Wandering the Halls of Academia - Teaching and Living Today

First, I need to say thank you to Debbie Mendoza of Froggy About Teaching ! She is highlighting different Teacher-Authors and their resources this week leading to the BTS Sale on AUL ! The BTS Sale will be July 31st through August 3rd! Now for something else that is REALLY EXCITING! Michael De Main at The Wheel Edu  sent us an email about the HUGE Giveaway The Wheel will be doing! We are having a #Celebration Sale! Between now and August 3rd, purchase ANY resource on The Wheel that has "Celebration in it's name, and you are automatically entered for the drawing! Actually, to enter, do these steps by August 3: Follow The Wheel on Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter Join either the Primary Teacher Life group or Secondary Teacher Life group (which you can join and post resources in any time) Register an account on The Wheel Bonus points if they follow any of the Wheeler's involved in the promotion. The purchase is not required prior to the 3rd! On August 7th, THREE (3) winne...

A Note from Matthew: This post was penned by teacher-author entrepreneur Cortney Gaynes. Cortney's is an amazing story of entrepreneurial growth and success! She first came to my attention by way of our mutual friend and business partner, Gregg Williams, co-founder and CEO of Amped Up Learning . Gregg kept talking to us about the phenomenal success Cortney was having with her store on AUL, TeacherSorce . (Not a typo this time! Its a PUN!)  I had to learn more, so I reached out to her. I asked her if she has a blog, and she said no, she has Palmer, her nine month old daughter, instead! I expected her success to be all social media based, which I am not the best at. According to Cortney, she places the credit on adaptability, building a lemonade stand when the world was handed a bunch of lemons in the form of Covid-19, and - at the heart of it - giveaways. Let me allow her to explain. Cortney's Biography Cortney Gaynes, Teacher-Author Entrepreneur and Palmer's Mom My name is ...

Note from Matthew at ELA in Middle School This post was written by Sarah Renish, Teacher and Teacher-Author Entrepreneur. Sarah is the owner of  Ratelis Science , which has a storefront on  BOOM!Learning  (SM),  Amped Up Learning  and  TpT . Sarah is no stranger to our regular readers, as she authored the posts "Adding BOOM! Cards (TM) to Your Toolbox" and "Using Edpuzzles".  Sarah's Biography Sarah Renish I am a 6-12 science teacher in Wisconsin that has over 20 years of teaching experience working with students from diverse backgrounds, including at-risk, ELL, SPED, and Gifted & Talented students. I am actively involved in developing and teaching professional development opportunities related to science instructional best practices. In addition to my regular work for district curriculum committees and numerous professional development sessions, I have taught for the past 18 years in Kenosha Unified School District. Part of the work I do at my sch...

Note from Matthew at ELA in Middle School This post was written by Sarah Renish, Teacher and Teacher-Author Entrepreneur. Sarah is the owner of  Ratelis Science , which has a storefront on  BOOM!Learning  (SM),  Amped Up Learning  and  TpT . Sarah is no stranger to our regular readers, as she authored the post "Adding BOOM! Cards (TM) to Your Toolbox".  Sarah's Biography Sarah Renish I am a 6-12 science teacher in Wisconsin that has over 20 years of teaching experience working with students from diverse backgrounds, including at-risk, ELL, SPED, and Gifted & Talented students. I am actively involved in developing and teaching professional development opportunities related to science instructional best practices. In addition to my regular work for district curriculum committees and numerous professional development sessions, I have taught for the past 18 years in Kenosha Unified School District. Part of the work I do at my school includes duties as ...

Note from Matthew at ELA in Middle School This post was written by Sarah Renish, Teacher and Teacher-Author Entrepreneur. Sarah is the owner of Ratelis Science , which has a storefront on BOOM!Learning  (SM), Amped Up Learning and TpT . We are in a couple of the same Facebook groups, and when I had questions about BOOM! Cards (TM), she was kind enough to teach me! She has since written this post for us all here. Thanks, Sarah!  Boom Learning and Boom Cards are the trademarks of Boom Learning, Inc. Used with Permission. Sarah's Biography Sarah Renish I am a 6-12 science teacher in Wisconsin that has over 20 years of teaching experience working with students from diverse backgrounds, including at-risk, ELL, SPED, and Gifted & Talented students. I am actively involved in developing and teaching professional development opportunities related to science instructional best practices. In addition to my regular work for district curriculum committees and numerous pr...

(In this post, guest blogger Patience Meliora, a teacher and true citizen of the world, tells of her early introductions to nature and the life-long calming effects she's found, and discusses how she finds relaxation and solace within her gardens at home in Texas.) Memories of Maine in the Summer When I was a little girl, my mom and her best friend (our neighbor, Shari,) would send all the kids outside on summer days to thin the carrots. We were taught at a very young age how to thin carrots, and lettuce, and basil plants. We would sit for what felt like forever, but which most likely was about 15 minutes. I remember looking down at rows of tiny, fern-like plants in perfect lines in the dirt, figuring out which ones to pluck, and which ones to leave alone.  During those same years, we would be wicked children and steal Shari’s lavender flowers and run up into the woods to our fort, which we had built out of scrap wood and plastic sheeting. We covered it with pine boughs for ...

The 2020 BERT Update Today’s article is looking into how Teacher Sellers can use SEO to improve their resource descriptions to ensure they can be found organically on Google, regardless of what marketplace they use. We cover a few basics, some great ideas, and a few bonus pointers to help take your store to the next level. Don’t worry. For those that are new to SEO, we start slow. How to get your products found organically You’ve just finished making your resource. Your cover is amazing and follows the same theme as your others to help your store be visually stunning. You’ve made up beautiful images that buyers can click through. You’ve maybe even made a simple short video of the resource for buyers to watch before they click the “add to cart” button. You’re all set and ready to go. But how do you get your latest resource, and your teacher seller store found without spending money or spamming your Facebook groups? The answer is SEO For those tha...