Tis the Season for New School Supplies

8 Encouraging eCards for Teachers, Summer and Fall Collection

It's the middle of July, and you know what that means--back-to-school sales! Some people gripe that "It gets earlier every year. . ." like stores putting out Christmas decorations right after Halloween, but school supplies at rock-bottom prices are never out of season to teachers.

My husband and I recently took our four-year-old to pick out supplies from the list his kindergarten teacher sent home with us on screening night. Pencils, paints, crayons, markers, glue sticks in the cart. One kid down, one to go.

Even though it's my little guy's first year in school, I think I was more excited about the new supplies than he was. After all, some of us teachers may have secretly chosen our careers because of the school supplies.

I'm blessed to work in a school district where the classroom supply budget is what I consider generous. Shopping for supplies can still be a nightmare, though, as we try to stretch the dollar. And aren't we all looking for that one vendor that has everything we're looking for in a cute design at the right price?

I've purchased my classroom supplies from many different sources over the years, and I'm not sure I've found the best way to get the job done yet. One year I fell in love with a company's free-shipping-to-home feature, only to be frustrated when my items arrived in many installments, each with a separate invoice. I never did get an accurate read on which items had arrived and whether my total matched what I'd thought I'd spent. Even their customer service couldn't provide a totaled invoice.

Scented markers from Mr. Sketch

Fortunately, there aren't a lot of imperative supply needs in high school English. Much of the class work requires only lined filler paper and a pen or trusty number two pencil. I always stock up on 3 x 5 cards and smooth-writing pens (my luxury item!) and of course, Expo markers. And it wouldn't be Mrs. Ballard's room without the smelly markers, a holdover from when I taught kindergarten. We use them on big chart paper to draw Venn diagrams, character maps, thought webs, vocab charts, and everything in between.

This year, I also splurged and purchased a few DVDs for classroom use, including Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, a must when studying British Romantic literature. And yes, even high school senior boys will watch it because the late Alan Rickman is a familiar face (and voice) from Die Hard and the Harry Potter movies.

What are your must-have school supplies to start the new year? Where do you buy them? Know of a steal we can all snatch up? Leave a comment to share.

Catch me Tuesday, July 12th in Twin Falls at the P20 Educator Conference: Reaching for New Heights. I'll be speaking on using Choose Your Own Adventure narrative techniques to teach creative writing. I'll also present Faith and the Public School Teacher. Hope to see you there!

Fun at Nursery School

Leadership in Band of Brothers Unit

Now available from Brevity on TPT

It's been about a year in the making, but my Leadership in Band of Brothers unit is finally complete. Writing a Common Core-aligned unit was the main requirement of the Idaho Coaching Network class I took throughout the last school year, and my unit for the class was inspired by binge-watching the documentary film series Band of Brothers with my husband. While I wasn't sure some of the material in the film itself would be appropriate to show in class, I knew that the story of the 101st Airborne and Easy Company would be highly engaging to my sophomores.

The motif of Leadership often comes up in everyday conversations with high school students, not just when it's prompted by literature studies. Kids want to be leaders, and they need vivid examples of real-life leaders to emulate. Maj. Richard "Dick" Winters of Easy Company fills those shoes perfectly. Leadership in Band of Brothers gives students the opportunity to learn from the D-Day heroism of Winters and his men and to reflect upon leadership traits in their own lives.

I test drove the rough draft of the unit this past spring with success, though some areas needed to be revised afterward. Now the revision is done, and it's finally time to make the unit available on Teachers Pay Teachers! I feel like a proud Mama.

Here's a snippet from the TPT description:

Designed for 10th grade Social Studies or ELA classes, the plan is ten pages with links to some 30 additional pages of materials. Students will read Chapters 1-5 of Stephen E. Ambrose's bestselling nonfiction book Band of Brothers, the basis for the documentary film series. Students will also engage in learning activities such as Document Based Inquiry, close reading, script writing, reflective self-survey, and recording a radio broadcast.

Classroom tested, Common Core aligned, and ready to teach. All you need to provide is the book Band of Brothers or access to the first five chapters. High quality unit lasts three weeks or more and pairs well with other WWII readings such as The Book Thief.

I hope the unit finds a home in lots of Social Studies and ELA classrooms. Now to finish prepping for conference day! Have a great weekend.

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Christian teachers belong in public schools as a ray of sunlight in a darkening world, an example of the believer to a world that is seeking. They can't thrive without God's help, though. They need the Holy Spirit to guide and to go before them. And they need encouragement from fellow believers who know that the struggle is not in vain. That's why Christian Teacher, Public School is here. To offer encouragement and light for dark days.

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8 Encouraging eCards for Teachers, Summer and Fall Collection

Support this blog by shopping at Brevity on Teachers Pay Teachers, where I offer many freebies in addition to resources on bullying prevention, literary elements in Shakespeare, and classroom management. See my latest eCards for back to school!

You can also help support Christian Teacher, Public School by shopping with our affiliate links for excellent products from Dayspring Cards Inc. and Dover Publications. I don't advertise for companies I haven't used and loved for years. Right now, both companies are having summer sales. Dover is offering up to 75% off on summer clearance through July 25, and Dayspring creates a sense of suspense with their Secret Summer Sale (shh!!), where you can use code SUMMER30 to get 30% off their top ten summer gifts.

Best of all, you can share this blog with teacher friends. Thanks for reading and blessing me! Teachers need encouragement, and I hope this is a great place to find it.

Words To Live By, A New Book By Dalene Parker and Linda Gilden

Available now on Amazon.com

Dalene Parker has been a friend of this blog almost from its inception, so I'm proud and delighted to see her new book, cowritten with Linda J. Gilden, come to fruition. And what a beautiful concept! Words to Live By: 52 Words that Lead to an Extraordinary Life explores fifty-two words in five devotions for each week, "encouraging the reader to live more fully." Being a writer and an English teacher, I'm immediately drawn to the word-study approach in a devotional. With a cover as pretty as this, it would make a wonderful gift for teachers. Can't wait to read it!

Dalene is the author of the outstanding Christian Teachers in Public Schools: 13 Essentials for the Classroom. Read the guest blog post she wrote for us, then hop over to Amazon to find her books in paperback and Kindle editions.