February Lesson Plan Ideas

February Lesson Plan Ideas
By: Teachnology Staff

Here are some February events you are going to want to include in your class.

1. The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games Take Place - A great opportunity to work on measurement, graphing and data table skills.
2. Ground Hog Day- Time to poll the entire grade level and graph the expected outcome.
3. Weatherman's Day- Discuss and write: how would your life change if we were not able to predict the weather?
4. National Inventors' Day- Two words: Science fair.
5. Get a Different Name Day- What would you change your name to and why? Write a story.
6. Valentine's Day- Check out our Valentine's Day theme for tons of ideas.
7. World Thinking Day- Ask a simple question: "What can you do to change the world?"
8. President's Day- Visit our President's Day theme for all kinds of ideas.
9. Super Bowl Sunday- A great compare and contrast opportunity.
10. African American History Month - Create an ABC book. Use each letter of the alphabet to commemorate a person, event, or idea.
11. Love Your Pet Day - Have students write a "Thank You" card to their pets.

This Week in History

1789: George Washington and John Adams are elected the president and vice president of the United States.

This newsletter is brought to you by Teachnology.com, the online teacher resource center. http://www.teachnology.com/

More Resources: http://mrscjacksonsclass.com//

Groundhog Day Activities, Lessons, Crafts

Groundhog's Day Activities

Groundhog Day is on February 2nd. It is said that if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of bad weather, and if he does not see it, then spring will be here soon.

A collection of activities for Groundhog's Day - coloring, crafts, word searches, how to make shadow puppets, poetry, short stories, and Groundhog's Day kids' reading books.

http://www.edhelper.com/Groundhog_Day.htmGroundhog Day Theme - Printables and Worksheets

http://www.teachingheart.net/groundhogdaysite.html Great Theme Unit Activities and Resources

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/ History

http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/february.htm Groundhog Day History - Activities and Origins

http://www.factmonster.com/spot/groundhogday1.html History

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/groundhogday/ Arts, Crafts, and Worksheets

http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mgroundhog.html Groundhog Toilet Paper Roll Crafts

http://holidays.pppst.com/groundhogday.html Groundhog Day PPP and Clipart

BOOKS:

Wake Up, Groundhog! (Little Golden Book)
Gretchen Groundhog, It's Your Day!
It's Groundhog Day!
Little Groundhog's Shadow
Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather

More Resources: http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/groundhogday.htm

Twitter Tweets for Teachers

Twitter Tweets for Teachers

Valentine's Day Theme Unit, Lessons, Links, Activities, Books, Crafts& Resources http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/valentinesday.htm

Olympics, Games, Sites, Rings, Theme Units, Lessons, Links, Books, Activities, Ideas, Resources http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/olympics.htm

One Hundredth Day School Math Theme Units, Lessons, Links, Activities, Arts, Crafts, Ideas http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/onehundredthday.htm

Mardi Gras History Theme Units, Lessons, Links, Fun Ideas, Activities, & Resources http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/mardigras.htm

Chinese New Year-Crafts, Links, Themes, Units, Lessons, & More http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/chinesenewyear.htm

February Themes, Activities, Resources, Lessons, and Ideas http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/februaryfun.htm

Chinese New Year Crafts, Activities, Resources

Chinese New Year

February 14, 2010 marks the start of the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Celebrate the Chinese New Year holiday with great kids' activities and crafts. It is a very important holiday in China. Also learn about the history and meaning behind the Chinese New Year symbols and traditions. It is celebrated in late January to early February (depending on the year). Kung Hei Fat Choy! 14th February 2010 will welcome in the next Chinese New Year - the Year of the Tiger! Have your class learn about the Chinese calendar, try traditional recipes, have a class party, and have students make their own dragon puppets for a class celebration or class parade around the building.

Sources:
http://holidays.kaboose.com/what-is-chinese-new-year.html Chinese New Year History, Symbols, and Traditions

http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/chinese-new-years/chinese-new-years-crafts.html Crafts

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear/ Crafts and Activities

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/china/index.htm Crafts and Calendar Info

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_new_year.htm Lots of Info, Crafts, Games, and More

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/chinese-new-year/teacher-resources/6603.html Chinese New Year Resources

http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/chinesenewyear.php Resources, Lessons, Info

http://edhelper.com/ChineseNewYear.htm Activities, Lessons, Theme Resources

http://holidays.pppst.com/chinesenewyear.html PowerPoint Presentations and Teacher Resources

More Resources: http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/

February Themes, Days, and Lessons

February Themes Days and Lessons

Revolutionaries of African American History Series
Feb. 2nd - Ground Hog Day
Feb. 4th - Rosa Parks was born.
Feb. 5th - Weatherman's Day
Feb. 11th - National Inventors' Day
Feb. 12th - The Winter Olympics Game Begin
Feb. 12th - Abraham Lincoln & Darwin were born.
Feb. 14th - Valentine's Day
Feb. 15th - President's Day
Feb. 15th - Susan B. Anthony was born.
Feb. 20th - Love Your Pet Day
Feb. 22nd - George Washington was born.
February is African-American History Month
February is American Heart Month

Source:http://www.edhelper.com/February.htm Themes
More Resources at: http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/februaryfun.htm

Winter Olympics 2010

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, will be held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler nearby. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Winter_Olympics

http://www.vancouver2010.com/ Official source of Olympic Games tickets, merchandise, results, medals, schedules, athletes, teams, news and photos for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/olympic-torch-relay/olympic-torch-relay-interactive-map/ Olympic Torch Relay Interactive Map : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics

http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/education-programs/useful-resources/ Resources related to Olympic and Paralympic Games, the three Vancouver 2010 pillars of sport, culture and sustainability.

http://www.vancouver2010.com/education-programs/ Educational resources

http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/winterolympics.php Sites of Interest

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/olympic-games/teacher-resources/6651.html Olympic Games–Teachers Resources

http://www.teachersfirst.com/spectopics/vancouverolympics__.cfm Teacher Resources

http://www.teach-nology.com/themes/seasons/winoly/ Winter Olympics Teaching Theme

http://www.clipartoday.com/sport/olympic01.html Clipart

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/sportscrafts/a/070300a.htm Make Your Own Olympics

http://www.ri.net/RIGeo/rigea/lessons/PacificNW/olympicwebq/olymcwebq.htm Go For the Gold Webquest

http://www.gigglepotz.com/winter_ol2.htm Winter Olympics Webquest

More Resources at http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/olympics.htm

How To Study and Planning Ahead

How To Study More Effectively
By: Teachnology Staff

We asked over 1,000 students and 300 teachers what concerns they had in regard to study skills. We then created a small article library to help them out. Take a look at the results:
What are learning styles?
I know my learning style! How do I best prepare for a test?
How do I know my learning style?
How can parents help their children improve their study skills
How to create a study schedule
How to improve your memory for better learning
How to improve your study atmosphere
How to study better using SQ3R
Top 10 tips when studying for tests
What are some basic test taking strategies I can use?

Teachers: Planning Ahead?
Here are some resources for teachers who are planning ahead:

- Winter Olympic Games
- March Monthly Guide
- National Women's History Month
- Read Across America Day
- St. Patrick's Day
- World Math Day
- National Agriculture Day
- Earth Day
- Spring Teacher Guide
- April Teacher Guide
- Arbor Day Teaching Theme
- Easter Worksheets
- Word Problem Week

This newsletter is brought to you by Teachnology.com, the online teacher resource center.

http://www.teachnology.com/

Kids Read and Ride Bikes Tip

Kids Read and Ride Tip

From Scott Ertl (sertl@wsfcs.k12.nc.us), program coordinator at Marvin Ward Elementary School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina:

“Our school started a new ‘Kids Read and Ride’ program this year for students to ride exercise bikes while reading fun magazines and books. We received 41 donated exercise bikes from members of our community, and we've filled a previously empty classroom with 30 bikes. Teachers bring their classes in to ride for 15-minute periods of time. Every student has their own bike to ride while reading. The remaining bikes are parked in the corner of individual classrooms for teachers to use as an incentive for students, when they complete their work or when they simply need to release some extra energy. We've noticed an increase with student excitement about reading and are hoping that the extra activity will lower our childhood obesity rates as well. We are hoping to inspire more schools to start similar programs through our web site, Kids Read and Ride. We would like to inspire students to become active and have a break from sitting at their desks. Share our website with schools you feel might be interested and please keep us informed so we can add information on our website about other schools that are starting Read and Ride programs.”

Source: http://www.nea.org/tools/Works4Me.html Ideas and tips by teachers, for teachers-January, 2010 Newsletter

100th Day of School Ideas

100th Day of School Ideas

There are lots of ways to note the 100th day of school. Here are fifty of our favorites. Many of these activities will challenge both lower and upper elementary students as they build better number sense for "100." Enjoy!

1. Jump rope 100 times.
2. Build the tallest house of cards you can using 100 cards.
3. Flip a coin 100 times. Make a graph showing the number of heads and tails.
4. Roll a pair of dice 100 times. Create a chart showing how many times each number came up. Make a graph based on the chart.
5. Find someone who is at least 100 years old. Ask them what life was like when they were your age.
6. Find out which weighs more - 100 nickels or 100 quarters
7. Have everyone in your class try to throw a tennis ball 100 yards. Measure each throw. Calculate the average throw.
8. Count by 100s to 10,000
9. Recite multiplication facts up to 100 (10 x 10) with your eyes closed!
10. Guess how much 100 jelly beans weigh. Then weigh them and give a prize to the closest guess. Don't eat the jellybeans!
11. Separate 100 jellybeans by color. What percentage of the total is the most common color? What percentage of the total is the least common color? Don't eat the jellybeans!
12. Without using a calculator, figure out how many jellybeans each student would get if you divided 100 jellybeans equally among all the students. Don't eat the jellybeans.
13. Blindfold a student and have him/her pass out the proper number of jellybeans. What is the probability that the first jellybean handed out will be the most common color? (Think about this one!) EAT THE JELLYBEANS!!
14. Measure the height of your classroom ceiling. How many classrooms that size could you fit into a structure that was 100 feet tall?
15. Measure the space required for a student's desk and the aisle around it. How big would your classroom need to be to hold 100 desks with the same spacing?
16. Weigh the classroom dictionary. If postage costs $3.50 a pound, how much would it cost to mail 100 dictionaries?
17. Count backwards from 100 to 0 by sevens. See who can do it most quickly.
18. Count from 0 to 100 by fours. See who can do it most quickly.
19. Make a list of 100 words that end in "-ly"
20. Name 100 birds.
21. List 100 boys' names.
22. Name 100 American cities.
23. Name 100 cities NOT in America.
24. Estimate the length of a row of 100 nickels. Measure a row of 100 nickels to check your estimate.
25. Have everyone in the class close their eyes. Start a stopwatch and ask students to say "now" when they think 100 seconds has passed. Prizes to the winner!!
26. See if you can hold your breath for 100 seconds!
27. Figure out what a 100 second Super Bowl commercial would cost if broadcast time sells for $2.3 million per minute.
28. List 100 things that had not been invented 100 years ago.
29. See which student can walk the greatest distance (laps around the gym??) backwards in 100 seconds.
30. Try to do 100 sit-ups or push-ups!
31. Separate students into pairs standing 15' apart. See how many can toss a tennis ball back and forth 100 times without dropping it.
32. Collect 100 cans of food for a local food bank.
33. Write a story that is 100 words long.
34. Build a structure using 100 toothpicks or popsicle sticks.
35. Figure out the date that is 100 days after your birthday.
36. Use 100 seconds to make as many equations as possible that equal 100.
37. Bring in a recipe from home. Adjust the quantities to feed 100 people.
38. Write a story about what you would do with $100.
39. Write a story about what your community will be like in 100 years.
40. See if you can bounce a tennis ball on a tennis racquet 100 times.
41. Learn to say 100 in as many languages as possible.
42. Find a town or city that is 100 miles away.
43. Find the height of a stack of 100 pennies in centimeters.
44. Estimate how far 100 students would reach lying head-to-toe on the floor.
45. Figure out about how many days there are in 100 hours.
46. Estimate how much popcorn 100 kernels would make. Pop them to see whose estimate is closest.
47. Build a project using 100 Lego blocks.
48. Figure out how many of each denomination of bill would be required to total $100.
49. Estimate the cost of 100 gallons of root beer, bought in 2-liter bottles that cost $1.10 each.
50. Figure out about how big a patio you could make with 100 paving stones that are 2 feet by 3 feet.

Source: http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/spectopics/100thday.cfm

More Resources: http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/onehundredthday.htm

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15. It is one of four United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person.
King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. He was assassinated in 1968.

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination. Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._Day

More Resources: http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/drmlking.htm

Tips to Help Compulsive Talkers

Helping Compulsive Talkers

Make your classroom more manageable and relieve stress by trying our suggestions for compulsive talkers.

1. Identify why they are talking.
2. Talk privately with your talkers.
3. Contact home.
4. Be consistent.
5. Make them helpers.
6. Position talkers' seat near the teacher.
7. Reinforce positive behavior.
8. Find time to listen.
9. Use a rubric to monitor their behavior and improvement.
10. Help the student identify their learning style.

By: Teachnology Staff January 2010 See More Info: http://www.teachnology.com/
This newsletter is brought to you by Teachnology.com, the online teacher resource center.

Twitter Tweets

Twitter Tweets

Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally http://techlearning.com/article/8670

Olympics Games,Sites,Rings,Kids,Theme Units,Lessons,Links,Books, Activities,Ideas,& Resources http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/olympics.htm

Chinese New Year Resources http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/chinesenewyear.htm

January Lesson Plan Ideas

January Lesson Plan Ideas
By: Teachnology Staff

Here are some January events to keep in mind when planning your lessons this month.

1. January is Remember the Rainforest Month.
2. January is National Eye Health Care Month.
3. On January 4, 1643 Isaac Newton was born.
4. January 8th - 14th is Universal Letter Writing Week.
5. January 11th is Amelia Earhart Day.
6. On January 17, 1706 Benjamin Franklin was born.
7. January 18th is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
8. January 23rd is Measure Your Feet Day
9. January 23rd is National Handwriting Day
10. January 29th is National Puzzle Day
11. On January 31, 1919 Jackie Robinson was born.

Inspiring Teacher Quote
"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth." Dan Rather

Teachers: Planning Ahead?
Here are some resources for teachers who are planning ahead:

- February Monthly Guide http://www.teachnology.com/monthly/feb/

This newsletter is brought to you by Teachnology.com, the online teacher resource center.
http://www.teachnology.com/

http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/ See January Themes and Resources!