The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak looks like so much fun and a great resource to teach the power of words.



Of course there is always one kid in the crowd who doesn't laugh at a hippo named Boo-Boo Butt. See if you can find her here.

Using a green screen in the classroom

I have been trying for over 10 years to find a simple way to use green screen technology in my classroom so my students can make newsroom style videos. I sort of wrote about my frustrations here. Basically I spent a bit of money and spent a lot of time and never got satisfactory results and eventually gave up on that adventure.

Once I got a classroom iPad this year, one thing I found and couldn't wait to use was a program by DoInk called Green Screen. It was simple and it worked. my students were able to create green screen videos to embed into projects they were making on hurricanes.

If you want to try this simple way to make green screen videos, you will need an iPad, the $2.99 Green Screen app, and a Green Screen Backdrop. You will be up and running pretty quickly and your students will be fascinated at this technology and find it fun to use when giving reports and presentarions.

Here is a presentation from DoInk:


Here is a quick tutotrial:

What to say to a teacher

If you want to know how to talk to and appreciate a teacher, read this excellent article.

"The best way to thank a teacher is not to treat what they do as a good deed, but to treat it as a highly professional career path that they love to follow, and for which they work hard to be successful."

From "Appreciate Teachers by Understanding What They Do" by Mary Beth Hertz.

"The next time you talk to a teacher, ask them why they got into teaching. Ask them about their favorite reading strategies, or a recent project their students worked on that they are really proud of. Ask them for advice for your own child's education. Ask them for their opinion on the Common Core Standards, or for their favorite learning website or tool in the classroom. If they have some great suggestions, ask them a favor -- ask them to send those resources to you by email, or write them down on the spot."