Brain Waves Instruction

True Confessions of a TpT Teacher-Author - Erin Beers

I have a feeling you're going to love learning about Erin Beers...the latest "True Confessions" ~~victim~~ subject. She's creative, funny, humble, and a fellow TpT teacher-author that I truly admire! Take if from me, if you're not already nuts about her, then you'll want to learn more about...

Keep reading to learn even more about Erin...

I started my TpT store...

because I wanted to put finishing touches on the resources that I created for my students. The first TpT product that I purchased was the Hunger Games Novel Unit that Tracee Orman created. Her unit was so thorough and just what I wanted to maximize student understanding of the novel, that I thought I might be able to take some of the resources I created for my students and help them benefit teachers in other classrooms.

I named my store Erin Beers from Mrs. Beers Language Arts Class because...

I already had my blog in place and I wanted teachers that read my blog to be able to find any resources easily. My husband laughs about it and says that I have the longest name in blogging and TpT store history, but it has stuck with me.

My store is filled with...

all things English Language Arts -- novel units, reader's theater scripts and toolkits, and writing resources. I love to find the perfect novels for my upper elementary learners. So many of the novels I have read with students have turned into novel units to support those novels. I have also loved writing reader's theater scripts that turn some of the crazy events of my teaching life into realistic fiction stories.

My favorite part about creating resources is...

seeing their effectiveness in the classroom. I know that they work with my students, but seeing someone else blog about them or give feedback is an exciting feeling.

In terms of TpT, who knew it could be such an amazing platform to connect teachers from all over the world?!

Where in the world do you live now? Have you ever lived anywhere else? If so, where?

I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, but have lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Missouri. My mom works for Marriott, so we moved a great deal with her job when I was growing up.

After someone meets you, what do you hope they say about you once you leave the room?

"She certainly loves her family and students."

If you had a day completely free of obligations, what would you do?

I love to run, play in the park with my kids, and hang out in the front yard with neighbors having a few drinks while watching our kids run around the yard.

Describe the worst haircut or outfit of your life.

I have never been the seasonal turtleneck or alphabet sweater-type, but I wore some pretty ridiculous corduroy jumpers my first years of teaching.

If you had to enter a talent contest, what talent would you showcase?

I think I could beat anyone, hands down, in a competition that consists of completing the most tasks in one day. I have a hard time sitting down and am always busy tackling something.

Name two things on your bucket list.

1. Travel to Europe.

2. Go to Atlantis. (My kids are very hopeful to go there, thanks to the nonstop commercials on Nickelodeon.)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I have my Masters in Administration, so I have dreamed of being a principal, but I have also thought about going to culinary school after I retire from teaching and becoming a chef. Guess it's a toss-up!

Interactive File Folders

No joke...my favorite birthday present as a child was a yellow filing cabinet. Yes, it's true, my love of office supplies and organization runs deep. That's why it shouldn't be surprising at all that I adore using file folders in the classroom with students. Whether in response to a short story or an entire novel, they're a motivating and engaging way for students to demonstrate their learning.

One of my favorites is this file folder book project!

It's ideal for a summer reading project or as a book report any time of the year.

With just one file folder, students demonstrate their understanding of a novel. While the outside is a creative expression of the cover, the inside is filled with a plot diagram, character analysis, setting profile, and personal reflection. The back cover includes a listing of other books by the same author.

The completed file folders are super fun to display and even more awesome stored in what else...a filing cabinet next to the classroom library. When students are looking for a book to read during our independent reading program, often they'll check out these file folders first for book previews and reviews.

I've also developed a file folder resource for the short story "Thank You M'am" by Langston Hughes.

This unit is super engaging because it combines all the elements of literature instruction with the added twist of interactive shapes stored inside a file folder.

As students read the story, they create interactive shapes.

The end result is a file folder of learning.

Learning and file folder in one sentence....what could be better?

If you'd like to learn more about these file folder resources, check out this File Folder Book Project or the Interactive File Folder "Thank You M'am" Unit.

Thanks for stopping by,

Regional TpT Meet-Up - Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Calling all TpT teacher-authors (or future teacher-authors)!

The Western NY TpT Team is hosting a regional meet-up...and it's going to be so much fun!

The Western NY TpT Team is a group of 16 TpT sellers from, well, Western New York. We've been meeting together and growing our TpT stores with one another for over a year. Recently, we decided that we'd like to meet even more sellers (that means you). So, we're planning a Regional Meet-Up.

We're calling it...

Here's the event details:

What: Northeastern Regional TpT Meet-Up: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

When: Saturday, May 2, 2015 --- 10:00 AM - 4:45 PM

Cost: $25 (to cover the venue, lunch, and coffee)

Where: Holiday Inn Binghamton

Why: We know firsthand that collaboration is not only invigorating, but also essential for TpT success. We're so much better when we flock together! So, let's get together to exchange ideas, network, connect, collaborate and take home loads of effective tips and strategies to grow our TpT businesses!

We've planned facilitated discussions for meet-up attendees on the components of high-quality products, social media collaboration, and optimizing the TpT-site features for success. We're hoping for information-packed sessions filled with sellers sharing and swapping ideas all morning long.

We'll be eating lunch at the Holiday Inn. They're putting together a deli buffet of meats, cheeses, breads, rolls, condiments, green salad, fruit salad, cookies, brownies, and coffee. Yum!

The afternoon is designed to give attendees opportunities to put new ideas into action and to learn even more about effective TpT practices. We've planned collaboration stations on the following topics:

--- Idea Brain Sparks: Where Do Great Product Ideas Come From?
--- Tech Tips for PowerPoint, Instagram, and YouTube
--- Optimizing Pinterest in the Era of Smart Feed
--- Social Media Marketing
--- Collaborative Promos, Blog Hops, Linkys, Giveaways, eBooks

We're also encouraging attendees to bring along actual products from their stores so that we can have a feedback session with one another.

Our goal is to have an information-packed day together with lots of opportunities for fun! That's why we're planning giveaways, raffles, and a teacher-tool exchange as well!

It's going to be a day where birds of a feather flock together in the spirit of fun and learning!

First Step: Click Here to fill out a Registration Form

Next Step: Once you receive a registration confirmation via email, you'll learn how to pay for the registration fee (to cover the venue and lunch). Just pay your fee and start counting down the days until we can meet!

Oh, and we've secured discounted hotel rates for those of you who may want to stay overnight at the Holiday Inn.
The discount code is: TpT. The room rate will be $129/night.

Brain Waves Instruction: Engaging and Differentiated ELA Resources for the Upper Elementary and Middle School Classroom

Ellen Weber: Brain-Based Tasks for Upper Grades

Kinders in NY: Multi-Sensory, Developmentally Appropriate Resources for PreK, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade

Literary Sherri: Middle School ELA and Classroom Management Resources

The Math Spot: K-5 Math Intervention

Selma Dewani: Brain-Based Resources for all Grade Levels

Yay for PreK: Modern and Bright Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom

We can't wait to meet you!

Jazzing Up Your TpT Quote Box

Today I'm sharing a post for my fellow TpT teacher-authors.

If you're a TpT seller, then you know all about the area on each of our stores' pages for a quote. Sometimes people include links to their blogs or other promotional messages in that space. Well, last night I gave my quote the boot! That's right, after I saw some sellers with updated quote boxes, I knew that I wanted to jazz up my store as well.

So, I read a few tutorials. I tried. I failed. I tried. I failed. Then, I called my friend for help. She pointed me in the right direction....and with her help, my TpT store now looks like this:

As an interesting side note, my old store quote was from Leonardo Da Vinci and it said, "The knowledge of all things is possible." So, last night as I was growling at my computer when I couldn't get my new jazzy quote box to format correctly on TpT, I tried to remind myself of Da Vinci's words. Do you think he was imagining transparent backgrounds and hyperlinks when he first shared his wisdom?

So...are you ready to jazz up your own quote box?

1. Open PowerPoint, click on the 'Design' tab, select 'Slide Size', choose 'Custom Size' and resize the slide to 3 in. wide by 1 in. high.

2. Design your quote box. You'll be making this quote box "clickable" so you might want to add a message that corresponds with one of your custom categories. For instance, if you have a Test Prep category, you might design a quote box with a "Don't Forget to Check Out These Test Prep Resources" message. Also, make sure that all the text boxes you add stay within the 3 x 1in slide.

3. Make a transparent background. Click the 'Insert' tab. Select 'Shapes.' Select the square shape option and draw a square/rectangle over the top of your entire slide.

Then "right click" your mouse while hovering over the rectangle shape you just inserted. Select 'Format Shape.' You'll see design options for the shape's fill to the right of your slide.

Select 'Solid Fill' Then, slide the transparency over to 100%. (You'll see your design again.) See that outline of your shape? You'll want to get rid of that by selecting 'No Line' under the format shape options.

Finally, right click on your quote box again, and select 'Send to the back.' Now you have a transparent background.

4. Save your quote box design as a picture. Press CTRL A to highlight every element of your quote box. Then, "right click" your mouse and select 'Save as a picture.' Save this picture to your desktop and give it a File name before clicking 'Save.'

(Here's a tip from Ainsley Karl when you 'Save as a picture' click on 'options' and enter in - 452.)

5. Host your quote box picture somewhere. I used Photobucket. I just dragged the quote box image that I saved on my desktop to upload it to Photobucket. Then, I copied the direct link that Photobucket created.

6. Prepare your links for the TpT quote box. Remember, the TpT quote box will have an image and a clickable link. Therefore, you need two links. One is for the quote box image you designed. You know, the link you just copied from Photobucket (or other hosting spot). Open a blank document and paste that link under the title 'Photo Link.' Then, figure out where you will be sending buyers when they click on your quote box (perhaps to a custom category, or to your blog, or to your freebies). Open that page and copy the link. Paste that link under the title 'TpT Link' on your opened document.

7. Shorten your links. In order to not exceed TpT's quote character limitations, both links need to be shortened. Go to bitly.com. Paste the photobucket link into the upper right-hand box on the webpage and click 'Shorten'. Copy this new short link and paste it on your document under 'Shortened Photo Link.' Repeat this process with the TpT page link.

8. Prepare the code for your TpT quote. Copy this code on your document (where you've been copying and pasting the long and shortened links).

Now, insert your shortened TpT page link where it says "clickable link" (delete the words - clickable link). Then, insert your shortened Photobucket link where it says "link to the quote box image" (delete the words - "link to the quote box image"). Select and copy the code.

9. Update your quote box on TpT. Sign into your TpT account and go to your Dashboard. Right next to the "profile 100% complete," you'll see a green 'Edit Profile' link. Click that. Then, where it says personal quote, paste the code. Scroll down and click 'Save.'

10. Revel in your awesomeness! Go check out your store and see your new look. Awesome, right?

Thanks to Literary Sherri, Crayonbox Learning and What I Have Learned for inspiring and teaching me!

Thanks for stopping by,

Brain Waves Instruction

Classroom Decor - Word-of-the-Day Display

Did you know that my husband is a teacher, too? We met in our student teaching days back in college. It's been interesting having similar careers. The best part is having someone who truly understands the job. The second best part is having someone to bounce ideas off of for the classroom. That's what happened when he came home one day and said, "I need a way to display the math words-of-the-day in my classroom." He didn't have a bulletin board to spare, the front board needed to stay free, and the Fire Marshall nixed all clotheslines.

So, off to Home Depot we went in search of a display solution. After roaming many aisles, we ended up in the concrete section of the store. And we saw this...

It's the steel reinforcement for concrete. It was light, big, and we figured he could hang a word in each section. So, after picking up some red spray paint (to make it a little more fun and less rusty), we headed home to get it ready for the classroom.

Step 1: Sand off the rust.

Ste 2: Spray paint the grid.

Step 3: Get your children to help you paint some clothespins fun colors.

Step 4: Hang It.

Step 5: Use It.

It's a great, easy solution for an age-old classroom display problem. Thank goodness for Home Depot and concrete sidewalks!

CHECK THIS OUT! I've put together a 100+ page guide for back to school for teachers. It includes tips, tools, and printables for classroom décor, classroom organization, lesson planning, community building, and planning the first day of school. It's absolutely FREE!

Just click here to sign up. When you sign up, you'll get access to 6 mini-courses that cover everything Back to School including classroom design, organization, curriculum planning, and ways to build a positive classroom community. There's also a TON of exclusive freebies, bonuses, and videos! If you'd like to learn more and sign up, just click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by,

Brain Waves Instruction

Pages

True Confessions of a TpT Teacher-Author - Erin Beers

Interactive File Folders

Regional TpT Meet-Up - Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Jazzing Up Your TpT Quote Box

Classroom Decor - Word-of-the-Day Display

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