Waffle Bytes

The site CommonLit has been floating around the interwebs the last couple days, and it is definitely worth looking into!  Works are searchable by grade level, theme, genre, and Lexile.  When reading you will see numbers - these reference terms and footnotes, which popup when you click on the number AND are also located together at the end of the passage:   Additionally, there are text-dependent questions and general discussion prompts provided to go with the reading: Across the top, there are areas with additional resources, including Paired Texts, Related Media, Teacher Guide and Parent Guide:   The Related Media & Teacher Guide areas require you to have a free account to access them. From the site: "CommonLit delivers high-quality, free instructional materials to support literacy development for students in grades 5-12. Our resources are: Flexible; Research-Based; Aligned to the Common Core State Standards; Created by teachers, for teachers.

Great opportunity for teachers of Word War II!  This program is selecting 18 teachers to "study the experiences of America’s World War II soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen as they fought throughout the Pacific." Teachers selected are involved in an 18-month learning journey that includes a weekend in Washington DC and 12 day Pacific field study experience.  Teacher will be developing content and lesson materials for the website as part of the experience.  

Planning on submitting a proposal to speak at the 2017 MACUL Conference?  The deadline is quickly approaching! Last year we had nearly twice as many proposals as sessions held - with the process becoming more competitive, you are encouraged to review the guide and rubric, and use the worksheet to ensure you submit a quality proposal.  Speaker Proposal Information: Resourcs (including link to submit) Deadline - September 9 at 11:59pm

If you are an educator in Branch or Calhoun Counties (Michigan), I'd love to hear what type of educational technology pd you are interested in for the upcoming year!  Please take a couple minutes to fill out this form and let me know.  I will be using it to finalize my plans for Professional Development during the 2016-2017 school year.