New posts coming soon....

It may be just me, but this year has gotten off to a crazy start. I am so hoping things slow down soon, but it doesn't look that way. I am adding updates to my LiveBinder this week and I am also working on a couple of new presentations. As soon as I have those updated, I will share with you all on here.
I am also reading a couple of books(in preparation for one of those presentations). I will be doing book reviews on here as soon as I finish. The three I'm reading right now are these:

So thank you for being patient! I promise more new posts between now and the end of the year. I'm just trying to play catch up. (If you are a special education I know you understand). Enjoy your week! Realize and know you make a difference each and every day. You may not always can see it.  Students know the difference in someone who sees them as a number and someone who sees them as them. You matter to them and You change the world one life at a time!

Until next time,
Melissa
Live Binder link

Communication Webinar

Last week I did a webinar for Simple K-12 with links for various communication sites and apps for exceptional learners.
Here is a link to a Symbaloo:

Communication Symbaloo

App List

Techie things are great stress busters(at least for me they are:-)). I have updated my Live Binder site with my I-pad app list and also with my Tech Treasures newsletter that I am doing for my teachers. I will post the new ones there each time, so feel free to follow along! On the app list, I did not mark which ones were free or paid. Several that I may have gotten free at one time are now paid for, so it was hard to sort them out. If you have a question about any of the apps, please let me know. My email is melissamann00@gmail.com or you can comment here or find me on social media. (Twitter handle is @mnmann). I hope you all have had a wonderful start to the year thus far! My PLN is keeping me positive that's for sure. I am so thankful for social media and Simple K-12. I did a webinar yesterday on accessibility tools for visual and auditory students. I will post on some of those resources later this week.

Live Binder site

Live Binders site

I am in the process of moving all of my handouts etc. to a live binder site. If you have attended a workshop that I have done, this will be the place to find EVERYTHING! Be patient, not everything is there yet, but it will be over the next month. Thanks again for all of the support!

Find me on Twitter to keep up with the blog and other updates : @mnmann

LiveBinder link: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=969840

Have a great week!
~Melissa

Computer Lab Symbaloo Link

Feel free to add the webmix....
I included links that our school uses, but most are applicable to any school.
Gray: Assessment sites/Multiple subjects(Abc ya has activities for all grade levels K-5)
Red: Younger grades ELA sites
Yellow: ELA Common Core sites(interactive)
Green: Typing sites
Pink: Presentation sites to use with Speaking and Listening standards
Blue: Math Common Core sites(interactive)
Turquoise: Science sites
Brown: Social Studies sties

Share with your teachers! Let me know if you have any questions or if a link does not work.

~Melissa
Computer Lab Symbaloo

Book Review #2

This will be a short blog ;-) I know it's not exactly tech, but it is educational related.

 

 

This book has been recommended in more than one conference, so I knew I had to check it out. If you teach in a Title 1 school I highly recommend it. It is an easy read and contains valuable information to help you understand your students ad why they do what they do. It explains how families in the low, middle, and high class interact with each other. It also gives suggestions for things to do in the classroom and offers theories behind why they respond the way they do to teachers. It's all about approach with kids that come from a poverty world. These kids just need someone to understand and realize that some are caring a heavier load than they should.

 

 

Next post: I-pad list

 

Until next time,

~Melissa 

Some back to school thoughts

I'm taking a little break from a true tech post on this one. Although what I'm going to talk about I learned through social media, so it is sort of tech related. I'll be back with some more tech blogs soon I promise. I've got a list that I am working, so little by little I will get those posted. Monday officially marks our first day back and then the kids come back the following Monday. So with that day drawing close, I've been doing some thinking.

I was blessed to grow up with some amazing teachers. Teachers who got to know their students, who took time with them, and who went the extra mile. I went into teaching because I wanted to be that teacher to the students I came in contact with. Things haven't always gone as planned, but I have learned a lot over the last year about what I had on the inside of me. I've also learned that people will not begin to value what you do, until you value who you are. If you don't place an importance on the job you are doing in the classroom, other people will not pay attention to it either. You very well may be that child's whole entire world. You make a difference one way or another, the choice is yours.

I heard about this book through Twitter. I'm so excited about taking advantage of this PLN opportunity. A couple of people that I follow were doing a book study on this book and their discussion/chat took place online one night. So through the hash tags I was able to follow. I was so intrigued by what they had to say I knew I had to read the book. The book is called "Do you know enough about me to teach me"?". It is short and a very easy read. It is written from a students' perspective and gives teachers an insight on to what students really think. A main theme in the book is on establishing relationships and teaching your students as you would want your own children taught. Knowing your students and laying that foundation will allow you to teach academics and so much more. So, do you know enough about your students to teach them?

I saw this idea on Facebook from a Children's Pastor. They had been given a jar of marbles that contained one for ever week they had until their child graduated high school. The object was to take one out each week as it passed. The point was to hopefully realize how precious time that was left and to make each week count. It's not always about quantity, but quality. So this is a focal point for my area next year. I'm going to put it up where I can see it and each week I will take one of the pom-pom's out. There are 36 in here total. I'm not counting down the weeks because I'm ready for summer again, no this is to remind me how much time I have left to make a difference and to make it count.

The age old quote applies to kids. They really do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Kids need to know you care about them, then they will listen to all you want to teach them. Go into this year remembering why you do what you do. You are a difference maker, you are a cheerleader, you are a hero, and for some kids you are what is right in their world. Don't let them down. You may not always see the difference you make, but you are making it one child at a time.

Until next time,
~Melissa