Hello! My name is James Hunt, and I teach 6th grade math and science in southeast Missouri. Thank you for joining me on my blogging journey!
Google Apps is something our district has adapted and I couldn't be more thankful for it. Using Google Apps has helped me organize my teaching so that I can work smarter, not harder. And it's FREE!
I really want to talk about using Google Drive to organize your resources and materials. Right now I'm in the process of planning to teach summer school. Summer school can often have a bad stigma, but I'm honestly so excited! I love providing kids with multiple learning challenges and helping them enjoy being at school.
Back to this...
The first thing I did on Google Drive was create a folder and named it "Summer School 2019". This will help me find the resources I need just by searching the title in my drive.
Within my folder, I have (what will be) more folders dividing out each week. I only have the first week planned so far, but it's a process. Things I want to leave more readily available are just left out, such as our schedule and pre-test codes. I made a Google Doc for these because they are easy to pull up on the smartboard for students to see and use. So now let's go into my Week 1 folder...
Now I have folders within a folder within another folder. These folders are divided into different subjects, while things that aren't subject-specific are left out and readily available such as my lesson plans and website links...
Lesson Plans - I've blogged (and left templates) over lesson planning with Google Slides, so check it out if you haven't! These lesson plans are a bit more condensed than the ones I use for the school year.
Website Links - This is what I upload into my Google Classroom (GC) so students can have access to all of the links and templates I need them to throughout the week while keeping my GC organized. During the school year, I have all of my links organized by units.
For example, on Monday I'll need my students to access the Unsolved Mysteries Slides under Science/SS after we learn about a new unsolved mystery each day. All they need to do is click the link...
...and it will pull up a "View Only" template that they are able to make a copy of and begin editing for their assignment! This is easy to do and leaves little room for confusion.
So now let's get into our folders within a folder within a folder...😅 Beginning with ELA.
ELA - These are all of the resources I will be using for ELA instruction this week. Anything that is a Google Doc or Google Slide is a template that students have access to in the website links doc. The PDF is a bundle of activities I purchased off of TPT (GATER Educator) for me to print and have readily available. Since my summer school class is Minecraft themed, we are going to do a close reading and annotation over what Minecraft is, create vocabulary cards complete with definitions, examples, etc. using my vocab cards template, then replace those words with nonsense words in the article and retype the article using the words they created. This will lead us into context clues as we try to figure out what other students' nonsense words mean! Lastly, they will create riddles with answers (using my template) by giving clues and trying to get others to guess the answer to their riddles! To access all of these, they will go to the website links doc, make a copy, and begin typing!
Now let's get into math...
Math - These are all of the resources I will be using for math instruction this week. This week is more direct instruction (place value, decimals, and fractions) with website links and stations. They are going to use Minecraft on the iPads to show their understanding of place value, complete BrainPop videos/activities/games over decimals and equivalent fractions, Common Core Sheets to show their understanding, then stations on Friday to solidify the skills. Our stations include Quizizz assignments, Quizlet activities, Flocabulary assignments, and online games. I included a math stations slide in my lesson plans with station titles and instructions so I can display them on the board for easy reference.
Now going into Science/Social Studies...
Science/Social Studies - These are the resources I will be using this week. The reason these subjects are together is because I am alternating each week between the two subjects. The main reason for this is to leave time for STEM and enrichment activities. Each day, we will be reading about a new unsolved mystery with this bundle I purchased from TPT (Nala Bella Teaching) and creating Google Slides over these mysteries. Next week, we will be doing latitude/longitude and going geocaching! I've posted a picture of what our slides will look like above.
Lastly, STEM/Logic:
STEM/Logic - These are the resources I will be using this week. This time is for students to think critically while collaborating! I have planned a number of STEM challenges using my STEM bins with very little prep (thanks to Little Bins for Little Hands) and this FREE resource. I've also planned some logic puzzles for students to work together to solve from Worksheetworks.
With how chaotic everything can be, keeping my Google Drive organized is helpful and saves time when I'm teaching. To help ease some of your chaos - I'm including templates of everything I've created for this week. Just click, make a copy, edit, and enjoy!
Condensed Lesson Plan Template
Website Links Template
Vocab Cards Template
Riddle Slides Template
Vocab Words - Nonsense Words Template
Article Retyping Template
Unsolved Mysteries Slides Template
I hope you find these tips useful and implement them in your classroom. If you have any questions - just ask!
Socials are linked below:
Google Apps is something our district has adapted and I couldn't be more thankful for it. Using Google Apps has helped me organize my teaching so that I can work smarter, not harder. And it's FREE!
I really want to talk about using Google Drive to organize your resources and materials. Right now I'm in the process of planning to teach summer school. Summer school can often have a bad stigma, but I'm honestly so excited! I love providing kids with multiple learning challenges and helping them enjoy being at school.
Back to this...
The first thing I did on Google Drive was create a folder and named it "Summer School 2019". This will help me find the resources I need just by searching the title in my drive.
Within my folder, I have (what will be) more folders dividing out each week. I only have the first week planned so far, but it's a process. Things I want to leave more readily available are just left out, such as our schedule and pre-test codes. I made a Google Doc for these because they are easy to pull up on the smartboard for students to see and use. So now let's go into my Week 1 folder...
Now I have folders within a folder within another folder. These folders are divided into different subjects, while things that aren't subject-specific are left out and readily available such as my lesson plans and website links...
Lesson Plans - I've blogged (and left templates) over lesson planning with Google Slides, so check it out if you haven't! These lesson plans are a bit more condensed than the ones I use for the school year.
 |
| Each slide contains a different subject and the time I'll be teaching that subject. Each bubble contains what activities/lessons I'm teaching each day. These are perfect because I can display them so students can easily see their expectations and what we are working on. They're also helpful when I have a sub. All I have to do is send this electronically or print! |
Website Links - This is what I upload into my Google Classroom (GC) so students can have access to all of the links and templates I need them to throughout the week while keeping my GC organized. During the school year, I have all of my links organized by units.
 |
| Students are able to go to the links they need for each day. These links contain online games and templates they will use for this week's assignments. |
For example, on Monday I'll need my students to access the Unsolved Mysteries Slides under Science/SS after we learn about a new unsolved mystery each day. All they need to do is click the link...
...and it will pull up a "View Only" template that they are able to make a copy of and begin editing for their assignment! This is easy to do and leaves little room for confusion.
So now let's get into our folders within a folder within a folder...😅 Beginning with ELA.
ELA - These are all of the resources I will be using for ELA instruction this week. Anything that is a Google Doc or Google Slide is a template that students have access to in the website links doc. The PDF is a bundle of activities I purchased off of TPT (GATER Educator) for me to print and have readily available. Since my summer school class is Minecraft themed, we are going to do a close reading and annotation over what Minecraft is, create vocabulary cards complete with definitions, examples, etc. using my vocab cards template, then replace those words with nonsense words in the article and retype the article using the words they created. This will lead us into context clues as we try to figure out what other students' nonsense words mean! Lastly, they will create riddles with answers (using my template) by giving clues and trying to get others to guess the answer to their riddles! To access all of these, they will go to the website links doc, make a copy, and begin typing!
Now let's get into math...
Math - These are all of the resources I will be using for math instruction this week. This week is more direct instruction (place value, decimals, and fractions) with website links and stations. They are going to use Minecraft on the iPads to show their understanding of place value, complete BrainPop videos/activities/games over decimals and equivalent fractions, Common Core Sheets to show their understanding, then stations on Friday to solidify the skills. Our stations include Quizizz assignments, Quizlet activities, Flocabulary assignments, and online games. I included a math stations slide in my lesson plans with station titles and instructions so I can display them on the board for easy reference.
Now going into Science/Social Studies...
Science/Social Studies - These are the resources I will be using this week. The reason these subjects are together is because I am alternating each week between the two subjects. The main reason for this is to leave time for STEM and enrichment activities. Each day, we will be reading about a new unsolved mystery with this bundle I purchased from TPT (Nala Bella Teaching) and creating Google Slides over these mysteries. Next week, we will be doing latitude/longitude and going geocaching! I've posted a picture of what our slides will look like above.
Lastly, STEM/Logic:
STEM/Logic - These are the resources I will be using this week. This time is for students to think critically while collaborating! I have planned a number of STEM challenges using my STEM bins with very little prep (thanks to Little Bins for Little Hands) and this FREE resource. I've also planned some logic puzzles for students to work together to solve from Worksheetworks.
With how chaotic everything can be, keeping my Google Drive organized is helpful and saves time when I'm teaching. To help ease some of your chaos - I'm including templates of everything I've created for this week. Just click, make a copy, edit, and enjoy!
Condensed Lesson Plan Template
Website Links Template
Vocab Cards Template
Riddle Slides Template
Vocab Words - Nonsense Words Template
Article Retyping Template
Unsolved Mysteries Slides Template
I hope you find these tips useful and implement them in your classroom. If you have any questions - just ask!
Socials are linked below:
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