What will you achieve in 2013?

13 Things for 2013!! 

Michelle Lundy of "Making It As A Middle School Teacher" has the neatest link up going on that really is inspiring. 
I think it's great to see what each of us has decided to aim for in the upcoming year as well as to think about what we'd like to accomplish personally and professionally in 2013! 

"A YEAR-IN-PREVIEW"

I hope you take a moment to see what various teachers (who are also women, men, mommies, wives, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, daughters, etc.) have chosen to share with you from their list of things to achieve/see/do/create/etc. for this next year! You can view all posts of those participating by clicking above image which will take you directly to the linky party!
Thanks to Michelle for such a great idea to start off the new year!

Happy new year to all of you! 

What's your biggest event, goal, test, hope, wish for next year? Share below~

The Magic of Silent Movies in Creative Writing!

I want to give a  SPECIAL "THANK YOU" to Adrianne Meldrum of The Tutor House for being a guest blogger today! She does, without a doubt, always have clever and spectacular ideas/activities to share. So, without further delay...
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There's something magical about silent movies.  Even without dialog, a story is conveyed.  How would the story be different if you could add dialog?  Using silent movies for a creative writing project or exercise could liven up your students creative juices.


I found three fun (short) silent movies that lend themselves well to adding dialog.  Two of them are old silent movies and the other is a modern day silent movie.  All of these videos are under a creative commons license. 


Divide your students into teams and assign a video.  Students will then work together to come up with dialog that goes along with the video.  They will need to come up with a title and then perform the voices for the videos.  Of course, you'll need to set some ground rules with no profane or inappropriate content allowed. 


You could also have students do their own voice over of the videos.  If you would prefer this method, please email me to receive an editable version of the video.

What kinds of stories do you think your students will come up with?


Video Sources: Video One, Video Two, Video Three


Adrianne Meldrum is a private tutor and author of The Tutor House, a blog dedicated to helping tutors find curriculum and business tips.

A Christmas Stocking Freebie and Teacher to the Core Giveaway Galore!

I just wanted to share the news of an amazing "Teacher to the Core Giveaway Galore" going on at Katie Knight's blog Teacher Core! (OR REMIND THOSE THAT ALREADY KNOW)
12 Days of Giveaways!!!

Be sure to swing by and see if you can snag some cool teaching resources!! Tell her I sent you! ;)

(Oh, I'm participating in her giveaway too (along w/ many amazing bloggers, so be on the lookout!)She's got TONS of items lined up to dish out to YOU! Congrats to Teacher to the Core on the "200 Followers" milestone!


AND FOR AN ADDITIONAL FREEBIE FROM ME...
In case you've missed my primary freebie in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, I wanted to share it with you (being perfect timing and all...)--It's a quick little activity you can do with your kiddos to instill the magic of "GIVING" during the Christmas Season! I call it "Fill Someone's Stocking with Cheer..."
We all know it's more important to give rather than receive, so without any further rambling, check it out: