Popsicle Sticks Game

The Popsicle sticks game is a fun way for students to practice vocabulary. To make a game you will need one Popsicle stick per word. Write one word on each stick. On the tip of one stick, draw a red dot. You will also need four sets of the words and definitions (one for each member of the group who will be playing). Place the Popsicle sticks in a plastic cup labeled with whatever story/skill/root-word/etc. is being covered by those sticks.

For two sets of playing direction ideas, click here:
Basic Popsicle sticks
Organizational patterns/author's purpose Popsicle sticks

October Library Ideas

October Research

Halloween Hunt:

Using the resources available in your school library, research the origin of Halloween. Report your findings to the class in the form of an oral report. Accompany your report with a list for each classmate of the “scary” books available in the library. 

Monster Search:

Monsters! Do they really exist? Is there really a Loch Ness monster? An abominable Snowman? Big Foot? UFO’s? Using the resources available in your school library, research monsters. Report your findings to the class in the form of an oral report. Accompany your report with a list of the “monster” books available in the library.

Eid-ul-Adha:

Research Eid-ul-Adha customs and traditions. You will present your findings to the class in the form of an oral report. Accompany your report with a list of books and short stories featuring Eid-ul-Adha that are available in the library.

Sukkot:

Research Sukkot customs and traditions. You will present your findings to the class in the form of an oral report. Accompany your report with a list of books and short stories featuring Sukkot that are available in the library.

Dussehra:

Research Dussehra customs and traditions. You will present your findings to the class in the form of an oral report. Accompany your report with a list of books and short stories featuring Dussehra that are available in the library.

Birth of the Bab:

Research Birth of the Bab customs and traditions. You will present your findings to the class in the form of an oral report. Accompany your report with a list of books and short stories featuring Birth of the Bab that are available in the library.

Leif Erikson:

October 9^th is Leif Erikson Day. Who is Leif Erikson? Why is he important enough to earn his own day? Based on your research about him, what would be an appropriate way to celebrate Leif Erikson Day? Present your information to the class in the form of an oral report.

United Nations:

October 24^th is United Nations Day. What is the United Nations? Why is it important enough to earn its own day? Based on your research about it, what would be an appropriate way to celebrate United Nations Day? Present your information to the class in the form of an oral report.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929 is known as Black Tuesday. What happened on that day to earn it such a dark name? What major event in American history did Black Tuesday lead to? Present your information to the class in the form of an oral report.

Main Idea Manipulative

Here is a great idea for creating a main idea- supporting details manipulative.
http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-tip-for-teaching-main-idea-visual.html

Speed Studying Activity

Speed Study

This activity was created after I saw a news segment about speed dating. I thought that the concept could be applied to studying. The kids enjoy it because they are moving, they feel like they are playing a game, and they don’t have to work with any one partner for too long. This particular description is for using flashcards; however, the speed study concept can also work with other activities.  

Arrange two rows of desks so that students will sit facing each other.

Hand out flash cards to the students in the left row.

Each student in the left row will use the flashcards to quiz the student across from him or her. For every correct answer, the student being quizzed gets to keep the flash card.

Every three minutes the teacher will say, “Switch!” and the students on the right will move down one seat (the students on the left stay where they are). The students will continue quizzing with their new partners.

Once every student on the right has had a chance to work with every student on the left, the students who were being quizzed will count how many flashcards they have managed to accumulate. The student who has collected the most cards “wins”. The students may then switch sides, with the students on the right quizzing the students on the left.

Daily Starters

Scholastic has daily starters available - for free - at http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/. Each one has a teachable moment (usually a day in history type thing), a brief writing prompt, and a vocabulary activity. For example, the starter for Sept. 24th reads:


Teachable Moment

Basketball was invented by James Naismith, who taught physical education at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachussetts. During the cold winter of 1891, Naismith had to come up with an exercise his students could perform indoors because it was too cold to go outside. And so he came up with the game of basketball!

My Morning Journal
Can you imagine inventing your own sport? Tell how the game would be played and what equipment would be needed.

Word of the Day
It’s National Punctuation Day!

!?”[*—!

Do you think the lowly comma is irrelevant? Think again. A comma can save a life! For example, read the two sentences below. How does the meaning change in each? Why did it change?

1. Let's eat Grandma!
2. Let's eat, Grandma!

irrelevant  [ih-rel-uh-vuhnt] adjective

•not relevant; not related to the matter at hand

Synonyms: unimportant, beside the point, trivial

Write a sentence for irrelevant. Be sure to punctuate it correctly.

Dr. B's Common Core Websites

Here are the websites Dr. B suggested we use for Common Core: 

http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary

State Department of Education

North Carolina  www.dpi.state.nc.us/

New York:

www.nysed.gov/  Using teaching units from www.commoncore.org and will be posting math units

Massachusetts  www.doe.mass.edu/

Missouri  dese.mo.gov/

Nevada  www.doe.nv.gov/

Evidentiary Statements

Click here for the excellent poster Ms. T sent out with starters for evidentiary statements. This is a great tool to get our students ready for TCAP writing!