Publishing Student Writing

Writing teachers are always looking for fun and interesting ways to publish their students' writing - an important step in the writing process. Over my years of teaching, we published in many formats - from individual masterpieces, to student anthologies. The advent of the computer lab simplified the process somewhat - as did the ring binder to put those great stories into book form.

Kristin Fontichiaro has taken the idea of publishing student work to a new level - creation of free ebook anthologies using a Smashwords, a popular - and free -  ebook publisher. Her free ebook, Publishing Student Writing to the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch Using Smashwords and Bluefire Reader explains the process of publishing class work on Smashwords.  Fontichiaro takes the Smashwords style and publishing guidelines and applies those to classroom use. She includes chapters on formatting, cover creation and downloading the finished product.

Image how terrific it would be to have a class anthology available to all students and their families in digital form. Smashwords ebooks can be downloaded in a variety of formats, so students can read their masterpieces on laptops, desktops, and many types of ereaders - including, but not limited to the various iDevices.

Publishing Student Writing to the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch Using Smashwords and Bluefire Reader is a 21st century solution for teachers who want to publish their students' work. It is a quick read and a great resource for teachers, students, and anyone hoping to enter the digital ebook world!

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. Permission to republish in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Back to School: First Day, First Week, First Month Ideas and Activities

•  Make "Getting to Know Me" posters with your new students. 
•  Play "Bingo Get to Know Ya!"
•  Share your favorite stories and let your students do the same. 
•  Learn about each other by holding class interviews and then "publishing" a class book. 

There are many fun ways to break the ice and start to build a feeling of community within your class. Many of the ideas found at the sites listed below are great for the first day, but many can also be used to fill a rainy Friday, to ease the tension after a big test, to end a semester, or to just have a little fun. Check them out!

Ice Breakers Volume 1
Ice Breakers Volume 2 
Getting Acquainted 
Fun Activities to Get the Year off to a Great Start
First Day of School Icebreaker Activities
Scavenger Hunt: A Fun Way to Introduce Staff

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. The copyright of the article Back to School: First Day, First Week, First Month Ideas and Activities in Teacher Tips and Lesson Plans is owned by Irene Taylor. Permission to republish Back to School: First Day, First Week, First Month Ideas and Activities in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Back to School: New Teacher Resources

 Are you a new teacher? How exciting to be starting your teaching career! I know you are brimming with great ideas, boundless energy and endless enthusiasm for your new role. This is the second in a series of quick blog tips for Back to School - with links that are especially useful for new teachers.

The start of school for a new teacher can present many challenges. It is especially important for the new teacher to start the year out right. New teachers, substitutes, and even veteran teachers will find many good ideas by investigating these links:

New Teacher Resources, Classroom Tips, Lesson Ideas and Support
Organizing the Classroom
How to Set up a Classroom
Tips for New Teachers
Tips for Beginning Teachers
Organization Tips for New Teachers
Teach Classroom Management the First Two Weeks of School
Establishing Classroom Rules

Take a deep breath, use the ideas found at the above links and get ready for the best job ever!

Copyright 2012  Irene Taylor. The copyright of the article Back to School: New Teacher Resources in Teacher Tips and Lesson Plans is owned by Irene Taylor. Permission to republish Back to School: New Teacher Resources in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

My Little Bookcase Challenge: Meet an Author

The August My Little Bookcase challenge is Meet and Author or Illustrator. In this challenge, families are encouraged to investigate ways to connect with their favorite authors. Suggestions for participation include attending library-hosted author events, writing letters to favorite authors,  or attending book fairs or book signings. The site offers many resources for events all around Australia, as well as links to several Year of the Reader events.

For those not in Australia, here are some additional ideas for participation in the Meet an Author event.

Summer Reading Programs

One of the best ways to keep kids involved with learning is a local summer reading program. Most libraries, schools and states offer some kind of summer reading program for kids to get involved in. The programs are similar, but they all involve asking children to read a certain number of books or for a certain number of minutes during their summer vacation. This varies, but there is also usually some kind of a reward or incentive built into the program, and often there is a "party" of some kind for successful participants. Some of these programs also offer opportunities to meet favorite authors, so be sure to check that out.

Paired with reading lists often provided by the schools, these programs can be a great way to keep your kids reading during the summer. To find a program is your area, begin with your child's school. Ask if they have a summer reading list, and if the school is participating in any kind of summer reading program. Next, check you local library. Most libraries do some kind of summer reading incentive, even if it is on an informal basis.

Virtual Author in Residence Programs

If you can't find an author program in your area, a simple search for "virtual author in residence" will yield many online opportunities. Penguin has a great archive of interviews with authors and author readings at their Penguin Storytime page.

Reading Rockets hosts 100 video interviews with children's authors that can be downloaded. While not a personal Q&A, this is a great way for children to get to know favorite authors.

Email a Favorite Author

Scholastic offers tips on ways children can meet and interact with authors online in their article Meet Favorite Kids' Authors Online. They suggest researching an author, visiting the author's website and emailing the author to start a dialog about a favorite book. Tips for how to contact an author and what to ask are included. Many children's authors websites include sections just for students and just for teachers with more ideas on how to incorporate an author study in the classroom or homeschool.

The Meet an Author or Illustrator challenge ends on August 31, but the contacts that may be made during this challenge will last far beyond.

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor.All rights reserved.

Back to School: Tips for Teachers

 It's almost fall - time for students around the country to get ready to start another school year. This is an exciting time for students, teachers and parents everywhere. This is the first in a series of short Back to School posts with links to great online resources for teachers and parents alike!

Tips for Teachers! 

There are so many things to consider when starting a new school year. How will you set up routines? What rules will you enforce? Will your classroom climate be warm and inviting? Teachers and substitutes will find many useful ideas and tips at the following sites:

Activities for the First Day of School
Back to School First Day Checklist
Activities for the First Days of School
Back to School Resource Page
Back to School
Back to School Checklists and Advice
Ten Activities for Establishing Classroom Rules

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. The copyright of the article Back to School: Tips for Teachers in Teacher Tips and Lesson Plans is owned by Irene Taylor. Permission to republish Back to School: Tips for Teachers in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Mars Teaching Tips

 With all of the buzz about Mars and the new rover, Curiosity, teachers will be looking for ways to use this "real world" event in their classrooms. Here are a few ideas - do them all as a writing-science unit or just one!

When my students were studying the planets, we produced a class book that tied together much of what we'd learned in Science along with writing and Language Arts. You might want to focus just on Mars and do something similar. In our book students had submitted three different pieces of writing. The first was a factual short report on the planet that they had chosen. Since we were doing all nine planets, there was some variety, but if you are focusing on Mars, each child will need to research just that planet.

The second piece was a fantasy creative writing piece on an imaginary trip to their planets. Of course, the "science" had to be factual - for example, if the planet's day was only 10 hours long, they couldn't "fantasize" that it was 24 hours. But what they saw and who they met on the planet could be completely creative. Their stories were great!

The third piece was a letter each student wrote to me from their planet. This was a factual letter describing what an actual visit to the planet would be like.

We bound all of the pieces together into a book, and each student got their own copy. It was a great project and one that everyone really enjoyed. If you class is "into" Mars, you might consider doing something similar.

In the meanwhile - enjoy the Mars show. I'm sure we're due for more spectacular images from our neighboring plant!

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor.All rights reserved.

Mars on My Mind

Has Mars been on your mind lately? With all the news about the Curiosity rover's spectacular landing, it is no wonder we all have a bit of Mars Madness!

When we watched Mars earlier in the year when it came so close to Earth and burned so brightly in our night sky, we probably wondered what wonders this new rover would find. The pictures so far have been amazing!

So, how will you make use of all of this information in your classroom? Your students are probably as excited as you are about these many changes. I remember how mesmerized I was when the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity sent us amazing views in 2004. From what I've seen, Curiosity has sent even more spectacular views!

JPL has a special Mars Science site where you can view briefings, track Curiosity's progress, learn about the science behind the rover and much more. This site is complete  with links for teachers, students and kids. Your students can even view the latest photos and raw images as they are transmitted back to us here on Earth. Just click on the Multimedia link and scroll to the Images section, or click on the Mars image collections. There are some neat video clips also.

The Mars for Teachers section has links to lesson plans, student activities, teacher workshops, the Mars Student Imaging Project  and other classroom activities.

The kids section has many fun activities, too, so let you students have fun with this section of NASA's site. There are games, activities and a special section about the Mars rover mission. NASA Planets is another great source. Its pictures are great!

Have fun and keep your eye to the sky - and to the images Curiosity will be sending back to us for many years to come.

                                                   Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. The copyright of the article Mars on My Mind in Teacher Tips and Lesson Plans is owned by Irene Taylor. Permission to republish Mars on My Mind  in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.