April Teacher Talk

Posted by Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It's April and so many groovy things are happening this month, Easter, Passover, spring vacation and so much more. Be sure to stop by and see what these teachers are doing in their classrooms and gather some great tips and ideas.

If you're interested in joining this unique group of teacher entrepreneurs, blogging buddies and/or our blog linky, sign up here....The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you decide to join, be sure to mention one of our names.
************************************************************
If You Love Jelly Beans
By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

Can’t you just smell spring in the air? Daffodils beginning to bloom, Lilac trees starting to flower, and Lilies of the Valley popping up. I just love the aroma. Not only is my birthday in April but it brings us Passover, Easter, and one that you may never have heard of, can you guess? If you said Jelly Bean Day, you’d be right. It's April 22nd.
**************************************************
Plan a Portfolio Party
By Retta London of Rainbow City Learning

Plan a celebration for your young writers as they bloom in the Spring!
***************************************************
April Math FUN!
By Sara Snyder of Snyder Classroom

Make Math FUN this Spring! These spring math riddles are great for reviewing previous topics or practicing current skills. These riddles can be helpful in your classroom at this busy time of year. (And sneak a little fun into the classroom) I have made these math riddles to combine fun and learning for this time of year.
***********************************************
How Many Ways are Words Related?
By Susan Berkowitz of Susan Berkowitz

Individuals who use AAC need to learn to take a conscious path to the words they need. If they want an apple, they need to think about how to navigate to categories -> to food -> to fruit -> to apple. SLPs can help them learn how to do this.
**************************************************
6 Tips to Support English Language Learners in Your Classroom
By Kathy Simpson of Sunshine and Lollipops

Do you have English Language Learners in your classroom? If you do...you will want to take a look at this post and discover 6 easy and fun tips to support your ELL students. I am sure you will LOVE #1!
***********************************************
Apollo 13: The Ultimate STEM Challenges
By Kerry Tracy of Kerry Tracy

The Apollo 13 mission shows how seemingly insurmountable obstacles can be overcome with scientific reasoning and problem solving. Specifically, the carbon dioxide filter fix shows why STEM Challenges are so much more than just "fun."
**********************************************
The Magic of a Circle
By Kathie Yonemura of Tried and True Teaching Tools

Using only a circle, students fold and learn a multitude of geometric terms. This is a fantastic way to teach geometry and for students to experience more than just shapes!
*************************************************
Increase Engagement and Maintain Rigor-Hands-on Fun in the Upper Grade and Middle School Classroom
By Marcy Howe of It's a Teacher Thing

Maintaining student motivation is important during any time of year, but it's even more crucial when they return from a break. I save several of my "great" activities for those Mondays after a week off.
**********************************************************
Poppies & Pantoums: Poetry Comes Alive with Georgia O'Keefe
By Tracy Willis of Wild Child Designs

4th and 5th grade students explore the life of Georgia O'Keefe via a biography and her fabulous artwork. We look closely at the natural world using photographs and author Pantoum poems, a cool poetic form from Malaysia. We recuperate from our testing angst with a poppy craft.
***************************************************************
Painting Poetry: Children's Voices
By Virginia Musmanno of Reading Spotlight

We hope that you will take one minute out of your busy day to enjoy a slideshow of our paintings of poems. We hope that you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed painting them!
************************************************************
Make sure you visit these great posts from some awesome educators.

An InLinkz Link-up