Frequently Asked Questions

TheInspiredInstructor is the brain-child of Heidi Schmidt, a former middle school teacher and home-educator. As a classroom teacher, I wanted to help students study independently at home. With the help of my gifted son Matthew, we created the review games for students in multiple formats at MyClass. The music, PowerPoints and other resources are drawn from my teaching files.

Sadly, no. TheInspiredInstructor is a one-woman operation which has grown steadily since its humble beginnings in 2007 on a school-based server for my fifth grade students. I do all the data entry and updates for games, create new games to meet specific learning needs, do all the web design, and respond to emails! Though I can't help with your site, the classroom web tools that my son Matthew created may help you create materials for your own site. These tools are found under Resources.

I am interested in expanding the games that are offered. I choose to host games for curriculum with a Christian worldview only or which reinforces an academic skill needed by all learners, such as grammar. To make games, I need access to a student textbook. Like a classroom teacher making a review sheet, I draw the questions from the words highlighted in the text and their given definitions. If your curriculum has a Christian worldview and you can provide a copy of the textbook, contact me to discuss it.

Yes, though these documents are not available on my website. The reading vocabulary quizzes and worksheets are "for a grade" materials still in use by students at several schools. Most of these were made week by week as needed for students, so they're not polished.

Yet if you are a classroom teacher and are interested in the related quizzes and worksheets, email me. Tell me the name and address of your school, its phone number, and your position there. After verifying your teaching position, I'll be glad to email you a compressed file of the related review sheets and quizzes.

Yes, after downloading the presentations, you can edit them for your classroom. Please remember these are copyrighted works. Even if you make changes, they remain under the copyright and should not be contributed to slide sharing sites without my permission.

Yes, only the score keeping and graphs will not work without the SRS. You will find, however, there will be additional "clicks" to advance to the next slide.

The short answer is it exists in parts! One of the great challenges classroom teachers face is differentiating curriculum for learners with special needs. To assist my older emergent readers, I created a reading-spelling workbook with related study games called Move Ahead with Instant Words. The next week's lesson pages were added to my website as I created it. I never combined the lessons into a single book nor created "keys" for the quizzes, tests, or workbook pages. Maybe someday..., oh well. MyClass also has many Sight Words resources you might find helpful.

Yes! You are free to reproduce the handbell music for classroom use. Students or choir members may also perform it without further permission. The materials are copyrighted, and the copyright information needs to remain on the materials. Linking to the Handbell pages is welcome and encouraged. Hosting or selling the material on your own site is a violation of the copyright and permissions given.

Although I love music, I am not formally trained. Teaching for a small private school gave me opportunities to wear different hats over the years. One of those hats was being an instructor for elementary music for a brief period. The handbell music on this site was created at that time to teach young students basic rhythms and notation.

I hope so! Like most teachers, I have files of stuff just waiting for that rainy day.

That depends greatly on the song. The song must be provably public domain. Not all well-known praise choruses, traditional jingles, and Christmas carols have passed out of copyright. The song must also lend itself to an 8-note arrangement. If you know a song that meets these two criteria and is not yet on my site, please let me know.

Each music link is a direct link to a pdf. When you click the link on a mobile device, the pdf will start to download immediately. On Android devices, you can usually find your download in the Download folder which may be accessed through the File Manager. iPad users may find the instructions at this link helpful.

TheInspiredInstructor and MyClass have become huge sites. I appreciate users who let me know when something isn't right. You can email me at info@theInspiredInstructor.com for issues related to TheInspiredInstructor.com or at Mrs.S@theInspiredInstructor.com for those related to MyClass.TheInspiredInstructor.com.

This is a frequent request which I sometimes, though rarely, honor. Before emailing your request, consider whether you can say "yes" to all of the following:

1. Does the site reflect a Christian world-view or at least have a wholesome outlook?
2. Does the site have limited ads?
3. Is the resource offered free of charge to all users without subscription?
4. Is the site intended for students who are in grades 6 or below?
5. Is the site appealing to students?
6. Is the site more than just a list of suggested links, and are the links on the web page still active?
7. Is the site an independent study tool for elementary students?