Too much of a good thing

Sometimes too much choice can be overwhelming (I think of my recent experience in trying to decide on flooring for my laundry room!).  The same can be said for choice boards- students can have trouble making selections.  Matt Miller  (Ditch that Textbook) has a brilliant idea- make it progressive and build choices as you complete different classroom assignments.  Please see his blog post here.

Presentation ideas (and even for younger learners)

In this article from Edutopia, the authors suggest a simple framework to help their students explore research and projects (so you don’t get powerpoints from all!).  Check out Expanding Students’ Ideas About How to Give Presentations (by Michael Glasheen, Tiffany Perry)  here.

A look at the earth

TeachersFirst recently shared a series of Earth Science resources including Dynamic Interactive Earth.    It is geared for grades 4-9.  Here’s a brief review from TeachersFirst:

Learn the powerful forces that shape and change the Earth. Dynamic Earth explores the Earth's Structures, Investigating Plate Tectonics, learning about Plates and Boundaries, and how the plates Slip, Slide, and Collide. Read the information provided, click on the Interactive pictures for more details, and test your knowledge in each section with interactive activities. In the end, test your skills using an online assessment.  

Be a Globe Tracker

This is a yearly project sponsored by TeachersFirst- what a great way to talk about geography.  Here’s their description (and the link):

Globetracker's Mission

Take your students on a virtual choose-your-own-adventure geography journey around the regions of the United States. Engage your students with stories about main characters Meri and Geo. Learn geography terms, see landmarks, and practice map skills.

Discovery Education Activities for K-8

There are many daily activities offered by Discovery Education ( and you don’t need to be a subscriber!).  Please go here to view these resources.

Here is their press release:

The activities are designed for grades K–2, 3–5 and 6–8 and are being released on a monthly basis. According to Discovery Ed: "These engaging daily activities include Daily Fix-Its, Background Builders, Writing Prompts, and more to address specific learning needs. The monthly release of educator-informed activities provide fun, engaging, standards-aligned instructional supports that connect teachers across the country in a shared experience of learning."

Templates and Halloween Art!

Kasey Bell (from ShakeUpLearning) recently shared a blog post that not only shares a great Halloween template as well as general rules for sharing templates. Please click here for the details. If you need some information on making copies, please see her video above.

Teaching Media Literacy

This article from  Julia Boudreau provided some straightforward suggestions to help students unbundle and evaluate media in all forms.

More than just comics

Storyboardthat has a wide range of poster and infographic templates.  For access to an account, please see your media specialist.

Templates for all

Matt Miller is the king of Google Slides templates.  Here is his latest post filled with a variety of social media options (I think the Amazon samples could be fun!).  Please see his blog post here.

New Storyboardthat Resources

Check with your Media Specialist for access information to Storyboardthat or click this link to learn more about their resources..  There is also additional information on my wakelet as wakelet.com/@bsdtechtips.