Mrs. Heather Aulisio

Pinterest may be my new favorite site to visit. I find it difficult to pull myself away from this online idea sharing board. I pin everything from the tastiest treats to make, to top fashion trends, and even get a lot of new ideas to incorporate into my classroom.

With the new school year approaching, I am always looking for new things to try with my class. One great idea I got from Pinterest to help improve my behavior management in my classroom is an activity pinned by a teacher called Brownie Points.

The teacher suggested creating a bulletin board that students could add a picture of a brownie to each time they got complimented by another teacher for excellent behavior. Once the board gets filled with images of brownies, I will bring in a tray of brownies for the class to enjoy. This process repeats throughout the year and goals can even be set for how many brownies, or compliments need to be earned.

Some teachers also scan in some worksheets they create and pin, to share them with other teachers or parents.

It is an amazing site to get some unique ideas and easy to do activities. Plus, you feel great sharing an idea or activity with others that worked out well for you!

I have used Brain Pop for the past few years with my students across the curriculum. I love how the video uses humor, relatable situations, and real life applications and common occurances to relate, review, and relay specific subject information to students. One video clip I found especially helpful was on time and how a clock can be divided into fractions. It literally helped provide the students with a clear, animated visual that put into motion everything I wanted to convey in my lesson but lacked the engaging visual tools to do so.

I often allow students to explore various topics they are interested in during our computer lab time because the site is easy for students to navigate independently.

I also use the site for remediation purposes and follow up with a short one on one lesson afterward.

It is best to preview each video first because some are extremely simple and almost too young for some of my third grade students.

I have never used a video series that gets such an excited and positive reaction from students. I show every video I can that relates to the current topics we study in my elementary science class. As soon as the video begins, the students are singing and chanting to the Bill Nye theme song and are clapping their hands.

Needless to say, they are engaged from the moment I push play. One of my most favorite videos is Nye's Earth Science Rocks and Minerals video, where he paints a clear picture of what weathering and erosion truly is and how our land was formed by these processes (not to mention the students absolutely love the rock and roll video at the end).

I highly recommend using this educational resource to reinforce any science concept you are teaching about!

What an amazing, time-saving resource for teachers to use regardless of their students' ages! I have spent a lot of time over the years creating flash cards to be used in conjunction with study guides for tests and as a quick partner/warm-up activity prior to class across the curriculum.

Quizlet allows you to generate cards quickly, while even searching for an exact definition.

I like that the cards can be customized to your own wording if desired, and you can even assign the cards to be made at home for homework or in the computer lab during one of your computer class days!

I highly recommend the flash cards and the generation process, and the self-quizzing process that allows students to study on their own without the assistance of an adult. I literally tell my students that there is no excuse not to study their vocabulary terms if their parents or siblings are unable to assist them since the computer can act as an outside party to generate and quiz them on their terminology knowledge!

It's amazing to me as I am teaching my elementary students about a new concept, the lack of background knowledge some students have. The YouTube Teachers site has allowed me to open up a whole new world visually to my little learners. It is quick and easy for me to reference when we are having a class discussion to pull up a short clip to give the students something to reference and build their knowledge on.

I have a lot of favorite clips that the students really connect to. One that stands out that is memorable for many students is titled, Similes and Metaphors in songs. A student in the video clip relays information to my students, making the whole process casual and relatable, while referencing lyrics in popular songs and explaining how they are similes or metaphors and help the students interpret the meanings.

I also feel comfortable allowing the students to browse the site during recess, and often times they come up to me and share something cool that they came across and ask if I can use it in one of our upcoming lessons!