My building uses Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports (PBIS), and I am on our Tier I and Tier II team. We have students follow the RAMS Way (Respectful, Always Responsible, Manners, and Safety). Our school district's mascot is a Ram, so the acronym was created to go along with the mascot. I have already created Classroom Tickets and Student Awards, and was shown an example of VIP seating tickets for school assemblies and knew I could design something similar for our building! I used Canva, one of my go-to creation sites, to create the ticket. 

We hold monthly PBIS assemblies, and our plan is to hand out a few VIP tickets prior to the assembly. This will be another way to recognize students who are demonstrating the RAMS Way. 

During a recent Building Leadership Team meeting, we discussed ways to recognize students, specifically how we can celebrate students who show grit and perseverance. These students may not necessarily get recognized for academic performance or proficiency, deserve to be recognized for their growth and determination. 

Through my literacy consulting work, I frequently get asked by educators around the country for insights on how they can receive funding to implement a literacy initiative or project. While I will continue to respond individually to educators who reach out via email or this website's contact form, I wanted to share some highlights here. 

Having worked in rural, Title I, and suburban districts, I understand the need for literacy funding and have written and received several grants allowing me to impact literacy development. My hope is the information below helps educators begin their grant writing journey. Be sure to check with your school district and administrator before applying for grant funding as some districts may have an internal process and checkpoints you must follow. 

Funding Sources (not an exhaustive list): 

• Dollar General Literacy Foundation
• Walmart Community Grants
• Mary Pope Osborne's Gift of Books
• AFA Educators Grant
• Wish You Well Foundation
• Starbucks Foundation Grants
• Believe in Reading
• Sidgmore Foundation
• TJC Companies Foundation
• Costco Charitable Giving
• International Paper Company
• Donors Choose

Award/Recognition Options: 

• International Literacy Association

Tips: 

• Have a catchy title - this may seem corny, but when Boards or committees are reading through hundreds of grant applications, catchy titles can grab their attention
• Have a well thought out project, scope, timeline including reporting out/update measures, budget, and impact statement
• Include an explanation for future funding. Organizations want to know you have a plan for sustaining the project once the grant funding is spent. 
• Include an explanation of how you will share/advertise you've received the grant. Organizations want to increase their visibility, so tout your connections in the community and/or on social media.
• If possible, include quotes from an administrator, colleagues, students, and/or families regarding the need and impact the project will have
• Do your research - make sure the grant funds match your project, have research and citations to demonstrate the need for your project
• Be persistent - don't give up if you don't receive funding on your first, second, or third try. Your project may not have been a perfect match for that organization or perhaps there are tweaks you can make to your application. If you don't receive funding, consider contacting those who did receive funding, find out about their projects, and if they're willing to share, look at their proposals. 

If you have additional questions or need for consulting services, feel free to reach out using the contact form. 
                                                                               Best of luck!

Are there grant programs you would like to see added to this list? If so, add a comment and/or complete the contact form and I will add them. 

A PLC (Professional Learning Community) in my building was looking for an engaging way for students needing extra reading practice to get support from adults in our building. To support this, I created monthly "Read Around the Building" pages students can use to celebrate how often they are reading to adults in our building. 

Reading practice might include trade books, sight word 5x5 lists, poetry, short passages, or anything else the teacher finds appropriate for each student.

​If you would like a copy of any, or all, of these pages, let me know. 

My building has been working on building student number sense, and specifically using Number Talks. Number Talks are the work of Ann Dominick and Sherry Parrish and have hand signals that students use as they mentally solve problems. To support classroom implementation, I created the posters shown below. I also used these posters as I modeled number talk lessons in K-5 classrooms. 

During a recent book talk to a 4th grade classroom, I shared one of my favorite books. I also used my new Merge Cube. I had been looking for ways teachers can incorporate Merge Cubes and augmented reality into their classrooms, and the book talk was a great way to start! I created a template on Google Slides and then imported the png files into CoSpaces. The process was easy and students loved seeing the Merge Cube. 

If you would like a copy of my Book Talk Summary template, or need support in using Merge Cubes in your classroom or school, please let me know!

I have used Skype in the Classroom for years and love the opportunities it provides teachers and learners. Recently, I came across Skype in the Classroom's 2018-2019 calendar. Each month has a specific focus and I love that February will be focused on literacy! 

You can even download Classroom Bingo cards for your students to keep track of their experiences!

A few ways I have used Skype to connect students with other classrooms (Mystery Skype, Mystery Number, Mystery Reader, Poetry Slam), to bring in authors (Caroline Starr Rose, Irene Latham, Jonathan London); experts (Rick Swartz); and special guests (Scott Hamilton, Al Roker, Willie Geist, Jonathan Tait, and several other Olympians); and support a building-wide book study (Dave Burgess). If you haven't used Skype in the Classroom, I highly recommend you give it a try! By taking time to breakdown the walls of your classroom, you'll be providing students with learning opportunities and authentic audiences. 
​
If you would like support, don't hesitate to reach out. 

PLC: 
-Focused on “ALL”
-Collaborative Culture
-Goal Setting
-Collective Commitments

​

Building Leadership:
​-Focused on “ALL”
-Culture and Climate
-Transparency
-Systems and Processes

•           -Schedules

          -Rounding
                                                          -Goal Setting

Literacy Breakout Edu over Out of My Mind 
by Sharon M DraperGame Name: Out of My Mind

Game Designer: Stephanie Laird @LairdLearning, LairdLearning.com

Content Areas: Reading

Recommended Ages: 3rd-6th grade

Ideal Group Size: Whole Class

Suggested Time: 30-40 minutes

Story:
There’s an update for Melody’s Medi Talker, but her parents and Mrs. V are so busy helping Penny recover, they haven’t gotten around to installing the update. Rosie wants to help Melody, but needs your help in solving the clues and unlocking the box where the Medi Talker is stored. Will you help? The bus comes to pick up Melody and Rosie in 30 minutes, so time is running out! Work together, problem solve, and use what you learned in Out of My Mind! Your time starts now.

Lock Combinations:

• 3-Digit Lock  473 
• 4-Digit Lock  5985
• ABC Lock  OLLIE
• Directional Lock  ← ↑ ↓ ← →
• Key Lock  Taped to a photo of the brain 

Setup Instructions:

1. Print out all clue cards
2. Put together the cipher wheel
3. Place the cipher wheel in the small Breakout box
4. Set the locks
   
5. Lock the small breakout box with the 4 digit lock
   
6. Place all other locks on the large Breakout box using the hasp
   
7. Tape the key to the back of the brain photo
   
8. Hide all clues and hint cards
   

Reflection Questions:

1. How did your group utilize each individual’s strengths?
2. How did you contribute to your team?
3. Did everyone in your group have an opportunity to contribute?
4. Describe a moment in the game when your team worked well together.
5. How could your group have been more effective?​

CCSS:  RL.1, RL.2, RL.3