All Things Upper Elementary: "Must Know Secrets" Revealed!

 Established January 2, 2013

Greetings Dear Friends!

I hope you are all doing well. As I sat and pondered on what I could possibly share with you in my monthly post that would remotely interest you, I realized that there are some things about this collaborative undertaking that you may not know! Things that might make your life easier, and provide you with tons of new ideas and insight.

So, in an attempt to help you get the most out of your "membership" here on All Things Upper Elementary I am willing to spill the proverbial beans, as it were.

Secret #1:
Did you know that All Things Upper Elementary is on Facebook? No really, we have a page that is dedicated to sharing blog posts from individual collaborators (sometimes with FREEBIE items!) as well as posts from this blog. So, even if you don't follow all of the collaborators on Facebook, you can follow this one page and be in the 'know'!
If you have not liked the page, go do it right now. Click HERE and get it done. Then move on to Secret #2!

Secret #2:
We here at All Things Upper Elementary believe in being social media friendly! After all, if you are like me, and you see something that you feel would benefit all your teaching colleagues, you look for a media share button. So, not only can you share what you find on Facebook, you can also Tweet it on Twitter. Now, some of you may be thinking- "That Twitter...it's for the birds". However, it is worth the time to figure it out. There is a LOT of information, good information, that is tweeted every day. Many of the collaborators frequently use Twitter, so you will want to join us there as well. Click HERE to follow us on Twitter. Once you have completed Secret #2, you are ready for Secret #3

Secret #3:

Pinterest. I will be honest with you. When my wife first showed me Pinterest, I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever seen. Then, after a good male teaching friend of mine started using it, I decided that I would give it a try. Now I have to confess that I am on Pinterest every day. Not only it is a great way for teacher-authors to share their ideas, it is a treasure trove of teaching ideas. I have been inspired more than once to make, try, show, and share activities with my class. So, we here are All Things Upper Elementary are pinning our best inspiring ideas and resources to help YOU be an even better upper grades teacher.
Below is a listing of all the topics we have boards for. You can go buffet-style, or you can go whole hog.  (Click on a picture to visit that board. See below for more info!)

Now, please don't think that we only want you to follow us so we can market our wares to you. If you look over the boards, many have hundreds of ideas for you. And, considering these boards are barely a few months old, they are only going to get better and better! Click HERE to check out the boards.  Once you've done that, read on for Secret #4.

Secret #4:
Did you know that you can see all the ways to connect to the collaborators with one simple click?
Yup, it's true. All you need to do is click on the "Meet the Collaborators!" tab at the top of the ATUE blog. From there you can see what social media options each collaborator offers you to interact with them. And, I know that many of us run Flash Freebies, Freebies, and Followers-Only deal! So check it out and come back here for Secret #5.

Secret #5:
Shhh! The top secret information continues. Every other week ATUE (All Things Upper Elementary) offers a linky party. That's right- we want YOU, our amazing friends to share YOUR best ideas. Be sure to notice which linky party is jammin'. We offer two different platforms to share. Below are the two logos and the explanation of each.

The "Fun 4 All" linky is a PAID and FREE linky party. We ask that you link 1 FREE for every 2 PAID items. We love to have products and ideas shared. We ask that if you link, you visit several links. We also love to have you leave a comment telling us where you heard about the linky. These linkys happen every 2nd Saturday of every month. Mark your calendars and do NOT miss these!

Our "Free 4 All" linky is just that FREEBIES for EVERYONE that visits. We encourage, no.. we WANT you to share your best freebies with the upper grade realm. We have been getting over 30 freebies shared each time. These linkys  are held the 4th Saturday of every month. Again, mark the calendar, come and share, and then SHARE the link with all your friends (and strangers too!).

Once you have your calendars marked, be sure and come back for the 6th and final secret!

Secret #6:
Okay, this is like #6 and #7, but I think 6 secrets are plenty for one post.
First, if you aren't following the ATUE blog, do it now. It is so simple and will ensure you are updated when freebies are shared, and ALWAYS get notified of the amazing posts that the collaborators share! (You can subscribe by email as well- then you can be inspired right from your inbox!)

And finally, we want YOU to be a guest poster here on ATUE! You can apply by using the button at the top of the page. Easy peasy to fill out and if you are selected, you will get a nifty badge to add to your blog. It would be awesome if every upper grade teacher could be a collaborator on ATUE- we all have amazing things to share. We all know this is not practical, but, we do want to learn from YOU and see what YOU are doing in your classroom. So, we hope that you will fill out the form so we can hear from YOU! Hurry, go and complete Secret #6 (and #7) and then read the grand finale.

Grand Finale:
I know that makes it sound like you are going to see fireworks, get cotton candy, and more. However, I just wanted to end this posting by thanking you for being such great friends. In just 4 short months, our friend pool has gone from ZERO to 343! That is amazing. Thank You, dear friends, Thank you!

Have a great day and we hope to see (and hear from you) again real soon!!!

-Mr. Hughes