The man with the blue cap closed his eyes. The rest felt good as he pointed his nose up to the clouds that were forming in the evening light. It had been a long day, and he felt so content in this familiar spot. He could smell the breeze blowing through the field corn, and hear a train far off in the distance. Sometimes the best thing to do is just rest our bodies and minds in a spot that feels like home, like comfort, like safety. But as the man folded his hands in front of him to rest on his lap he felt a small vibration in the soles of his feet. Then, without opening his eyes he could feel the warmth of the hot midday sun. “That’s strange!” he thought. But before he could even begin to make sense of it his eyes sprung open from the sound suddenly piercing through his ears. It was a sound he did not hear at his quiet country house. It was the sound of a car horn. Not a happy, friendly car horn, but one that was angry and annoyed. With his eyes open he could now see that it was he that the car horn was angry with! He was no longer on his front porch, but instead he was rocking in the middle of a busy city street. The man jumped and got out of the way just in time, but his rocking chair was not so lucky. As he ran out of the street, and the honking stopped, he was suddenly very aware of many other sounds. Somewhere near there was a large construction project taking place, and more chatter of voices and conversations than he had ever heard. Where was he? But more importantly… How did he get here? The next thing he knew he was staring straight at a bright blue door. In the middle of a busy sidewalk, in a very busy city. That bright blue door seemed to be calling to him. He walked quickly towards it, turned the handle, and to his surprise it was unlocked! Stepping inside he knew immediately what type of room this was. He now found himself standing in the middle of a classroom, and by the look of the walls it had to be an elementary school. But the most shocking thing of all was who was sitting in the small classroom desks. The man in the blue cap had thought he had seen it all, but nothing can prepare you to look around at what seems to be a normal classroom and see each and every desk occupied by a different type of animal. To be more specific, baby animals. They didn’t seem to notice him entering, and were focused on the paper and pencil in front of them. That is, all except one. It was a little, fuzzy, gray flamingo. As the flamingo gave a little sniffle (yes it also occurred to the man how odd this was but by this point he felt he had seen it all) he strutted his legs towards the man. The man really had no choice but to wait. As the flamingo got closer the man noticed he seemed to be crying. “I can’t find my mommy anywhere, and I miss her,” The flamingo blurted out in a loud whisper. The man, being what looked like the only adult in the room, felt he didn’t really have any other choice but to help. “Well,” answered the blue capped man, “when was the last time you saw her?” “Last night…
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Every girl needs a castle
Just like any other morning Princess Johanna flutters open her eyelashes at the first touch of sunlight. She gently folds back her fluffy pink comforter, and stretches the morning sleepies right out the ends of her fingers. The thought of what the day may hold brought a smirk to the corner of her mouth. Would she dance with a prince, feast on tea and crumpets, or slide down the spiral banister outside the grand door she now fixes her eyes upon? The possibilities are endless. Johanna’s cheeks were becoming rosy from the sun pouring into her window so she quickly wiped the sleep from her eyes, and hopped out of bed. Even though she may not actually be royal, and her castle may only be seen through her eyes, Johanna does not let that stop her from becoming the princess of her dreams. The house she lives in is very old, and holds the perfect nooks and crannies for adventures that only take place in the grandest of castles. Just outside Johanna’s bedroom stands a tall, solid white door that she knows very well. After quietly slinking across the hall she has to pull up on her tippy toes in order to twist the doorknob hard enough to pry it open. As she pulls a couple of old paint chips crack off and fall to the floor. Inside the door are about two dozen dusty wooden steps that creak every time she lays her tiny feet upon them. Traveling around the spiral stairs Johanna’s heart fills with excitement of all the stories being held at the top of this old building she calls home. Upon entering the dark attic most would smell the bitterness of dirt and dust, but not princess Johanna. As she pulls open the last door she can already smell the fragrance of fresh bread, marble floors, and the perfume she sees her mother dap on her neck from time to time. At the top of the spiral staircase she is just a girl named Johanna, but the moment she steps through that door she becomes Princess Johanna with all the possibilities royalty can bring. Johanna forgot that she was still wearing her soft pink nightgown until her barefoot hit the cold marble floor, and the nightgown transformed into the most beautiful ball gown of that same soft pink. She gently ran her fingers over the lacey pleats on her shoulders, and the satin sash wrapped around her middle. Her feet were also no longer cold as they were nestled in beautiful, sparkling slippers. Lastly, her loose and messy bed head was now an elegant bun adorned with a mesmerizing diamond tiara. She blinked her eyes just once, and then immediately joined the dancers who were twirling around the ballroom floor. The music carried her round and round until it felt like her feet had left the ground. When the princess finally landed again she tripped over something. In the first second that she looked down she saw a dusty box of stuffed animals. A small frog, a tiger, and a large, sort of lumpy, elephant. However, when she looked back at the heap a second time the animals had become just as alive as her. It startled Johanna a bit when the soft, yet mighty, looking tiger let out a wide yawn and the frog jumped onto the pouf of lace on her shoulder. “Hey Princess, you’re just in time for tea!” croaked the tiny frog. “The table is all set!” Gloria chimed in while motioning to the group with her large trunk. Just then, as…
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engaging critical thinking project on the civil rights movement
To wrap up the year in my fifth grade gifted classroom we are talking about all thing Civil Rights. I created two “tournaments” for them to participate in. One for Civil Right events, and the other for People of the Civil Right Movement. This is a great way to tap into their critical thinking skills. Lastly, I have included the brackets that I used. Civil Right Events Tournament The first part of the critical thinking project is a whole class tournament. This means I use only one bracket for the whole class. We are trying to determine which events made the greatest impact on its cause. Bracket Schedule: People of the Civil Rights Movement Tournament For the second part of the critical thinking project my students each worked on their own bracket so everyone results may be different. During each round they have to research the people involved and choose a winner. The winner should be the person they felt made the greatest impact in Civil Rights. Next, I will give them a separate paper to fill out along the way where they write the winner of that round and why they were chosen. It was fun to see them debate these people amongst themselves, and to see them learn about some of the new people they had never heard of. This project is a great way to end any study of the civil rights movement, and helped put my student’s new knowledge to good use. Additionally, there are also so many extensions that could go along with this! Extension ideas: I hope this helps bring life to your civil right unit or any History topic you may choose to use it with!
easy to use writing unit to improve student creativity in your classroom
Creativity boosting writing unit to get you through any part of the year.
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Free “create a game” project to Reinforce math skills
Why your students need to create their own math games I teach in a gifted education pull out room, however, this project can be adapted perfectly into any classroom. Creating games is a fun and easy way to reinforce/assess students knowledge of a taught skill. I used these projects at the culmination of learning about time and money in 1st and 2nd grade, but it can be used for everything and everyone. Your students will have a blast creating these games while you are able to cover a wide array of check ups. On top of assessing knowledge of the topic you will also reinforce the following skills: -Team collaboration -Listening to other’s opinions and ideas -Critical and creating thinking -Writing skills How to get started… Students are going to create a game from scratch. They will create the board, pieces, objective, other materials (dice/spinners), and directions packet. Game Invention Template Finishing and playing games When students are finished make sure they play their game several time to work out any kinks. Have them read through their rules to each other and play as they read to make sure there are no gaps. Next, they can rotate and play each others games. I did this in many different ways over several class periods. Review and Grading I chose to have the students assess themselves. For this I used the following review sheet… Peer/self review
How to be happy not keeping up
Spring has officially begun. We made it through all of the winter holidays while working full-time, coaching a varsity sport, and having 2 children playing basketball. Winter is a bit rough, especially when you throw in all of those holiday expectations… holiday decorating, school parties, buying gifts, making memories at home, baking, and the list goes on. After 10 years of coaching a winter sport I have learned to do what I can and look forward to the spring when things open up a bit for us. just when i think life is going to slow down Well, now it’s Spring, and while we have a little more time, I still feel the unending expectation to keep up. First comes St Patrick’s day (my girls attend St Pat’s school, so this is a big deal), then Easter, and Mother’s Day, and spring break (which isn’t ever really a break), and the list continues. I feel like I spend a good part of my life trying to “keep up”. But why? Please know that I am not writing this because I have anything figured out. In fact, I am writing this because I have had an incredibly hard week and I need to remind myself what is truly important. Oftentimes I get myself into survival mode, and I need to remind myself how to keep living real life. Survival mode is a real life, real hard situation to get out of (more on that another time). BALANCE It’s mostly about balance right? everything in this life is balance. I recently attended a webinar for coaches, and the keynote speaker talked a bit about this topic. He mentioned that many people think of balance as 50/50, but really balance is about figuring out when to give and take. This has made me start looking at balance in a whole new way. Balance is making the commitment that no matter how many things we have going on we make time for what matters most. Balance is about allowing myself grace to not get everything done, and to allow one ball to drop because Something else was more important. We don’t have to always keep up with everything. It is ok to set something down in order to prioritize. The things I choose to prioritize over all else are my family, my sanity, and my students. Everything else will survive without me if I cannot keep up this time. STOP THE COMPARISON GAME I don’t like to admit it, but this is probably the one thing I struggle most with. Especially with social media! It is so hard not to compare ourselves to other moms, professionals, wives, etc. I see someone on Instagram going on a hike, or making special Easter cookies for their kids’ class, and I instantly feel like I’m not keeping up. If we compare ourselves to those around us, we begin to feel inadequate, and this makes us feel the need to keep up. What can we do about this? STOP APOLOGIZING no one is perfect, and I certainly don’t claim to be. So why am I constantly apologizing to everyone around me. Don’t get me wrong, if I need to apologize for something then I should, but I am talking about the little things I have guilted myself into feeling bad about. I am a people pleaser at heart and have a strong passion to make others feel better (even if that is at the expense of my own feelings). Therefore, I am committing to try and make a conscious decision of not apologizing if I did not directly…
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master Area and perimeter with this house design project
I will admit that Area and perimeter is probably one of my favorite math concepts to cover because the possibilities are really endless. I am a gifted intervention specialist, and work with students in grades 1-5 in both reading and math. With this course load I am able to cover these concepts over multiple years, and increase the intensity as they move up. Being in a gifted resource room I am given the ability to really dive into complex project with my students. Here is how I approach Area and Perimeter over the 5 years of elementary… 1st Grade – We start playing around with these concepts by using block manipulatives and creating 2D/3D structures, and counting the cubes. 2nd Grade – Geometrocity Project – the students combined these skills with map skills to collaboratively create a city. 3rd Grade – House project being described in this post 4th Grade – Food Truck Project. – they not only build a complete 3D model of a food truck (inside and out), but also develop a detailed business plan. 5th Grade – Cereal Project – We have now learned about volume and incorporate it with area and perimeter in order to create and construct our own cereal brand. The project I am highlighting here takes place in my 3rd grade gifted math section. 3rd Grade House Project Outline: iNTERIOR pLANNING First, students will brainstorm and answer questions about their dream house by completing the following sheet. I encourage them to think beyond what they know to be a typical house, and imagine all the things that could be in their dream house. House interior design and plan sheet 2D house Layout Students will receive a piece of grid paper and be instructed to map out all of the rooms they want to include in the interior. Some students may find it easier to make the exterior outline first and then add the rooms. Make sure there are not any random empty spaces. I told my students they could, but did not have to, include hallways. Remind them to act as if they are walking through the house as they make it so that is flows and makes sense as a house. Finding the DiMENSIONS OF EACH ROOM After the interior layout is complete the students will find the dimensions of each room in their house, as well as, the total area and perimeter. They will use this form to fill out the information… 3rd grade dream house – room dimensions Mapping and measuring the exterior of your house Once the interior design is complete thy will begin work on the exterior. First, they will create a drawing of what they want the exterior (front view) of their house to look like. For this I instructed them to use a ruler to make straight, even lines. I asked them questions while they were drawing to keep them thinking about how they are going to construct it as a 3D object. For example, how will you put your roof together? Do you want to create a second story? I also had them draw doors and windows. When they were finished wit their drawing they had to measure everything (since this was 3rd grade I had them round to the nearest half inch), and label the measurements on the paper. Creating your 3D model The students start this part with several sheets of grid paper that I printed on to cardstock (I use a lot of this throughout the year). The grid paper helps them count our the measurements, and when they constructed it most…
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trying to roll with the punches of everyday life as a full time working mom
One thing I continue to struggle with most in my life is flexibility, changing route, going with the flow… ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES. Despite my best intentions I am a perfectionist and planner at heart. At times this can bring me to my knees, not to mention, ruin the day. I wanted to share my most recent attempt at trying to move past ruined plans without feeling completely defeated. What is a Full Time Job? Being a full-time working mom can at time become a constant inner battle. I know I am setting a good example for my children by following my dreams and making my own success. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t feel guilt every day for not constantly volunteering at my child’s school, or being able to go on every field trip, or having to run around like crazy in the morning so that I can get them where they need to be without being late for work. It may seem strange, but I often have to remind myself that I am not a stay-at-home mom. I want to be involved and help out with all the things involving my children, and it all goes fairly well until they plan a meeting at 10 am on a Tuesday morning. It always happens, and I am suddenly snatched back to reality. even worse, is when I am not even asked to help because they “assume” I don’t have time. Like I said, it is a constant inner battle. Last Week… I felt that I needed to explain all of the above because of what happened this past week. Tuesday evening, I found out that my daughter was going to sing a solo during her school mass Thursday morning. This led me to spend the entire morning on Wednesday wondering if I should take off to listen and support her. Part of me was screaming that I miss enough activities involving my children already, but the other part was reminding me how truly hard is to take off as a teacher. This cannot be a game time decision. Once I make the decision I have to immediately put in for a sub (and hope it gets filled), and then I will spend about 2-3 hour writing detailed sub plans and making sure everything is laid out, organized, and easy to understand. After all of that, I will still have the guilt of leaving my students with someone I don’t know and disappointing them by not being there. However, after all of the back and forth, and debates with myself I decided to take off (just the morning). The morning of I made all of my plans, got a half day sub, and woke up Thursday morning to a two-year-old covered in puke. All I thought in that moment is, THIS is real life (and then I proceeded to tell myself to NOT freak out)! After some major deep breaths, and some reassurance from my husband I started to make new plans. Did I mention how hard change is for me? Living in THIS moment “Rolling with the punches” is not something that come naturally to me. Lately the main thing I have been focusing on is THIS moment, right now. When I start to get overwhelmed with things not going the way my mind planned on them going, I try to focus on the current moment. Even if this means telling myself to breathe. I remind myself that this moment in time is the only one that I can control. The past is done and over, and the…
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how to embrace short days and high emotions
Days with little ones go so fast, and they are so hard! How do we embrace every moment when sometimes we are just trying to keep our head above water?
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creating Story Dice Stories in the elementary classroom
My first graders have been learning about story elements, and how to put all of the pieces together to create a story. We have completed exercises to begin stories, end stories, and how to come up with problems and solutions. We’ve spent a lot of time developing characters and character traits. We worked with plot, and developed settings with colorful adjectives. This all has led us to beginning to create our very own stories. This week we created a story together using story dice. You can purchase some story dice like this… Or you can use this online option… https://davebirss.com/storydice/ We rolled 5 different dice, and the pictures we got were: The students and I worked together to write a story called, “Racing Out of the Woods” about a racecar driver named Sammy. Sammy was stuck in traffic and late for a race so he took a shortcut through the woods which got him lost. He followed a helicopter to a haunted house that was owned by a pirate named Jeff. He entered the house to ask for directions and stumbled upon Jeff’s treasure which he stole and donated to charity before going off to win his race. The first graders had so much fun writing together, and the story turned out great. I then typed up the story on paper like this, and printed a copy for each student. They spend the next several days illustrated their stories. This introduced a whole new story element we had not explored. They had to read the text on that page and create one picture to go along with it. In the end we read through our books again together, and then they got to take them home to enjoy with their families.