ChoppED PD-Easter Egg Edition

A couple of years ago, I attended a Future Ready Conference in New Orleans. It was one of the best conferences that I have ever attended, and I left with so many great ideas! One of the sessions that I attended included an experience called "Chopped Baskets". It was an idea inspired by the Food Network show, "Chopped". Each team was tasked to select a "basket" and to work together to create a lesson.  

Credit: Brianna Hodges and Sarah Thomas

This is where the idea for ChoppEd PD-Easter Egg Edition came from! I reached out to the wonderful Brianna Hodges, and she didn't hesitate to help me along the way! I also found some great resources online! You have to check them out!

The Four O'Clock Faculty

Mandy Ellis

When I first decided to do this around Easter, I stocked up on Easter baskets, eggs, grass, decorations, and treats at Walmart. I decided to have grade level baskets with 4 eggs in them (I used the same four eggs each time.). Each egg was labeled with a 1, 2, 3 or 4. The grade levels chose an egg, and then they were given a folder labeled with that same number. Inside that folder was a sheet like the one below:

Clipart Credit: Jen Hart Design
Font Credit: KG Fonts

They also had to choose at least 2 items from the "pantry" to include in their lesson design. I included library books, a camera, Seesaw, Flocabulary, Buncee, and a "Wild Card". If they chose the "Wild Card", they got to use another tool/resource of their choice.

To help with facilitating the PD, I created a Buncee. It is my go-to tool as an instructional coach! I use it for everything! I recently used it to even create my desktop background!

I love what the teachers came up with! I especially loved the teamwork and the creativity! Check out some of the lessons that were created below!

I also had some very special helpers that day that helped to lead the PD experience for the teachers. They both won "Instructional Coach for a Day" at our campus fundraiser! Loved having them there to join in and share their insight with the teachers.

Noble, Mrs. Storer, and Preston

You can transform this experience to fit all kinds of themes and holidays. Here are some ideas that I had:

Beginning of the School Year: You could use apples instead of eggs in a picnic basket.
Valentines: You could use a box of chocolates as the "basket" where each piece of chocolate is labeled.
Christmas: You could use stockings as the "basket" with different items that are labeled with the numbers.

What are some of your ideas? The possibilities are truly endless! I encourage you to take this idea (just like I did) and make it your own! We advocate, often, for transformational/"sticky" learning for our students. Our teachers deserve this too! As my buddy, Rich Czyz says, "Let's make PD what it was meant to be." I could not agree more!

What's New in Flocabulary, and a Super Cool Giveaway!!

I started using Flocabulary last year, and instantly fell in love with what it brought to my classroom lessons and activities.  More than that, I LOVED how much my students LOVED it!

Flocabulary is a website that uses educational hip-hop music and videos to engage students and improve achievement.  The lyrics are on point, and the rhythm is catchy and cool!  We could not get enough of it, and we played some of the same videos on repeat!!  

I loved incorporating it into our fact fluency lessons!  Here is one of our favorite videos from last year!!

Something new this year, that I am really excited about, is the new addition of the Lyric Lab!  Lyric Lab fits right in the Flocab family!  It fosters creativity, student engagement and creativity!!

How does Lyric Lab work?  It is a tool that is built right in within Flocabulary's units.  The students are able to write their very own academic rhymes.  How cool is that!  Check out the tutorial below for more information!

Now, who is ready for a giveaway!! Flocabulary, along with myself, will be giving away 3, year-long teacher Flocabulary subscriptions to my readers! In addition everyone that enters the giveaway will get an extended 45-day, school-wide trial of Flocabulary! You will be able to register and share this access with all of your school colleagues. It will only take a minute to enter!!

Instructions for Entering the Giveaway:

• Fill out each field below to be eligible.
• Everyone the enters will receive an email for an extended 45-day school-wide trial.
• Winners will be drawn at random.
• You must enter by October 16th at 11:59 ET.
• The winners will be announced on October 18th.
• That week, all entrants will receive an email with their access to the special 45-day school-wide free trial.

Good luck, my friends!!

Decompose..Decompose (To the Tune of "Let it Go"!)!!

This is one of my favorite videos to show during our fraction unit!  The kids start off moaning and groaning when they realize that it is set to the tune of "Let it Go", but by the middle of the video they are singing loud and clear for all to hear!  They BEG to listen to it each day!

Here is a sneak peek of my kids singing along!

Speaking of fun videos, have you heard of Flocabulary?  My campus just started a free 60-day trial, and we cannot get enough of it!  My friend, Zoe, said, "Whoever made this site, is a genius!".  I could not agree more!  It is educational hip-hop that leads to increased achievement!  Check it out!