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Showing posts with label social studies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social studies. Show all posts

Keep Them Engaged, Learning, and Having Fun!

In my experience, kids need to move! That shouldn't keep them from learning, in fact, moving is a great way to enhance learning!

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

As many of my readers know, I have studied how the brain learns and using research on the brain to design resources to help children learn. (For more information, check out these posts:)
 
Some of the common threads in these posts include movement, integrating the arts, working with others, and making it fun. Plus, we all know from developmental studies that it's important for them to move! 

(See this post: Is Digital Learning in the Best Interest of Children?)

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

It just so happens that I have a series of resources that address these needs while promoting learning at the same time! There are 15 resources in this series (so far) and they all have the exact same format: 
  • an informative text about an interesting science or social studies topic (Perfect for close reads and guided reading!)
  • 10 questions about the text
  • 4 sketching tasks to go along with the text
  • 6 brain breaks related to the text
Once they catch onto the format, less time is wasted on teaching them how to use the tool, and they become quite independent in their learning with this tool!

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!
There are many different ways to use these resources! It can be differentiated for different learning levels, different organizational needs, as well as different social needs. Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

I always start off with whole group instruction! Everyone gets a copy of the text with the answer sheet, and we read through the text together. I go through some of the questions and show the students how to go back to the text to find the answers. (They LOVE using highlighters on this!)

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

We do all the brain breaks together, and discuss the sketching tasks.  
 
Once they "get" how the whole thing works, we can play a game of Scoot. (See directions here: Active Students? Try Scoot!)


Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

Some of my more challenged readers usually need more guidance. I'll bring copies of the text to some of my reading groups. We read through the text together, discussing vocabulary and talking about what we've learned. I'll let the group take turns reading the different task cards. We discuss what the answer might be, and go back to the text to find where we found the answer. (Again, the highlighters!)
 
Once the small group has gone through the whole process, (and yes, of course we all do the brain breaks together!) they're ready to do the whole process independently! (These make great centers!) 
 
Yes, they can re-read the same text and answer the same questions all over again! Why? Because there's a lot of information in those texts, and even though they've answered the questions already, that doesn't mean they remember all the information! A second (or even third) time through, especially after a passage of time, is ideal! Not only are they practicing important skills (reading for information) but they are learning interesting information!

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

These sets make great centers! I often assign centers to be done in pairs. Why? Because of those great conversations! Talking about the text internalizes what they're learning. (More brain research!) Plus, they learn from each other through these rich conversations. Some may share information about the topic that's not even in the text! (More learning, yippee!)
 
Another reason to let partners use these activities? Because some children need a stronger reader to help them out. This can be a delicate situation, since we need to be sensitive about our lower readers, but you know your kids! Make smart choices for partners who will support each other without insulting each others' abilities!

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

These are also perfect for your fast finishers to do independently during centers time!  Again, each set can be used more than once... hopefully, they'll remember more information each time!

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

This one is easy! Anytime! I find they're perfect as centers during those last couple months of the year when their skills are strong and they've developed some independence.
They're also great for the beginning of the school year when you're teaching procedures!
Plus, if you're doing a unit related to one of these topics, these are perfect!
 
If you're interested in these, check out this link:

Reading Comprehension for Active Learners

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!
 

You can try one for free here:  

Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!

How do you keep your students learning and engaged?


Keep them engaged, and having fun! It's possible to attend to the children's need to move while keeping the learning happening! Try these ideas!



Academic Winter Sports Team Building

This time of year, I find the kiddos are starting to get on each others' nerves. Little things can turn into big arguments. They start having "friend troubles." They're cranky. 

What they really need is spring, fresh air, flowers, warm sun, and so on. But we can't actually give them that, can we? 
 

But here's something we CAN do: 

We can shake things up!

Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!

I'm a huge fan of the Olympics, and I like to bring winter sports into the classroom! Plus, it's a great way to bring Team Building into the classroom!

Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!

1, Have fun!
2. Give the students a taste of what the Olympics are like.
3. Give the children a taste of what some countries around the world are like.
4. Review important skills we've learned.
5. Liven up the dreary days of winter.
6. Promote teamwork and positive feelings for each other.

Doesn't this sound exactly like what your students need right now?


Here's how I do it!

Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
Four or five students per team is plenty. I try to spread the wealth of "talents" for each group, making sure I have strong readers, mathematicians, artists, etc. on each team if possible. I prefer to establish the teams and assign their countries at the end of the day, so they leave school excited and might even ask about their countries when they get home!

Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
 
The first day is pretty much preparation. (I prefer to spread the academic winter sports out over a week, but you might want to squeeze it into a day or two.) The children need to make a flag for their country, and a banner for their country. They need to make sure they know the colors for their team, so they can wear those colors for the days of competition. Of course, this will take some research. They'll be looking for books in the library, and online. (Plus, they're excited about the research!)  I count these banners as the first competition. and I have guests come in and judge the posters for accuracy, neatness, and how well they represent the country.
 
Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
Some of our banners, with some of the medals each country earned!


Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
I absolutely love the rituals of the Olympics, especially the Opening Ceremonies! Did you know that Greece is always the first country in the Parade of Nations? (This is another place where a guest could come in, and the Greek flag is easy to make!) The other countries proceed in alphabetical order, except that the host country always comes last.
Since we're competing in the USA, I take the big flag off the classroom wall and carry that at the end of the parade. (I'm no fool, from the end of the line you can see all the kiddos!)
Yes, we march them all over the school! (I have a recording of the Olympic theme that gets played over and over during the parade.)
 
Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
I wish I could show you how much pride they have in their faces!
 
After the Parade of Nations, we return to the classroom, where an "honored guest" arrives with the torch. (Secretaries, librarians, and custodians are ideal for this job!) We recite the Academic Creed and the Academic Oath, (See resources below) then we all recite those important words: 
Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
You can turn most anything into a contest! Be sure to have plenty of ideas. There can be group games, like scoot, or individual games, where each country chooses a team member to represent them. I try to stick to the regular curriculum each day for part of the time, but I'll let the countries sit together and award "behavior" medals each day. There can be brainstorming activities, (How many nouns can you name in a minute?) speed activities, (math facts) a read-a-thon, physical activities, (jumping jacks?) and perhaps even a S.T.E.M. project!

Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
Toward the end of each day, I have a medal ceremony for each contest completed that day. The children help me get desks and chairs in place, and we announce 3rd, then 2nd, then 1st place countries for each contest. The 3rd place winners stand on the floor to the left of the "podium," The 2nd place winners stand on chairs to the right of the podium, and the first place winners stand on the desks in the center. Then I'll play that country's national anthem while everyone cheers. (They've always been great about cheering for all the countries!)

Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!
Again, I wish you could see the pride on their faces! If you notice in the lower left, there's a guy in a blue shirt who was nervous about standing on a desk. We still celebrated him!   
 
Yes, these team building games shake up the "hum drum" of winter, encourages teamwork and friendships, gives the children the break they need, and gets the children excited about school again. 


Here are a few suggestions and resources: 
Academic Winter Team Building Games (This has many suggestions for contests, as well as the Creed and Oath as mentioned above for the Opening Ceremony)

Academic Winter Team Building Games Freebie (A free version of the one above.)


If you're looking for National Anthems, these images will bring you to Amazon.

     

Of course, books are essential! Here are some great choices from Amazon.

                                       

I hope you and your children enjoy your winter games! 
If you decide to try this, I'd love to hear how it went in the comments below!
Academic Winter Sports Team Building: Here's a chance to take the "Olympic Buzz" and bring it into the classroom for team building as well as fun academics!

Six Ways to Integrate Team Building into Your Curriculum

Of course, I have always wanted my students to be successful in their school experiences. But I've always wanted more than that. I've wanted my students to be successful in life!

Six Ways to Integrate Team Building into Your Curriculum: this post lists 6 different Team Building Activities and ideas on fitting curriculum ideas into these games.

I recently did a search for skills needed for success in life. Most of the skills mentioned in each article overlapped. These are the ones that came up most often:

Six Ways to Integrate Team Building into Your Curriculum: this post lists 6 different Team Building Activities and ideas on fitting curriculum ideas into these games

There is so much we must teach in our classrooms these days. How could we possibly squeeze in these important skills as well?


It just so happens in my studies of brain research, I've been focused on numerous Team Building activities, and I've got some ideas on how we can squeeze these activities into our curriculum. (After all, brain research tells us that FUN is an element that helps a brain remember things!)

Countdown is a game the kiddos love, and there are many ways to tie some curriculum into the game! You can find a "Dollar Deal" download of this game here: How to Play CountdownIn "Countdown," all you need is a sequence. In second grade, I often play the game with skip counting, since that's something they need to hear and practice over and over. Other ideas for a sequence could be: seasons, states of matter, types of communities, types of rock formations, names of presidents, or countries in Europe. 

Speed Chatting is a Team Building activity that gives the children a chance to talk... a LOT! All you have to do to include an area of the curriculum is to give them a topic to discuss! It might be: books you've read, facts about weather, interesting words you know, a country in South America, or whatever you happen to be studying at the time! Plus, talking about what they're learning enhances the learning! You can see more about this activity here: Speed Chatting.

Paper Bag Dramatics is another fun Team Building activity. It involves creating skits with the props in a bag. This can easily be connected to the curriculum by putting things in each bag that are connected to an area of the curriculum. If you're studying the 5 senses, you can put things (or pictures, or word cards) that can be smelled or tasted. If you're studying plants, you can put some plant types (or pictures, or word cards) that show the parts of plants. Get it? You can find more about paper bag dramatics here: Paper Bag Dramatics.

Pass the Clap is a favorite for the kiddos! Now I'm having a hard time trying to think of a way to include curriculum ideas for this one, since it really doesn't include verbal communication. However, if you look at the list of important skills above, we've got #2 and #8 covered! If you can think of a way to include curriculum with this one, please leave it in the comments below. But in the meantime, squeeze this one in somewhere, since these are important skills. (It only takes a couple of minutes, and it's a great warm-up activity during Morning Meeting!) To read more about this game, see here: Pass the Clap.

High-Low is an activity I always play with students at the end of the day. However, it doesn't have to be at the end of the day. It could be at the end of a certain subject in school. The children could discuss the high and low of their math lesson, the book they're reading, a science experiment, a country they've been studying, and so on. As we know, talking about a lesson reinforces learning. Plus, they LOVE to talk about themselves! To learn more about this activity see here: High-Low.

Party Talk is super fun and a great culmination activity! I was introduced to this when I was taking my master's program in Creative Arts in Learning. In my Music Integration class, we were to do research on a composer. I chose to research Steven Sondheim, who composes a lot of music for the theatre. (Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, FolliesCompany, etc.) Instead of having us get up and just talk about our composer, the instructor gave us "Hello My Name is" badges and we had a "cocktail party." We went around, with our (non-alcoholic) drinks, and introduced ourselves and talked about our lives. It was so much fun! Many years later, I was teaching 5th grade Social Studies. The children were researching famous people in the revolutionary war era. Of course I couldn't have a "cocktail party" with 5th graders, but we could have a "Boston Tea Party!" In this case, the kids were drinking tea, not dumping tea into the harbor. Again, we made "Hello My Name is" badges, served tea and "crumpets" and we had ourselves a tea party! Many of the kids even dressed up colonial style! I'm sure you can think of many other ways of having a "Party Talk."

Still looking for ideas to squeeze these important into your day? 

Be sure to check out this resource: 60 Team Building Games and Activities.


Six Ways to Integrate Team Building into Your Curriculum: this post lists 6 different Team Building Activities and ideas on fitting curriculum ideas into these games This post includes a freebie for one of my favorite games:  Countdown!

Resources for April!

I'm so glad to see the calendar finally turning to April! 

March has always been a long month, but April has a whole lot of fun learning to be had! 

Resources for April! If you'll be teaching in the month of April, this post has links to plenty of ideas, books, videos, and resources!

Here are links to blog posts for many of the events happening in April!

I've got plenty of April Fool's fun ideas in THIS blog post!
Looking for Science and Social Studies ideas for April?  
Easter is right around the corner. Here are a couple of blog posts to help you out! Easter Stories, Books, Music, and Fun Resources and An Easter Warning and an Easter Tradition.

Don't forget spring! Although we have snow predicted for this weekend here in New England, spring truly is trying to work it's way through this nasty weather! Be sure to check out these Spring Resources!

Plus, baseball season is starting up! If you have any baseball fans in your classroom, you'll have to checkout Baseball Fun!

For ideas and resources for Earth Day, see THIS link.
 
Many of my friends and coworkers agree, March was a very long month, but it's April, and there's a whole lot to look forward to! Maybe you can start the month winning some great stuff!

Resources for April! If you'll be teaching in the month of April, this post has links to plenty of ideas, books, videos, and resources!

Will the Groundhog Predict Spring?

Do you think Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow?

Will the Groundhog Predict Spring?  Who knows, but here are several ideas and resources for learning, thanks to the groundhog!

It's a tough call, but I'm thinking we might just have 6 more weeks of winter. 

But even so, Groundhog Day is a fun day at the beginning of a dreary month to scramble up some fun excuses to learn!

Let's start with books! I'm a big fan of Gail Gibbons, and this one is perfect for groundhog learning. I love her books because she puts information in a way that's interesting and easy to understand for children. 

These two books are fiction, but with a lot of learning to happen!

Speaking of reading skills, I have a close read about Groundhogs in this resource: Science and Social Studies Printables for February.


Explore this image for a link to this time saving resource!

Plus, there's an activity sorting animals that hibernate in the winter.
Science and Social Studies Activities for February

Then there's video! 

Look what I found! This is a reading of Gail Gibbon's book Groundhog Day!


I also found an informational video that tells about Groundhog Day. I like this one because it has real groundhogs for the kids to see!
 

Besides the science of groundhogs, kids really take to this topic, so I've got a few resources to help you out!

Here's some groundhog-themed word work! Perfect for grades 2-3!

Speaking of word work, Here's a fun game to practice prefixes and suffixes!

What student doesn't think story problems are a little bit more when they have a fun theme! This is my plan for this week! It combines groundhogs AND Super Bowl themes!

Want to try a little science? Here's a Life Cycle activity with lots of options

Explore this image for a link to this fun life cycle resource!

Want more science? Here are a couple of resources that give practice reading informational text while having some fun learning about groundhogs!


Explore this image for a link to this fun non-fiction booklet!

Or grab them all in this fun Groundhog-themed Mini-bundle!

Explore this image for this money saving collection of resources.


Isn't it fun to integrate seasonal topics into our learning?

Here's to hoping that groundhog doesn't see his shadow! 

We could use a little spring!

Will the Groundhog Predict Spring?  Who knows, but here are several ideas and resources for learning, thanks to the groundhog!


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