The school year is moving forward and soon (believe it or not!) we will reach the end.  For me this is really the beginning of the next cycle of planning and preparing for 2014-15.  Disney’s quote does capture some of how I approach this time of year.  As I think about flex sessions and staff developments, work with teachers and curriculum, I feel that curiosity is a motivating force that keeps me going.  Without you, my colleague, I would not receive those questions and ideas that make me ponder what we do and why we do it.  You inspire my curiosity.  And that’s a great thing!

AL A CARTE (March 28, 2014)

Visual Learning – My newest read (on order currently from Amazon) is John Hattie’s book Visual Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning.  I’ll review it when I’m done, but in the meantime, check out the link to Amazon to learn more.

Getting Boys Excited about Books – Some nice thoughts on the topic.

 The Three Most Damaging Words – Powerful, short video.  Not to share with students as it has bad language, but for adults it’s food for thought.

 Larry’s Guide to Infographics – I enjoy Larry’s blog, as he collects materials from other places and puts them together for me to enjoy.  I also love infographics.  Here’s this month’s collection from Larry.

Bell Ringers Start Off Your Class Right – This time of year, we slide a bit out of routine.  Here’s a great reminder of why bell ringers (or sponges or set or whatever you call it) is so important.

Speaking of Bell Ringers – This might be interesting to share with students.  What would they do?

May your break involve rest and relaxation and something fun that you’ve been wanting to do.

Al A Carte (March 7, 2014)

Word Mover – This is an app that would be a creative supplement to any book you’re reading.   It allows students to create found poetry–think what a student could create if he/she took important quotes from the text to make a poem.

 Inferior Technology – Is the printed book inferior technology to the ebook?  Perhaps not.

Reading Reimaged – Check out this new technology about speed reading.  I haven’t decided if it’s cool or scary.

40 Years of the Cell Phone – This might be an interesting short video to share with students.  The changes over the years are interesting.  You have to pay attention in order to catch when one could access the web from a phone, though.

Real Books – Love this infographic about the top ten reasons to choose a paper book over an ebook.  I’m still a papyrus fan.

Stop Multitasking – And by the way, this infographic gives you a good reason for slowing down.  Really, you should.

Nerdy Book Club – This blog site has a new look.  I find it useful to check on occasion for finding new books to book talk.

A Peek at Common Core 2.0 – This post is a hilarious spoof on the Common Core and future changes.  We teachers will find the humor in it.

Sharing Never Starts Too Early – This video will melt your heart.  What an amazing little girl.

HAPPY SPRING BREAK!