Tag: students

Tools for a Paperless Classroom

September 11, 2015

 My latest post is inspired by a dear friend who is an even greater teacher than she is friend (and that is saying something).  This isn’t the first time she has inspired me to write, but over the summer, Linh and I began talking about our professional goals as we headed toward the new school year.  Hers was to create a paperless classroom leaving me in awe of her passion to tackle just a big feat. If any teacher can do away with pencil and paper Linh surely can.  After a little research I discovered there are a variety of tools to ensure her success.  You can head over to my article at the Yellin Center for Mind, Brain and Education, or find a copy of it below.  Enjoy and good luck to all you tech-saavy educators out there making a difference in children’s lives and diminishing your environmental impact. Keep doing you! Continue reading “Tools for a Paperless Classroom”

Educational Technology Review: Animation-ish

November 5, 2014

icon-aiAnother ed tech review is up on the Yellin Center Blog.  This time it is for an incredible animation software program that has the power to assist educators in differentiating their instruction and cultivating a maker culture in the classroom. I was over the top excited to learn that one of my personal all-time favorite children’s authors has launched an award-winning software program titled Animation-ish. Peter H. Reynolds is the bestselling author and illustrator behind the incredible titles Ish, The Dot and The North Star. Each of the aforementioned held a very prominent and special place in my curriculum when I was a classroom teacher.  Now, Mr. Reynold has moved beyond books and into the digital space with the launch of Animation-ish, which is described as “an easy-to-use animation software program that inspires creativity and enables children to show what they know.”

For more on how to use the app, its undeniable merits for the classroom and more unabashed praise singing of this amazing tool head over to my review at the Yellin Center.

Teachable Moments: Guess Who?

June 27, 2014

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We all know how much I love to design curriculum from scratch for my students.  Yet it has been such a long time since I shared one of the resources I have developed for my classroom.  Life has been so grad school centric, which when compounded by the regular of end of the year school year crazy is leaving me with little time for much else.  So in honor of the last day of school here is one of my favorite lessons I have created -Guess who? I originally saw the idea of converting an old Guess Who? game into an educational resources on Pinterest and began scrounging for old game boards so my students could make their own.  However, even the Salvation Army prices were too rich for my blood so I decided to design and create my own game pieces that can be simply printed and constructed in the classroom.   Continue reading “Teachable Moments: Guess Who?”

Teaching Moments: Fundraiser Dance

February 16, 2014

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If you remember I was making (inexpensive and easy) costumes for three dances I choreographed for my students to preform at fundraiser for their Autism education program and other center related programs for new immigrant families in Chinatown.  Well yesterday was performance day.  Even with gales of blustering wind, and a mass outpouring of snow, the event was a success.  The patrons who managed to brave the treacherous winter conditions were a incredibly enthusiastic audience as they watched my students dance, listened to piano performances and purchased student art from the art show.    Continue reading “Teaching Moments: Fundraiser Dance”