Hooray for the USA!

We have three patriotic holidays coming up! Yep, that's 3!  

We have Memorial Day at the end of May.

We have Flag Day on June 14th. We have Independence Day on July 4th.

I know there are some teachers out there who will be out of school by Memorial Day. My district gets out just a short week before Independence Day. 

But it's a great opportunity to teach our kids something about our country!

I find literature, the arts, and music are a great way for children to learn any subject, especially social studies!  Here are some of the books I use. (Click any title for an affiliate link to Amazon!)

Coming to America by Betsy Maestro is a great book to show how most Americans came from other countries.  (I often read this one around St. Patrick's Day, as this holiday celebrates Irish-Americans, and gets conversations started about our ancestry.)

How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting tells the story of people escaping a harsh life and coming to America for freedom.  It's done with Eve Bunting's child-friendly language, but also touches their hearts, as many of Eve Bunting's stories do.  Although it's subtitled "A Thanksgiving Story,"  it's very appropriate for any day you want to show the children the risks people take to live in America.  It's a great conversation starter to remind children (and ourselves) of the freedoms we have in our country, that people don't have in others.

Speaking of Eve Bunting, The Wall is one of my very favorite books for children. Although I do have trouble getting through this story without tears, it's a nice book to read around Memorial Day or Veterans Day, when we are thinking about those who fight for our freedom, and those that don't come home. (I think this one really gets to me because of the time period... I was "coming of age" during the Vietnam War. Yes, I went to demonstrations and everything, I'm THAT old!)

Don't forget patriotic music! 

Here's a nice You tube video to America the Beautiful.

Of course, after all that learning about America, the children will need to do some writing.  Check out this dollar deal! Click the image or click here: USA-Themed Writing Paper.

Here's a reading activity that can be used for Memorial Day, Veterans Day, or any patriotic holiday: Freedom Isn't Free - About the USA for Active Learners!

Still looking for ideas to celebrate the USA?  Check out this blog post from Memorial Day last year: Memorial Day: A Day to Remember! 

Want a resource with plenty of ideas for patriotic holidays? Try this bundle with several different resources! Learning About the USA!

Team Building Activities

I use a whole lot of games in my classroom to practice skills. 

In order for game playing to be successful in the classroom, children need to be able to stay focused on an activity, take turns, and play fairly. In a second-grade classroom, this isn't always the case.

I often start the year with some team-building activities, then come back to team-building activities at the end of the year. I'm thinking I really need to sprinkle these activities throughout the school year.

Maybe it's because my dad was a football coach, or maybe it's simply because it's important, but I'm often looking for excuses to build teamwork. (My classroom theme this year has been sports!)

I've been looking around the internet for ideas for team-building activities, and came up with a few!

HERE is a long list of team-building exercises from a place in the UK called Venture Team Building.  I've tried the "Human Knot" and "Minefield". It's fun to watch the "aha" look in the eyes of the kids when they realize the whole team has to go back if someone steps on a minefield. That's when they realize it's not just about them personally!

As with any lesson, it's important to spend time at the end of the lesson "debriefing" and discussing what was learned. 

Still looking for more Team Building? Try these: 60 Team Building Games and Activities for Classrooms.

Do you know any other Team Building activities?

Resources to Celebrate Mexico!

Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day. 

(That is celebrated on September 16th.) Cinco de Mayo does celebrate a Mexican battle. It dates back to May 5, 1862, and I imagine if I were Mexican, I'd know more about it. I've shown this video in the past. The content is a little above the heads of my second graders, but it gives the kids a taste of Mexican history with a cute sombrero-wearing chili character and a catchy tune.

Those of us who live in the USA think of Mexico as our "neighbors to the south." It's also a lovely place to visit when the winter is cold and bitter. (Winter sure gets nasty here in New Hampshire!)

Many of us like to think of Cinco de Mayo as a day to celebrate our Mexican neighbors.

Here's another Youtube video that gives the kids a taste of Mexico. It's filled with Mariachi music and pictures that are classically Mexican!

A couple more You Tube videos that give kids a "taste" of Mexico:

Or... it's not too late to order some of your own Mariachi music. Check out these CDs available on Amazon. (These are affiliate links, which means I get a few cents from a sale, but it doesn't change your cost at all!)

• Viva El Mariachi
• Mexico and Mariachis

I prefer to have loads of literature when I teach about anything, particularly another country. Here are some of my favorite informational books about Mexico!

• Mexico ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Mexico
• P is for Pinata: A Mexico Alphabet
• Look What Came from Mexico
• Off We Go to Mexico  

Of course, after learning about Mexico through books and videos, I'd have my kids write about the country. Here's some paper with a Mexico theme, and it's only $2! You can find it here: Mexico Themed Writing Paper

What good is a celebration of Mexico without a little Mexican food and a craft?  Tortilla chips with salsa are easy and popular, so I imagine they'll make an appearance. If you're daring, bring in some hot salsa!

Here are a couple more Mexico resources your students might enjoy:

Cinco de Mayo No Prep Printables

Mexico Suffixes Go Fish

Strengthen Math Skills

Looking for some ways to strengthen math skills? 

Well, I have the answer: games!

 

Brain research proves that getting the emotions involved helps the memory. (Think back to those very emotional times of your own life... they bring back strong memories, don't they? Think: weddings, babies, holidays)

It's also important that children spend some time in conversation. Brain research proves that, and as classroom teachers, we know we need to let them talk... sometimes!

For those reasons, I make sure my kids play plenty of math games. There are so many math skills that need to be repeated to be strengthened, and games can be played again and again! 

The game above is one my students have played for more than 20 years. The kids love it, and it's a great way to practice 2 digit addition, with a little bit of luck and strategy involved.

Here's another Math Game. I made the above game one summer when I was helping out my friend with his golf camp and got inspired. (Some teachers just can't let go, can we?)

This one is easy, fun, and has lots of variations!

 This one is perfect for those kiddos that need to move!

Here's a reminder of all those facts children need to learn! Hopefully, these games will help them learn these!

 

Over the years, as I've been blogging, I keep coming back to games. Here are a few other posts that might interest you about games:

Ten Easy Learning Games

Playing Math Games to Strengthen Important Skills

Ten Reasons My Students Play Lots of Games

 

Want a little something digital?

Boom Cards are Fun and Easy to Use 

 

Here are a couple of posts specific to learning math facts:

Ten Brain Tricks for Learning Math Facts 

Developing Multiplication and Division Facts 

Learning Math Facts With Cuisenaire Rods

Making Addition and Subtraction Facts Stick

 

For those all-important math facts, try these fluency systems:

Fact Fluency System for Addition and Subtraction: The Bundle

Building Fact Fluency Multiplication and Division System Boom Cards Bundle

What math games do you play with your students?  

The Brain, Baseball, and Geography

I read a lot about how the brain learns and remembers. Why? Because I find it absolutely fascinating. I also want my students to learn, so I'm always searching for ways to help them remember what I've taught.

I've found that kids learn best when they get a little bit at a time, frequently, rather than one big lesson all at once, then never to see it again. (Unfortunately, our present Math program does the latter.)

There is plenty of evidence to prove that frequent review and practice are the best ways for children to remember what they're learning.

There's also plenty of evidence to prove that connecting learning to children's passions helps the learning process.

So, what does this have to do with baseball?  That's the passion that I connect to learning geography!

I write a letter every morning to the children, letting them know of anything special happening that day. I also post the learning targets for the day. Then, I usually add some fun little questions and/ or graphics—you know, to motivate the kids to read the letter!

This movie shows the insane loyalty of Red Sox fans!

Fever Pitch

Here in New Hampshire, we are die-hard Red Sox fans. Those of us who grew up in the Boston area have developed a loyalty that we just can't shake. Since the official start of baseball season a couple of weeks ago, I've been writing a little "Red Sox Geography" question in the morning letter, complete with a map and labels.

It might look like this:

or like this:

I admit, I'm as almost as passionate about geography as I am about the Red Sox. If the little ones aren't baseball fans when they come into my class, they certainly are by the time they leave!

I make sure we have plenty of maps around, and the children scramble to be the first ones with the answer! It's just a little bit every day, but they become familiar with the names of the states, the bodies of water, and the cardinal directions. 

The timing is good since their reading and mapping skills will be strong enough for these activities by April. Since we won't get out until the last week of June, they'll be getting almost daily practice!

Want to know more about brain-based learning? See Ten Brain Based Learning Strategies or 10 Key Brainy Points.

See also this resource with Geography Baseball Task Cards!

 How do you use their passions to get them interested in schoolwork?

 

Celebrate Spring With Games!

I am so ready for Spring!  

Here in New Hampshire, the temperature seems to have trouble getting past the 40s, and there are still patches of snow everywhere, including my garden!

But Spring is in my heart, as well as my classroom.  

Here are some of my Spring Products that you'll find my students using!  

Earth Day Vocabulary Match is a fun way to review words related to Earth Day and protecting the environment.  There are several variations of play!

 

Spring Flower "Go Fish" Game is a great way to practice the prefixes un-, dis-, re-, and pre- as well as the meanings of these prefixes.

Here's another game with prefixes, with suffix practice as well!

Rainy Day Prefixes and Suffixes gives the children practice finding the base word of words with prefixes and suffixes.  The children can focus on just prefixes, just suffixes, or combine the two!

Two Rainbow Games:  Nouns and Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs is a great opportunity to practice making up adjectives to go with nouns, and making up adverbs to go with verbs.  

Mental Math Addition and Subtraction Game With a Spring Theme allows the students to add or subtract multiples of ten mentally.  

I have a whole lot of sports-related products, and baseball season is upon us!  Here are a few baseball-themed games:

Baseball Antonyms is a simple matching game for antonyms.  It can also be played as an "Old Maid" game, which the kids love!

Home Run Two Digit Addition is a BINGO type of game to practice two-digit addition skills (with or without regrouping).

Looking for more sports-related resources? See HERE!

How are you celebrating Spring in your classroom?