Teacher Created Materials

It seems the term Social Emotional Learning or SEL is everywhere these days. For many educators, this is met with a collective sigh of relief. At long last, we are talking about more than just academics and standardized testing when it comes to providing students with a quality education. To others, however, the buzz about SEL may be cause for concern. Is SEL merely a trend? Is it just the flavor of the month that will soon fade away only to be replaced by the next big idea in education?

There is a lot of research available about attributes that positively affect student achievement.  Most of the research is centered on educational practices and what works best with our students. But I dare say, students will thrive in an environment that’s positive and uplifting where they feel safe to take risks and voice their opinion.

Wordless books can be enjoyed by all levels of emergent readers. They encourage children to apply critical visual literacy skills, which are important for today’s focus on visual images. Wordless books provide scaffolds for storytelling, vocabulary use and fluency, and language learning. Opportunities for creative dialogue and characterization abound when children “read” these stories.

The summer countdown is on, but the school year is not over yet! So, why not end the year with some great activities to get through those last few days of school? Great end-of-year activities should spice up the schedule, wrap things up, and yet squeeze in a few last moments of student learning and practice before you send students on their ways to summer and the next grade.

As part of Teacher Appreciation Week, we wanted to thank you for all of the amazing work that you do. We know that being a teacher is one of the hardest and most rewarding careers ever, and that building up the dreams of your students is what it’s all about. So, here’s a poem written just for you.

It’s a winning combination: teachers and students. Right about now, schools everywhere are showing appreciation for their teachers with all sorts of tributes and celebrations. We thought, what better time to hear from students at each of the promoting or graduating levels to share their thought about their teachers! Here’s what a promoting kindergartner, two promoting sixth-graders, one promoting eighth grader, and two graduating seniors want you to know. These are love letters to their teachers