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Saturday, July 30, 2011

August Lesson Plan Ideas


August Lesson Plan Ideas For You
Here are some ideas to incorporate August events in your classroom:

1. August Is Back To School For Teachers -
Worksheets, Lessons, Guide

2. National Inventors Month - Worksheets, Guide

3. August 1 - Ramadan Begins - Worksheets, Lesson Plans

4. August 6th- Alexander Fleming's Birthday - Worksheets, Guide

August 7th - American Family Day - Workbook

August 8th - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon Resigns - Worksheets, Lessons

August 18th - Wizard of Oz Premiered in 1939. - Teacher Guide

August 24 - Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. - Worksheets, Lessons

August 26 - U.S. Women Gain the Right to Vote - Worksheets, Lessons

August 27th - Mother Teresa's Birthday - Worksheets, Lessons

August 28th - Dr. King gives "I Have a Dream" Speech - Worksheets, Lessons

See All August Events and Celebrations
 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011



Thinking Teachers
"In these days of teacher bashing, it is even more important to show the world your pride in the profession. TeachersFirst watches what people say about us on blogs and tweets. Soon, we will be surprising random teachers who spread the word about TeachersFirst with a shirt to tell the world YOU are a Thinking Teacher. If you have a blog or web page, write a post about TeachersFirst. Tweet to tell people who may not know about TeachersFirst. Share TeachersFirst on Facebook. You may be surprised to hear from us."

See more about TeachersFirst at:  http://www.teachersfirst.com/whyjoin.cfm

Things to Do


Need Something to Do?

http://www.kidsdelco.com/     http://figmediapa.com/
Print a book to read.   Play a game online.   Sing a Song
Learn a New Skill   A Game a Day   Spirograph
Coloring Pages   Design an Animal   Jungle Fun   Craft a Day
Virtual Keyboard   Simple Crafts   Sand Art   Online Games
Find It!   Games   Paintbox   What's in the Bag?   3D Doodle
Optical Illusions  Move the Red Block  The Dot Game  Bubble Wrap
Learning Games   Kdg Activities   Educational Activities


See more ideas at: http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/index.html

Clip art: http://www.phillipmartin.info/clipart/

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Summer Home Learning Recipes

Summer Home Learning Recipes

for Parents and Children
Grades K-3

"Parents and families are the first and most important teachers. If families teach a love of learning, it can make all the difference in the world to our children."
Richard W. Riley
U.S. Secretary of Education
Educational research has made it clear that parents who are actively involved in their children's learning at home help their children become more successful learners in and out of school. During the early adolescent years, adult guidance is especially important.
Here are some reading, writing, math, and science Home Learning Recipe activities. These have been developed by the Home and School Institute. Parents of young children in prekindergarten through third grade find them to be easy and enjoyable ways to work with the school--using materials they have at home to build their children's skills.

Reading Activities

Sorting and Stacking--Teach classification skills with dinnerware. Ask your child to match and stack dishes of similar sizes and shapes. Also have your child sort flatware--forks with forks, spoons with spoons. This is like recognizing the shapes of letters and numbers. Telephonitis --Give your child practice in reading numbers left to right by dialing a telephone. Make a list of telephone numbers your child can read--for relatives, friends, the weather bureau--and have your child make a call or two.
Let 'Em Eat Shapes--Cut bread into different shapes--rectangles, triangles, squares, circles. Make at least two of each shape. Ask your youngster to choose a pair of similar shapes, then to put jam on the first piece, and to place the second piece on top to make a sandwich. This is a snack plus a game to match shapes.
Dress Me--Increase your child's vocabulary. Teach the name of each item of clothing your child wears--shirt, blouse, sweater, sock, shoe--when your child is dressing or undressing. Also teach the body parts--head, arm, knee, foot. Then print the words on paper and ask your child to attach these papers to the clothes in the closet or drawers. Make a pattern of your child lying on a large sheet of paper. Tack it up. Ask your child to attach the words for the body parts to the right locations.
Hidden Letters--Build reading observation skills with this activity. Ask your child to look for letters of the alphabet on boxes and cans of food and household supplies. For example, find five A's or three C's, or any number of letters or combinations on cereal boxes, soup cans, bars of soap. Start with easy-to-find letters and build up to harder-to-find ones. Then have your children write the letters on paper or point out the letters on the boxes and cans.

Writing Activities

Disappearing Letters--Promote creativity and build muscle control with a pail of water and a brush. On a warm day, take your children outside to the driveway or sidewalk and encourage them to write anything they wish. Talk about what they've written. Comic Strip Writing--Use comic strips to help with writing. Cut apart the segments of a comic strip and ask your child to arrange them in order. Then ask your child to fill in the words of the characters (orally or in writing).
And That's the End of the Story--Improve listening skills and imagination. Read a story aloud to your child and stop before the end. Ask the child how the story will turn out. Then finish the story and discuss the ending with the child. Did it turn out the way you thought?

Math Activities

Laundry Math--Sharpen skills by doing a necessary household job. Ask your youngster to sort laundry--before or after washing. How many socks? How many sheets? And you may find a lost sock as well. Napkin Fractions--Make fractions fun. Fold paper towels or napkins into large and small fractions. Start with halves and move to eighths and sixteenths. Use magic markers to label the fractions.
Weigh Me--Teach estimating skills. Ask your children to guess the weight of several household objects--a wastebasket, a coat, a full glass of water. Then show children how to use a scale to weigh the objects. Next, have them estimate their own weight, as well as that of other family members, and use the scale to check their guesses. Some brave parents get on the scale, too.

Science Activities

Ice Is Nice--Improve observation and questioning skills by freezing and melting ice. Add water to an ice cube tray and set it in the freezer. Ask your child how long it will take to freeze. For variety, use different levels of water in different sections of the tray. Set ice cubes on a table. Ask your child how long they will take to melt. Why do they melt? Place the ice cubes in different areas of the room. Do they melt faster in some places than in others? Why? Float and Sink--Encourage hypothesizing (guessing). Use several objects--soap, a dry sock, a bottle of shampoo, a wet sponge, an empty bottle. Ask your child which objects will float when dropped into water in a sink or bathtub. Then drop the objects in the water, one by one, to see what happens.
What Does It Take to Grow?--Teach cause-and-effect relationships. Use two similar, healthy plants. Ask your child to water one plant and ignore the other for a week or two, keeping both plants in the same place.
At the end of that time, ask your child to water the drooping plant. Then talk about what happened and why. Plants usually perk up with water just as children perk up with good words and smiles from parents.
Children are eager learners: they are interested in everything around them. These easy-to-do activities encourage children's active learning and those wonderful words of growing confidence, "I can do it."
Think of these as starter activities to get your ideas going. There are opportunities everywhere for teaching and learning.
Take a little time to do a lot of good!
These home learning "recipes" have been tested and developed by Dr. Dorothy Rich, author of MEGASKILLS ®, for the National Education Association. Reprinted with permission of the National Education Association and The Home and School Institute, 1994.
Reproduction of this brochure is permitted.
See Source for More Info at: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/Recipes/reck-3.html

Wednesday, July 20, 2011


International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August.

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me."  Henry Ford
"My friends are my estate."  Emily Dickinson
"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."  Walter Winchell
"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."  Unknown
"I get by with a little help from my friends."  John Lennon
"A Friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway!"  Unknown

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Ice Cream Day and Month


National Ice Cream Day - 3rd Sunday in July
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month. He also established National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in the month.

Did you know? Charles E. Minches of St. Louis, Missouri is credited with inventing the ice cream cone. On July 23, 1904 at the World's Fair in St. Louis, he filled a pastry cone with two scoops of ice cream to make the first ice cream cone. There is some controversy over this claim. Italo Marchiony of New York City filed a patent for the ice cream cone months before the fair opened. And, he was selling lemon ice in cones as early as 1896.

More Information:
July is National Ice Cream Month from the International Dairy Foods Association
Ice Cream History and Folklore
 
See more at the source: http://www.holidayinsights.com/other/icecreamday.htm
More Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/icecream.htm

Friday, July 8, 2011

Author's Week-Second Week of July


"Author's Week is celebrated in the 2nd week of July and other times of the year! Lessons that explore the challenges, achievements, and lives of some of the most influential authors in history.  Dramatizing life stories provides students with an engaging way to become more critical readers and researchers. Students select American authors to research, create timelines and bio poems, and then collaborate on teams to design and perform a panel presentation in which they role-play as their authors. The final project requires each student to synthesize information about his or her author in an essay."
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/authors.htm  Children's Authors-Illustrators-Great Site
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/indeksi.htm Authors Calendar-ABC Order
http://authorsdirectory.com/ Classical Authors Directory
http://www.classicauthors.net/ Classic Authors List
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/books.htm  Children Books and Literature Theme-Lessons-Activities
http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/authors.htm  Authors Theme Resources

Authors' Week

Author Sites

Friday, July 1, 2011

Poem-That Fateful Fourth


  
That Fateful Fourth  

Our will was strong, our want was great
Let freedom reign, what better fate

We journeyed long from Plymouth Rock
The time was clear to end all talk

That fateful fourth our courage showed
Americans - and how we glowed

We won the right to be self known
Our independence, clearly shown

The test of time has stood us tall
Through bravest hearts, some forced to fall

We’ll always cherish those we’ve lost
Their gift to us, their total cost

Today we face another foe
And stand together, all do know

Please often pray to God above
He’s seen our hearts, He knows our love
 


©2002Roger J. Robicheau