Author's Purpose

In writing there is four different author's purposes, to inform, to describe, to persuade, and to entertain. Although these ideas seem very general and simple they sometimes be confusing or hard to identify in writing. I have uploaded two power points that I use to introduce the topic of authors purpose and some short written examples.

Authors Purpose Reading Examples

Authors Purpose Powerpoint 1

Authors Purpose Powerpoint 2

In my class I have gone through the powerpoint, and then have the students get in groups/or partners read the examples and guess a purpose for every example. After about 20-30 minutes, go over the answers as a class and discuss reasons why the were a particular author purpose.

Below are some video's I found on youtube; I show each one and then have the students guess which is which.

Discounts for teachers

I grew up with a bargain hunter parent, so I am always on the look out for discounts. It turns out that a lot of places offer great discounts to teachers, you just have to ask.

Below are a list of places that will give you discounts!!!


Books
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-at-school/educator.asp?cds2Pid=29859

Half Price Books http://www.hpb.com/community/

Supplies
Academic Superstore http://www.academicsuperstore.com/

Creative Teaching http://www.creativeteaching.com/

Discount School Supply http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Community/SpecialOffers.aspx

ETA/Cuisenaire http://www.etacuisenaire.com/index.jsp

Teachers Discount https://store.schoolspecialtyonline.net/OA_HTML/ibeCZzpHome.jsp?minisite=10104

Scholastic Teacher Store http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&ESP=TSO/ib//acq/tso_slimnav_Teachers///nav/txtl////

ACMoore, check under discounts http://www.acmoore.com/faq.aspx#c4

Big Lots, teacher appreciation day August 13th http://www.biglots.com/lots2give/teacherappreciationday

The Container Store, 15% savings offer ends Dec 2011,  http://www.containerstore.com/teachers/index.htm

Fedex Office, 15% discount https://psg.kinkos.com/educator/

Office Depot 10-15% discounts http://www.mystarteacher.com/home.do

Office Max, reward program https://www.officemaxperks.com/LearnMoreTeachers.aspx

Staples, if you got last Sunday's paper there was an awesome coupon for $5.00 off, if not ask a neighbor or check this Sunday. https://www.staplesrewardscenter.com/SORC/UserManagement/Login/Login.aspx

Clothing
That's right, clothing stores have discounts! This is my favorite one to use. :)

Anne Taylor Loft http://f.mail.loft.com/i/36/1566646063/LOFTLovesTeachers.html

Banana Republic, in stores only 15% off http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/info.do?cid=48137&mlink=5001,2930364,16&clink=2930364

NY and Company, receive a nice 15% off http://teachers.nyandcompany.com/

Technology 

Adobe, up to 80% off https://store1.adobe.com/cfusion/store/html/index.cfm?store=OLS-EDU&##store=OLS-EDU&view=ols_cat&loc=en_us&catID=SPECIALS

Apple Store http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/education_routing?afid=p201|806314&cid=AOS-US-AFFE

At & T https://www.wireless.att.com/business/authenticate/index.jsp?zipCode=null&bref=null&_requestid=10408

Bose http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_STATIC_PAGE_EVENT&url=/about/education/educators_direct_group/index.jsp

Campus Tech http://www.campustech.com/educators

HP http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/shopping_guide.do?template_type=guide&guide=student&tab=tab1

Journey Ed http://www.journeyed.com/select

Lenovo http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/microsofteducation/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/Lenovo:EnterStdAffinity?affinity=microsofteducation

PBS http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/create-profile/?start=TruePBS

Sony http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/mkt-education/resource.latest.bbsccms-assets-mkt-edu-latest-eyeoneducation.shtml

Travel 

Educator's Travel Network http://www.educatorstravel.com/

Free Home Exchange http://www.teacherstravelweb.com/

Vacations to Go http://www.vacationstogo.com/appreciation.cfm

This website has up to 82, I just picked my top picks! http://www.bradsdeals.com/blog/2010/08/10/71-stores-offering-discounts-to-teachers/

Fashionable Ways to interest Your Students!

Ok, so this year we had to read one of my favorite novels of all time Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I admit that this book can be a little dry at times but the message is completely relevant to technology today. One of the ways I got my kids interested in what were reading was by sporting the book cover on my shirt, now this is extremely nerdy and you really must be ok with that if you choose to inspire learning by fashion. It worked for me, all day long I got questions about my shirt and how cool it was to wear a shirt with the upcoming book for class....plus it doesn't hurt that the online store is really creative. 

If you aren't a fashionista but have a desire to inspire in simple ways, check these out! I love this online store called Out of Print Clothing, http://www.outofprintclothing.com/Shop_a/152.htm

Temple Grandin

I saw Temple do a talk at CSULB a few years ago. I learned so much from her about autism and want to share some of her knowledge.

Here is a talk she did at TED Talks in Long Beach!

Want to check out the movie based on her life? Here is the movie trailer!

Want to read up on her? Check out some of her books http://www.amazon.com/Temple-Grandin/e/B000AP9AQU

Better than google images and powerpoint!

Are you ready to get rid of those boring power points? Are you ready to try something exciting and new? Want to liven up your lessons? Here is the website to do that! It's called Prezi, the web address is http://prezi.com/

Here is a great example presentation, check it out!




Need images to add some spice to the lesson? Want to keep the kids engaged but don't have a lot of time, check this website out http://www.pics4learning.com/ It's like google images but it's a copyright friendly images for teachers and students.

Here are some cool images I love and will be using this upcoming school year.

Carly's Voice

Carly is a teenager with autism, for many years she has been non-verbal. Her parents thought she was mentally retarded and would never be able to connect with her...then one day something changed. Take a look at this amazing story.

To learn more about Carly, and to read her blog, check out her website http://carlysvoice.com/

60 Second Recap

Teaching and reading literature can often be challenging & overwhelming for students and teachers. I found this great site that has 60 second recaps on most books that are read in class. http://www.60secondrecap.com/library/

What's also great about using these video's, is it really gets the class excited about the reading and if you can't cover the whole book they have great summaries. They also have videos on theme, symbolism and satire.

Below are some of my favorite from youtube

Classroom Moment Comics

These made me laugh so hard, I had to share courtesy of Chris Pearce from

http://chrispearce.wordpress.com/

Great comic writer and teacher about the everyday lives of teaching. Below are some of my favorite!

Figurative Language Video's

Figurative language is hard for most student's but once they understand the concepts they can identify them in poems, literature and music. I love sharing video's from youtube, especially ones that have some of the student's favorite songs. Below are my favorite ones! Hope you enjoy it.

Aspies Movie to check out

Over the summer, I have been taking an Autism Spectrum Disorder Class and have been learning so much more about AS (Asperger's Syndrome). In class we watched part of this movie called "Just Add Water" starring Clay Marzo a pro-surfer with AS. What this film does so eloquently is gives a positive outlook on AS, and is still real. There are times when student's are diagnosed with AS much later in life, such as after the age of 13. Having a late diagnoses can be really hard for the family and the student, however this movie would be great to watch for the family since it's  positive outlook on the disability.

First education blog, yipee!!!

Hi everyone! I am a Special Ed/Language Arts teacher, everyday I am searching for new ways to teach writing, reading, critical thinking and learning strategies. As I am studying to get my masters in special education, I am learning sooo much and want to share it. I created this blog to share ideas and hopefully make fellow teacher friends.

Have a great week!

Here is one of my favorite quotes from a teacher
"You can pick friends, you can pick your place to sit but you shouldn't pick that"