In this Unabridged Episode, Sara talks about using Slack as a communication tool for teams, content groups, schools, etc. She discusses how she, Ashley, and Jen use it for the podcast and how her instructional technology team uses it in her school district. In addition, she discusses the importance of finding tools to simplify the lives of teachers after a very stressful 2021. #shownotes #technology #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #sarasteachingtidbits (A note to our re

In this Unabridged Teaching Tidbits Episode, Jen talks about student seminars. She defines what they are, shares some of the benefits, and offers different ways to implement them in the classroom. She also provides a detailed example of the way she's created a seminar assignment for her English classroom and discusses the reflection process. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #jensteachingtidbits (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to

In this Unabridged Episode, Ashley shares about using the Calm App both for self care and in the classroom. The Calm site and app include an entire suite of resources to help with encouraging mindfulness, practicing meditation, and getting better sleep. Ashley talks about how the resources are grouped by age range and shares some of the ways that she has used the app. She mentions the free resources for teachers Calm provides, and she talks about how teachers can get started

In today's teaching tidbit episode, Sara talks about the book Tina H. Boogren's 180 Days of Self-care for Busy Educators (Amazon | Bookshop.org). She discusses a both the content and setup of the book. In addition, she discusses the importance of self-care and how teaching is even more difficult due to the events going on in our world. We appreciate educators so much, and hope you find this episode helpful. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #sarastea

In today's teaching tidbit episode, Jen talks about ways to facilitate discussion. She suggests alternate types of discussions and ways to reduce the pressure of sharing ideas aloud in class. She mentions programs like Nearpod, Flipgrid, and Schoology that can offer new ways for students to share ideas, both ahead of class and in the moment. (Don't miss Teaching Tidbits 5, where Jen talks about literature circles, and 18, where Sara talks about Flipgrid.) If you like our teac

We're back with our Teaching Tidbits episodes for this school year! In our first teaching tidbit episode of season five, Ashley talks about podcasting in the classroom and different ways that teachers can incorporate podcast creation into class activities. Ashley mentions programs like WeVideo and Adobe Spark, which can be used to create the podcasts. (Don't miss Teaching Tidbit 6 where Sara talks about using Adobe Spark!) If you like our teaching ideas and want to see more t

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara talks about Flipgrid, a versatile tool that can be used in the classroom. Flipgrid allows students to record video responses and view each other's responses. Listen to the episode for ideas on how to use this awesome (FREE!) tool in the classroom! #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #sarasteachingtidbits (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.) Interested in

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen discusses the process of reflecting on the school year with your students. She talks about different methods of reflection, types of feedback she has received, and changes she hopes to make on the basis of her conversations with students. #shownotes #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #jensteachingtidbits (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.) Interested in what else we're readin

In this Unabridged Teaching Tidbits episode, Ashley shares some teaching tools she'll be taking with her as her family prepares for their big trip. Three tools that she shares are Rocketbooks (which work with Frixion pens), games like Bananagrams, and Osmo games, which work with iPads or Kindle Fire tablets. Some specific things Ashley uses are the Fusion Rocketbook, this pack of Frixion pens, and My First Bananagrams. The Osmo kits her girls love are the Genius kit and the L

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara talks about one of her favorite writing resources for the classroom. Writing can be a difficult subject to teach with students of all different levels. Sara loves Kelly Gallagher's work, and one of her must-have books is Write Like This: Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor Texts. She thinks this is an essential resource for anyone who wants excellent ideas for teaching writing not only in English class, but across the curri

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen discusses reasons to use film in the classroom and ways to approach interpreting film with students. She suggests giving students Roger Ebert's "How to Read a Movie," an essay that is a helpful introduction to interpreting movies and points listeners to a short film, Rodrigo Blaas's Alma, that is an excellent introduction to film analysis. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #jensteachingtidbits (A note to our readers: c

In this Unabridged Episode, Ashley talks about the graphic design program Canva. She shares about the benefits of signing up for an educators' account with Canva, and she shares a few tips about using Canva to create images for various purposes as well as suggestions for how it can be used in the classroom with students. To sign up for the Educators' account with Canva, click here. For a quick slideshow with examples and more information about Canva, click here. #shownotes #t

In this Unabridged Podcast Episode, Sara talks about using graphic memoirs in the classroom. She goes over ideas to use graphic memoirs in literature circles, and some ideas to encourage reluctant readers. Sara also discusses three specific recommendations for graphic memoirs to use in literature circles in your classroom. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #sarateachingtidbits (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog

In this Unabridged Podcast Episode, Jen talks about ways to use some of the features of Google Apps for Education to support reading. She goes over the best ways to distribute Google files to students, the benefits of annotation, and some ideas to support the re-reading of complex texts. Jen also discusses ways to implement collaborative adaptations of these activities in your classroom. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #jensteachingtidbits (A note

In this Unabridged Episode, Ashley talks about a few ways to incorporate more poetry into class routines. She talks about activities teachers can do with students to engage with poetry, and she shares a few places to access more poems including sites such as Poetry Foundation and signing up for daily emails such as the Poem-a-Day email subscription. She also mentions Billy Collins' collections curated for classroom use, Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry and 180 More: Extra

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara discusses creating connections with six word memoirs and ideas on how to use six word memoirs across the curriculum. Let us know some of your ideas on how to use six word memoirs in your classroom! #shownotes #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #sarasteachingtidbits (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.) Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page. L

In this episode of Teaching Tidbits, Jen talks about her goals for the new year, including using literature in the classroom that includes a variety of voices and experiences and looking at grading in terms of compliance vs. skill. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #jensteachingtidbits (A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.) Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured B

In this Unabridged Teaching Tidbits episode, Ashley talks about incorporating more hands-on activities into the classroom (or at home), and she shares three of her favorite books for making it easier to find and do activities with kids. Ashley shares two books by Asia Citro, creator of Fun at Home with Kids. Ashley talks about 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids: The Very Best and Easiest Playtime Activities from FunAtHomeWithKids.com! and The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100

In this Unabridged Episode, Sara talks about an easy-to-use, free tech tool, Adobe Spark, which includes three different options for creating digital projects: Post, Video, and Page. She discusses the ways to access Adobe Spark (online or as an iPad or phone app), talks about ways the podcast uses Adobe Post and offers ideas about how to implement them in the classroom. If you have questions about Adobe Spark or ideas to share, let us know on social media @unabridgedpod. Note

In this Unabridged Episode, Jen talks about teaching with literature circles. She defines literature circles, talks about ways to choose books for them, and offers ideas about how to implement them in the classroom, including different options for lit circles roles for students. If you have questions about literature circles or ideas to share, let us know on social media @unabridgedpod. #shownotes #ownvoices #teachingtidbits #teachers #teaching #jensteachingtidbits (A note t