to compare and contrast!

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Please Read these great ideas that these educators are using for the month of December and beyond.