Dr. Seuss Day

March 2 is Dr. Seuss Day. Who could ever forget those crazy rhyming books? I think my favorite has been One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. My favorite movie is How The Grinch Stole Christmas. What are some of your favorites?

Here are some resources for teaching about Dr. Seuss on Dr. Seuss day:

BrainPOP Jr. has a movie of the week on Dr. Seuss. 

Wonder of the day # 150 asks "Who was Theodor Geisel?" Find out more information about Dr. Seuss from Wonderopolis. As always, Wonderopolis has some great vocabulary words that go along with their "wondering". ReadWriteThink extends the lesson with "Reading Everywhere with Dr. Seuss".

Seussville has books, games, activities for students to try.

Dr. Seuss unit activities and lesson plans to go with the books you might read to your students.

Here is a free SMART Board Dr. Seuss theme that you can download to use on your SMART Board. 

Thinkfinity has several lesson plans for all grade levels on Dr. Seuss. Check them out here. I also went and checked out the calendar entry for March 2 in Thinkfinity. Here are some more interactives and lessons about Dr. Seuss.

Both SMART Exchange and Promethean Planet have lessons already created for Dr. Seuss. Click on the links above and type in Dr. Seuss in the search box to find a notebook file or flipchart you would like to use. Remember, you must be logged into SMART Exchange or Promethean Planet to download a lesson.

Image: 'Reading is Fun!' http://www.flickr.com/photos/7759477@N05/4405102135

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Are You Ready for Leap Day?

As we approach the end of February, I started thinking about finding resources to share next month. I went to the calendar pages of Thinkfinity, and something caught my eye: classroom activities, websites, and resources for Leap Day!

Here are some of the suggested websites:

• Leap Central
  
  This site explains things about Leap Year that are not common knowledge to most, has resources for party planning, and also includes a list of Leap Day books.
• The Year of Confusion
  
  This online story from Highlights Kids is an engaging account of the time leading up to the revision of the calendar to include Leap Day.
• Star Child: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers
  
  Intended for grade-school-level students, this NASA website recommended by SchoolZone has information about astronomy as well as projects, lesson ideas, and resources for the classroom.
• Astronomy Picture of the Day: Julius Caesar and Leap Days
  
  This site from NASA, focusing on an image of a coin minted with Julius Caesar's likeness, provides a brief explanation of the origins of Leap Day. The site also references Sosigenes, the astronomer who consulted with Caesar on the calendar and invention of Leap Day.

I really like the lists of books available from these sites. The science focus could also be a great connection to make with some of the STEM resources now available.

image source

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Are you looking for some Science?

Serving as both the 5^th/6^th grade Gifted Education teacher and the Grades 3-5 Science Specialist at an elementary school, Jayne Grubbs has a hectic schedule but loves every minute of it! She uses the information and questions from Wonderopolis in some pretty interesting ways. 

In class, Jayne distributes “Curiosity Questions” to her students. Students can earn “bugs” for thinking about and exploring possible answers to those questions … most of which come from Wonderopolis.  The “bugs” students are trying to earn is part of a motivational technique used in her class.

Jayne finds ways to connect what may seem a simple question to a pretty detailed exploration of a science topic. She loves the way she is able to use good nonfiction text from Wonderopolis to integrate reading with science and to even bring in some social studies every once in a while.

Here are a few of the past Wonders she has used to serve as inspiration:

#191 Where do diamonds come from? She used the information about diamonds lead into a discussion of fossils. Students were involved in comparing and contrasting diamonds and fossils. They even had to write diamante poems comparing the two.  I think that was one of her favorite lessons she has done.

#262 Can Plants Grow Without Soil?

She used this one as an introduction to hydroponics and created a very strong science lesson to go along with it. The more recent Wonder #487 Do All Plants Have Roots? would also be a great tie in.

#228 Do Elephants Ever Forget? The exploration of this one prompted the students to explore what makes a person’s memory work and not work. Students were so engaged that one student woke up in the middle of the night afraid of what would happen if he lost his memory and did not remember to breathe.

#422 Is the Sky falling?  This wonder was used to explore meteors and comments in a 3^rd grade class to go along with a state objective about how gravity affects things in space. 

#432  Can Woolly Worms Predict the Weather?  This wonder inspired a month long curiosity question and unit about how animals prepare for winter and how can we tell they are preparing for winter.

#355 Do Plants Need Hair Cuts?  To go along with this wonder, her students did an experiment involving placing plant clippings in colored water to enable them to watch how the water moved through the veins in the plant.

Jayne loves how excited the kids are and also mentions that she has so much fun looking at all Wonderopolis has to offer that she could do it all day long! To hear her talk about all the things her students are doing, it is evident how much of an impact these activities are having on both the students and her as the teacher. I really need to get a video the next time we talk.

According to Jayne, she wants students to learn how to ask questions and to think.

Asking questions and exploring topics is what Wonderopolis is all about!!! 

Talk about a great connection!

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What is guiding your technology use?

This may or may not come as as surprise to you:

I enjoy sharing the ideas, lessons, and resources I find with others. Recently I have been using twitter to share those things .... a bunch!!

So in my email one day this week, I got a message from a high school teacher with this in the subject: Thanks for your Tweets!

That subject line made me wonder what the message would say:
Thanks for tweeting all of the things you do.  On Friday, you inspired me to go to Wonderopolis and find a good Super Bowl-themed lesson!

That email made me smile and made me want to know more about what from Wonderopolis inspired him and more about the Super Bowl-themed lesson. Since I like to ask questions ... I wrote him back and said I was interested and would like to know more.

Here is his response:
Well, the simple story is:
We had Senior Day on Friday, so I was only going to have 15 students of 26 in my class during 4th period.  There weren't going to be enough students to have a full-blown lecture on content, but we had to so something productive for 90 minutes (and hopefully fun, too).

Enter Wonderopolis.   After your many tweets on Wonderopolis, I finally decided to check it out.  I went to the site and searched for the Super Bowl.  One of the results that came back was a link to Super Bowl history and tickets.  I decided to make the class use the link as a guide to design their own ticket for the Super Bowl.  

Using PowerPoint, my students included the items I required--game logo, date, stadium, seat/row/section and bar code.  The rest of the design was up to them.  My students uploaded their finished assignments to Edmodo to be graded, then walked around the room to see what everyone else came up with.  Back on Edmodo, my students voted on the Super Bowl ticket they liked the best; the winning designer received extra credit on his assignment.

(Wow was all I could say!)

Scott Armstrong teaches Sports and Entertainment Marketing at a North Forsyth High School.  He is letting student instruction guide his technology use rather than the other way around. He figured out what lesson and project he wanted the students to do .... and then decided what technology pieces would work best to accomplish that task (sounds a little like TPACK).

Look at how many ways he was able to use technology with his students .... he used a website as inspiration, a program for students to create/design, and then a contained social media outlet for them to share what they produced.

Scott said that my sharing about Wonderopolis and things I have found there is what encouraged him to even go look at the site.  That made me realize that it was not necessarily something specific that I share but it was just how I keep sharing so I guess I will keep on sharing!

This also helped me to realize how much I need to tell people when something they do (intentional or not) inspires me to do something! It also encourages me to keep sharing the things that I find interesting since I never know what might inspire someone to do something.

Inspiration is all around us and although something may not inspire you, there is no telling how it will inspire someone else ...

In this collage created using Vuvox, you will find the project inspiration, assignment, finished products, and the winning ticket is at the end!

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Are you addicted yet?

My name is Marlo Gaddis. I am addicted to Pinterest.



Pinterest is the latest tool for organizing and sharing content on the web. Visualize a large corkboard where you can collect ideas, plan events, or find inspiration. Now make it digital so that you can browse the ideas of others. Add a dash of collaboration and you have Pinterest.

By connecting with your social media accounts in Facebook and Twitter, you can easily find your friends, family and co-workers. As they pin new things, you can see what they find valuable on the web. Most people have boards that sort by recipes, books to read, fashion, home design, and much more. But as always, smart educators are finding a way to make this tool a great way to collaborate with other educators. As a former elementary school teacher, I love seeing my educator friends and co-workers share lesson ideas, posters, crafts, websites and so much more! The best part about Pinterest is that the links are visual so that you don't have to guess what they are.

If you have a smartphone, you can download the Pinterest app in the iTunes Store or in the Android Market.

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As lovely as ....

Similes ....
How do you teach similies?
What resources do you use?


One evening recently on twitter, this message came to me:


I am currently working with 4 grade and trying to come up with a lesson on similes. Any suggestions??


Since this request came from a future elementary educator, I wanted to find some things to share with her. I began searching through my blog posts, my diigo bookmarks, and some former lessons to see what I could find. That was when it hit me that I talk about twitter being a great place to find resources and ideas, so maybe I should look too!


I sent out a tweet asking for advice and suggestions to share (it is nice to have a PLN to share with and pull from).


Here are a few of the ideas and resources that were shared with me:

• Snowflake Bently Activity and Idea Webpage which contains a book mark, an art project, information on the illustrator, directions to make a book, and lots of great links
• Picture book recommendation: My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks (This book is full of similes about the family of the main character) 
• A great idea for a Color poem on this blog that coul be redone using similes: ThePolkaDotOwl: Poems Anyone? (other great stuff on the rest of the blog too)
• Someone also shared some powerpoints they have used as an introduction in the past: Similes and Metaphors
• Laurie posted this as a comment on an earlier blog post: "I used familiar movie characters like Shrek and Fiona and Donkey and Puss in Boots. I had the kids go over adjectives that were nice to describe a person. Then we talked about how to stretch that into similes. Shrek is as green as the grass in June from Shrek is green. And so on."
• Similes and Metaphors in Pop Culture   (Thanks John Downs)
  Mr. Wasko presents examples of similes and metaphors in pop culture- from Kanye to The Wizard of Oz.

And while I was looking for ideas for teaching similies, I came across this great collection of ideas for teaching figurative language using a Valentine's Day theme on ReadWriteThink!


Do you have any ideas to share about ways you teach similes?


Do you have any resources to suggest?


Thanks in advance

image source

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TPACK And The Common Core Webinar

This Saturday at Noon I will be a guest of the Classroom 2.0 Show where I will be talking about the relationship between the Common Core and TPACK. If you haven't heard a lot about TPACK or you want to learn more about it, this is a very fun format to join in the learning.

It will take place online, in a Blackboard Collaborate room. It's totally free and if you can't make it, it will be archived.

To join go here on Saturday morning.

Speaking of archives, if you haven't checked out the Classroom 2.0 Show Archives you are missing out. What a great place to find loads of great webinars and educations topics. Recent topics include:

Parent Engagement
Livebinders
Becoming A Connected Educator
Gifted Education

That doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what is available in the archive. Each show has the rebroadcast, links, resources and so much more. You can spend hours and hours learning there.

I hope you can join me Saturday afternoon!

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Writing in Math?

Why do we have to write in Math?

As I was sitting in a Kindergarten meeting this week, the teachers were talking about Math Journals. I hadn't really heard of Math Journals before, especially for Kindergarten. So, the first things I did was to ask my co-worker Melissa Edwards if she had any resources for Math Journals and I went on Twitter to ask for help from my Twitter PLN.

I wanted to share some blog posts about Math Journals and what a couple of my Twitter friends said about the way they use Math Journals. 

Math Journals Blog

Reflections Journals in Math Class by Matt Coaty (@MCoaty1)

Math Journals by Terry Tunkel

Setting up Math Problem-Solving Notebooks by Kathryn

Here is what a couple of Twitter friends said about Math Journals: 

@CaraSJohnson said: "We use them in our class. The students glue in the prompt that I have printed out. I try to focus on problem solving skills."

@Mr_Fines said, "It starts off simple - writing a number and illustrating it. Writing a number word, or drawing a shape and writing the shape "word'.  As the year progresses I'll put a problem on the document camera. It could be a number line with 2 or 3 numbers missing and they write the missing numbers.  When they get to addition i may put 1+1 on the board and they draw it. We draw our numbers with lines for 10's and small circles for 1's. I may have them represent a number  like 12 - they draw 1 line and 2 small circles. The possibilities are endless really.  I did it every day "before" we did math as a cue that it is math time in our room."

What I learned from reading about Math Journals is that even Kindergartners can create a journal. The journal doesn't have to be all written words. It could be pictures, math problems, etc. I liked the idea of having math prompts, just as you would in Language Arts. I have always thought that by writing things down it is easier to remember them. So, why not write in Math to remember new concepts?

Do you use Math Journals in your classroom? If not, how could you use Math Journals in your classroom?

Image: 'Journal Writing II' http://www.flickr.com/photos/10485077@N06/4530922906

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Safer Internet Day 2012

Teaching students how to use online resources effectively and appropriately should be an everyday occurrence. All members of the education community (students, teachers, administrators, parents, community) are responsible. So understanding what that responsibility means is a first step.

Today is Safer Internet Day 2012. Organized in Europe it has become a world-wide event to raise awareness and promote education for effective use of internet resources. 

Here is a short video to explain a little more. 

As you can see, the theme for this year's event is Connecting Generations. The goal is to not just focus on kids but focus on getting everyone connected in positive ways. Whether we are 4, 14 or 84, everyone can get connected and learn how to leave a positive digital footprint.

You can visit the Safer Internet Day 2012 site for lots of lessons, talking points and resources not for just staying safe online but for using the internet more effectively. And the great thing? Even if it is after Feb 7, the lessons are timeless. You can use them anytime. It doesn't have to be a special occasion.

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Great Teachers Make Master Gurus

This past Monday I had the opportunity to visit J F Kennedy High to share some information about our new email system.  In between sessions I had the opportunity to visit a few classes.  There are incredible things going on at JFK.  The first thing you notice when talking to any faculty member there is the positive attitude they have towards their students.  This attitude in conversation was also evident in their classrooms through their interactions with students.  I truly believe a positive relationship with a student is the catalyst for motivating him/her and helping them reach their full potential.

One of the teams I visited was the Masterminds!  What a great name for a group of kids.  This team inspired me not only on the surface but they have really made sure these kids know they have potential.  Instead of sharing with their kids they have an A,B,C,D or F they use the following terminology: Master Guru, Philosopher, Scholar, Apprentice, Recruit.   Each of those titles correspond to a letter grade but all have a positive connotation.  Imagine getting a recruit on a paper instead of an F!  F could shut a kid down while Recruit insinuates they could be on the path for Master Guru Status.  The kids also know what each of the status' mean and how to increase to the next level.  One of the neatest things I saw was how Ms. Thiel used her district website to promote the student achievements.  She posts her Master Guru list(not only for academic but for character) on her web page. Below are some excerpts from her Master Guru page.

We often times look for ways that technology can help in our classrooms and our own websites are a great way to praise kids to build those positive relationships with students.  I remember my mom wanting every newspaper with her kids names in it and how proud I was to show her when my name was in it.  Our websites allow us to publicly praise our students daily.

Another great feature of Ms. Thiel's classroom was her center driven approach.  When I walked in she was working with students in a small group setting, there was a center where students were working on hands on manipulatives, and then there was the computer stations.  I really liked this approach because often times as a classroom teacher it is difficult to sign up for an entire computer lab.  Using her approach she was able to stay in the classroom and use the few computers that were available to her. 

So how did she guide students in what needed to be done?  She was using Edmodo for her students to interact and to post assignments.  She had links to videos that students were directed to watch, links to interactive math games, links to quizzes etc....  Some of the assignments students had to take a screen shot of their results to submit while others she required them to message what they learned.  Students and teacher were able to track the progress of the student.  Edmodo is the perfect marriage of the student's need for online social media and the teacher's requirement of curriculum and standards. There are a multitude of resources for Edmodo that can be found on our district wiki.  Explore and give it a try. 

Often times we are faced with not having enough technology to do what we want.  Ms Thiel and the staff at JFK are taking what they do have and making it happen.  And that makes the kids smile....and me too.

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