Teacher Hack: Easy Way to Get FREE Clipart for REUSE!

I've really enjoyed my experience with Teachers Pay Teachers, and have been pleasantly surprised with how successful my sales have been. Ever since, I've been convincing any teacher who will listen to start an account on Teachers Pay Teachers. 

The most common excuse not to was, "I use a lot of clipart, and I'm nervous about Copyright infringement!" And, "I don't want to pay for images." 

Fear not my fellow cheapskate teachers! I, too, am not a fan on spending money to make activities that will hopefully sell...unless it's REALLYYYY CUTE. Then I'll buy it. 

 This trick just takes a minute: 

1. Go to Google Images and type in the image you'd like to search
2. Click "Search Tools" 
3. Select "Usage Rights" once the menu drops down
4. Choose "Labeled for Reuse"

Obviously, this limits your search, thus limiting the cuteness of the clipart, but sometimes you'll find a gem. For me, this is a guilt free method if I need to add a little somethin' somethin' to a worksheet. 

It's so easy that I started to have my students do this. I stress the importance of citing sources and not breaking any copyright infringement. Any time they publish something online, I make sure they filter out any images not labeled for reuse. 

10 Ways to Start Out the First Week of School...Like a 21st Century Teacher!

Common Core, Habits of Mind, and the Charlotte Danielson framework have a large focus on student-driven learning. Here are ten ways to have your students own their learning from Day One!

1. Allow students to organize the classroom library.
•  For all you OCD teachers out there, this isn't as scary as it sounds! When I have students organize the library, I introduce three jobs: Macho Men/Women, Label Masters, and Organizers. The Macho Men/Women carry the bins of books from one place to another. They need to communicate with both the Label Masters and the Organizers to figure out where the books go. The Label Masters identify categories of books and label them for other students. The Organizers sift through all of the books and put them into categories. All of the students tend to be Organizers at some point or another. I don't assign them roles, and I don't expect them to stay with one role the entire time. I simply explain the roles and give students free reign. What are the benefits to this activity? You can see the students who take on leadership roles, and those who need help. It is clear which students work well together, and ones who do not. Students get to see all of the books in the library and find books that interest them. Most importantly -- it gets students excited about reading! 
2. Assist students in creating an online portfolio to document student learning. 
• Allow each student in the class to create an online portfolio to document their work. This can be in the form of a blog with regular updates, or a website with links and pictures of projects completed by the student. Play around with what website you want to host this on. Two great options include Google and Weebly. Last year I used Weebly, but I think I'm going to switch to Google this year. As a first week of school activity, I start out with having students do an about me page so they can familiarize themselves with the program. What are the benefits to this activity? It allows for great student-parent-teacher communication. This is evidence of all the great things you and your students are doing in the classroom!  
3. Introduce a Help Wanted board. 
• I used a help wanted board for a student-driven project last year, but there's no reason it can't be used from day one. Simply put a sign that says, "HELP WANTED," on an easily accessible bulletin board. Designate one color post it or notecard for questions and another color for answers or suggestions. Designate appropriate times for students to access the Help Wanted board, and allow them to use each other as a resource. Make it as focused or as vague as you want. This could be help in a specific subject, random quandaries, tech questions, book recommendations, or all of the above! If technology is easily accessible, consider adding an online Help Wanted board. Padlet would be a great website to host a Help Wanted board. What are the benefits to this activity? It helps create an environment where students are dependent on each other. This promotes curiosity! It helps meet the needs of students in another way! This provides opportunities for students of all levels to help one another.  Make the interactive bulletin board instantly by downloading the FREEBIE from my TPT Store! 
4. Designate TECHsperts (or other experts). 
• Embrace students' strengths by allowing them to complete an expert application. The application should require students to reflect on traits and qualities they possess that make them reliable resources for students. I make this optional. Select the student expert, and let students know that this is the initial go-to person in this area of the classroom.  What are the benefits to this? This makes students feel special and needed in the classroom. It gives students a sense of responsibility in the classroom. This embraces all kinds of talents. Enjoy my freebie of a classroom application!
5. Implement the stoplight cup procedure. 
• This is more of a classroom management tool that requires students to reflect on their immediate needs. When students are working in a group or on some sort of student-driven project, provide students with three solo cups -- red, yellow, and green. Red = I need help and can't move foreword without it. Yellow = I need help, but can work on something else in the mean time, it's not urgent, or a classmate might be able to help. Green = I'm working hard! What are the benefits to this procedure? This requires students to reflect on their needs and how the teacher can assist. It encourages students to rely on peers for help. Visually, it's totally manageable for teachers to see which students need help!
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6. Implement a student-led positive reinforcement plan.  
• Students enjoy compliments for good behavior, and being recognized for what they do right. Want to know what they love more? When OTHER students are the ones pointing out these things! Bucket filling is a common positive reinforcement plan, but I put my own spin on it since we were reading the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Take a look at it in my TPT Store to download my Wonder by R.J. Palacio Wonderful Student Positive Reinforcement Bundle. What are the benefits to this? It makes students feel good about themselves, and gives all students a chance to stand out. 
7. Write goals with your students, both academic and behavioral...Then REFLECT!
• Holding students responsible for their own learning is extremely important. I incorporate students' goals into their online portfolio. Students reflect each week in their blog as well. Click here for the Weekly Reflection Prompt Freebie. What are the benefits to this activity? Writing and setting goals hold students responsible for their own learning. 
8. Start a class newsletter. 
• Give students choice and freedom to write about the classroom happenings. Be sure each student is assigned a role (ie. editor, advice column, math report, reading report, book review, PE sports report, etc.) Rotate roles and publish the newspaper weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Switch up the roles each time so students get a chance to write something new, and get creative with topics! What are the benefits to this activity? This keeps parent-teacher-student communication open. It takes less time on the teacher's end (crafting newsletters can be extremely time-consuming). Students are able to practice writing skills in an authentic way. This allows students to be reflective of what they are learning. 
9. Write classroom rules and expectations together. 
• Create an anchor chart (or something along those lines) and provide students with post-its. Brainstorm expectations of the classroom. To guide students a little more, I make these anchor charts very focused, here are some examples: "What Reading Looks Like," "When to Use a [insert volume] Voice," "What I am Doing vs. What the Teacher is Doing." What are the benefits to this activity? This allows students to be reflective of what their expectations are. It allows students to feel as if they are part of the classroom community. Students are held responsible for their actions.
10. Partake in a collaborative technology project. 

• Use this as a way to familiarize your students with technology. Provide students with a task, such as creating a How-To of classroom procedures or informative posters for the classroom, and allow students to work together in a group to complete the task. Challenge your students to problem-solve with technology by not allowing them to use a voice! I'd use Google Drive to do this activity. Any Wiki would do, though! What are the benefits to this activity? This allows students to experiment with technology and rely on others for assistance. 

Click here to see how the Danielson framework and Common Core Standards align. 

How Kahoot Made My Students Give a [ka]Hoot!

I was finding it challenging to motivate my students toward the end of the year last year, and I knew I needed to add some fun, interactive activities to keep my kiddos engaged!

One of the coworkers I carpool with was fiddling around on Twitter and asked me if I had ever heard about Kahoot! The second I got to a computer, I played around with  it a little bit, and within 5-10 minutes I had the next day's Science review made and ready to go! Kahoot had a search engine with quizzes that were already made, and it was simple to tweak and add more questions. I added videos and pictures to allow students to apply their knowledge better. 

The day I first used Kahoot was really exciting for our class. I had students partner up and use iPads. They got to create usernames (which were hilarious, ie. Geniu$$$$, etc.) and had to work quickly and quietly to answer the questions. As soon as the game was done, they were begging to play again. 

Kahoot was simple enough to create that I gave students the opportunity to create a review for another subject. This required the students to think about possible answers that other students may select. It required the students to go back into their notes and books to confirm the correct answers. Finally, students practiced questioning skills by coming up with questions that required higher level thinking. Ahh...student-driven learning at it's finest! 

How have you used Kahoot? 

How I Inspired My Students to Become Interested in Business

The last person I ever thought would teach a business club was me.

A year ago, a boy stood up in front of the whole staff at our school's staff meeting. He wore a full suit, carried a leather portfolio holder, and in an extremely professional manner, proposed the idea of business club to our elementary school. He shared his extensive background and knowledge of business, and outlined the benefits of educating students at an elementary level. In awe of his dedication, I decided to take on the task of being the teacher who hosts business club.

The only problem was that I knew close to nothing about business. After some serious Googling, brainstorming with friends and family involved in business, vigorously searching Teachers Pay Teachers, and diving into a variety of children's business books, I managed to create our school's first ever Business Club!

Through this club, students...

• Learn the basics of starting up a business
• Brainstorm their own ideas for a business
• Create a business plan
• Analyze their business plan
• Explore various marketing strategies
• Create a marketing campaign 
• Learn about investors
• Write a sales pitch to investors
• Participate in a mock "Shark Tank"

Here is the video I played before the mock Shark Tank.

I teach Business Club for about an hour every other week during lunch, and if I choose not to do this as a club anymore, I will find time to implement it in my classroom. Many of the activities I do are interactive and give the students a choice! Each meeting I try to allow students to talk to a business professional through Skype, FaceTime, or in person.

Prior to the meeting, outside of my classroom door, I post a brief overview of the guest speaker. I encourage students to read through it, and write down possible interview questions. I found that if the students are generating the questions, they are more engaged and get much more out of the experience.

Why is it beneficial?

• Students practice school skills in a real-life situation. 
• Students enjoy the simulation and the fact that it brings in pop culture.
• Students get the chance to work on something that they are genuinely interested in and passionate about. 
• It inspires creativity and innovation. 
• It involves the community. 
• It incorporates technology in an authentic way. 

Other ways to implement Business Club?

• Business reading and/or writing unit
• Project for Passion Time/Genius Time/ 20% Time 
• Summer enrichment program

Here are some business-related children's books I recommend:

Purchase my Business Club Bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Enjoy the Shark Tank commercial I played this year to encourage students to join Business Club. I blurred out the faces for privacy purposes. 

This will be my second year hosting Business Club, and now that I have more time and bigger ideas, I plan to add a Stock Market component to it. Be on the look out for my Stock Market unit! 

My Top 5 (Common Core) Technology Resources and Tools

Is your school pushing to incorporate technology, too? Are you searching for lessons that align with the Common Core Standards like everyone else? These are some of the websites I have found to be extremely helpful.

1.   - LearnZillion is organized based on the Common Core Standards. You can filter the grade levels and search by the standard or the domain. After selecting the Common Core Standard, you can choose from a variety of lessons (and they seem to add more each time I go on). Each lesson has an interactive video which is a good reference for the teacher, as well as a great way to assist students. The best part about this website -- it's free! 
2.  - I use Reading A-Z every week for guided reading. This reading resource provides a plethora of leveled literature. The levels correlate with Fountas and Pinnell, Reading Recovery, DRA, and Lexile. If you do not use these assessments, there are also age and grade level correlations for each piece of text. There are leveled books, mixed ability reader's theaters, fluency assessments, and (Common Core) reading activities to go along with each! You can get a 7-day free trail to test it out, but it is well worth the >$100 per year. 
3.  - KidBlog is a collaborative tool for students that can be incorporated across all subject areas. It doesn't have as many features as Edmodo, but students learn how to maneuver around the website instantly. There is less room for misspelled logins and passwords, and less time spent troubleshooting. I'm all about jumping right in! Teachers can modify each post and comment, and it's just easy. Another perk -- it's free! 
4.  - Into the Book is a great way for students to independently practice the eight reading comprehension strategies (Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating, and Synthesizing). There is a teacher section, which is a great reference, as well as a student practice page. Also, it's FREE! 
5.  - The BBC "Maths" section provides math games that look like video games! These help reinforce Common Core math concepts! And...drumroll......it's FREE! 

After trying out some of these resources, please share how you have used them! If you have any other ones that you feel are "Top Five" worthy, I'd love to hear about them!