Technology tools to engage students

Top Tech Tools

 Over the past 2 years we have seen technology increase within the classroom due to the pandemic. Teachers have had to completely change their lessons to be able to support all students. Within the past two years I have found a few great tools to engage students, yet continue to challenge students with rigorous questions. Here are some of my favorite tools I have discovered. 

1. Boddlelearning. This resource is one of my favorites! It allows teachers to use gamification when assessing and reviewing students. There are amazing features within this site. Students answer questions by state standards and after every few questions they get to play a quick game. This tool is incredibly engaging and quickly became a classroom favorite. It motivated students so much that I had a few kids ask to use their parents devices at home or on commutes to continue playing. Lastly I love that students get to create their own "land", similar to Animal Crossing. 

2. Squixy. Is an interactive graphic novel that has students practice multiplication through augmented/virtual reality. Last year I received these books and my students loved being able to use the VR games while also combining reading and science skills. 

3. Blooket. This resource quickly became a classroom favorite for practicing math facts. Similar to other tools, this one stands out alone. Students login with their devices then compete against each other to answer questions. There are a variety of games and it works great for fluency. Teachers can create their own questions or search the item bank. My students loved it when I played against them!

What I learned from this school year 2020-2021

 

1. Team work truly makes the "Dream Work".

 As we all know, this year has been challenging. For everyone. Parents, teachers, administration, students, para support, bus drivers, cafeteria staff, etc. When things get tough you must find your "people". The ones that will push you to keep striving, to find creativity in the darkness and to continue to support you when you need it most. I'm incredibly thankful for the team I get to work with. When you have a group that can find the best qualities in everyone you are bound for success. 

 

 

2. Technology doesn't replace everything. 

    While technology has been vital to this school year, it doesn't replace the human interaction we all love. Not being able to high five kids this year has been tough but keeping them safer will always take precedent. All teachers have learned how to use technology better this year. If anyone ever doubted that technology will ever go away, they quickly learned it's not the future; it’s now. 

 

3. Mental health is a priority. 

    From anxiety to highs and lows this year has had it all. When I think back to my childhood, I think of all the fun times I had playing outside and with friends. So many kids missed out on opportunities this year. We must not only support ourselves but kids Social-Emotional Learning. Empathize what it would be like to go through a pandemic as a child. Not fully comprehending what everything means, it would be incredibly nerve wrecking. 

   As teachers we often hear "take time for yourself", but so often we end up pushing ourselves to the side. We can't do that. It's ok to tell others you are struggling, it's not weakness. It's vulnerability which can be hard to admit. In previous years I looked at "mental health days" or personal leave and a waste. Since then I've realized I can't support my students as well if I'm not doing well. 

 

4. There are resources out there. 

  Last year I reached out to multiple authors and asked if they would be willing to send a video to my students in honor of the Month of the Military child and beginning lockdown. This simple request motivated my students, comforted them, and showed them authors are just like everyone else. 

 

5. Listen, don't hear. 

  Now more than ever we need to be listening to our students. We need to not just hear what they feel or say but listen intently. Show them with our eyes that we are listening. With wearing a mask it's hard to show facial expressions, but students can still tell how we feel based on our eye contact. I've had some great conversations with my students this year, now more than ever. Just be listening and not talking and empathizing has created a huge positive climate and culture. Hearing my students concerns about violence in the media and what they fear is completely validating. The world can be a scary place, and just by listening to them can help them feel that their words are heard and valid. 

 

Transforming distance learning into student engagement with author messages

    How I made distance learning engaging

 Now that the school year is officially over, I've started to do more self-reflection on a personal and professional standpoint. As a professional I feel teachers did an amazing job during this time. Being able to completely flip curriculum for students, make it creative, and engaging all while in a pandemic and trying to take care of yourself and sometimes your family is not easy. But we are teachers. When challenged we rise and look at them as a way to grow. 

During distance learning I still wanted my lessons to be engaging, creative, and inspiring. I came across the idea after emailing one of my favorite authors that my students just finished the first book in her amazing series. She responded and I told my students what she wrote. Quickly after that I had the spark to take this a step farther. Almost everyone in the nation was having to stay home during this time and I knew I was looking at a potentially great idea. Many authors love hearing from their audience, especially kids.

I reached out to authors on social media asking if they would be willing to send a note or make a video to encourage my students during this time. Slowly I started getting responses and videos. Each time I shared the message or video to my students it would literally make their day. It gave them hope when maybe they haven’t felt hope in a while. Their words inspired them, comforted them, and let them know they are not alone during this time. We all are struggling at times and when you hear someone you look up to using empathy and mentioning your school you can’t help but feel hope even in times of uncertain.

This time of distance learning was not easy. However, it was great to see so many authors reach out to my students and let them know things will get better. There is always a next chapter.

 

To see clips of the author messages look my Twitter and Instagram page. 

1-JamiaWilson

2- Aimee Reid

3- Derrick Barnes

4-Matt De La Pena

5- Julia Finley Mosca

Why every classroom needs military books

Why every classroom needs military children's books. Month of the Military Child

      Growing up my father was in the army and would often be gone for drill and other training courses. When I was in middle school he was deployed to Iraq and that really affected me during that time. Middle school can be a challenge for any kid, especially when you didn't know the next time you would hear from your parent if everything would be fine or not. It was a really hard time at times, but it made me who I am today. The military life can really be a challenge and we often put military families off to the side and say, "you get to travel to so many places", when majority of people just want consistency. 

      The books listed above are some of my favorite military related books. I think it’s incredibly important to have these books especially showing that moms, dads, or sometimes both parents can be in the military. I show my students in the beginning of the year where these books are located. I love to read aloud to my students, but with these books I hardly ever read them aloud. The reason being is when you are a military child and going through things you may not be ready to read or listen to it. Instead, I show my students where these books are located and if they want to ever read any of them, they know where to find them. 

       My love for working with military children really started in college. I had the opportunity to work on 3 different installations and work with military kids. It's hard to describe what being a military kid is like, but I had a connection to these kids. I knew what it was like to be one, and I thought if I could help one person go through what I did then I could really make a difference. Since then I have been able to work for several years as a third-grade teacher to schools that are made mostly of military kids. Below is a list of reasons as to why every teacher needs to incorporate these types of books within their curriculum. 

3 Reasons why you need military child books in your classroom. 

1. Non-military kids need to know and be aware of what is happening to other kids their age.
 When my dad was gone there weren't many kids that could relate to what I was going through. It can open classmates eyes to see what others go through and how their life is completely different. 

2. It allows military kids to relate to something. 
I was very fortunate growing up because we never had to move like so many in the military. My dad was mostly sent to different bases for training courses and school. He rotated between active duty and the National Guard. I wish there were books like these shown above because it would have reminded me that I wasn't the only going through what was happening. It would have shown me that other kids go through these same experiences and they can come out on top of it in the end.

3. Kids enjoy learning about other cultures, experiences, and current events.
  To this day a lot of my classroom library is made up of non-fiction books. Kids enjoy learning about different cultures, current events and sometimes politics. Kids are naturally curious and we need to allow them to ask questions and engage in sparking their curiosity.

So as we begin April this year with so many things going on I encourage you to remember not only those who serve, but their children. Purple Up! 

       

Motivating your class to the next level.

       As a teacher we are constantly trying to differentiate and motivate content and curriculum to students. We try to find ways that will motivate them not only pass; but to excel to a higher level. Last month I attended TCEA and was able to get an abundance of information, inspiration and ideas. One of the sessions I attended was by Todd Nesloney. (If you don't follow him on social media you need to). He mentioned that one thing creates is a Willy Wonka style book club for select students. He really emphasized that he doesn't want all kids to be apart of it at first. That students should feel extra special finding a golden ticket, and keeping it a secret. I attended several other sessions and eventually put put all of the ideas into one big melting pot of learning. 
      
    So what did I do? I decided to create a secret book club for about 8 students that really don't get "extra time" that often. These are the kids that do well but they're not GT, or extremely low performing. I wanted to do something for them, to motivate them, and to keep them inspired. So, I hid a golden ticket in their journals, books, mailboxes, you name it. Some were a little skeptical at first until I explained it a little further. 

   I showed students on their chromebooks how to get to the book club location in classroom. From there I edited a teachers lit circle template on a google drawing. From the google drawing I linked different graphic organizers from Eric Curts blog. (Another great resource, link to his blog see below). Each day students read one chapter from the book, and discuss with their group what they read about for about 5 minutes. From there they can enter their responses into the graphic organizers. I wanted something for students to be able to complete during our intervention/enrichment time but not feel stressed in terms of work load. 
  
  Thus far the book club has been a huge success. Some of the kids love keeping it a secret, which just inspires them even more. It has allowed students to read books they may not normally be interested in. It has also allowed students to discuss with their peers their thoughts and have thoughtful discourse. The books I chose for the students also tended to be near their reading level, but a little higher to challenge them even more. This secret book club has been extremely beneficial, and I plan on starting it again one they finish their book. If you get the chance I highly encourage teachers and librarians to try this idea out. It's a little bit of work at the beginning, but once it gets started it's really easy. 

Control Alt Achieve: Resources, My favorite links

Control Alt Achieve: Resources:   Eric's Resources   Over time I have created quite a few help guides, presentations, and other training resources for ...

How I get kids motivated to come to school on time

     One thing that I have seen a lot of schools struggle with is making sure kids are getting to school on time. It can be a challenge from kids not wanting to get up on time, to daily traffic. Whatever it may be I always try to find a way to positively motivate students to arrive on time. I didn't want to have something or an incentive be too extreme like students earning or losing points. Number one that really is not fair, and will instead stress students out instead of motivating them arrive promptly. As a way to try to combat tardiness I thought of creating something that is simply luck. Each day a student arrives early/on time they will get a penny. At the end of the day before they head out the door they get to drop that penny in the water tank and try to get it into the cup. (Real Taco Bell 90's vibes inspo). If they get it in the cup then they can pick a reward/school supply. 
    This tool has really helped. If a student arrives late they know they can always earn a chance for the next day. Nobody feels ashamed or judged, and it truly has helped a lot! I've actually had to tell students they don't get multiple pennies if they arrive earlier than the morning bell. 

So to explain how I created this contraption I'm going to keep it short and not like those blogs where a mom talks about how she got her kids to school and missed her coffee, write a novel and everything before even telling me how to make the bundt cake recipe I clicked on. 


1. Get an empty water jug and fill it with water. (swamp water not recommended)
2. Take a yardstick and shove a small cup to the bottom of the tank. (I suggest putting a few pennies in it prior to keep it from floating)
3. All done