Make a copy of your Google Sites!

A few weeks, Google announced the ability to make a copy of your site.  It has

now be implemented in our school domain.

For those who have done escape rooms with me- you can understand my excitement!  
Now you can make a copy and make changes to differentiate the escape rooms.
Richard Byrne has complete directions on his blog here.

Water, water everywhere

But can your students make sure each global region has enough water?  What’s the best answer? Pipelines? Research? Desalination plants? Challenge your students with the Smithsonian game Aquation.    I saw this in a post from Richard Byrne where he mentions several science games geared to elementary students.  Maybe the perfect fit for these last days of school?

Social Studies. ELA, and Science Templates

Richard Byrne posted this morning on his blog (Free Technology for Teachers) about

the templates and lessons in ReadWriteThink.  Please click here to see his post.  

I have long been a fan of RWT yet sometimes I forget to check their resources.

Need a creative edge?

Try these SOS (Spotlights on Strategies) from Discovery Education.  In their recent blog post, they shared the top ten SOS for creativity and innovation in your classroom.

Suggestions for collaboration in Google Docs

One of the issues I have in collaborating in Google Docs is the space issue.  I sometimes find myself trying to figure out where I should type (especially if this is in real time and I can see the other person’s words appearing on the page).  Alice Keeler has a suggestion that would make the process easier. Please click here to read her blog post.

Chrome extensions (getting, keeping, and deleting)

Chrome extensions are tools that will perform specific tasks.  They are visible adjacent to your search box (aka the Omnibox).  Richard Byrne has shared a quick video on extension basics. This is from his Free Technology for Teachers website.

Mindfulness, Gratitude, and Happiness

(This is a link from a Discovery Education post- I received mine via email but I am

sharing it here for those who did not see it).

Here is a short blog post on Happiness and a few easy steps to improve your own
state of mind.  This is part of series from Discovery Education. I want to thank for
reading this post- I realize it takes time from your overcrowded day.  It makes me
feel that I can help make a difference!

If you are afraid of spreadsheets…

Do you have spreadsheet phobias?  Read Alice Keeler’s blog post here for some

straightforward tips.  Start small and you will be amazed at what Google Sheets

can do for you!

Realistic Fiction and Book Creator- Perfect Together- Part 2

Here are a few more student-created books from  Karen Swierczek and Kristen Boehm ‘s

students. We used Book Creator as they used their realistic fiction drafts.  Special thanks

to Sheyla, Sophia, and Josue for sharing their work.

Please click here to read	Please click here to read	Please click here to read

All the NYT lessons for the year

If you are looking for some inspiration for next year, you might want to review the New York Times lesson plans.  Divided by content areas, most of these are geared to middle and high school students yet I feel you could modify them to meet your needs.

Now that school is winding down,

As you prepare to clean up your physical classroom, take a few minutes to clean up your digital classroom as well. Please see this article for directions to archive your Google Classroom.

What can you do with a Google Slide?

Kasey Bell recently shared a blog post with 25 things Google Slides can do for you! Some you may know, some might be new.  My favorites were # 6,9, and 11. Just a note of caution- while I love the Unsplash add-on for images, some photos might not be school friendly.  This might be an add-on you keep to yourself or use with older students.

PBS ELA resources

PBS recently shared a series of ELA links.  Before you can access the material, you will need to create a free account.  I previewed the MASTERPIECE clips and thought I saw several texts used in the district

• .Poetry in America
• MASTERPIECE Collection
• Inspiring Middle School Literacy
• Writing in U.S. History

CK-12 and Google Classroom

This blog post from  David Andrade reminded me about CK-12.  This is an interesting free site with mostly math and science activities and lessons.  As David points out in his post, it connects easily to Google Classroom. This might be something to explore as this year is ending and planning begins for the next school year.

Realistic Fiction and Book Creator- Perfect Together

This morning I had the change to work with Karen  Swierczek and Kristen Boehm‘s students.

We used Book Creator to transform their realistic fictions drafts into online ebooks.    Here

are a few samples they shared. Special thanks to Sophie and Sarah for sharing their work.

Click here to read.	Click here to read.

Counting down to the end of school

It seems every school has their own method for counting down the days to the end of school. If you are looking for a (personal) way to mark the end of each day, perhaps you can help my friend Joanne Hockenjos and vote for her grant application here. (If you type in the first four letters of her last name, you will find her.  Or you can enter Sayreville in the city box and search). You can vote once every day- think of it as a countdown to the end of the school year. Just fill in your email and wait for the mail- click the link to vote!

Need more ideas for Book Creator?

Even though this ebook is based on the iPad version of their product, you can use all these ideas with the Chrome-based application.  Please click here to read the ebook 50 Ways to use Book Creator in your Classroom.

D Day Resources

TeachersFirst recently shared their list of D-Day resources.  Please click here to view.

What’s your shoe size?

Richard Byrne shared a post this morning on digital footprints.  It included a nice video from Common Craft.  This might be something to integrate with your digital citizenship classes.

How to manage those PDFs

PDF Candy is a site I found in Educational Technology Guy’s blog.  Using this free converter, you will be able to manage all your PDF files.

Everything you ever wanted to know about forms

Alice Keeler shared her playlist of 57 (don’t panic- most of them are about a minute) videos that cover everything you need to know about forms.

G is for Geography (and Games!)

Over the weekend, Richard Byrne (Free Technology for Teachers) share a nice list (and description) of his favorite geography games.  While some were familiar, others were new.  This might be a good time of year to try out some games with your students.