Blogs+about+Elementary+Education

== Blogs - Gaetan Pappalard [] == ====Gaetan Pappalardo, a 3rd grade teacher, authors this blog about elementary education. He posts a variety of topics related to elementary school classrooms. In the past he has mentioned using music in the classroom, teaching technology to youngsters, and ideas on how to incorporate pop culture into the classroom. Gaetan has some creative ideas and sites some excellent resources in his posts. However, I only gave this blog 2 stars. One reason is that although the blogger posts monthly there are not many followers. This limits the discussions and does not provide the viewer with additional ideas and viewpoints. In addition, the site is only for those teachers in the K-5 setting. Lastly, you have to kind of pick and choose what postings or parts of postings to read. I came across various ones that were not relevant or were partly made up of song lyrics the blogger thought the reader would find amusing. This site has some great information but does lack purpose which makes it more difficult to navigate than other blogs make it. ==== =  A M   acgirl in a PC World  [] = ====Gil, a 5th/6th grade teacher, creatively addresses the anticipation, excitement, and challenges of a teacher trying to do “different things” to motivate and engage her students. In her blog “Teacher blogging challenge-10 questions for my blog” she interviews a blog and responds to questions that reveal the tremendous positive impact using blogs have on learning as well as the importance of keeping it current. She shares new tools she has discovered as well as posting a year end blog that lists her ten favorite for the year. She has currently changed her teaching position from a general education to a technology teacher and generously shares the benefits and drawbacks of taking of this new position. Her blogs were personal and yet practical offering valuable resources for teachers of students elementary through middle school. This blog receives 5 stars. The content was varied, yet useful including how she is helping her staff embrace technology to better prepare their students. ==== =    Qrious: A Think Tank for Teachers []= ====Shervette Miller, the creator of this blog, knows what an elementary school teacher is looking for! This blogs includes everything from advice and classroom resources, to technology tools, to teaching strategies. There are even sections of the blog one can visit based solely on what subject area he/she teaches. In the postings various teachers are featured with ideas that they use in their own classrooms. I like this blog because it is very practical and has a conversational feel of colleagues sharing ideas with one another. Ideas and resources are presented in a clear, no nonsense way that, if necessary, could be used in the classroom that very day. The reason I gave the site 4 stars out of 5 was that I wished there was more of an explanation for the use of the technology tools listed. The summary of the tool and link to find it is great, but I would have liked to seen steps on how exactly to use it. Even though this blog does not boast a staggering number of subscribers, I would still check it out. ==== ==<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;">Beth's Elementary Education Blog []   == ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beth Lewis, the creator, is a teacher who has always used the Internet to streamline and simplify her efforts in the classroom. Beth has been in the education field for nearly ten years. She has taught in a wide variety of educational settings, including a public Title I school and a private school. Her site is filled with helpful information for the elementary school teacher. She has information on sharing lesson plans, ways to improve student writing, some technology integration ideas and tips, as well as how to handle tattling in the classroom. Her initial postings are a short synopsis of the topic containing links to a more detailed posting if interested. The site is easy to follow and the postings are current and relevant. Although a good blog, there are a lot of ads on the site and not too many subscribers. Comments and discussions can lag in number. I rate Beth’s blog with 3 stars because of this. ====