Category Archives: Blogging
And the winner is…(Plus Info on Student Blogging)
Thank you to all who hopped on over and followed our blogs and TPT Stores last weekend! Your participation in this little event was awesome! We do have a winner to announce
Drumroll please……
Teachingisagift McKay – your resources and Amazon gift code are on the way! Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter!
I want to mention one more thing this evening. My post just went live on Global Teacher Connect yesterday and it’s about student blogging. I’d really encourage you to have a peek if you are currently blogging with your students OR if it’s something that you’d be interested in trying next year. I have a Collaborative Project: Student Blogging Form that you can fill out with your info so that you are able to contact each other and pair yourselves up! So far, there are teachers from Morocco, US, Canada, Ecuador and Bermuda who would like to blog this year or next! How cool is that?
If you would like to be contacted next year for blogging – just add that as a note on the form. We already have two teachers who have posted their info, who would be interested in something for next school year.
I’ve just started blogging with my students in the last month or so and we’re about to collaborate with another school on the Island and one in Ontario, Canada. The kids are trying to “fix up” their blogs a bit more for their audience – which is what we want! We want them writing for a purpose, and with an audience in mind! Anyhow, I can see this evolving into something more for next year. Maybe even a “Blog-folio” type of idea. Regular blogging would be great, but also, having their best pieces of writing displayed for an audience would be so cool. It would also be neat to see their writing abilities progress through the year. Anyhow, I am quite excited about what we’ve done with the blogs so far, although we all still have much to learn!
Check out the post on GTC and even if you’d be interested in having your students READ the student blogs and comment on them – fill out the form! The wider the audience the better! Plus, I’d love for my students to get comments from kids all around the world. That would be a big part of my ultimate goal. (I’ll be working on this next year…so stay tuned if you’re at all interested…)
That’s it for this evening! Please leave a comment here or on the Global Teacher Connect post if you have any tips or questions for me about student blogging.
School’s (Almost) Out Blog Hop and Giveaway
I know what you’re thinking! What do you mean school’s almost out? We have 2 months to go! Well, I wanted to have one more giveaway before it got too close to the end of the school year to use the awesome ideas and resources you’ll find in this event!
So, I’ve teamed up a new blogger-friend, Joey, from Create, Teach and Share. We’ve come up with this fantastic blog hop and giveaway! The participating bloggers are below. Be sure to hop to each of their blogs this weekend, check out their posts and give them a follow. The theme of the blog hop is “year-end” and so I know that you’ll find some great ideas for the end of the school year and because of the timing – you’ll be able to use them this school year. Per-ty smart, huh?
So, for my post in this School’s (Almost) Out Blog Hop, I’ve got three “End of Year” inspired ideas!
1) I am a reflective person by nature and so I made a little Student Reflection freebie for students to think back on the year that was. You can have them fill it out, decorate it and then laminate the reflections and give them back with report cards, or use them as a display for “closing ceremonies”. I know that I would love to have a little memento from my school year and so I hope that they will as well.
2) In my school, the students “graduate” in grade seven as we are currently a grade K-7 school. I always do a slide show presentation for their ”graduation” and so at this point in the year I’m on the lookout for songs that would be useable for the slide show. Just in case you’re in the same boat – here are a few songs for you to consider! (I’ve included the versions with lyrics:)
3) Do you get your students gifts at the end of the school year? I never did, until last year (too cheap). I got this idea from Confessions of a Teaching Junkie last spring. It’s a Wordle! What’s a wordle, you ask? Well, it’s word art. This is how I did it.
In June, I gave the students a class list and told them that I was planning something for them, but that I couldn’t give them any details. I asked the students to put a kind word/compliment beside each classmate’s name (and gave lots of appropriate examples to begin with). Athletic, kind, creative, musical, funny – you name it. I collected and compiled the compliments. Then, I used the Wordle website to make a personalized piece of word art for each student containing their name and all of the kind words that their classmates said about them. I also framed the wordles with dollar store frames, to make them more substantial. The finished product was really beautiful! The kids appreciated them on graduation night – and I think I’ll have to do them again this year because they were so well received!
Okay, that’s just about it from me. Be sure to hop over to my co-host’s blog Create, Teach and Share - you’ll love her! She’s awesome, as are the dozen teacher-bloggers below who have joined in the fun this weekend. Grab a cup of coffee, kick back and enjoy. Oh and of course, don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post!
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Lots of awesome prizes to be won by ONE Grand Prize Winner!
Thanks again to the teachers above for their donations! Both Joey and I are giving you a choice of any three items in our TPT Stores and there’s a $35.00 Amazon gift card thrown in there as well:)
I’ve been super excited for this event, so I hope you enjoy it!
PLEASE NOTE: Just in case you’re new to Rafflecopter, clicking the “Follow Me” link on the widget doesn’t automatically follow the stores and blogs of the contributing teachers. It takes you to the store or blog and it’s up to you to follow once you’re there. If it’s a TPT Store, click on the red “Follow Me” above their name. If it’s a blog, look for how to follow them on the side bar – usually there are a few options. When you “Like” a Facebook link, it is automatic and then you can enter.
Do your students blog?
I’ve mentioned before that I’m lucky enough to be a contributing teacher-blogger to Global Teacher Connect - an awesome teacher-blog with contributors from all over the world! Head on over and check out my latest post on GTC about my plans for getting my students started with blogging this week. Give us a follow while you’re there!
My Blog Birthday Winners, A Canadian Teacher-Blogger Link-Up, and Great Giveaways
This post is a little bit of a mish-mash!
First, thanks so much to all of you who entered (and contributed to) my Blog Birthday Giveaway. The winners of the packages have been contacted and have begun to receive their prizes!
#1 Lesley
#2 Sue
#3 Ursula
#4 Lee Ann
#5 Brianne
#6 Beth Ann
#7 Ann
#8 Laura
#9 Susan
My TPT Store shopping spree winners: Kari and Amanda
Thanks for all of your comments, your follows and your support! It was a great first blog birthday. Here’s to many more.
Second, I just found a new link-up for you Canadian bloggers out there! If you’re a Canadian teacher-blogger and would like to link up – The Adventures of an Occasional Teacher would love to have you!
Finally, some wonderful giveaways for you to enter!
Tammy at Teaching FSL is celebrating her first Blogiversary with a great giveaway and I am so happy to be a part of it. Lots of amazing teacher resources to be won! Head over to her blog to enter now!
Who likes coffee? How about TeachersPayTeachers gift certificates? Fifth is Fabulous is having a giveaway – just because. There’s a $25 TPT gift certificate and a $25 Starbucks gift certificate up for grabs.
If you have a long weekend like me (it’s Islander Day here in PEI tomorrow) – have an extra cup of coffee tomorrow morning and enjoy your day! If you’re back to work as usual, I hope you have a painless Monday;)
What do you have coming up this week in your classroom? We’re working on divisibility, fractions and free verse poetry (among other things, of course).
Celebrating My First Blog Birthday with a BIG Giveaway! $500 in Resources and Gift Certificates to be Won!
**~** This giveaway has now ended. Thanks everyone for making it such a success! The winners have been notified and I’ll wait to hear back from them before I post…**~**
I can’t believe it’s been a year!
I had no idea when I began Lessons From The Middle a year ago, that I would learn so much and meet so many amazing teachers in such a short span of time. I’ve said this before, but the connections and ideas that I get from all of you are simply awesome and I know that they have made me a better teacher. For this, I thank you.
Now, let’s not waste any time getting to the good stuff. I was taught that it’s better to give than to receive. So…. of course I’ve got a giveaway for you!
So many generous teachers and teacher-bloggers have donated their products and gift certificates for this giveaway (you all rock, by the way) totaling about $500 which is simply incredible!
There are NINE prize packages to be won, based on grade level (keep in mind that some items are grouped in one grade level, but may also be appropriate for other grade levels as well – a bit higher or a bit lower). You may enter to win all nine prize packages, or just the ones most suitable for your grade level.
I’ve decided to keep the prize packages a bit of a mystery – a birthday surprise for the winners, if you will. SO, you’ll know the grade level, approximate value and general contents of each package, but not the exact items until you win! Fun, eh? Think of each prize package as a beautifully wrapped birthday gift just begging to be opened! Who doesn’t like a little mystery?
In addition to the NINE prize packages, donated by 95 teachers and teacher-bloggers, there will also be TWO $50 shopping sprees in my TeachersPayTeachers Store to be won. To qualify to win one of these, simply comment on this blog post as one of your entries in the prize package(s) of your choice. Then, I’ll use a random number generator to choose TWO lucky winners from those comments.
I couldn’t have done this without the generosity of all of the contributors for this giveaway – again thanks so much for helping to make my blog-birthday extra special! Follow them in their TPT Stores, blogs and on Facebook; they are amazing educators with so much to offer (plus these follows earn you more chances to win, of course).
PLEASE NOTE: Just in case you’re new to Rafflecopter, clicking the “Follow Me” link on the widget doesn’t automatically follow the stores and blogs of the contributing teachers. It takes you to the store or blog and it’s up to you to follow once you’re there. If it’s a TPT Store, click on the red “Follow Me” above their name. If it’s a blog, look for how to follow them on the side bar – usually there are a few options. When you “Like” a Facebook link, it is automatic and then you can enter.
Also, each of the nine giveaways will have a winner. Therefore, you’ll need to enter in each of the prize packages that you’d like to win. For example, entering to win Prize Package one, will not enter you to win the awesome resources for Gr 7-9 in Prize Package two.
Let the giveaway begin!
Prize Pack ONE
Grade 7-9
My awesome contributors for this prize package:
Prize Pack THREE
Grade 4 -6
My awesome contributors for this prize package:
a Rafflecopter giveaway 
a Rafflecopter giveaway 
a Rafflecopter giveaway 
Prize Pack SEVEN
Grade K-3
My awesome contributors for this prize package:
a Rafflecopter giveaway 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway runs Feb 8th – 11th.
Winners will be emailed their products and gift certificate codes, so PLEASE make sure to check your email following the 11th (spam folder too) in case you’re a winner! Of course, you can also check back here to see if you may have won. If you do not respond to my email within a week of being notified, another winner will be chosen.
Thanks for celebrating with me!
Buntings by: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Cat-Lady-Graphics
Calling All French Teachers!
You know those people who you just admire? They are so passionate about what they do and are so talented, as well? I am fortunate to be surrounded by these people in my life (you know who you are).
I’d actually like to take a minute to highlight one of these people and if you happen to teach French or know someone who does, you’ll be all the more interested.
Tammy Aiello, author of Teaching FSL has a witty writing style on her blog and offers a range of products in her TeachersPayTeachers Store, aimed mostly at middle and high school French teachers. Yes, there are people out there making products just for you!
You may remember me mentioning Tammy a few months ago when we actually met up in person. She lives in Ontario and I, in Prince Edward Island. Our families had a great little visit at the beach last summer when they were vacationing on the Island.
Some of her awesome products are below, but you really should take the time to browse her TPT Store Teaching FSL, follow her and pass her links on to your French teacher colleagues! Thirty two of her 37 items are under $3.00 or free! How can you argue with that?
Tammy doesn’t know that I’m writing this post. I hope she’s okay with me highlighting her talent here on Lessons From The Middle! If not…too bad, I guess;) I just felt like giving her a well-deserved shout-out!
On a different, but not completely unrelated note, I mentioned in a previous post, I had a rough week last week, which was made all of the rougher by finding out that a former student of mine passed away in a car accident.
I’ve been reminded this week that life’s too short. Too short for what? For anything that does not bring you joy. Have a look at those in your life. Make a point of telling a friend that they’re doing a good job, or tell someone that you appreciate all that they do. Appreciate what matters and be kind.
The 12 Days of Gift-Mas Secondary Blog Hop~Day 6
I am super excited to be Day 6 in this middle and high school holiday blog hop! Thanks again to Michelle from Making It As A Middle School Teacher for coming up with this entire idea!
There are twelve of us participating. Each day we’ll be highlighting some of our best freebies! Some teachers are giving away usually priced products for free on their special day, and others are having gift card giveaways! I’m doing a combination of all of the above!
I hope you got to check out Day 5 from Liz’s Lessons and don’t miss For the Love of Teaching Math‘s post tomorrow.
On the 6th day of Gift-Mas, Lessons From The Middle gave to me…
I have a special holiday freebie that I spoke about in a previous blog post. Students speak from different points of view with this improv activity, with a holiday theme. It’s fun and I’ve got some great feedback on this freebie!
FREE FOR TODAY ONLY: A product that is usually priced at $5.00, but can be yours free for today, Dec 6th only is:
And now on to the giveaways!
#1: You can enter to win a $25.oo gift card from Amazon.
#2: $25.00 shopping spree in my TPT Store.
Feel free to enter both!
~Win a $25.00 Amazon gift card~
~Win a $25.00 Shopping Spree in my TeachersPayTeachers Store~
a Rafflecopter giveaway Make sure to come back each day for more freebies and giveaways! We’re only half way through this awesome holiday blog hop! Lots more to be given away and to be won! I’ll announce the winners of the Amazon gift card and my TPT Store shopping spree, on December 13th. Stay tuned!
My Poem for Teachers…Plus a special announcement
~To all of the teachers beginning a new school year ~
For all of the lessons that you plan,
All of the prep that you do,
Always doing whatever you can,
Willing to try something new.
Doing your very best each day,
To reach your students – every last one,
Not wanting to end the year asking,
Is there something else I could have done?
Teachers are a special breed,
This is nothing new,
Desiring success for your students,
It’s who you are – not just what you do.
Rose Clipart: http://office.microsoft.com
But, when you’re frustrated and you’re tired,
Not sure if you’ll make it to the end,
Remember the students you’ve inspired,
Those you helped when they needed a friend.
With the beginning of another school year,
You’re busy and will feel some stress,
So hold on to the passion you feel right now,
Take a deep breath and just do your best.
~Krystal
From my classroom to yours, thank you for all that you do and will do this year. Don’t ever let there be a doubt in your mind – your hard work IS appreciated, and so are you. I hope you all have an awesome year with all of your “little lovelies”.
As a special thank you for all that you do, I also have an announcement. Tomorrow, Ann Marie Smith (Innovative Connections) and I will be launching an event that we’ve been planning for the last month! It’s called “The Ultimate Middle Years Giveaway and Blog Hop”. We have $300 worth of prizes up for grabs, and a fun blog hop that will earn you LOADS of freebies, if you choose to take part. Make sure you come back tomorrow to enter the giveaway, discover LOTS of middle school blogs to follow and maybe even grab some freebies (if you’re up for our blog hop challenge). We have planned all of this just for you guys – so I hope you take part and enjoy!
Most Fascinating Blog – Voting runs August 18th-25th
UPDATE: Thank you so much everyone for voting! I won:)
I’ve seen this little badge of honor on so many blogs that I look up to and admire. Who knew? Now it’s my turn!
I’m very excited to share with you that Lessons From The Middle has been nominated for Most Fascinating Blog 2012, in the Middle School Teacher category. It sounds so cheesy but, “It’s an honor just to be nominated”.
I started this blog to share ideas that I have and that I find from other teachers, to collaborate with educators from all over, to save teachers time, to inspire, to learn, and to engage teachers in conversations about education. I started just 6 months ago, but I have learned so much from so many and I hope that I’ve reciprocated that knowledge as well.
I would very much appreciate your vote for this blog award. I’d love to display the “Winner” badge, rather than just the “Nominated” badge! (Although it’s pretty cool to have that nominated badge there. ) It’s just the glory I’m looking for with this one. There is a great prize for the winner too, but since I’m Canadian, I can’t claim it anyway. Oh well! I’ll take the glory over a monetary prize any day – and not just because I have to 
Thanks for taking the time out of your jam-packed days to read my blog. I put a lot of effort into it and I still have a lot more to say.
Click here to vote for Lessons From The Middle
A Bloggin’ Day at The Beach
A cloudy day at the beach for Tammy and I
You never know where things are going to take you or who you may meet along the way.
I’ve “met” so many wonderful teachers and bloggers online in the last few months. I never really thought I’d get to meet one of them in person! But like I said, you just never know.
A fellow Canadian teacher-blogger I’ve been chatting and collaborating with, Tammy Aiello, was on the Island with her family this summer and we actually had a chance to meet up in person. As the kids splashed in the waves and collected treasures along the shore, we had chance to talk about “teacher stuff”. It was a really unique experience and I’m so glad that we made the time to meet and have a chat. Check out Tammy’s blog, Teaching FSL.
Thanks again for stopping by Tammy and have a great year with your grade 8s!
