Just a quick note of thanks to NCSS 2012 for a wonderful learning experience here in Seattle. Being chosen as the Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year has been one of the most rewarding and inspiring experiences in my 23 years as an educator. Thank you to all of the teachers and educators who [...]
It’s summertime and, as all teachers know, it’s PD time as well. I am excited and honored to get to return to Tyler ISD and share more ways that social studies can be integrated into language arts. I am updating my presentation to include the cool technology and performance strategies we piloted this year at UTES. As always, the kids are the stars and I’m the director of their learning.
Last week our UTES Little Longhorn 4th and 5th graders were the first elementary school students to see the documentary movie on energy, Switch, by Dr. Scott Tinker. http://www.switchenergyproject.com/screenings.html. This was a terrific culmination of 5th grade science and social studies units on energy and natural resources, and economics driven by supply and demand. Not only [...]
Thanks to the our Dell Technology grant, and a host of technology experts who have shared their expertise, our fifth graders are officially Techies. Projects that our Little Longhorn students are working on include: Digital stories using their own Bio-Poems, Power Point Presentations on Energy sources for science, Apps4Good educational games for younger classes here [...]
If you ask a fifth grader what one of their favorite resources is in the classroom, Brain Pop would be in the top 5. If you aren’t familiar with Brain Pop, there is an app available for free Brain Pop educational movies on your mobile device, http://www.brainpop.com/apps/about/. Thanks to our very supportive Parent Forum (UTES [...]
Our article is now published in the NCSS publication, Social Studies and the Young Learner. Elizabeth Bellows, Dr. Michelle Bauml, and Dr. Sherry Field did an amazing job of pulling my resources, lessons, and blog reflections to write this article. I appreciate all of the support I’ve received from everyone as I continue to share [...]
I admit it. I’m a shameless lover of all things that enhance and enrich good teaching. That is exactly what I found at SXSWedu 2012. I was so fortunate to be invited by We Are Teachers to join a panel of teachers to talk about the apps that we use in the classroom. My recommended [...]