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I flew back home yesterday. I had a great time in Florida with my family! I even held an alligator in the Everglades! Yikes! Just to clarify the alligator was a baby and it's mouth was velcroed shut. (Is velcroed a word?) Apparently an alligator does not have the same strength to open their mouths as they do to clamp down on their prey. Now that winter break is over, I need to refocus and get back into the mindset with my little scholars at school. My eighth graders will be working on an argument style writing piece as we examine different court cases that violated the fourth amendment. My seventh graders will continue their study of Ancient Egypt.
Well, it is the beginning of February vacation and I am sitting in my rented condo in Florida away from the storms that are pounding New England, away from the cold, away from anything that requires boots, mittens and scarves. I am waiting for the sun to be slightly higher in the sky so the pool is out of the shade, so the beach is a little warmer. I am waiting for my sister to arrive, who was supposed to be here around noon, who left late and won't be here until mid afternoon. SO, how do I pass my time? I turn on my teacher brain, even though I left any correcting I have at home, even though I didn't bring anything to plan class lessons , even though I vowed I would wait until at least it was closer to the end of vacation. I have already checked my school email. I found that one of my students has already completed her summary on the Rosetta Stone, yeah!! She sent it to me via google docs, so I got an email notification stating that something was sent to me. I checked her work. On a preliminary read she got all the main ideas and had good supporting details in her summary. Again, yeah!! Then I found a great lesson plan template to use for writing lessons to include the Common Core. So for those of you not on Winter break or are like me and can't stop thinking about school check out the template. Also, try www.commoncurriculum.com for a great planning website.
Well, the sun is up and the temperature is warm enough. I think I will go dip my piggies in the Gulf of Mexico. Pictures to come. I wanted to review some vocabulary with my seventh graders yesterday. I tried a vocabulary activity yesterday in class. One that I have thought about but had never before attempted. I was surprised with the positive results and student engagement. This will be an activity I use again.
The Activity- ( Yet to be named, but reminds me of Taboo). I chose one student to be the guesser and had him/her stand in the front of the class, I showed the rest of the kids the vocabulary word and instructed them to provide clues for the guesser. I asked the guesser to choose people to give him clues. Once he guessed the word correctly, a new guesser was chosen. What amazed me was the amount of hands that went up to provide clues, the clear clues the students provided and the volunteers to guess the vocabulary word Today in eighth grade we took an in-depth look at the Preamble to The Constitution of the United States. I have taught the Preamble before, but this was the first time I used a lesson created by the MA DESE. It was interesting to say the least. This was the first lesson in a series of lessons that will ultimately lead to an argument writing piece on the fourth amendment. After participating in a NEH program in the summer of 2012 on Abraham Lincoln, I submitted a lesson plan to the professor to be considered for the book she was editing on Lincoln. The lesson was accepted and published as part of a collection of lesson plans. I got news today that the book is finally finished. Below is a link to Teaching Lincoln: Legacies and Classroom Strategies on Amazon.
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AuthorI am an empty-nester with two boys, a husband and a passion for writing, creating and teaching. I teach 7th and 8th grade Social Studies in Massachusetts. I am a self proclaimed history geek and proud of it! In my spare time ( Spare time, ha ha that's a joke! ) I enjoy photography, reading and hanging out with my family. Archives
February 2022
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