Three Free e-Books for Secondary Teachers!

Oh!My!Gosh! Am I ever excited to share these amazing resources with you!

A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Mary Beth, from Brain Waves Instruction and I were kicking around the idea of pulling together an e-Book filled with Teachers Pay Teachers resources created especially for grades 6-12. Other than focusing specifically on secondary grades, we had two goals in mind for this e-Book: 1 - Providing a way for you to get to know and connect with Teacher-Authors better, both as teachers and as real people and 2 – Putting one resource from each teacher directly in the e-Book so that you can browse the book and print resources as you go, rather than having to click to each teacher’s store for individual resources.

We wanted to include Math and Science teachers, but it wouldn’t make sense for either of us to have a math and science book in our stores, so we invited our friends Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy along for the ride . . . and what a ride it has been! Just 16 days later, we posted these free resources for you:

 

 

 

Each book contains two pages apiece from 25 different Secondary Sellers on TpT . . . one ‘Meet’ page to help you learn about each Teacher-Author . . .

 

 

 

. . . and one ‘Teach’ page to give you a total of 25 separate resources from each book! 

 

These books would not have been possible without some fabulous contributions from so many amazing teachers! Thank you to everyone who jumped on the bandwagon and participated! We hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did . . . and we’re so proud to share your fabulous resources with the world! Here are some of our awesome contributors . . .

An InLinkz Link-up

We hope you enjoy these e-Books as much as we enjoyed putting them together for you!

Happy Teaching!

Tips for a Better-than-Ever Back-to-School Night!

Do you have the Back-to-School Night Blues? Here are a few tips and strategies to help make this the best Back-to-School Night ever . . .

I try to make parents feel as welcomed and comfortable in my classroom as possible by turning off the harsh overhead lights in favor of softer lighting from a few lamps scattered around the room, playing music that we can easily talk over, and providing a platter of soft cookies from a local bakery. This immediately puts parents at ease and helps conversations flow easier!

 

I write a couple of interesting facts about myself in large, easy-to-read print on the whiteboard, such as:

 

Hi! My name is Sherri Tyler and I love teaching ELA! I grew up on the Mojave Desert in Southern California, I tell jokes in class every day, and I assign homework every night of the year – except on holidays and days after the Buffalo Bills win!

This breaks the ice, helps nervous parents find a way to connect with me, and immediately gives us some common ground to build dialogue! Now, I’m not a huge jokester, nor am I a football fan (please don’t tell my students!) but I tell jokes every day and I watch every Bills game (our local team!) because it gives me something to talk about with my 8th graders and their parents . . . more importantly, parents remember me, they return my phone calls and e-mails, and they walk in my class for Parent-Teacher Conferences later in the year with either a joke or a witty observation about the most recent game – and conversation flows easily, putting them at ease to talk about academics and behavior after a few minutes!

I pre-print sticky notes for parents to fill out with their individual questions and comments, letting them know I’ll touch bases with them within one week. Parents leave their sticky notes on a poster as they walk out the door. (Providing writing utensils always facilitates more participation!)

This allows me to keep the conversation relevant for everyone, gives parents a quick and easy way to communicate with me, and also helps me gather current phone numbers and email addresses!

 

 

Find more Back-to-School night tips and strategies on the collaborative blog post Surviving and Thriving at Back to School Night by my friends Jonathan and Lisa over at Created for Learning:

 

 

 

Happy Teaching!

You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover!

Did anyone else see this video on the CBS evening news Friday night?!? What a fabulous story to share with students!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/football-star-shows-you-cant-judge-a-book-by-its-cover/

I especially love it when Mitchell says his proudest accomplishment is reading The Hunger Games trilogy in two days . . . because football comes naturally to him, but he has to work to read!  

 

Thank you, Malcolm Mitchell, for your willingness to share this story -- may it inspire generations to pick up a good book, read it, and discuss it with friends, both old and new!

 

 

Happy Reading!

Peek Inside This Product!

I’m just crazy about creating print-rich environments and inspiring students to read, so I’m really excited about my newest product -- a set of thirty-six 8.5x11 posters that depict quotes about books and reading:

 

The quotes are from a diverse mix of authors, philosophers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs, including:
Walt Disney
 Dr. Seuss
 Lemony Snicket
 Pablo Neruda
 Paul Sweeney
 Henry David Thoreau
 Frederick Douglass
 Carl Sagan
 Albert Einstein
 Neil Gaiman
 Harper Lee
 Stephen King
 Cassandra Clare
 Oprah Winfrey
 Jacqueline Kennedy

. . . and others!

These posters, designed to engage middle school and high school students, are perfect for decorating a classroom, hallway, library, or office! Just print on white cardstock, laminate, and go – or print on a poster-printer if you have access to one in your school or district!

I hope you love these quotes about reading as much as I do! Don’t see your favorite quote? Comment below with a quote for Set B and I’ll send you Set B for free!

 

 

Happy Reading!