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I recently passed the five year anniversary of when I started making generative art. This was also approximately when I decided to get “serious” about making art. It’s hard to take an exact count, but I think I’ve made 600+ generative works at this point. I think I’ve done okay for myself.
“No!” my five-year-old declared, “Cleaning up toys is boring.” He’s usually pretty helpful cleaning up his room and enjoys helping around the house, but sometimes he gets in a mood. When that happens, it can be tempting to turn his defiance into a power struggle. Should I force him into cleaning his room, using my … Continue reading "How to Respond to Defiant Behavior the Montessori Way"
This resource includes 40 pages of warm-ups for 8th grade math. The are 2 versions: (1) Doesn't include a place for a stamp and (2) Includes a place for a stamp. These warm-ups will last for the entire year since there are roughly 37 weeks in a school year. Five of the 40 warm-ups include math brain teasers. A blank template and answer key is included! # of Pages: 40+ answer keyFile Type: PDF
Today’s Wednesday, and that means it’s one day closer to being break for me. And for the rest of you, only three more days ’til the weekend! Today’s post offers you another …
So way back in September we studied all about our five senses and I made a little recording sheet for an anchor chart activity I saw on pinterest from Spotlight on Kindergarten. I made a similar anchor chart and then gave my students some popcorn and we brainstormed ideas while we ate. {any excuse for food in the classroom is ok with me!} Here is our chart we came up with...... Then, I had my students fill out the sheet below choosing one word for each of the five senses from our chart. It's a freebie for you so click on any of the pics to download the recording sheet, as well as colorful graphics for an anchor chart or whatever else you might need. My students then picked one word to write on the popcorn shapes and then we displayed them out in the hallway. This bulletin board was thrown up in a hurry...don't judge. ;) Happy Monday!
One of my surprises has been what churches measure, and more importantly, what churches don’t measure.
Wondering how to talk with your preschooler about Jesus? These simple tips will give you the confidence to teach your child who is three, four or five all about Him!
I have been dying to link up with my sweet friend Kacey over at Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday post. Well, I have come to this realization...that is never gonna happen! :) By the time Friday night hits...this teacher is so doneeee! So...pretend today is Friday! Here is how my week went down! 1: SLEEP You know you are exhausted when you fall alseep in your school clothes and don't wake up until 6:30 a.m. True story. On Monday night, I told myself that I would lay down for just a second, and before I knew it, it was 6:30 the next morning. I was still asleep...fully clothed...jewelry and all! My husband even tried to wake me up and then he gave up! {Not sure if I believe that story!} :) ...seriously though, I need summer to get here ASAP so I can be awesome every single day! Ha! 2: Summer Writing Fun After a week of state testing, we are back to a normal routine. This week, we spent a lot of time writing our way through my End of Year Writing Bundle. The kids loved thinking about and planning their futures. After that, we also planned our summer with our Dive into Summer Writing. Love how these turned out, but I love these sweet babies even more! Going to miss them so, SO much! {But we won't talk about that right now!} 3: Do the Harlem Shake A few days ago, I posted about my end of the year behavior management system. If you missed that, we are using balloons! :) So...what was day three you ask? Make a Harlem Shake Video. The kids brought props and were counting down the seconds until go time! Here is our Harlem Shake... 4: Science Experiment Fun I love living so close to a local university. They are always so wonderful about bringing experiences directly into the classroom. On Friday, our kids were instructed by the 5th and 6th graders {they were trained earlier in the week}. During this time, they completed 12 hands-on science experiments! Such a great way to give ownership to our older kids and build school community throughout our grade levels. Also a great way to keep our kiddos engaged during these last few weeks! 5: End of year mayhem! Oh my...I can feel it inching closer. Today, I will be working on my classroom awards and finishing up my end of year gifts. Here is a little peek... I will be posting more about this tomorrow! Be sure and link up with Doodle Bugs to show us your week! Have a great weekend!
FREE printable Symmetry drawing activity for preschool and kindergarten kids. A fun art and math activity in one! Kids will complete the symmetrical pictures by drawing the other half.
For many high school students, the first day of school is - all too often - a monotonous time loop. They move from room to room, listen to numerous teacher introductions, collect a pile of course curricula, hear rules and expectations, and have to answer that predictable how-was-your-summer question (again, and again, and again). Not a great way to generate enthusiasm and excitement for the year. So here are five more engaging ways to start the year right in the high school ELA classroom; they work for all grades from 8-12. If you really have to hand out course descriptions or go over rules and expectations, why not leave it for a couple of days into the course? IDEA ONE: Guided Creative Writing One of my all-time favourite first-lessons: jump right in and get students writing, writing, writing! By the end of class, students will have a whole page of writing generated, which works to eliminate the pre-writing anxiety, provide you with a sample of their written proficiency, and set the tone for creativity and productivity in your room! Instructions: 1. Arrange the room so that students are sitting individually. As students enter, hand them each a blank piece of paper, and tell them that there should be nothing else on their desks except a pen or pencil. 2. Jump straight into the exercise without any introduction. Simply instruct students to divide the page into 6 squares. 3. Tell students to pick an object (any one!) and write it in the top left corner of the first square (write small). Allow about 20 seconds for this. 4. Now, work through the rest of the squares the same way, with the following guided prompts: in the second square, write an action (a verb); in the third, write an adjective; the fourth, an onomatopoeic word (sound); the fifth, an animal; the sixth, a number. 5. Next, instruct students to turn their attention to box one, and use that word in a sentence: write it small at the top of the box (allow about a minute for this). 6. Now instruct students to move on to box two, to use that word in a sentence; even if they were mid-sentence in box one, it doesn’t matter, they must move on. Again give them a minute for this. 7. Repeat with all six boxes. 8. Now, guide students through each box again, telling them to carry on where they left off, writing as much as they possibly can. This time, give about 3 minutes a box. Break here as students’ hands may be cramping! 9. Now, hand out lined paper and explain to students that they have to take those boxes and weave them all into one coherent story! *For differentiation, you may want to give the option of only picking 3 or 4 boxes. 10. Students may be shocked or exclaim that they can’t! Take the opportunity to emphasise a growth mindset, to encourage them that it doesn’t matter; it is not graded; it is just for fun, and that you expect their story to be completely bizarre! 11. In the last 10 minutes of class, allow time for editing, or for perhaps reading stories out loud! For more ways to get to know your English classes, check out this blog by Secondary Sara. IDEA TWO: Behaviors and Expectations for Learning Student buy-in is key at the high-school level. They should be developing their own voices, and we should be encouraging them to use them! Therefore, flip the script and have them make their own goals for learning, and define their own expectations for the learning environment. After all, it is their education; encourage students to take ownership of it. Download these free printable cards for students to write their own mission statements and goals for the year, or use the following lesson: Instructions: 1. Print out a set of these posters, and place them around the room: stuck on whiteboards or chart paper. 2. Instruct students to walk around and write examples around the posters, or on sticky-notes attached to the posters. 3. Then when they are done, put students into four focus groups: one per poster. 4. These groups have to read all the contributions and then come up with 2 or 3 of the most common points or ideas (or combine different ones into these points). 5. Then review and discuss. Take down the 2 or 3 main points from each group and write these up in a list of positive "Class Norms" on the wall. 6. Throughout the year, keep coming back to these to make sure all students are adhering to the expectations they agreed on. IDEA THREE: Literature Close Annotation As an English teacher, one of my key goals is to have students fall in love with words! I want them to engage with language around them in a meaningful way: whether that is the metaphors used in sports commentary, the subtle rhetorical techniques in political speeches, or the poetry increasingly popular on Instagram. Therefore, I often start the year (or course) by having students spend a whole lesson reading a range of extracts: annotating, finding connections, and making observations. Instructions: Before Class 1. Lay out the desks of the classroom in groups of 4 or 5. 2. Collect and print sets of random pieces of text: poems, speeches, fiction, etc. You could print this set, or curate your own (one set per group). 3. Place these sets in the center of each group, along with colored markers/pens. During Class 1. When students enter, assign them to a group, and tell them to keep their desks free from distraction: all they need is pens! 2. Now, instruct students to turn to the pile of extracts on their desk; they are to spend time passing them around, reading, and annotating. 3. Instruct students that they should annotate for content (questions they have, thoughts, links to other texts, etc.), for structure (line structure, punctuation, repetition, etc.), and language (figurative techniques, word choice, etc.) - You might want to write these prompts on the board. 4. Allow plenty of time for students to share the extracts around, each annotating multiple ones. 5. Now instruct students to discuss the extracts at their tables: Which did they like? Why? Can they make connections between any of them? Which were the most different? Which did they not like? Why not? Any notably interesting phrasing or word choice? 6. Project a few on the board, and annotate with the class: discuss and demonstrate things to look for; talk about why you like them; what’s beautiful about them; what’s clever or interesting. Get these LEARNING GOAL cards HERE I hope your school year gets off to a great start; definitely check out our best Teacher Hacks for Back-To-School, and if you are looking for more ideas, make sure you read our list of nine of the Best Resources for Back to School. If you are still hungry for inspiration, you may be interested in these resources: If your Summer Vacation Were a Movie by Stacey Lloyd Beginning of Year Growth Mindset Activities by The Daring English Teacher Class Rules Posters: Famous Quotes by Presto Plans Writing for the First Days and Year Round by The Classroom Sparrow Back to School Getting to Know You Activity by Room 213 Back to School FREEBIE by The SuperHERO Teacher Back to School Survey by Addie Williams Back to School Project: Peer Interview Speech by Nouvelle ELA Back to School Collage Mobile: Get to Know You Activity by Tracee Orman Back to School Paper Chain: 30-Day Bell-Ringer or Discussion Prompts by Secondary Sara
A ten week unit with lesson plans!In the first few lessons students will learn to...- Use a camera- Consider Point of View- Consider Light Sources- Consider Distance- Consider the Rule of Thirds- Edit PhotosThey then create two complete photo stories which can be displayed.This unit is ideal for mid...
We spend five years getting our kids ready for kindergarten, but did we ever stop to see if WE were ready? Read here for tips on how to make sure YOU are prepared to send your little one off this fall!
This is a fun activity for anyone learning the Pythagorean Theorem! Students will use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the distance that...
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.