Sunday, October 22, 2017

Rainy Days

When rainy days keep students inside for recess, use the extra time for science! Keep easy-to-do science activities and experiments together with any necessary materials in resealable plastic bags. Then hand them out and have students work with partners to complete the activities. It's a great way to squeeze in a little more science time, plus your students will look forward to indoor recesses.

Chemical Reaction Experiment - Bobbing Raisins

Steps

1. Pour the carbonated drink into the glass/jar.

2. Drop the raisins into the glass/jar.

What to see what happens to the raisins!!!

The bobbing up and down works because the bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the drink are much less dense than the drink or the raisins.

Once the raisins start bobbing up and down, they will continue to rise and fall for about an hour.

- Raisins are denser than the carbonated drink, so they will sink.

- Gas bubbles attach to the wrinkles on the raisins.

- When the raisins are covered with the bubbles they become less dense than the drink, so they start to rise.

- The gas bubbles start bursting and then the raisins become denser than the drink, so they sink again.

http://www.lovemyscience.com/bobbingraisins.html

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Monday, September 4, 2017

What a great idea! I saw this on a blog that I was reading.
Jodie Rodriguez shared this image of how she gives her students a white board marker and eraser. Buy a cheap set of hair rollers from the dollar store, cut them in half and slip on the top of a skinny Expo marker! Genius!

Sunday, July 16, 2017

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” Theodore Roosevelt

Saturday, July 8, 2017

THE BEST EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ON THE WEB

http://teachershelpingteachers.info/educational-resources/

“Arts” Resources On-Line:

The Art Junction A virtual learning environment for kids 8 and older with many useful activities and information for curriculum planning.

M.U.S.I.C.–Musicians United for Songs In the Classroom A great resource for integrating music into the curriculum

Online Music Theory Helper A self-directed set of lessons to teach music theory–includes lots of links to music resources

Creative Drama and Theatre Education Everything a drama teacher would want to know

World Wide Arts Resource The site quickly becoming the “Yahoo!” of the art world

Early Childhood/Primary Grades Resources On-Line:

Edupuppy.com Just about everything you might want to know for primary age teachers

KIDS Inc. Preschool and kindergarten educational resources

Kinderteacher Excellent resources for early elementary teachers

Elective Courses:

Sports Media A site for P.E. teachers and those who are interested in P.E./fitness and sports

Language Arts Resources On-Line

Children’s Literature Web Guide A guide to anything you might want to know or find out about

Colorin’ Colorado A great source for ESL/ELD materials

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare A link to all sorts of resources

Database of Children’s Award Winning Literature Searchable, comprehensive listing maintained by a librarian

Dictionary Link Compilation of free online dictionaries, thesaurus, language translators, encyclopedias, crossword solvers, quotes and other language resource

The Encyclopedia Mythica An encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, and more

ESL: English Study and Learning Materials A wealth of free materials and information for all ESL levels–available in many languages

ESL Links Articles, research papers, lessons plans, classroom handouts, teaching ideas, etc., all related to ESL

High School Journalism Many links and all sorts of information for any secondary journalism teacher

Learning About the Author and Illustrator Pages Links to every possible author and illustrator your students experience

Library of Congress Information System A place to find the author, name or call number of any book published in the U.S.

LibrarySpot This library resource brings the best library and reference sites together

Plagiarism Workshop A one-hour online workshop demonstrating what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it

Project Gutenberg A project where every book ever published is being electronically processed. Most classics have already been completed.

SillyBooks.net Animated books for primary levels, excellent for whole class use with an LCD projector

Spelling It Right A site where you can download spelling worksheets and advice for teaching spelling

Web English Teacher: General Poetry Resources A collection of resources for teaching poetry

History/Social Studies Resources On-Line:

American Memory Collections of primary source and archival material relating to American culture and history from the Library of Congress

The Best History Sites A hotlist of sources–probably the best teacher history site on the web

Biography Channel Links to thousands of biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, letters, narratives, oral histories and more

CapWeb Politics covering political parties and citizenship and guide to U.S. Congress

EyeWitness Takes you to various historical events

The Food Timeline Food throughout history, recipes you can make from your local market to spice up any history lesson

The Historical Text Archive Text of almost any major historical document you would want, especially American History.

The History Channel Web Site Primary source historical documentation, archives of great speeches and This Day In History section

History House Wickedly funny yet educational

History/Social Science–SCORE A hotlist of sources listed by grade topics

MapMachine Find nearly any place on Earth, and view it by population, climate, and much more

Project Vote-Smart Contains information on thousands of candidates and officials in five basic categories: backgrounds, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and performance evaluations

Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust Resources, classroom activities, links, and more.

Math Resources On-Line:

AAA Math Multi-level and multi-subject problems, games and activities for K-12

The Geometry Center Games, lessons, software

Instacalc Online Calculator An excellent, powerful online calculator

Math Forum A center for Math education on the net

Math is Fun A fun site for students with teacher resources such as free worksheets

Mathworld A comprehensive and interactive mathematics encyclopedia for teachers and students

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives Online manipulatives for every math subject and level–adjustable by teacher or student

Superkids Math Worksheet Creator An excellent way to create supplemental math skill worksheets

Teachnology A great site for free math worksheets

Multi-Cultural Resources On-Line:

African American History From this site, examine nearly 400 years of African-American history

Culture and Change: Black History in America Stories, music and information through an interactive timeline and special features

Judaism & Jewish Resources A collection of the best Jewish-oriented sites. Also, see the new Internet book: Wired Into Judaism.

Science Resources On-Line:

Environmental Literacy Council A site devoted to environmental information

Freevibe.com An excellent anti-drug website for students; teacher guide available here

Science Education Zone A little bit of everything for the science teacher

Science Teachers’ Resource Center Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Talking With Kids About Tough Subjects Provides an overview of how to talk to kids about important health issues

Social Action–Taking Care of Our Society:

Amnesty International

54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless

The Hunger Site Donate food for free to hungry people around the world

Volunteer Match Dedicated to using the power of the Internet to find volunteers for non-profit, community based organizations and causes

Special Education/Gifted Resources On-line:

ADDResource.Com A hotlist for sources for ADD issues.

American Sign Language Browser This site allows you to look up thousands of ASL signs

Blindness Resource Center Hotlist of resources for the blind

Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page A hotlist of sources for links, programs, lists and more.

LD Online: The Interactive Guide to Learning Disabilities LD OnLine offers information and ideas about learning disabilities for parents, teachers, and children.

Special Education for Special Children Many great links for all areas of special education

Some of the best teacher resources available on the Web:

Best WebQuests.Com A list of webquests available for use, all of which are evaluated for educational value

ClassNotesOnline A free website that allows teachers to keep students up to date and parents informed on daily work, assignments, homework and grades

Education World The heart of this site is a searchable database of over 100,000 education links for teachers, parents, and students

Educational Freeware Lots of links to good educational programs

Good Character A site full of free resources on every aspect of character education in every possible subject area

Grade Connect A free online grade book for teachers

Group-Games.com A free collection of group games and ice-breakers

K12jobs.com An excellent site for job placements

KidsClick A search engine for kids constructed by librarians

Puzzlemaker Create your own mazes, word searches, crosswords, number blocks, math squares…

QuizStar Create and manage your classes quizzes online

Schoolbug.Org Listings and information about virtually every public and private school in America

Substitute Teachers All sorts of goodies for those who work as subs

SuperKids Educational Software Providing reviews and comparisons by teams of parents, teachers, and kids

Test Prep Review Practice exercises for almost every standardized test imaginable. Great review for students (SAT/ACT) and teachers

Timesavers for Teachers Lots of free downloadable teacher tool forms in all different areas

Tutor Center Educational games, activities and lots of parent resources

Oriental Trading

Grab those popsicle craft sticks and get ready to make some adorable Halloween characters for everyone's favorite Fall holiday! Create a few fun Halloween characters from Oriental Trading's craft sticks. This is an easy craft, suitable for kids of most ages. Using craft sticks, craft foam, googly eyes and sharpies, you will be able to make a witch, frankenstein, pumpkin, monster and black cat. Get ready to make Halloween memories at home with creative costumes, playful twists and activities galore for all ages. Shop now!

Spring is a season. There are four seasons in a year, spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season is marked by different weather and hours of daylight.

We have seasons because the earth takes a year to move round the sun, which gives us light and warmth, and because the earth tilts at an angle of 23.5 degrees. In winter we tilt away from the sun and in the summer we tilt further towards the sun. However, on the first day of spring the sun shines equally on both the north and south hemispheres of the Earth. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Spring/WhatIsSpring.aspx?age=ks2

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

Happy Halloween

Halloween is the one of the oldest holidays still celebrated today. It's one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas. WHICH I LOVE! While millions of people celebrate Halloween without knowing its origins and myths, the history and facts of Halloween make the holiday more fascinating. Some people view Halloween as a time for fun, putting on costumes, trick-or-treating, and having theme parties. THIS IS THE WAY I CHOOSE TO VIEW HALLOWEEN. Others view it as a time of superstitions, ghosts, goblins and evil spirits that should be avoided at all costs. As the Christian debate goes on, celebrating Halloween is a preference that is not always viewed as participating in an evil holiday. Halloween is often celebrated with no reference to pagan rituals or the occult. THIS CAN EASILY BE DONE!!! https://www.halloween-website.com/history.htm

Each year, on the first Monday in September, Americans observe a national holiday called Labor Day. Canadians celebrate the holiday on the same day, although the spelling is slightly different, and known as Labour Day. For some, the Labor Day holiday is a long weekend that marks the end of summer, with backyard barbecues, a final summer getaway, or shopping. Federal, state, and local governments close their offices. Banks and post offices also shut down for the day. However, the foundation for observing Labor Day is to pay tribute to working men and women in the U.S. and Canada.

Happy Fall

The season of autumn is largely associated with harvest time. Various harvest festivals are celebrated during fall. One of these is the Thanksgiving holiday that is widely celebrated in the United States and Canada. The Jewish Sukkot holiday is also celebrated during autumn. Moreover, Chinese people celebrate the lunar Mid-autumn Festival. Some common autumn harvests are pumpkin, apple, and corn. Other autumn holidays include Labor Day, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, and Patriot Day. https://kidskonnect.com/holidays-seasons/autumn/

Why does the date of Easter change each year?

In Western Christianity, Easter Sunday must always fall on the next full moon after Spring Equinox. Easter can fall as early as March and as late as April or May, depending on the year and calendar used. Christians in the east who use the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar may have a different date. The date of Easter changes because the full moon can fall on different days in different time zones. The Sun

The first Saint Patrick's Day parade (March 17, 1762, was held in New York City before the American colonies declared their independence from England and established themselves as the United States. Historically, St. Patrick's Day was only celebrated by the Irish. Now it is celebrated worldwide - celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green.

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, so I thought I'd give you a couple of suggestions for St. Patrick's Day activities.

Historically St. Patrick's Day was only celebrated by the Irish. Now it is celebrated worldwide - celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green.

Activities:
1. Go outside and search for a shamrock.
2. Sing or listen to an Irish tune - When Irish Eyes Are Smiling or Danny Boy
4. See how many words you can create from Irish words; example, leprechaun.
5. Interview someone who is Irish.
6. Write a story about a leprechaun.

Looking for a leprechaun this St. Patrick's Day? Build the anticipation of the hunt by singing the song below. As you sing, be sure to keep your eyes open for those little green fellows.
(sung to the tune of "Mary Had A Little Lamb")
I'm looking for a leprechaun,
Leprechaun, leprechaun.
I'm looking for a leprechaun.
Do you know where he's gone?
He wears a suit that's made of green.
Made of green, made of green.
He wears a suit that's made of green.
Do you know where he's gone?
If you see a leprechaun,
Leprechaun, leprechaun;
If you see a leprechaun,
Please tell me where he's gone!
Collected from varies websites

Valentine's Day Facts

St. Valentine's Day falls on February 14th of each year. Although the name is Saint Valentine's Day, most people refer to the day as Valentine's Day. It was originally a day to celebrate Saint Valentinus, who performed weddings for soldiers who were not allowed to marry. He was imprisoned for this, as well as for ministering to Christians. Saint Valentinus wrote a letter to the daughter of his jailer before he was executed. His letter was signed ‘From your Valentine'. He was buried on February 14th. Valentine's Day was not associated with romantic love until the middle ages. After St. Valentine was buried, Julia, the daughter of his jailor, planted an almond tree with pink blossoms near his grave. The almond tree today is a symbol of lasting friendship and love.

In 1537, King Henry the Eighth declared that February 14th was a holiday. King Henry the Eighth had most of his wives executed because they did not give birth to a son. By the 1700s in England it began to resemble the Valentine's Day we know today. At this time lovers began to express their love with gifts of flowers, candy and cards, which were called 'valentines'.

Interesting Valentine's Day Facts

The first Valentine`s Day candy box was invented by Richard Cadbury in the late 19th century.

On Valentine`s Day every year, there are at least 36 million heart shape boxes of chocolates sold.

There are enough candy hearts made each year to stretch from Valentine, Arizona to Rome, Italy, and back again. The number of these candy hearts produced is approximately 8 billion.

There are approximately 50 million roses given on Valentine`s Day around the world.

There are approximately 1 billion Valentine`s Day cards exchanged every year in the U.S. alone. Valentine`s Day is the second most popular day of the year for sending cards, second only to Christmas.

Cupid is the son of Venus. Venus was the god of beauty and love.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is traditionally a holiday to give thanks for the food collected at the end of the harvest season.

George Washington, the first president of the United States, proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day in 1789. Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863. Thanksgiving is observed on the fourth Thursday in November.

Activity:
Thanksgiving Dinner Grades 4
A great lesson to apply real-world math skills and Thanksgiving. A lesson you can do with your students is gather food ads from the local grocery store chains around Thanksgiving. First, you can give them a budget and a set number of guests and have them plan a meal. This uses many math skills (especially multiplication, where the prices of turkey are given in per lb.). Also, you can have them compare the meals in two different grocery stores. This is truly real world connections.

The first day of school for many school districts is on the day after Labor Day (first Monday in September) and other of us, mid to late August. Every year students start school and every year parents wonder what to do. Whether it’s your child’s first day at preschool or the start of fifth grade, there are always new challenges. Children as well as parents, often struggle with saying goodbye at the classroom door and hello to the start of a new year. If so, try reading books about starting school like “I Am Absolutely Too Small for School” by Lauren Child and others.

Fireworks Family Activity

Fireworks Family Activities Improve Learning Skills
Go to the fireworks and while you are watching them, be extra observant. Count how may blue, green, red, white, and multi-colored fireworks there are. You can even make a chart for this. Decide which colors were your favorite ones. Was there a style that you liked better than another? This will help you with your observation skills.

You can also look at the different kinds of people that come to view the fireworks. How many little children? How many do you think were school-age? How many teens? How many adults? How many people were dressed in red, white, and blue?Bonnie Terry

On July 5, 1908, a West Virginia church sponsored the nation’s first event explicitly in honor of fathers, a Sunday sermon in memory of the 362 men who had died in the previous December’s explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mines in Monongah, but it was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday. The next year, a Spokane, Washington, woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. Slowly, the holiday spread. In 1916, President Wilson honored the day by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane when he pressed a button in Washington, D.C. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day. Today, the day honoring fathers is celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday of June.

Memorial Day Facts

Memorial Day is a patriotic holiday in the United States. It is celebrated on the last Monday in May each year. It began as a day to honor the men and women who died in the Civil War. On Memorial Day we honor all the men and women who have died in all the wars fought by the United States. Memorial Day is celebrated in many ways. Many businesses, schools, and banks close in honor of the holiday. Often, families go to the cemetery to add flags to the grave sites of war veterans. Parades and picnics are other ways this holiday is celebrated.

Vocabulary
remembrance, admiration, appreciation, battlefield, bereaved, bravery, commemorate, commemoration, cortege, courage,
decoration, defense, democracy, devotion, duty, embrace, emotional, empathize, freedom, gratitude, grave, grieve, hero, heroism, history, invocation, legacy, legendary, liberation, liberty, life, march, memorial, meritorious, military, observance, parade, patriot, patriotic, patriotism, patriotism, pride, reflective, respect, sacrifice, salute, servicemen, solemn, sorrow, support, Taps, tribute, uniform, unify, union, unite, valiant, veteran, waving
Book List
Frost, Helen. Memorial Day (National Holidays). Pebble Books, 2000.
Osborne, Mary Pope. Civil War on Sunday. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2000.
Sorensen Lynda. Memorial Day (Holidays). The Rourke Book Co., Inc. 1994.

Memorial Day Sites
http://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/memorial.html
Read about how this holiday was created to honor soldiers who fought for freedom for the United States.
http://www.schoolexpress.com/
Click on Social Studies, then Holidays, to find great printable worksheets and color pages about Memorial Day.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1465/memorial.html
This site has great pictures of the military and the Memorial Day celebration.
http://userpages.aug.com/haywire/memday.html
Learn about the origins of Memorial Day and view a picture of the “Unknown Soldier.” This site also contains information about the American Flag.

Maypole dance, with origins in the 18th Century, began as a traditional or artistic dance popular in Italy and France. Eventually, traveling dancing troupes performed it in London theaters, thus bringing this traditional dance to larger audiences. An English teacher training school adopted the maypole dance and soon it had spread across most of central and southern England. The dance became part of the repertoire of physical education for girls and remained popular in elementary schools in both England and the United States well into the 1950s.

Don’t Put Out the Trash

During the week leading up to Earth Day, arrange with the custodian not to remove the trash and recycling from your classroom. On Earth Day, have your students weigh the trash and recycling they generated (weigh trash separately from recycling). Over the next week, challenge your students to toss and use less, plus recycle more. After a week, have students weigh the trash and recycling again and calculate the decrease (hopefully!) in trash weight and increase in recycling weight. Extend the lessen for older students and have them calculate percent increase and decrease as well. Help Teaching Blog

Spring Fever

This time of year, many people develop spring fever. Invite each student to think of a cure for spring fever and then write about it. Put the pages together to make a class book.

The windy weather of March makes it perfect for flying a kite. Set out colorful construction paper and a selection of art materials. Invite each student to use the provided materials to create a kite. Have them to write a description of their kite.

In March 1990, President George Bush publicly declared that he didn’t like broccoli and wouldn’t eat it. Have students write a letter to George Bush telling him whether or not they agree with his opinion about broccoli.

Have students write words that remind them of spring. Then direct them to write a poem about spring that uses several of the words.
(Taken from The Mailbox)

About Saint Patrick's Day

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated each year on March 17^th. In Ireland, Saint Patrick's Day is both a holy day and a national holiday. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland as he was the one who brought Christianity to the Irish.

According to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain about God. The shamrock, which looks like clover, has three leaves on each stem. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea of the Trinity, that in the one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The shamrock was sacred to the Druids, so Saint Patrick's use of it in explaining the trinity was very wise.

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/patrick/about.htm

Daylight Saving Time

When people first started using mechanical clocks each town/city would set their town clock by measuring the position of the sun. Every city would be on a slightly different time. This eventually became confusing and the railroad wanted a standard time that all of the towns in a certain area would go by. This led to using a standard time in the United States in the early 1900's.

Daylight Saving Time gives us the opportunity to enjoy sunny summer evenings by moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring.

TIP: Change the batteries in your smoke detectors when you change your clocks because Daylight Saving Time provides a convenient reminder.

Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 12, 2017. People will have an extra hour of daylight in the evening.

When to set your clocks forward: Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 A.M. Remember to “spring ahead” and set your clocks forward 1 hour. TIP: Do this Saturday night when you go to bed.

When to set your clocks back: Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 5, at 2:00 A.M. Now, we “fall back” by setting our clocks back one hour.

Class Activities
Have students write about how they will spend their extra hour of daylight.

Have students write an essay about how daylight saving time save energy.

Have students write and explain, in paragraph form, three advantages of DST and three disadvantages of Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time Quiz
1. Which month does Daylight Saving Time begin?
a. January
b. February
c. March
d. April

2. Which month does Daylight Saving Time end?
a. August
b. September
c. October
d. November

3. In the year 1895, which scientist proposed Daylight Saving Time?
a. Albert Einstein
b. Sir Isaac Newton
c. George Vernon Hudson
d. Charles Darwin

4. Which country was the first to make Daylight Saving Time a law?
a. America
b. Russia
c. China
d. New Zealand

5. What is the main reason to have Daylight Saving Time?
a. to collect bugs in the late afternoons
b. to avoid going to bed too early
c. to save energy
d. to sleep longer

6. Which popular phrase helps us remember how Daylight Saving Time affects our clocks?
a. “Time is like an hourglass”
b. “Time is on your side”
c. “Spring forward, fall back”
d. “Spring up, fall down”

7. Which way do we move our clocks to begin Daylight Saving Time?
a. one hour forward
b. two hours forward
c. one hour backward
d. two hours backward

8. Which way do move our clocks to end Daylight Saving Time?
a. one hour forward
b. two hours forward
c. one hour back
d. two hours back

9. What is the hour when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends?
a. at two o’clock A.M.
b. at three o’clock A.M.
c. at four o’clock P.M.
d. at five o’clock P.M.

10. Who wrote the proverb, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy
and wise.”
a. Benjamin Franklin
b. George Washington
c. William Shakespeare
d. Dr. Seuss

Key: 1-c, 2-d, 3-c, 4-d, 5-c, 6-c, 7-a, 8-c, 9-a, 10-a (readingfriend.com)

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