Boys Club!

Rather than reinvent the wheel and create a long blog post, I'm just going to post the link to my website. I got busier this summer than I expected!

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!!!!)



Learn Me Good

Back to the daily grind! The holidays are over and the countdown to Mid-Winter break has started! I don't know about you, but, I am trying to finish all my books from break before I have to settle in and only read school stuff for the next 4 months. If you are looking for a humorous read that you can pretend is a PD book, I highly recommend Learn Me Good by John Pearson.

Learn Me Good is the hilarious first year teaching fiction inspired by Pearson's real experiences.  The book is written as emails from Jack Woodson, a former cube monkey turned third grade teacher, to Fred Bommerson, his buddy who still works in Heat Pump-land.

I laughed so hard reading this book, and couldn't put it down!
There is also a sequel, Learn Me Gooder, where Woodson/Pearson shares more tails of hilarity, wonder, and weirdness from the classroom. Also check out Learn Me Good on Facebook!

Sorry for the Accidental Hiatus!

Whoops! It is so typical of my life, that within two weeks of committing to update this blog every Thursday, Real Life would say "Nope, you can't do that!"

Quick recap on life since my last post: Started working at Target (so I can pay for school), went to Kappa Delta Pi Biennial Convocation (where I met some incredibly awesome teachers, including Dorina Sackman,  Alex Kajitani, and Joel Laguna, and where I heard an excellent talk from Shanna Peeples - the 2015 National Teacher of the Year!!!!), have been fighting an awful chest/head congestion thing, and I've taken 4 Midterms!!! So much homework lately!!!

I created a Professional Website for my Technology Class. It's not quite finished, but it is live! I'm also working on a Webquest for third grade students. Also in progress: Biology Lesson to actually teach to real 1st graders, real math lessons for tutoring a real 3rd grader, a Math Toolkit for Multiplication, an online social studies unit for third graders, editing a worksheet I created several years ago to fit a group project for Bio, and building an imaginary insect (also for Bio).

I will be posting photos from my trip to Convo soon. Good night and Stay healthy!

Life Science Worksheet I created for 1st Graders

I just really want to post this so I can easily access it in case I want to talk about it later this week! ;)

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. 

Special BONUS: Silly Songs Stuck (in my head)

Do you know the Wishy Washy Washerwoman song? It is a silly song I learned years and years (and years) ago at Girl Scout Camp. (I just did the math, it has been almost 20 years since I was a camper!!!)

Anyway, I had only part of the song stuck in my head, just the begining, "Waaaaaaaaay down in the valley, where nobody goes, there's a Wishy Washy Washerwoman washing her clothes. . . " I couldn't recall the rest! SO, I did what any former Scout would do, and I googled it!

Whereupon, I found this GEM performed by male teachers!! This is just totally awesome!

(Start around 1:26 if you want to skip the intro)

They did skip my favorite verse, "Waaaaaaaaay down in the valley, where nobody goes, there's a Wishy Washy Washerwoman picking her nose. She goes Pick-Flick, Pick-Flick, Pick-Flick, Pick-Flick, that's how the Washerwoman pi-cks her nose!" (I learned it that way - without forcing the "wishy-washy" part on the last line.)


The Other song stuck in my head lately is the Boots Song/My Boots/Whatever you want to call it!

I couldn't find anything that wasn't Dora the Explorer related when I searched for it, so I recorded it just for you!

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! 

Awesome Acrostics

As a pre-student teacher, I have had to teach many lessons to my class. One of the first lessons I taught, back in 2012, was on Acrostic Poems. I shared an alphabet book of acrostic poems (Animal Acrostics by Michael S. Maydak) and taught a mini lesson on how to write them. Here is the worksheet I created to make it easier to teach:

Here's the poem my class wrote:

Elegant
Avian (there was almost a tie for America)
Glorious
Legendary
Eyesight

July 17, 2012 - Schoolroom Stuff

My Sisters complain when I don't post pictures. . .

I had a great idea for my future classroom, that I do not want to forget!!!

I've been reading Ron Clark's books this summer. I just finished The Excellent 11, and I read The Essential 55 (finally) in early June. I am currently reading The End of Molasses Classes.
The Excellent 11 talked about how he has his students work on memorizing things because, in today's world, with calculators and the internet at our fingertips, students aren't learning how to memorize.
It makes sense, think about it, how many phone numbers do you currently know by heart?  (The only ones I can recite, aside from my own cell, are my old phone numbers from when I was a kid and my Best Friend's growing up, neither are attached to either of us!) He teaches his students The Star-Spangled Banner (and it's history and the expected deportment one should have during it), he teaches them all the presidents in order (which helps their understanding of history by giving them a basis to start from, for example: What big war happened during FDR's presidency? or Who was President when you were born?) and among other things. When his students have memorized something they have to recite it in front of the class without a mistake. There is usually a reward for doing so.

In the case of memorizing the presidents, he divides the class into groups and assigns a pre-recruited faculty member to each group (like the gym teacher, principal, another teacher, librarian, or school secretary). Of the first time he did this, Ron says, 

 "If every person on the team could say the presidents in order by the end of the month, that team would get a free pizza party. The pressure was on! Students were quizzing each other, stopping their faculty member in the hallway, supporting one another, calling one another on the phone, and putting forth much effort to learn the presidents. It was wonderful, fun, and exciting! As different students finally learned them all, they would recite them with pride, holding their heads high and smiling from ear to ear." 

So, my plan is to have Monthly Mental Monday Mornings (or (M^2)^2 for short - which is also a nod toward my parents - both of their initials being M.M.)
Monthly Mental Monday Mornings will include: (one thing from each category)

Math -
Skills involved: Verbal, Social, Mental, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Math, Public Speaking
Math Bee
Pop Quiz - teacher verbally gives a problem and the students write the answer on a balloon and hold it up for me to see, after a certain number of problems, students who got all the questions correct get to pop their balloons - by sitting on them!
Math Ball - I have a giant inflatable soccer ball with numbers written on it, the ball gets tossed from one player to another, when you catch the ball you have to add/subtract/multiply/divide the numbers under your thumbs. You can also purchase them.
Yahtzee
Rummikub
Phase 10 
SET

Spelling -
Skills involved: Verbal, Social, Mental, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Spelling, Public Speaking
Traditional Spelling Bee
Pop Quiz - teacher verbally gives a word and the students write the correct spelling on a balloon and hold it up for me to see, after a certain number of words, students who got all the words correct get to pop their balloons - by sitting on them!
Anagrams
Scrabble
Boggle
Scattergories
Quiddler 

Recitations - Students will have all month to memorize specific works and then recite them in class
Skills involved: Verbal, Social, Mental, Confidence, Public Speaking
The Star-Spangled Banner
The Preamble to the Constitution
A Poem! (Each letter/character in "A Poem!" is a different link!)
A famous quote
an entire Dr. Suess book 

Spontaneous! - ("Surprise" activities)  
Skills involved: Creativity, Verbal, Life, Social, Mental, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Public Speaking
Art project
Cooking Activity (which uses mental math!)
Storytelling (story starters, story cubes, etc.)
Charades
Random Show & Tell - students blindly pull an object out of a paper bag and have to immediately present as if it is a beloved Show & Tell object (examples: a spatula, a piece of fruit, an old shoe, a drinking straw, a baby sock, an old Happy Meal toy, a game piece, a baby doll, a random piece of packing material, a slide whistle, a fake spider, a tiara, a rubber chicken, etc.)
Quelf, Jr. 
Improv games
Pop Quizzes - games involving balloons and popping them. Two examples:

• Barnyard Scramble - a getting into groups game that takes a bit of prep for the teacher (or a parent volunteer) Decide how many groups you want and decide on a barnyard animal for each group, type/write the animal name on a slip of paper, fold the paper and place it inside the balloon then blow up the balloon and tie it. (The giant trash bags -ask the janitor for a roll - hold a lot of balloons nicely!) Tell the students the rules before you pass out the balloons or they won't pay attention: When I give the signal I want you to pop your balloon and collect the pieces and the slip of paper inside. Read what the paper says and start making the sound that the animal on the paper makes and try to find other people who are the same animal as you. You should have # in your group. When your group is full, sit down as a group and stop making your noise.  Pass out the balloons and give the signal! This game is great fun to observe! Skills involved: Gross Motor, Verbal, Listening, Group Dynamics

•  Hot Potato Show - Another game that involves stuffing balloons with a slip of paper, on these papers you want something different on each one, a tongue twister to be read, a silly action to perform, question to be answered (example: What is your favorite book? What is your least favorite chore? If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?, etc.) In this game only one balloon is in play at any time and the whole group stands in a circle and passes the balloons just like the game Hot Potato (the teacher can play music, or have the students sing, or perhaps work on the current recitation to be memorized perhaps as a call & response w/ the teacher, etc.) When the teacher calls out Hot Potato Show the student with the balloon must sit on it to pop it and read the slip of paper aloud (and if applicable do/perform/answer what the paper says). If a student gets the balloon and other students have not had it yet, the balloon gets passed to the nearest student who hasn't had a turn.  Skills involved: Gross Motor, Verbal, Listening, Group Dynamics, Public Speaking

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One game that will never be played in my classroom is Silent Ball.
I think Silent Ball was created by lazy teachers. There are many more valid and educational games for children to play! Even games where speaking is not allowed, or where gross motor skills are being practiced.
For those who do not know Silent Ball, here is how it was always played in my classrooms when I was a student:
Players silently sit on top of their desks and toss a foam/nerf ball around.
Players must sit properly in their seat if they

• make a noise
• drop the ball
• make a bad pass

Last player standing gets to throw the ball first in the next round.

Reasons I don't like Silent ball:

• It can be very exclusive. Kids only tossing to their friends, clumsy kids getting "out" early.
• If you don't want to play you simply have to talk and be eliminated, this student usually continues to talk and progressively get louder.
• Only a few students are engaged at any one time.
• The teacher is often not engaged - when I was in fourth grade I can remember the teacher actually leaving the room repeatedly while we were playing Silent Ball, and she never paid attention to our game. in fifth grade my Math teacher would read a book with her feet up on her desk while we played.

From my old blog: August 12, 2012 - ITMCTRAV:PE

IT TAKES MY CHILD TO RAZE A VILLAGE: PENNSIC EDITION WENT SPECTACULARLY!!!!

It Takes My Child to Serve the Crown 

Contained: Bryn Trim, The Queen's Collection by Aliyah's Aromatics, Seadhli's Royal Peg People, 

Cherry It Takes My Child to Raze a Village Oh My Lolli lollipops, a gift for each Royal child at Pennsic, and favors and whipcording made by the children throughout the day at 

 It Takes My Child to Raze a Village & It Takes My Child to Raze a Village: Pennsic Edition.

East Kingdom

AEthelemarc

Midrealm

 Making Beaded Favors for the Buckets

Whipcording

Mom and I demonstrated The Duckling Race

Duckling Race winners!

                     Making Paper

Smelly Science (The Travel Edition!)

The Parent-a-Pult

The Plague Game

 

My most favorite photo from the day!