Happy Presidents Day!

Wow, I just survived Day 100 and Valentine's Day on the same day. (We had a blast, but boy, am I run down!)

Monday is Presidents Day! I plan on spending most of next week celebrating our presidents as well as our country! 

If you've been following my blog, you know I have a strong sense of patriotism, and feel children should take pride in their country. I also LOVE teaching social studies and mapping skills.

Here's a fun resource that I made that includes 3 fact mini-books. One is on George Washington, another is on Abraham Lincoln. Plus, it's been updated to include President Joe Biden! It also has a mapping activity, finding places related to these presidents. Click the image for the resource.

President's Day Mini-Books and Mapping 

Here's another resource to review the difference between most of the patriotic holidays we have throughout the year: Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, and Veterans Day.  I don't know about you, but my little second-graders struggle to remember which one is which! 

Patriotic Holidays

Of course, you'll be needing brain breaks! Here's one more fun resource!

Patriotic Brain Breaks

 

Looking for some books to read?  Here are some fun ones! (These are Amazon affiliate links, which means you'll help me earn credit at Amazon, but at no cost to you!)

Who Was George Washington?

A Picture Book of George Washington

Who Was Abraham Lincoln?

Just in Time Abraham Lincoln

The Everything Kids' Presidents Book: Puzzles, Games, and Trivia - for Hours of Presidential Fun

Basher History: US Presidents: Oval Office All-Stars

So You Want to be President: The Revised and Updated Version

Have Fun with the Presidents: Activities, Projects, and Fascinating Facts

Here's a fun collection of Presidents Day Activities. It includes a compare and contrast activity comparing the 2 different presidents. There is also a game to practice syllables, a graphing activity, a mapping activity, and an opinion writing activity. Click the image or click here for the link!

 

Mapping, Comparing, Syllables, and Opinion Writing with a President Theme!

If you're looking for more, I do have a whole USA Bundle that includes the above items and several others here (at a HUGE discount, of course!

 USA Bundle.

 

Here are a couple of related blog posts that might interest you:

• Learning About the USA
• 5 Patriotic Options for Veterans Day or any Patriotic Holiday 
• Hooray for the USA 
• What Would You Do if You Were President?
  

If you have the day off, have a great one!  (Be sure to thank George, Abe, and the rest for the day off!)

Myers-Briggs Part 4: How Do You Make Decisions?

It's time for another installment of my series on the Myers-Briggs Personality Types. Today we'll discuss how people make their decisions.

According to Myers-Briggs, there are two ways people make their decisions:

Thinking people make decisions based on fact. They are logical, objective, and driven by thought. They do the "right thing" whether or not it is liked. They have been known to enjoy a debate. Thinking types are sometimes seen as uncaring or indifferent.

Feeling people make decisions based on their hearts. They care about how people feel, and want to keep people happy. They are passionate and driven by emotion. They avoid conflict. Feeling types are sometimes seen as too idealistic or too sensitive.

As I've mentioned on discussion of previous scales, all people have parts of both sides. Most decisions are made with a combination of both Thinking and Feeling characteristics. However, we all have a preference.

Here are some interesting statistics:

• Of the Thinkers, about 65% are men.
• Of the Feelers, 75% are women.

Be sure to check out these other posts on the Myers Briggs Personality Types:

Part 1: The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator

Myers-Briggs Part 2: How do you find your energy?

Myers-Briggs Part 3: How do you process information?

Myers-Briggs Part 4: How do you make decisions?

Myers-Briggs Part 5: How do you live your outer life?

Myers-Briggs Part 6: What's your type?

 

Organizing Literacy Centers

I work with 2 of my 3 reading groups daily. What do I do with my other students?

Many teachers use the Daily 5, and have some great ways to organize the 5 choices.

My district has some specific guidelines on how we spend our reading time, but we can be flexible within those guidelines.

Every child must have Independent Reading daily.  That's easy! Reading groups need to meet so many times per week, with the lowest group meeting daily.

I use little cards with magnets on the back. At the beginning of the year, I teach the children the meaning of each card, and introduce them one at a time. We start with Independent Reading, then move on to the others.

Some people call these Centers, or Learning Centers. I call them Stations. I don't know why!

I have a section of my whiteboard in the front of the room that's always about literacy stations. On some days, it might look like this:

The children know that the first row of cards tells where the children go for the first station. In my classroom, instead of "Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3", I have the children's individual names on magnets. I do change my groups often, depending on the needs of my students.  

I also have one child starred per group, per day. The starred child is in charge of handing out pillows for Independent Reading.  (I try to make this time as special as possible... who doesn't love curling up with a comfy pillow and a good book?)

In the above picture, for the first station, I'm working with Group 1, while Group 2 does word work, and Group 3 has Independent Reading. After a while, I switch the groups, and I'll have 2 groups at Independent Reading while I work with the third group.

Or it might look something like this.

In the next example, I work with Group 1, while Group 2 has Independent Reading. Group 3 has their reading time at the Library. Later, I work with Group 3, while Group 2 has Independent Reading and Group 2 works at assigned computer activities.

On a day where I have to work with individuals, it might look like this, where I only teach one reading group.

For the first station, I work with Group 2 while Group 1 has Partner Reading and Group 3 has Independent Reading.  Later, I have 2 groups at Independent Reading and Group 3 has a written reading assignment. This is the time I would pull individuals for reading or writing conferences.

Here's a Dollar Deal with some of the cards I use:
Literacy Center Cards for Centers

If you like this resource, you might enjoy this full set of Guided Reading Management: 

 

How do you organize your students for reading?

How Do I Squeeze in Mardi Gras?

I really like to find ways to celebrate all those special days, but it's not easy to squeeze everything in. 

Mardi Gras is just about fun, and it's at a time of the year when the children really need something to lift their spirits, so I find a way to squeeze it in... by having the Mardi Gras theme overlap what I need to teach anyway!  Like Math!

Well, for one, I thought I'd squeeze a little Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day into math time with these math problems:

 

 Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day 2-Digit Addition and Subtraction Story Problems

Here's another fun way to "squeeze in" Mardi Gras without losing time developing important skills: Mardi Gras No Prep Printables! These practice important skills, but have a Mardi Gras theme. These are great if you are going to be out for the day or are so busy you don't have time to plan! 

But first, I'll read them a book on Mardi Gras and let them make some masks on Monday. (That way, the math problems will make a whole lot more sense on Tuesday!)

Each title is an affiliate link to Amazon.

Mardi Gras and Carnival (Celebrations in My World)

Mardi Gras in New Orleans: An Alphabet Book

Mardi Gras

How do you manage to squeeze in the fun stuff this busy time of year?

Myers-Briggs Part 3 : How Do You Process Information?

I hope you have been enjoying my series on the Myers-Briggs Personality Types as much as I have!  

If you haven't seen the other posts yet, you can read Part I: the Introduction HERE. You can read Part 2:  How do you find your energy HERE.

A couple of very important points to remember about Myers-Briggs:

1. Each preference is a scale. People tend to lean toward one side or the other, the place where they are naturally more comfortable. We do, however, have parts of both sides within us.  
2. Both sides of each scale are essential in our society. No one preference is better than the other. Both sides keep each other in balance. Since I learned to recognize the qualities of each side of each scale, I have learned to cherish the differences in people, and appreciate those who don't have the same preferences as myself. 

Today I wanted to share one of the aspects of Myers-Briggs that's very important to teachers: How do we take in information?  

There are two ends to this scale.

Sensing Types (S) take information through their senses.

• They are about the "here and now" and are concerned with facts.  

• They are very aware of things in their immediate environment. 

• They organize,  categorize, and focus on reality.  

• These people are practical and all about the details.  

• Sensing types prefer to learn in a sequenced, step by step progression. 

• Interestingly, Sensing types make up about 75% of the population.

 

Intuitive Types (N) are about the future and possibilities.

• They are imaginative, inventive, and idealistic. 

• They see the big picture before the facts and details.

• Intuitive types often jump from topic to topic.

• About 25% of our learners are Intuitives.  

• The Intuitive Types are the forest, and the Sensing Types are the trees. Sensing types would see the trees, but not the forest, Intuitive Types see the forest, but not the trees. 

I still remember an experiment we did in my master's program where we studied the different types. All the Sensing types sat on one side of the room, while the Intuitives sat on the other side. We were shown a poster and directed to write down what we see while we looked at the poster.

The poster had something to do with music.

 After some time, we shared what we had. We Sensing types proudly shared all the details about the poster we had scribbled.  We did most of the sharing for a while. Then one of the Intuitives spoke up about something we never noticed: the poster was in the shape of a grand piano. All the sensing types stopped and looked at each other: none of us had noticed that! We all had to see the poster again, and sure enough, it was in the shape of a grand piano. We were so focused on the details, we missed the big picture!  (Literally!)

Have you been thinking about your own type? How about your students?

Here are a few more books if you'd like to learn more!  The first one (People Types and Tiger Stripes) is one of the first books I've read on the Myers-Briggs personality types, and it's still one of my favorites.  This is the revised version.


            

Here are links to the other posts about the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator

Part 1: The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator

Myers-Briggs Part 2: How do you find your energy?

Myers-Briggs Part 3: How do you process information?

Myers-Briggs Part 4: How do you make decisions?

Myers-Briggs Part 5: How do you live your outer life?

Myers-Briggs Part 6: What's your type?

 

Myers-Briggs Part 2: How Do You Find Your Energy?

Last week I posted about the Myers-Briggs Personality Types. (See THIS post.) 

This week I want to tell more about the Myers-Briggs Personality Types. As I mentioned last time, there are four "scales". Today's scale asks how you find your energy.  

There are two ways people get their energy:  

1.  They get their energy from other people. (Extroversion)

2.  They get their energy by turning inward. (Introversion)

When I originally took the test, I really struggled over this one. I thought being an introvert meant I was anti-people. I thought it meant I was doomed to be alone, and I really questioned the accuracy of this scale. After all, I like people! I have a lot of great friends!

To some people, being an introvert can mean "terribly shy" or "prefers to be alone".  

For the Myers-Briggs scale, it doesn't mean that at all.  

• Introverts prefer small groups of people to large groups.
• Extroverts prefer large groups of people to small groups.
• Introverts "recharge" by spending time alone.
• Extroverts "recharge" by surrounding themselves with friends.
• Introverts think, then act.
• Extroverts act, then think.
• Introverts are very reflective.  
• Extroverts are very social.
• Introverts feel drained after a social get together, even if they had fun.
• Extroverts feel energized after a social get together.

• When extroverts get together, they all talk at once.
• When introverts get together, they take turns and speak one at a time

These last two comments remind me of the two staff rooms in my school, and the groups of people who have lunch in each room. Being an introvert, I go to the "quieter" staff room for lunch. It's a smaller group, and there is one conversation going on in the room. We all take turns and listen to each other. The other staff room has several conversations going on at once.They are clearly having a great time in there, but I can honestly say, the days I've gone in there, I was so drained I could barely go back to my classroom and face the afternoon with the kids! That's just not how I "regroup"!

I think what I've learned most about personality types is that our society needs all types. I've learned to value who I am and appreciate the other types. I've come to recognize the different types in other adults as well as the students I work with. Life would be boring if we were all the same! 

Some famous introverts:  Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, George Washington, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn, Johnny Carson, J.K.Rowling, Mozart, Steven Spielberg 

Some famous extroverts:  Oprah, Martin Luther King, Ben Franklin, Winston Churchill, Andrew Carnegie, Margaret Thatcher, John Kennedy, Bill Gates, Aristotle, Mark Twain, Anne Frank, Ronald Reagan

Great jobs for introverts: Accountant, Software Engineer, Market Research Analyst, Graphic Designer, Translator, Writer, Fine Arts, Designer, Chef, Scientist, Editor, Mechanic, Truck Driver, Lawyer, Teacher

Great jobs for extroverts: Emergency Medical Technician, Dental Hygienist, Physical Therapist, Public Relations Manager, Human Resource Specialist, Sports coach, Event planner, Corporate Fund Raiser, Hairdresser, Customer Service, Nurse, Financial Advisor, Teacher

Check out these book recommendations by exploring the images. (These are affiliate links,) Type Talk is the one I bought when I first learned about Myers Briggs Personality Types, and it has helped me understand people in all parts of my life.  

          

           

Here are links to all my posts on the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator:

Part 1: The Myers-Briggs Personality Types

Myers-Briggs Part 2: How do you find your energy?

Myers-Briggs Part 3: How do you process information?

Myers-Briggs Part 4: How do you make decisions?

Myers-Briggs Part 5: How do you live your outer life?

Myers-Briggs Part 6: What's your type?