Great Links
Beth Newingham is a teacher in Troy, Michigan. I stumbled upon her page when my principal sent it out for us to look at her genre posters. I've been hooked ever since. You'll notice many of my literacy boards are inspired by hers, as well as a lot of our special activities, such as the Polar Bear Express journey. I like to think that my room is getting to the point where it will be equal to hers in organization and creativeness, but she does have 5 teaching years on me. Check this site out for hours worth of idea hunting and even many more hours worth of creating.
http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/index.htm
Brent Coley is a teacher in Murietta, California. His webpage has given me fantastic ideas for helping students update this website on a regular basis (Roving Reporters) and publishing our podcasts online (Podcast Press). He also has a wonderful set-up for literature circles, complete with activity sheets for each job that actually keep students engaged in the activity. Check out his site for technology, art and literacy inspiration.
http://www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/tovashal/bcoley
My favorite book on teaching is Educating Esme, Diary of a Teacher's First Year, by Esme Raji Codell. I came upon it after finishing Sahara Special and reading Esme's biography in the back of the book. This book has validated many of my philosophies on creative, student-centered teaching and the incredible importance of literacy in the classroom. I just purchased my own copy to highlight, underline and generally tear up in the name of better teaching. I highly recommend everyone gift themselves with a copy to do the same. Esme has inspired my creative daily agenda strips such as time travel instead of history, among other things.
http://www.planetesme.com
If you love Jan Brett and her books, you will go crazy over her website. She offers many, many classroom signs and activity sheets with her animal artwork. Have fun printing, cutting and laminating!
http://www.janbrett.com/activities_pages.htm
Ms. Powell has amazing ideas and pictures on her website. I was led there by a link for her token economy and was pulled her many other suggestions. Ms. Powell's strong faith only increases my admiration for her, as her teaching career has taken some of the same strange turns as mine. Check out her page for great inspiration!
www.mspowell.com
Elementary Teacher Resources- Created by a fellow A-Z teacher, this place has a ton of great ideas and resources for your classroom.
Teaching Vision- Mrs. Jaztal has put a ton of time and work into putting all of her available resources on the web for you to use. Perfect for grades 3-5.