A quick look back at some popular articles and important personal moments. Plus, my wish for 2012!
Year: 2011
Weekly Idiom Lists
I love using idioms in the classroom. They’re a great way to replace dull spelling lists and truly build students’ vocabulary and comprehension.
The Eight Great Gripes of Gifted Students
In a 1985 study, Judy Galbraith identified eight great gripes of gifted students. Let’s think about what we can do to meet these needs. It will require more than just making our lessons academically challengeing.
Teaching Search Skills
We begin our year with an ancient tools projects. Students build the tools that early man would have access to. Naturally, many students want to build spears. We type “spears” into Google. Guess what comes up? That’s right: page after page about Britney Spears.
Go Deep With Christmas Trees
Naturally, the origin of a topic is a great place to start, and the Christmas tree has quite a twisty, knotted history. Some trace the roots of the tree-decorating tradition back to ancient winter celebrations. However, the use of decorated trees as a Christmas-specific decoration is surprisingly new, appearing in the last 500 years or so.
Getting Music Into The Classroom
Ever since, I’ve used Morris’ idea, and played the theme from The Andy Griffith Show as a cue for students to return to their seats. These musical transitions have saved my voice years of wear and tear. Here are some of the ways I’ve been getting music into my classroom
Thanksgiving Haikus
This year, I changed one requirement. Students had to compose a haiku as the body of their card. This gave me a chance to introduce a type of poetry that I like to use throughout the year, while still maintaining the purpose of expressing unexpected thankfulness to someone.
Thanksgiving’s Thursday Origins
Teaching students about the first Thanksgiving feast is standard fare in the primary grades, yet there is a gold mine of fascinating information about the origin of Thanksgiving’s date. It’s a bizarre history that will intrigue your students and could lead down some interesting avenues!
Compare and Contrast Movie Trailers Over Time
Here’s a movie made in 1977, and its trailer is barely watchable! In fact, it almost made me not want to watch Star Wars, a movie I know almost by heart. Perhaps we’re onto something interesting for our students to analyze.
Halloween Exploration Ideas
Halloween is coming up, and it’s a hard one to ignore in the classroom. Sure, you can always use the traditional cut and paste pumpkin activity, but let’s think about how we can capture students’ excitement and use it to deepen thinking and increase knowledge?