Saturday School

Dear Resume,

Taught like it was the 80s today, the 1880s -- had a one room schoolhouse full of 1st through 4th graders. They were supposed to bring a book and work to do, but the few that did were done in about 10 minutes...  so I read The BFG, they partner wrote predictions, I/they read lots of Seuss, we made foldable books, they wrote sticker stories, they gave mini presentations on what they were experts on (Science, wall ball, dinosaurs, etc.), I read more BFG, we collected trash from the play area, then they brainstormed and did some art. Whew!

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9

Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.C

Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.4

Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Everyday Object Art

Dear Resume,

Subbed in 3rd grade class today, did the Brainstorm activity and had a little time for Found Object Art while sending kids 2 by 2 to the nurse's office for head lice checks.

Brainstorm Lesson

Dear Resume,

The concept for this mini-lesson was the Doodle 4 Google competition and the clever art of Javier Perez, who uses everyday objects in drawings. Each table group blindly chose an object (cork, battery, rubber band, hair clip, bottle cap, q-tip, Lego) and quickly discussed what other uses for the object they could come up with -- creativity counts! Set the timer for 1 minute then they traded for another object. Their goal was to listen to group member's ideas and build upon those ideas, working together to list as many uses as possible in the short time.

At the end of the day we went back to the brainstorm activity, this time each student chose an item and made a drawing around it (a straw became a periscope, a shell a pirate's eye patch, etc). I showed their art under the docucam and they traded for other items. Many thanks to Mr. Perez for his inspiration, the students loved his art!

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the students' work. Some were very creative!

Teachers usually leave a long list of things to do and a note saying "You won't finish it all, that's ok!" but I always manage to finish it all... do I teach too fast? Actually I think I rarely have student or time management issues, so we get quickly into the lessons. I always have a book I can read to them (Roald Dahl, The Wayside School) or a quick project such as this brainstorm one.

Common Core Standards:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1b Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

The world would be better if...

Dear Resume,

Working on my Digital Citizenship/Learning lesson plans and found the Google Doodle contest. Looks like fun, there are lesson plans and videos to show that focus on creativity and making the world a better place. Two of my favorite subjects! Without a class of my own I had to borrow and tweak a little, but came up with some brainstorm lesson ideas (to be tried out when I sub tomorrow) and a project for our "Give Back Club" that let the whole K-8 school get involved.