Frustration!!!!

So I've been trying to start a Teachers Pay Teachers store because a woman I met said a teacher at her school (yes I know how that sounds - my mother's cousin's' neighbor's mailman) makes so much money he pays his rent with it!  I will say that there are A LOT of resources already on there so it's kind of daunting just getting started.  But I put my free lesson up (first one has to be free) and then added a few more both paid and free, and it is soooooo difficult.  I give these teachers super credit.

I've already edited most of them about 5 times because I keep on forgetting this that and the other thing.  I know it will get easier as I get more used to it, but what a pain in the butt right now.  And that's my issue for not being well prepared so I can deal with that.

I just uploaded what I thought was a great unit plan for When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.  i worked on it for a week, gathering all my materials and everything.  I upload it and the thumbnails look at cockeyed.  UGH!!!!! I had to email them because now my product looks weak.

Hopefully this will get much easier.  If anyone has any tips on how to fix this, I would be eternally grateful.

Fun Time

All work and no play makes for a dull xlass.

Donors Choose

So I hope most of you already know about donorschoose.org.  It is seriously the best resource for teacher's out there in terms of funding opportunities.  I have been a member since 2006 and over the last 10 years, I have had over 200 proposals funded totaling over $10,000!  And I am not an overly specialized writer.

Donors Choose  donorschoose.org

It's only open to public school teachers so if you don't have an account yet, set one up immediately.  It is ridiculously easy to set up an account.  They walk you through the process and your new account should be set up in 10 minutes.  Make sure you use an email account you check regularly, it's important to the proposal process.

When you set up an account, you get 3 points.  You'll see that different types of proposals cost different amount of points.  My suggestion is to start small.  Ask for $100-$200 worth of supplies for your first proposal.  Smaller proposals are more likely to be funded.  And then when your proposal is funded, you get additional points for completing the process of thanking your donors.  It's really simple.

This was just the intro to Donors Choose.  I'll continue to add more helpful hints in the future.    But definitely get started today with your new account!

The Countdown Continues

There's only a few weeks left to the school year, and everyone can feel it.  The weather finally broke in NYC and it's gorgeous.  My kids started Cinder last week and they LOVE it.  I'll post some pics this afternoon of them working in their book clubs during discussion time.  

Also this week, I'll start to talk about my experiences with Donors Choose.  if you don't have an account yet, get one immediately.  The class set of Cinder we're reading was funded on Donors Choose.  It's a teacher's best friend.   

Working hard

I thought it was time to introduce you to my class.  This is my Superintendent's class. The kids a really little above grade level. Today we are researching endangered animals in groups for an informative essay for our portfolios.  We are using the brand new Chromebooks we got from Donors Choose! #donorschoose  #edtech

FREE STUFF!!!!!!!

Ok now that I have your attention, it's not exactly free stuff right now guaranteed, but it is pretty easy.  I am a big proponent of Donors Choose, which I will explain in depth at a later time.  I can not stress enough how awesome this website is for public school teachers.  I've had over 200 projects funded for my classes over the past 10 years.  It's beyond. 

But in honor or #ThankaTeacher for Teacher Appreciation Week, GoFundMe is offering a great opportunity for teachers and anyone posting a campaign on a teacher's behalf.  If you post a campaign by May 8, 2016 and it gets over $100 donated by 5 unique donors by May 13th, GoFundMe will also donate $100!!!!  That's ridiculously good news.  

Give it a go and good luck.  Mine is already up for desks and stools.

GoFundMe #ThankaTeacher

A New Beginning for Our Final Stretch

Another Monday

Greetings from chilly Brooklyn. As the school year winds down,  I like to make life easier for my students and myself.  After the long school year of reading groups, homework assignments, test prep and the actual tests. I like to finish off the school year on a high note.  What I've done for the past 8 years now is to find a hot YA book and use it as a read aloud book club.  

End of Year Book Clubs

After the tests are over, I like to introduce our final novel of the year.  It's always a little too hard for the kids but a popular book they know and love.  In the past, I have done Twilight, The Hunger Games and Divergent.  This year we're reading Cinder, a sci-fi fairy tale about a cyborg Cinderella in a futuristic New Beijing.  

I let the kids choose their own groups (4-6 kids in each groups depending on class size) and the games begin.  This is a little different than traditional books clubs in that everyone reads, or listens to, the same book.  Since the book is more difficult than most of my students could read independently, I also get the audio version.  We read along as the CD reads the story aloud to us for about 20-25 minutes a day, and then the kids have a list of book  questions that they have 15-20 minutes to discuss and then write a summary of for me to review their classwork.  They can choose the direction of where their group goes.  

It's always a big hit and I'm looking forward to getting started on a brand new book (for me too!).  I'll keep you updated about how it's going.