Quotes I LOVE

On Education:

Education is not preparation for Life, Education is Life itself. ― John Dewey

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. ― William Butler Yeats

“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” ― G.K. Chesterton

Mistakes can be a great teacher, but only after the frustration wears off. ― Anthoinette Martell 

The gardener does not make a plant grow. The job of a gardener is to create optimal conditions. ― Sir Ken Robinson

Teaching is not rocket science, it is more complicated than that! ― Dr. Pasi Sahlberg

There is no such thing as a bad child. Every child is a gift. ― Mary Kathleen Walsh

On Doing the Right Thing:

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. ― J.K. Rowling

“You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.” ― C.G. Jung

It is well to think well, it is divine to act well. ― Horace Mann 

Being nice is a lot of work. It's easier to be a jerk. ― Bob Scheltema 

"It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be better." ― Lisa Karpenko Rollins

On Serving Others:

“Non nobis solum nati sumus.   (Not for ourselves alone are we born.)”  ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” ― Barack Obama

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” ― Maya Angelou

The greatest among you will be your servant. ― Matthew 23:11

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ― Chief Si’ahl 

On Being Yourself:

You are intense and wonderful and amazing. . . Do not dim your light, madame. ― Shoshana Jackson

"The most sophisticated people I've ever known had just one thing in common: they were all in touch with their inner children." ― Jim Henson


On Life:

It's kind of fun to do the Impossible! ― Walt Disney

Be honest. Be kind. Be honorable. Work hard. And always be AWESOME! ― Wil Weaton

It was not an adventure; it was my life. ― Yehuda Amichi 

Just because two people's puzzle pieces don't match up, doesn't mean anybody is a bad person. ― Shoshana Jackson

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ― Jeremiah 29:11

"Garlic is like glitter, after you clean it up, you find it on you still" ― James Buescher

Glooscap and His People

I wrote this abridged version of the Algonquin Legend Glooscap and His People that can be found here. I thought the original was a bit long for third graders, but I wanted to keep the flavor of the story.

Out of rocks and clay, the Great Chief Glooscap made the animals: Miko the squirrel, Team the moose, Mooin the bear, and many others. All of Glooscap’s animals were very large, way bigger and stronger than a man.
  His evil wolf-headed brother, Malsum, was jealous and wished to also have a hand in creation, even though he did not have that power. He whispered an evil charm and the remainder of Glooscap’s clay turned to a strange animal: it was not a beaver, a badger, or a wolverine, but a combination of all three, able to change into any of those forms. Malsum named the animal Lox.
Lox, the troublemaker, figured out how to make his mischief.  He went in his wolverine body to Team, and admired his antlers, which reached the top of the pine trees, “If ever you meet a man, you could throw him to the top of the world with those antlers!” Team, thinking this sounded fun, went to Glooscap and asked for a man so he could toss him to the top of the world. Glooscap loved his people and did not like this idea one bit, so he touched Team with his hand and moose became the size he is today.
Next Lox went in his badger form to Miko and said, “With that magnificent tail of yours, you could smash down every lodge in the village.” And Miko proudly swept the nearest wigwam right off the ground. Great Chief Glooscap was nearby, and he caught Miko up in his hand and stroked the squirrels back until he was as small as he is today. “Miko, from now on, you will live in the trees and keep your tail wear it belongs.”
Then Lox put on his beaver shape and went to Mooin the bear, who was the same size he is now, but his throat wad much bigger. “Mooin,” said Lox, “Supposing you met a man, what would you do to him?” The bear scratched his head thoughtfully and at last said, “Eat him! I’d swallow him whole!” Who do you think was nearby? Glooscap, and he made bear’s throat shrink. “From now on you may swallow only very small creatures.” And today the bear, as big as he is, eats only small animals, fish and berries.
Now Great Chief Glooscap called his people together and said, “I made the animals to be man’s friends, but they have acted with treachery and selfishness. From now on, they shall be your servants and provide you with food and clothing.  Now you have power over even the largest wild creatures, yet I charge you to use this power gently.  If you take more than you need for food and clothing, I will send a pitiless giant named Famine, and when he comes, you will suffer hunger and death.

-adapted by S.J.Meyer from Glooscap & His People: An Algonquin Legend

Leap Day!

Here are some ideas I came up with for celebrating Leap Day in your classroom! 

Links mentioned in the video:

Coloring book

Origami Frog

Album Cover Meme. . . Yes, again - but this time it has more purpose!!!

I originally posted the directions here. I have since modified my own modification, because I'm using it as a writing prompt for my Writing Process class:

How to Make Your Own Album Cover - The GeekyFutureTeacher Way
I modified the original meme to suit my style. (I especially diskined the "third picture no matter what" mandatory-ness of it, and I felt like it was missing some steps!)

1. Click Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random) - this is the title of your band 
2. Click Here (http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3) - use 3-5 words from a quote on this page as the title of your album.
3. Click Here (http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days) - Choose an album cover.
4. Use your favorite photo editor (mine is picmonkey, other people love photoshop) to put it all together (and make it square).
5. Click Here (http://www.manythings.org/rs/svoc.html) -  Click on "three sentences," choose the title of your hit single! (Can be part of a sentence)
6. Pick a genre/style for your band.
7. Write an anecdotal blog post about an On Tour adventure, how the band got started, or a convoluted fan experience.
   
   Rather than take the time for everyone to create their own album cover, I made a few for inspiration:
   (The bonus with this method is that you get to choose which words are the Name, album, and in some cases, song title!!!!)



Simply Sponges!

In my Life Science for Elementary Teachers class, we had to do a skit on various invertebrates. And my group got Sponges! So, we did a game show called "Simple Sponges!" I went a teeny bit overboard at Dollar Tree, but we had a pretty awesome game show. We "rigged" it so that it was a 3-way tie, and for the Final Round we each threw a wet sponge at the chalk target on the board. The winner received a container of mini sponge cakes (made by my mom after I jokingly said it would be awesome to have sponge cake) that we shared with the class! Our Name cards are dish sponges, our microphones are sponge paint brushes stuck in a copper sponge, and we had several sponge puns and bad jokes.

Simply Sponges!

The Contestants.

The Host

Based on the color of my face, I just answered the reproduction question. . .

"Final Spongardy"

My Pedagogy, Philosophy, & Beliefs About Education

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
- William Butler Yeats (Poet, Nobel Prize for Literature 1923)

Back in February, I briefly mentioned the Learning Hierarchy I had to create. I have continued to give it thought, and I've added to (and taken away from) it, however, it is still very much a work in progress.

This is My Learning Hierarchy.

My inspirations include:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,

​Dr. William Glasser's Choice Theory, 

and my own experiences caring for and working with children.

Stick Person Design - I am a stick-person artist, I enjoy their simple form, and often use them to illustrate difficult concepts. 

The Head contains Self and Safety - The head, where the brain is located, the epicenter of our nervous systems, our thoughts, and the computer of our bodies.  Where we process learning, where all thoughts, worries, and feelings originate. Learning, Comprehension, and True Understanding do not have a chance when Self and Safety are not maintained.

Self  - Self concept, self-worth and self-value start to develop during early childhood and never stop. It includes the attributes, abilities, values, perspectives, beliefs, inner thoughts, and attitudes that make up what defines a person as "me." 

Safety  - In order for learning and understanding to take place, people need to know they are in a safe environment, That they are cared for, and secure. Dr. Glasser calls this "Survival," and Maslow refers to it as "Physiological Needs" and "Safety Needs." 

The Shoulders bear Community - I am a strong proponent of the old adage 'It takes a village to raise a child." That village, the community surrounding each of us can be an incredible support structure (not unlike our shoulders supporting our frames, neck, and head), or it can bear down and sap our strength. Sometimes we can choose our community, and other times it is forced upon us. 

Community - Human beings are residents of the world.  Children need to understand their place in the world, and know how to exist in the world. Community is also about belonging where you are, and being respectful of your surroundings. It is about discovering that there are different kinds of communities: classroom, school, neighborhood, city/town/village, state, country, global, interest group, website, etc.

The Arms are comprised of Family & Friends - Arms can move, independently of each other, but they are supported to an extent, by the shoulders. While a person can survive with only one arm, or no arms, it is difficult and struggles are plentiful, the same can be said for lack of family and/or friends. 

Family - Parents and caregivers do the best they can with what they have. Family forms all the first things in a child's life. Family is the biggest suitcase we drag around, for better or worse, and there are always hidden pockets other people never see.

Friends - The people with whom a person chooses to share time, feelings, life, and activities. In school it is often simply classmates with whom enjoyment is found playing or working alongside. Typically, the closest friends are people with whom a person has conquered an obstacle or overcome conflict with to form a bond. Having a friend or multiple friends is a valuable tenet. 

The Trunk of the body is Character - The trunk of the body covered by clothing, the location of the backbone, and the heart and support of the entire body. 

Character - Character is what you do, not what you say. Knowing right from wrong. Thinking about the consequences of your actions. Standing up for what is right, and true, and good. Having Courage and Humility, Wisdom and Justice. Empathy and Loyalty, Honesty and Fortitude. 

Lastly, the Legs are formed by Choices and Fun - Legs are what carry us to our destinations. Sometimes they run, sometimes they trip, sometimes they are knocked from us and we crash to the ground. Our Choices about life and our Pursuit of fun are the same way. 

Choices - Everything in life has at least one choice. Black or White; Right or Left; Up or Down; Jacket or Sweater; Shorts or Snowpants; Love or Hate; What should we have for dinner? Where do you want to go? When do you want to do that? and so on. Children need a chance to be confident in decision-making. They also should learn that every action has a consequence –some consequences are pleasant while others are just plain awful, but every action has them, even when we choose not to do something, or when a choice is taken away from us.

Fun - What is the point of life without fun? Human beings, especially children need enjoyment, laughter, silliness, and fun to experience a full life. 

Technology in Math Class

Pairs of Students shared an iPad and played games together

In my Teaching Elementary Math class, we spent a class period learning about and playing with technology. We played games on iPads, explored CoolMath4Kids.com and MathPlayground.com, watched this video and discussed using video games in Math Class.

If we found a game we liked, we shared it with the whole
class, using the ELMO - dual technology!

The apps we played with on the iPads were:

• Bugs and Numbers
• Motion Math: Fractions!
• Splash Math
• Toca Builders
• Sushi Monster
• Math Doodles
• and more that I didn't write down!

Not your typical PowerPoint

I promised that I would share my PowerPoint Presentation. So here are the slides:

Here is the Video that is embedded into the PowerPoint (the green square)

Click this Slide to follow the Hyperlink from the Presentation.

We had to say what grade we'd like to teach
and the subject we'd like to base our big project on.

Also, I learned about Prezi during class today. Here is the Prezi I made just for this blog!

My Views on Educational Technology

This post was specifically made to include on my PowerPoint Presentation for my Media & Technology class.  I love using technology, both personally, and in the classroom. That being said, I think students also know how to get along without technology. I think I'd like to do an "Unplugged!" unit/week/specific days in my classroom.

NOTE: The Reading Rainbow Skybrary is what I was trying to think of in the video! 

Post-First Day of School!

Yesterday was my first day of my real Senior year of University!!! (Next fall I should be student teaching!!!!!!!!!!!!) Yes, it deserves that many exclamation points.

My first class is Economic Development, it doesn't seem like it will be as painful and Intro to Econ. The coolest part about the class is that there is no textbook or coursepack to buy and the articles are short and he won't assign us more than 4 articles (for a total of 20 pages or less) ever! 

When I came out of the building after class, I found Dr. J eating her lunch! 

I will most likely be updating the blog more frequently this semester because my second class is Educational Media and Technology. So far, my Prof is really awesome. (Yes, I've only been to one class, but I just have a gut feeling that this class is going to Rock!)

Like many classes, we had to go around the room and say our name and Major, but he also had us rate our comfort/knowledge level with media and technology (on a scale of 1-10 with ten being not comfortable at all and 10 being Bill Gates is on your Speed Dial). I didn't want to come off too cocky, and I know that their is still quite a lot that I don't know (and in some cases don't want to know) about computers, technology, and social media, so I said 9 3/4. (HP reference FTW!)

Our first assignment was to check out this list of useful tools and apps educators should be aware of and list 5 that we were familiar with and if/why we would recommend them to our colleagues, and list 5 we were interested in learning more about.  Being the Geek that I am, I also included a list of my 5 favorite apps/tools that were not on the list.

I am quite familiar with these 5 Tools

1. Skype - I have mostly used it to visit with my sister, bro-in-law, and nephews who live very far away. However, I have also participated in Author Interviews with YA authors in an EMU class, and a few nerdy Q&A Sessions. I would definitely use it Skype for similar applications in the classroom.
2. Pinterest - I love using Pinterest to create Lesson Toolkits. I start a board on a specific topic and use it to collect resources, lesson ideas, books, and manipulative ideas on that topic. It is also a great place to find clever craft projects, icebreaker activities, and brain breaks in a pinch.
3. Wordle - Wordle is fun, but it is a Java-based toy and doesn't work in Chrome, which is my preferred Browser. It currently works in Firefox, but I wonder how long it will still be a viable tool. 
4. QR Codes - I love using QR Codes to take people exactly where you want them to go online. It is really helpful with people who aren't overly tech-savvy, or who have a hard time typing in a long url - they do have to use a smartphone or tablet with a QR Reader installed. Last February, I substitute taught in a Kindergarten classroom where the students had a Tablet Center, in a pocket of the Tablet cases each kid pulled out a ring with a bunch of cards on it. Each card had a picture and a QR Code on it, the kids picked one out, scanned the QR Code and were taken to an activity that correlated to the picture on the card.
5. YouTube - Many schools don't allow YouTube anymore, but, YouTube has a fairly new App out called YouTube Kids which eliminates many of the reasons YouTube isn't allowed in schools - foul language, inappropriate advertisements, age-inappropriate material, etc. The YouTube Kids Reading Rainbow Channel is AMAZING and features some really awesome STEM videos in addition to READING-focused media.

5 Tools I Would Like to Explore

1. Prezi - I tried to figure out Prezi on my own after seeing someone use it in a class presentation, but I found it bulky, weird, and not overly user-friendly (it was super-new at the time) I would love to know how to really use it!
2. TED-Ed - I <3 TEDtalks. Especially the education-relevant ones. I have found some great resources through TED programming, and I look forward to exploring TED-Ed!
3. LiveBinders - This tool looks like a handy object for my toolbox.
4. SocialStudy - Maybe the name of this just appeals to the Social Studies Major in me, but I'm intrigued by this site I've never heard of before!  OOPS! So, I apparently typo-ed the name of this site, and I based my comment on the name. I think it was wishful thinking. The real Site is: OpenStudy. Which does look interesting, but not in the same way!
5. KhanAcademy - I've heard a lot about this, and while it brings a certain Star Trek baddie to mind, I am curious as to whether this site lives up to the hype.

My 5 Favorite Digital Tools Not On This List

1. SMILE - Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment (SMILE) is basically an assessment/inquiry maker which allows students to quickly create own inquiries or homework items based on their own learning for the day. It is a really awesome and quite simple tool that helps engage students in their education and develop critical-thinking skills. It is also an awesome tool for gauging what students have learned from a lesson, or what prior knowledge they have on a new subject. (More info) (Links to an external site.)
2. GoNoodle This site is filled to the brim with digital tools specifically aimed at getting kids physically active! You can use much of the site for free, or you can get a paid membership as an individual or as a school. It is lovely for silly brain breaks!
3. Project Gutenburg Children's Bookshelf - Free digital downloads of Children's Literature - most of it is fairly old, but it provides some great primary sources for exploration!
4. Vimeo - A video publishing and viewing site not unlike YouTube, however, Vimeo is less likely to yank your video as "suspected copyright infringement" and allows for more educational purposes. (It is usually not blocked by schools!)  It also features a huge Creative Commons library of music and media for use in your videos, much of the music is free to download! You do need an account, but the Basic account is free.
5. Album Meme - Okay, blatant self-promotion here. While this isn't a fancy tool, it is an "exploring the internet" activity that can lead to as much creative writing as you wish to assign. 

My Next assignment will most likely show up here in some format - I have to make a Power Point Presentation. :( Blech! I hate PPP!

Next up is Teaching Math for Elementary Teachers.  I failed this class last semester. (Long story that you don't want to hear.) Anyway, I'm taking it with a different Prof and she seems pretty nice, and her assignments look less complicated. She started us off with a fun worksheet. Yes, I said "fun" and "worksheet" in reference to Math!!! Crazy! I have recreated it for you since I wrote all over my copy.

My final class of the day is Life Science for Elementary Teachers.  We will cover some of my favorite science topics in this class!!! And I have friends in this class! My prof seems about my age, maybe a few years older than me, which is usually not a problem for me. We started out collecting specimens yesterday - and discussed the characteristics of something that is alive! There are lots of stuffed animals and beanie babies in the classroom though. 

I'm really looking forward to this semester! I think it will be a good one! 

Play's the Thing

I spent some time today at the library with a 6 year old (we were waiting for her older sisters to finish programs). This library happens to have a puppet theater and several bins of puppets.  I wouldn't let her play on the computer today, so she got creative with her play!

Her first play went like this:

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. 

One day, a bear came along and ate her. 

The End. 

Here is the bear eating the princess.

Her second play starred the same princess puppet, in a different role.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess.

She had a wiggly tooth. 

One day, her tooth fell out and she placed it under her pillow.

 Soon, she fell asleep.

 The Tooth Fairy took her tooth and left a Gold Dollar.

The End!

Then she (practically demanded) that I put on a play for her. I am tall, I told her my shirt was the background. I dug through the bins for different puppets - I found a squirrel puppet and a chicken puppet

Narrator:   There once was a very, sad, lonely chicken crying in the forest.

Chicken:  Cluck-boo-hoo. Cluck-boo-hoo

Narrator:  A squirrel heard her. (Squirrel pops up and sidles next to chicken.) 

Squirrel: Hello!

Chicken: Ahh! (Chicken ducks down and hides.) I'm not s'posed to talk to strangers.

Squirrel: I'm not a stranger, I'm a squirrel.

Chicken: Oh, hello.

Squirrel: Now that we are friends, I will teach you my song:  

Brown Squirrel. Brown Squirrel.Shake your bushy tail.Brown Squirrel. Brown Squirrel.Shake your bushy tail.Wrinkle up your little nose,Put it down between your toes,Brown Squirrel. Brown Squirrel.Shake your bushy tail.

Chicken: Wow. That was a great song. Want to hear my song?

Squirrel: Sure!

Chicken: (Lots of random sing-songy clucking)

Squirrel: Wow!

Narrator: The End.

Her final play was very similar to my play, but instead of singing it ended with a hugfest between chicken and squirrel. (Imitation is definitely flattery here!)

Happy Summer!

Whoa! It has been a long time since I updated! Sorry, life has certainly been busy! Hopefully, next semester I will have a class that I can use the blog in again. I can't believe June is almost over!

I've done quite a bit of substitute teaching the last few weeks. It mostly gets easier, but I had the fifth grade class from H-E-double hockey sticks on Monday. They were so rude, generally uncooperative, and just plain awful.  I had to write down eight names! That is a record for me, the most before that is two, and normally I write down so-and-so was very helpful names anyway. Ugh!

I am working on a video about my AZ trip. Stay tuned for that!

Part of my take-home Social Studies Curriculum Exam

We know that teacher modeling is important for students. Describe how you will model for students the use of social studies content, processes, and values in your own life. 

I will continue to model social studies concepts in my personal life, in the following ways.

• Participating in community activities and civics -  I often attend community meetings on local issues (Most recently a meeting with the local DNR and Parks authorities about changes that need to be made to our local parks and which areas the community thinks are most important.), I am not afraid to speak up and express my opinion and concerns. I also attend community events; parades, holiday celebrations, Music at the Millpond, Art Fairs, etc.
• Exercising my Right to Vote! – I will continue to proudly wear my “I Voted” sticker on Election Day!
• Active Membership in The Society for Creative Anachronism – I portray a Norse Woman in this not-for-profit Medieval History group, in which we dress in medieval clothing and practice the Arts, Sciences, and Martial activities prevalent during pre-1600s Europe and the societies in which the interacted.
• Researching and Reading – I am a Social Studies Major. I love History, Historical Fiction, and learning about old and new places, people and cultures.
• Visiting Significant Places – I love visiting Historical Sites, Museums, Government Buildings and other “Significant Places.” ;)
• Keeping Current – I pay attention to what is going on the world. I ask questions, discuss, and share information with others.
• Participating in Life – I am a citizen of the world! I participate in life. I serve in my community, pay attention to the world around me, and enjoy life!

Independence Folders

Another thought I've had for my future students is Independence Folders.

Independence Folders will be Accordion-style folders with tabs, or 3-ring binders with tabbed dividers  - it may be based on student choice, maybe not, I haven't decided yet.

This is even fancier - I think it was
sold at barnesandnoble,com

My "fancy" plastic accordion-style folder
that I use for handouts and homework

They will be kept in a special place in the classroom and will always be accessible to students - I will make sure that my Sub Plans state that students have access to them, especially if they are in a not-obvious spot.

The sections will be labeled in a way that makes sense to each student - we will have a day at the beginning of the year that includes the setting up and instructions for using them.

Independence Folders feature self-directed activities that cover subjects we are studying. Students will be required to complete a specific number of activities per subject per quarter, some activities may be required, and some optional.

They will include [specific] website exploration with a related recording sheet/log; math drills; charting weather, health, growth, milestones, special events, number of books read; science experiments; etc.

Long time no post!

It feels like it has been ages since I posted! 

It probably has, and I should be studying right now anyway. 

School, SCA stuff, Kappa Delta Pi, and Life in general have been keeping me pretty busy.

Last semester I took a Curriculum/Practicum class.

I learned a ton and I had a really awesome Professor.  She had us design a Superhero, we were supposed to wear our costume to class, but, she had to cancel class that day, so we never wore our costumes. However, my mom took photos of me ready to fight bad grammar! My youngest sister designed my logo - which is a G and an Interrobang, my favorite punctuation mark! She also drew a really awesome Comic book cover of Grammatica and included a few panels in the comic book. :) 

In my high school drama class, my group wrote and performed a skit based on a meeting of
The National Organization for Women Super Heroes (NOWSH). We made Grammatica a member too!
(I was Key Girl - the Keynote speaker who held the Key to the City, etc,)

We spent half our time in the classroom learning how to create lesson plans and how to teach a direct lesson, and half our time working with real students!!!  I was in a third grade classroom!  I was there mostly for Lunchtime/recess (they get 20 minutes of recess per day - total :( ) and Math.

We got really good at writing Essential Questions.
One that is important to my developing pedagogy:

What does it mean to be a community member?

One of my assignments was to respond to a chapter in our book any way I wished.  I decided to go the artistic route (Anyone surprised?)

I also had to design my own Learning Hierarchy, 

it is inspired by William Glasser's Choice Theory.

My final project was to teach a lesson to my third graders. 

I had to wear a costume and make the lesson different than what they would normally do. (I don't have any photos of my outfit (Maybe when there is no longer any snow on the ground I will have my mom take some and I'll add them to this post.) As luck would have it my lead teacher was subbing for the principal so she had a sub in her classroom, it was a really weird dynamic in the classroom that day. (She was an ineffective teacher for many reasons I am not getting into now!)

 I became Grammatica's twin sister - Mathematica! 

Mathematica's Magic Words (for this Lesson): Qi Sept Septum! (The number 7 in Chinese, French, and Latin)

Wand swishes in a giant invisible 7.

Rabbit's Name - Epta (Greek for Rabbit)

I had the kids play a gross motor game that makes them sort themselves into groups of a certain number and use their bodies to form a specific thing (like a dragon or a car). Then they sat down and I turned my students into Mathemagicians. They each got a special magic want (I found black pre-sharpened pencils with white erasers!) to use for the lesson. 

I had them help me with a magic trick (that ended up being way above most of their abilities - although it should have been review.) 

Magic Trick:

1. Pick a number between 2-9
2. Multiply your number by 3
3. Multiply your new number by 3.
4. Your new number should be two digits, take those two digits and add them together,
5. Subtract 2 from that number and you have the Magical Number we are working with today!

I pulled a rabbit out of my hat holding a number 7 in its paws (the rabbit was made of craft foam - I will try to remember to take a photo of that too.)

Next, I shared with them a magic way "do math without really doing any math," I called it The Magic Square.  I had them fill in this chart with their magic wands. 

I asked them if they noticed any patterns in the magic squares. (They found some really interesting ones - I love how kids think!) Then we used them to find the multiples of 7. 

I gave them a new sheet and asked them to fill in the Multiplication Wheel (we did the first one together,) 

This part was interesting - I didn't tell them how to come up with the answers for the wheel, it was amazing to me how many of them did not use the magic square, but counted on their fingers instead! When they were finished I also had them color all the odd numbers red - which made it easy to determine if 7 is odd or even. When they were totally finished they were allowed to check their answers by peeking inside my magic hat (where the answer key is located! - again I will add a photo when I remember!)

The very last thing I did was give them a reinforcement activity that was optional.