Author: Jacqui
Subscriber Special: August K-5 New Teacher Survival Kit
Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. This month:
K-5 New Teacher Survival Kit
9 ebooks, 65 digital posters
August 7-August 10, 2024
Save 20% with this code:
A new teacher survival kit–for professionals new to teaching tech or expanding their pedagogy. It includes K-5 tech curriculum (including problem solving, productivity software, critical thinking, share/publish, mouse skills, image editing, Google Earth, Photoshop, web tools, and more), keyboarding and digital citizenship curricula, classroom posters, pedagogic articles on tech ed topics, tips and tricks, and more.
You may be the Technology Specialist, the Coordinator for Instructional Technology, IT Coordinator, Technology Facilitator, Curriculum Specialist, Technology Director or the technology teacher for your school—tasked with finding the right computer project for each classroom unit. You have a limited budget, less software, and the drive to do it right no matter the roadblocks.
It’s your job to make sure your school complies with the requirements of Common Core State Standards, ISTE, your state requirements, and/or the IB guidelines that weave technology consistently into the fabric of all units of inquiry as a method of delivering quality education.
How do you reach your goal? The K-5 New Teacher Survival Kit.
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Tech Ed Resources for your Class–K-8 Keyboard Curriculum
I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m going to take a few days this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, taking into account the perspectives and norms of all stakeholders, with appropriate metrics to know learning is organic and granular.
Today: K-8 Keyboard Curriculum
Overview
K-8 Keyboard Curriculum (four options plus one)–teacher handbook, student workbooks, and help for homeschoolers
2-Volume Ultimate Guide to Keyboarding
K-5 (237 pages) and Middle School (80 pages), 100 images, 7 assessments
K-5–print/digital; Middle School–digital delivery only
Aligned with Student workbooks
Student workbooks sold separately
__________________________________________________________________________
1-Volume Essential Guide to K-8 Keyboarding
104 pages, dozens of images, 6 assessments
Great value!
Delivered print or digital
Doesn’t include: Student workbooks
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Tech Ed Resources–K-12 Tech Curriculum
I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom so I’m going to take time this summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found, are well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, offering inclusive solutions to the issue of tech tools–taking into account the perspectives of stakeholders, with appropriate metrics to ensure learning is organic and granular.
Today: K-12 Technology Curriculum
Overview

The K-12 Technology Curriculum is Common Core and ISTE aligned, and outlines what should be taught when so students have the necessary scaffolding to use tech for grade level state standards and school curriculum. You can purchase just the teacher manuals or student workbooks to serve a 1:1 environment, Google Classroom, and hybrid teaching situations.
Each grade-level PDF or print book (both are available) is between 175 and 252 pages and includes lesson plans, assessments, domain-specific vocabulary, problem-solving tips, Big Idea, Essential Question, options if primary tech tools not available, posters, reproducibles, samples, tips, enrichments, entry and exit tickets, and teacher preparation. Lessons build on each other kindergarten through 5th grade. Middle School and High School are designed for semester or quarter grading periods typical of those grade levels with topics like programming, robotics, writing an ebook, and community service with tech.
Most (all?) grade levels include keyboarding, digital citizenship, problem solving, digital tools for the classroom, and coding.
The curriculum is used worldwide by public and private schools and homeschoolers.
Who needs this
Tech teachers, tech coordinators, library media specialists, curriculum specialists
Classroom grade level teachers if your tech teacher doesn’t cover basic tech skills.
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40+ Word Study Websites
Here’s a long list of Language Arts and Word Study websites (check here for updates).
- Contraction Games
- Contraction Practice
- Feast of Homonyms
- Glossary of Poetry Terms
- Grammar Gorillas
- Grammaropolis
- Punctuation Games
- Suffix Match
Word Study
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21 SAT/ACT Prep Online Resources
Here are popular online resources to prepare for ACT and SAT tests (click for updated list):
- Albert Online — lots of SAT practice exams, including subject areas.
- College Board
- Kaplan Test Prep
- Khan Academy reading-writing-practice
- Mindsnacks SAT Vocabulary–a big part of succeeding on the SAT essay is knowing the right word
- Number2.com–for SAT, ACT, GRE
- Perfect Score Project--to prepare for SATs
- Prep Factory–for SATs, ACTs, other
- Quizlet–hundreds of SAT vocabulary prep flashcards
- UWorld SAT Prep
- Veritas Prep–free and fee tips, videos and more
SAT Exams
Here are some that specialize in SAT exams:
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We Honor July 4th in America
Like every year, I exuberantly celebrate America’s birthday. I’d say times are tough here in the US, but that seems to be true everywhere in the world. So, I won’t complain. I will enjoy the love of America as all of my international friends love their homeland.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke4gRMowvQg]
This one–Chris Stapleton–4 Million views since Super Bowl 2023:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcs6HLKz_aQ][youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4OsP4BsATw]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4kJ9sMDhaY]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ds3MvMUdNk]
Here’s the feel-good video for all patriots. If you missed this viral video from the Navy Women’s Lacrosse team, enjoy!
https://youtube.com/shorts/u-dsWFOiOIg?si=cKUCB-4A082Uo4zb
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Subscriber Special: 20% Discount on Foundational Materials
Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.
Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing details on our blog (Ask a Tech Teacher) about Structured Learning resources to get your new school year started. These are often collected into back-to-school survival kits. Purchase one of those with the coupon code:
Back-to-school Special Survival Kits
Get 20% off listed price.
Offer expires Sept. 15, 2024
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What You Might Have Missed in June–What’s up in July
Here are the most-read posts for the past month:
- The Future of Online Learning: Benefits and Strategies for Educators
- How to Teach Financial Literacy Using Real-World Examples
- How Virtual Information Sessions Are Changing K-12 Education
- Incorporating Monthly Giving Projects into STEM Curriculum: Inspiring the Next Generation of Philanthropists
- How Cloud Security Empowers Online Learning Platforms
- How to Help Students Run a Genius Bar
- June is Internet Safety Month
- World Environment Day: Living Responsibly with Nature
- 11 Online Resources About Animation
Here’s a preview of what’s coming up (these may change as scheduling adapts to reader needs): (more…)
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What You Might Have Missed in May–What’s up in June
Here are the most-read posts for the past month:
- Books You’ll Want to Read This Summer
- Tech Tips to End the School Year
- AI has potential to upend student testing
- A Typing Website With a Twist
- 5 Innovative Tech Projects for High Schoolers
- How do you teach the hard to teach class? Watch the video.
- How to Track My Child’s Location
- 12 Innovative Digital Tools to Engage High School Students
- May Is Homeschool Awareness Month–Check our Subscriber Special
- Ethics and the Use of AI in Essays
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Subscriber Special: June Special Add-on with School License
Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.
June 4th-6th:
Buy any K-8 School License
get 2 free print books of the grade level you purchased
(Please note: new orders only; domestic or freight-forwarders only)
Usually, you get one desk copy for each grade level included in your school license. Between June 4th-6th get two per grade level. That’s enough for a team to each have one.
To take advantage of this special, purchase from Structured Learning with PayPal or a PO. Email us (admin at structuredlearning dot net) with your proof of purchase. We’ll send the extra books.
What is a school license?
Benefits of a School License
- provide an overarching curriculum map for using technology in your school
- provide access to full text PDF from every digital device in your school, 24 hours a day. This maximizes productivity and student independence.
- enable flexible learning paths as students work at their own pace, with the ability to review or work ahead as needed
- share tech-in-ed pedagogy to infuse your school with technology
- enable teachers to vertically integrate with core grade-level teachers
- provide multiple authentic and organic formative and summative assessments
- provide free online Help via Ask a Tech Teacher (staffed by educators who use SL resources).
Benefits of School License for Students
- provide easy access to monthly lessons, how-tos, rubrics, project samples, practice quizzes, grade-level expectations, homework, images, and checklists (grade level Scope and Sequence and the Ready to Move On monthly keyboard workbooks lists, for example)
- provide full color instructions that can be zoomed in on for greater detail
- allow a convenient place to take lesson notes (using a PDF annotator)
- encourage students to be independent in their learning, work at their own pace. This is great both for students who need more time and those who ‘get it’ and want to move on
- enable a quick way to spiral up for quick learners or back to earlier resources for student needing to scaffold their learning
- prepare students for the rigor of end-of-year summative testing














































