Minds in Bloom is thrilled to have Ann from Little Library of Learning guest blogging for us today! Ann has written a great post for us all about an incredible app called Quiver. When you’re using Quiver in the classroom (or in the library), you provide your students with coloring sheets and assign them to color them in a way that aligns with your lesson
Putting the BOOM into Differentiation!
Minds in Bloom is excited to have Belinda Givens on the blog today! Belinda is sharing a great post with us all about differentiation using Boom Cards™ from Boom Learning, Inc. Enjoy her post below! We’ve all been there: small group intensive instruction and every student in the group is on a different level. You have a student who is answering all the questions, eager to
Implementing Technology into the Special Education Classroom
We’re so happy to welcome Kristin from Samson’s Shoppe to the blog today! Kristin’s sharing a few really great tech tools to help with implementing technology in the special education classroom. Feel free to chime in in the comments with other tech tools you love! As a middle school special education teacher for the past ten years, I have been able to observe how technology
Novel Studies for the 21st Century Learner
We’re delighted to welcome our next guest blogger to Minds in Bloom! Shalyn is a teacher librarian who is sharing with us how to make novel studies more appropriate for 21st century skills and learning. Let’s go back in time and imagine that you are in your elementary/middle/high school classroom. The teacher announces that you are going to begin your literature circle rotation for the
6 Tools for Digital Intervention
We’re excited to welcome Mercedes from Surfing to Success to the blog today! Please read her post about six tools you can use for digital intervention in your classroom. Enjoy! Digital learning tools can make targeted instruction quick and easy. The challenge is to wade through all the options out there and focus on the tools that are right for your needs. Let’s look at
Daily 5™ for Upper Elementary Students
We’re welcoming Melissa from The Paisley Owl to Minds in Bloom today. She’s got some excellent tips for those of you who teach upper elementary but still want to implement the Daily 5™ in your classroom. How can I put students at the center of their own learning? How can I hold students accountable during language arts centers? How can I differentiate to meet
Differentiating Literacy Instruction Using Technology
Hi! My name is Jenny, and I am a reading specialist entering my 27th year of teaching. I have spent a majority of those years helping students gain the skills and mindsets necessary to be confident and successful readers. Two major components in teaching readers to be and feel successful are fostering reading engagement and knowing what your young readers need. I have found a way to
Get Task Cards on Your Tablet, Smart Phone or Computer!
I am so, so excited about the Boom! Cards app, which allows students to use task cards on any mobile device or computer! You and your students are going to love them! You’ll love Boom because… It’s so easy and so effective! Boom comes with a suite of teacher tools. You can assign specific decks to individual students or the whole class. You can also
5 Must-Listen Podcasts for Teachers
Please welcome Carly Speicher from Carly and Adam to Minds in Bloom today! Carly is sharing some teacher podcasts that are great resources for educators at all experience levels. Do you listen to podcasts? My husband has recently gotten me on the podcast bandwagon. He mostly listens to business podcasts, but did you know that there are podcasts just for teachers?! I have recently
Increasing Student Engagement with Interactive PowerPoints
Hi there! My name is Rachael from The Classroom Nook. I’m happy to be sharing with you today about how you can take (what could be) boring lessons and turn them into interactive and engaging activities for your students. The secret weapon? PowerPoint! I know – PowerPoint is nothing new, but you may learn a new way for how to maximize the potential of this
Apps to Reach All Readers
I’m Marion from Mentoring in the Middle, and I’m delighted to be guest blogging on Rachel Lynette’s Minds in Bloom! Rachel was one of the first bloggers I started following way back when I was a blogging newbie, and she continues to serve as an example of what good blogging and product-making look like. Every grade presents its challenges to keep students engaged, but with
The Only 5 Apps You Need
Hello Everyone! I am Erin from rrrErin2Learn and am so excited to be guest blogging for Minds in Bloom! I can’t remember life before I started focusing on ed tech in my classroom, but it was only two years ago that my technology administrator handed me a couple of iPads and the password to download “ALL THE FREE APPS I WANTED!” I admit, I went
5 Steps to Implement a Class Twitter Account
We all use a variety of social media outlets daily. Have you ever thought about using them in your classroom, though? My name is Sarah from Mrs B’s First Grade, and I am excited to be guest blogging today to give you five steps to successfully implement a class Twitter account! Setting up and using a class Twitter account can seem like a daunting task;
5 Reasons I Use a Class Blog to Keep Families Involved
Hi there! I’m Haley from Miss L’s Busy Bees, and I’m just bursting with excitement to share with you how my class blog is such an asset in my classroom in keeping families involved. I’ve had coworkers ask me, “But how do you keep up with a classroom blog? Isn’t the weekly parent email the same thing?” While parent emails are great, when implementing
5 Tips for Flipping the Elementary Classroom
Sally from Teaching Redefined is sharing her top five tips for turning your elementary classroom into a flipped one! She loves having a flipped classroom and wants to help other teachers in flipping the elementary classroom. A “flipped classroom” has become another trendy phrase in the education world. What does it actually mean? A flipped classroom means that students get their instruction in the form
5 Reasons to LOVE the iPad in the Classroom
We’re welcoming Julie from The Techie Teacher to the blog today. As an Instructional Technology educator, Julie firmly believes that teachers should embrace the technology that surrounds us today, like iPads. Read on to learn her five reasons for using the iPad in the classroom! Hey everyone! I’m Julie from The Techie Teacher, and I am so excited to be guest blogging for Rachel Lynette.