The Merrills The Merrills

Do Ink Green Screen: "The Ghost of @MrMerrillsClass! 👻"

Learn how to turn yourself into a ghost! 👻🤭

A Spooky trick for using Do Ink!

Interactiveclass GIF-downsized_large.gif

With Halloween right around the corner, educators everywhere are looking for engaging ways to keep their students focused. One of our favorite “spooky” lessons is a little Do Ink Green screen “trick.” So, here’s a how-to “treat!”

To do this, you’ll need an iOS device, and the Do Ink Green Screen app. You’ll also want to take a picture of your (empty) classroom ahead of time, a green table cloth, a green shirt, and something recognizable (glasses, sun glasses, ear rings, etc).

Watch this tutorial and follow these steps:

Read More
The Merrills The Merrills

Classroom Management for the Beginning of the Year: "The Good Egg"

Have you checked out “The Good Egg,” by Jory John and Pete Oswald? This book can be used to promote positive behavior, and adding this classroom management tip can help keep your students on task throughout the year!

The_Good_Egg.jpg

Have you checked out “The Good Egg,” by Jory John and Pete Oswald? It’s the “sequel” to “The Bad Seed.” In “The Good Egg,” a self-identified "good egg" lives in a carton at the farmer's market with 11 other eggs who all have a tendency to misbehave. The good egg tries to be perfect and take charge but eventually, the stress of it all starts to show and it becomes clear that a big change is needed. So the good egg sets off on a journey of self-discovery and self-care that involves relaxation, meditation, and even painting. Finally, the good egg returns home having learned that nobody is perfect and it's important to take time to be good to yourself and your fellow eggs.

This important message is powerful for students to learn during the first few days of school. To use this with my classroom management, I purchased these plastic egg trophies (affiliate link). I had the idea to use one of the trophies to pass around to any student who was “being a good egg.” The egg trophy can move at any time - if I catch a student doing something positive. I explained to my students that if you have the egg, and then it gets moved, that doesn’t mean that you have done anything wrong. It just means that I caught someone else doing something great! The person who has the egg trophy at the end of the day receives a prize. So, it encourages positive class behavior!

To purchase the “Good Egg” and the plastic “Egg Trophies,” check out the (affiliate) links below.

Read More