100 Days of School!

Can you believe its almost the 100th day of school! How do you celebrate? Here are some fun ideas:

  1. Change your Google Classroom background to spread the word!

2. Have students come in dressed up wearing 100 items glued to a t-shirt. Perhaps 100 mini sized (peanut free) candy bars, 100 stickers, 100 paper clips, 100 legos.

3. If it synchs with Valentine’s day have students brainstorm 100 things they love about your school or their family!

Let me know in the comments how you celebrate your 100th day of school!

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Fast forward to february!

Here are some tips for a unforgettable February in the classroom!

First – change up your Google Classroom header on a weekly basis with our fabulous February bundle!

Next – February Pop Up Valentines are a much better option than a Pop Quiz!

Finally get ready for a round of Historical Speed Networking. Have two historical figures find a chance at love in the millennium. Decorate the table with gingham picnic table cloths , LED candles, and have students practice those networking skills.

Keep the momentum going and have fun in February!

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Pumpkin spice & everything nice

FREEBIE ALERT!


Happy October!!! I love the fall! Apple-picking, pumpkin patches and that crisp feeling in the air.

This fall, invigorate your classroom with our FREE header. You already have that pumpkin spice latte, and that pumpkin spice candle. Now add a pumpkin spice banner to your digital classroom on google classroom or schoology website.

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Nine reasons to switch to group tests in 2019!

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I have been experimenting with group tests this year and the experience has been overwhelmingly positive.    So,  I am giving you my top nine reasons for making the switch from individual to group tests!

  1. Test day becomes a day of learning.  No more quiet desperation on test day.   Now, test day is the most active, engaged day on the schedule.    Students will work hard if their peers are depending on them.    Many groups actually have fun on test day!
  2. A lesson in social capital.  I work with older students and they are quick to identify and challenge non-contributors.    I find that groups are mostly kind to students who struggle with the test material, and brutally honest with those who choose not to work.
  3. Tests can be more challenging.    Group tests always need one or two hard questions that stimulate discussion.
  4. Reduced need for anti-cheating strategies (as in 6 versions of the same test).
  5. Reduced Anxiety.  Do you have those students who immediately have their hand in the air as soon as you hand them a test?  With a group test, students get assurance from their classmates.
  6. More authentic.  Most workplaces encourage employees to cooperate and seek help with problems.  Shouldn’t schools give it a try?
  7. Late comers and test-day skippers will get on board. Missing test day means going it alone.  Most students only make that mistake once.
  8. Less to grade.  Who doesn’t want fewer papers to grade?
  9. Nerds rule. That awkward, nerdy kid is now the most popular kid in the class!

Continue reading “Nine reasons to switch to group tests in 2019!” →

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Happy Mother’s Day!!!

It is no surprise that Mother’s Day closes out Teacher Appreciation week!

Today we celebrate all of the hardworking mother teachers. Too often teachers are like mothers to their students coupled with raising their own family once they get home. They miss their own children’s mothers day events, parent teacher conferences and plays just to be at work with their students.

“Here’s to strong women – may we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”

Happy Mothers Day

 

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History Class Can Be Fun!

Here are ten ways to make your history class more engaging and more interactive!

Animate Google Classroom: Add a fun US history/ World history/ Economics banner to your Google Classroom –  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nofiredrills

Pop-Up Cards:   Have students create historical greeting cards.  Great for Valentine’s Day!   Pop – Up Cards

Mannequin Challenge:  Need some peace on a Friday afternoon?  Try a Mannequin Challenge. m The Mannequin Challenge – for the Classroom

Flipgrid Discussion:  Have students make a quick video to answer a prompt or give an opinion with this free tool.  ”Back to School with Flipgrid

Play – Doh Pictograms:  Great for a lesson on ancient civilizations.   Play-Doh is Power

Speed Networking:   Modern day networking with historical figures.   Speed Networking in the Classroom

Continue reading “History Class Can Be Fun!” →

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Play-Doh is Power

Working with teenagers on Friday afternoons can be difficult but I decided to spice things up this week with my lesson on the early river valley civilizations. My students jumped out of their chairs and cheered when I told them they would each receive their own “Play-Doh ” – no longer just for toddlers!  I had them create their own names and pictograms in cuneiform.

Thank you to the Penn Museum for inspiring this activity!  First I had my students go to their website: https://www.penn.museum/games/cuneiform.shtml    They were asked to write their own names down in their notebooks in cuneiform as shared by the website.
Then I gave each student an individual Play-Doh (see below) and a popstick (since reed stylus pens were not available like they were in Sumer 🙂 ).
I found an entire 33 pack of Play-Doh at my local Amazing Savings for $8.99 but you can also find them at Walmart here: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Play-Doh-Ultimate-Rainbow-Pack/24537163
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Students carved their names in cuneiform into the Play-Doh.   They were smitten!
To extend the activity I asked them to make their own pictograms in the playdough and have other students guess what the words meant (in groups of four students). We then discussed the origins of writing and what the advantages were for a civilization to use writing vs pictograms.  A great discussion on emojis emerged and how difficult it could be to use a pictogram to communicate via text message!
They walked out the classroom high fiving me and smiling.  Job well done for the week.  I plan to have my students do an abridged version next week with hieroglyphics! Play-Doh can be powerful in the classroom. Have you tried out this activity?
Here are some of the fun Play-Doh creations!
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Pop – Up Cards – Easily create memorable Valentine’s Day Pop-Up Cards for your classroom

SIGN ME UP!

I know I’m a little behind with this post re: Valentine’s Day BUT… I had to share this amazing activity I enjoyed with my students a few weeks ago. We made historical pop up Valentine’s Day Cards for the classroom!

I taught my students a basic way to make a pop up card – Start with a simple card or piece of paper and fold it in half. Then cut parallel lines (in pairs of the same length) into the middle fold as shown in the picture. The cuts should be no more then half the length of the card. Push the flaps forward until your card looks the same as the top half.

Continue reading “Pop – Up Cards – Easily create memorable Valentine’s Day Pop-Up Cards for your classroom” →

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SUCCESSFUL SNOW DAY SUGGESTIONS!

It’s a snowy day here in NY and the schools are closed wooohooo! Looking for something fun to do? Here are five fun ideas to try on this blistering day…

  1. Try a read aloud of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. The snow is falling and this book will keep your little ones entertained as they check out this animated tale. http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/read-aloud/the-snowy-day/’ Prefer a hard copy for the next snow day? Grab one here!
  2. Use this snow day calculator to predict if you will be off any more days this school year: https://www.snowdaycalculator.com/calculator.php (I’m guessing NO! If you are in NYC 🙂 )
  3. Make snow angels inside or outside to Music for Aardvarks & Other Mammals – Blanket of Snow song. Watch the snow come tumbling down outside your window and sing along to this cute tune. Here’s a rendition by a local artist Jams with Janet if you don’t have spotify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQoCx8WUCBAWant the whole album? (I’m obsessed!) Get it here!
  4. Check out a local museum or childrens coffee spot. Those tend to be open on Snow Days to keep your kids entertained! I like the American Museum of Natural History

    http://www.amnh.org/ or The Childrens Museum of Manhattan/ Brooklyn/ Staten Island (for you NYers) http://cmom.org/.

     

  5. Go sledding!!! Grab a tray or a sled and head out to the closest hill and enjoy the fluffy white snow. Let us know what you are up to this perfect snow day! I’m about to warm up some hot cocoa, make some pancakes and play some board games!

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