So Many Books...

Student Debt

Kids are so sweet

Feel Good Post - Notes from students... As a middle school teacher, I have been given some very kind notes, this year teaching elementary school I have some sweet drawings and letters... some teachers shared some of their lovely notes and these just make me smile...

  

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Bruce Springsteen knows...

Powerful Lesson on Privilege - buzzfeed

This resonated with me:

I once saw a high school teacher lead a simple, powerful exercise to teach his class about privilege and social mobility. He started by giving each student a scrap piece of paper and asked them to crumple it up.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

Then he moved the recycling bin to the front of the room.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

He said, “The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

“To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

The students in the back of the room immediately piped up, “This is unfair!” They could see the rows of students in front of them had a much better chance.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

Everyone took their shots, and — as expected — most of the students in the front made it (but not all) and only a few students in the back of the room made it.

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

He concluded by saying, “The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

“By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.”

Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com

“Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.”

Source

Thanksgiving Food Lab

American Thanksgiving is upon us and usually I celebrate with turkey dinner (my husband is American)

Here is a cool food lab from We Are Teachers

Erin Bittman

Don't just eat your food, play with it! Below are six Thanksgiving food experiments that promote exploration and investigation in the classroom!






Bending Turkey BonesWash the bones left over from your Thanksgiving dinner. Can you bend or break the bones? No! Get two jars, fill one jar with vinegar and the other with water. Put bones in each jar and label the jars: water and vinegar. Let the turkey bones sit for at least one week. Then, rinse them off and see if the bones will bend! The bones that were in vinegar bend because the calcium carbonate in the bones reacted with the vinegar. This experiment shows how bones need calcium to stay strong so they don't break easily (or bend). We don't want bendy bones!





Sweet Potato InvestigationWatch a potato sprout right before your eyes, creating a sweet potato jungle! For your experiment, look for a sweet potato that has buds. Next, poke four toothpicks into the sides of the sweet potato (spaced out evenly). Put the sweet potato into a clean jar, resting the toothpicks on the jar's rim. Fill the jar with water. The bottom half of the potato should be submerged. Place the jar in a sunny spot, change the water once a week and watch your potato grow! To get your plant to grow bushier, trim stems to 12 inches long.







Cranberry ScienceCranberry Pockets - Do cranberries sink or float? Give each child a Styrofoam cup with water and a cranberry. Have them write their own hypothesis. What happened? Talk about cranberry bogs and harvesting (click here). Then, cut the cranberry in half, so kids can see the inside of it. Cranberries have four air pockets inside of them, which makes them float!
Dancing Dried Cranberries - Explore the three states of matter by making cranberries dance! Toss dried cranberries into a glass of Sprite and watch them bob up and down. The bubbles (carbon dioxide gas) in the soda stick to the rough edges of the dried cranberry. The bubbles bring them up to the top of the glass. Then they pop and release the CO2 into the air, making the dried cranberries fall back down. Spy Juice - Students become spies and write secret messages to one another using homemade cranberry juice! Visit the Kitchen Pantry Scientist to learn how to concoct the juice and unveil your top secret writing!

Corn Cob Lab
Popping - Students will be amazed when they create a cob of popcorn! Place a dried corn on the cob in a brown paper lunch bag. Fold over the bag two times to keep the kernels contained. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or until the popcorn has stopped popping. Eat it as a classroom treat or use it for a science experiment! Place the popped cob outside and watch as different animal species come by and eat off of the ear of corn. Have the students record the different types of animals in their science notebook and have a lesson on biodiversity. What animals live within your habitat? How are they all connected in your ecosystem? Sprouting - Each kernel on an ear of corn is a seed. By placing a whole ear of corn in water, you can grow a corn cob garden! Instructions: Place a husk free, colorful, dry ear of Indian Corn in a shallow container of water. The corn should only be covered a little more than halfway with water. Place your container in a sunny spot. When the water evaporates, add more and make sure the corn remains submerged in the water. After five days, change the water. Make sure that the side you had up remains up after you change the water. The wet side of the corn is the side you place back in the water and keep submerged. Watch it grow, after a week you will start to see small sprouts or shoots.

Butter ExplorationInvestigate the 3 states of matter by shaking up cream to create butter! Pour one cup of heavy whipping cream in a container with a lid. Once poured, the container should be no more than halfway full (half cream / half air). Shake your liquid and gas to make butter! As you shake, open up your container and check out each stage as your liquid and gas suddenly create a whipped solid: butter! When your butter is ready, refrigerate it. It will become a bit harder. Note: 1 cup of cream will create about 4 Tbsp. of butter). Add some salt to your butter to give it more flavor!






Whipped Test: Whipping Versus ShakingTop your Thanksgiving Food Lab off with a sweet ending! Using the same ingredients, heavy whipping cream and air, can you create a different substance? Using a hand mixer, whip 1 cup of cream until you get stiff peaks. Add a little sugar if you want sweet cream. Have the students compare and contrast the butter and whip cream they created. Compare the volume, texture and taste of each food item. Students can draw and label the states of matter for all of the ingredients they used and describe the process for each in writing.
Erin Bittman is a second/third-grade student teacher in a multi-grade classroom at a German Magnet School. She attends the University of Cincinnati. Check out her blog E is for Explore!

SOURCE: http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/11/13/thanksgiving-food-lab

Close Reading Strategies

Here are five features of close reading instruction that make students want and love to read.

Text Selection

Passages don’t have to dense and dry to be worth a close read. Choosing novel excerpts, articles, poems, even images or movie clips that address big ideas, even if they’re from modern sources, accomplish the same instructional objectives as reading Twain or Bronte. A bonus, using contemporary YA material means your students will likely have loads of background knowledge to apply to a cold read. 

Engaging Questions

Is our destiny malleable or fixed? Should government make decisions for us? Why do we need love? When questions invite students into discussions that have engaged humans for centuries, they captivate student interest and prompt rousing discussion.

Students Take ControlOne of the tenants of close reading, the purposeful rereading of text, allows students to take ownership. The more students read, the more they can take a leadership role in the discussion. As students read and reread, look for opportunities to step back and let students take the reigns. 

Collaboration

Far from silent reading or quiet work time, close reading lessons should be peppered with lively discussion and Aha! moments. Collaborative discussion allows students to put text evidence into practice and to share and refine their ideas. Provide time for students to work together during readings, before writing, and in discussion to make close reading a shared experience. 

Debate and Argument

Students—middle schoolers especially—love to debate. Draw the connection between crafting strong, logical arguments and winning debates and you’ll have them hooked. 

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Invigorate your classroom - strategies to energize

Every day presents a new opportunity, and that's why we're giving you five totally easy, totally doable tricks to invigorate learning (and to refresh your outlook) in your classroom today. Because an energized classroom drives results. And excited learners can accomplish big things. And because it's a long time until winter break ... not that we're counting down or anything. Here are our ideas:

1. Show them some classic snapshots.
   Project a series of classic photographs onto your whiteboard. (For example, these on American labor history and these on the former Soviet Union.) Ask your students to look and imagine what it would have felt like to be in that photo.
2. Redecorate.
   We know those Pinterest-worthy bulletin boards you made for back-to-school were just about perfect ... for back-to-school. But now that the school year is up and going, why not give your classroom walls a refresh? If you need some inspiration, check out these free printable posters from WeAreTeachers.
3. Get hands-on.
   This is an obvious one, but it's also an easy one to forget when the glitter glue hits the fan. Sometimes a simple hands-on experiment or activity is all it takes to bring some excitement back into your classroom. (Need hands-on ideas? Try these easy and funFoldables.)
4. Let them watch cartoons.
   What kid doesn't love Saturday morning cartoons? Expand on that by finding fun, short, entertaining cartoons (like these on essential reading skills) that enrich the teaching that you're doing.
5. Celebrate!
   Not every day can be Halloween or Valentine's Day (thank goodness!), but celebrating the "little" holidays with big learning can really make a lesson memorable. So check out McGraw-Hill Education's Get Inspired Board on Pinterest and get fun ideas to celebrate things like National STEM Day, Honey Bee Day and more with your students.
6. 
   

This blog series is sponsored by McGraw-Hill Education. Visitblog.mheonline.com for educational ideas, information, and free resources to inspire learning every day!



SOURCE - http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/09/25/5-simple-tricks-to-invigorate-learning-in-your-classroom-today

Lessons from School of Rock - funny

Watching School of Rock and came across this article

1. Rules were made for breaking.

ohyesgifsplease.tumblr.com / Via Paramount Pictures

Stick it to The Man!

2. Express yourself and your opinions.

allmoviegifs.tumblr.com / Via Paramount Pictures

YES BILLY!

3. The best lessons are the ones you teach yourself.

moviegifss.tumblr.com / Via Paramount Pictures

Hells yeah.

4. Be completely honest with yourself and others.

laapaix.tumblr.com / Via Paramount Pictures

Nailed it.

5. Don’t take sh*t from anybody.

wifflegif.com / Via Paramount Pictures

Dewey Finn 4ever.

6. Find what you love and never let it go.

wifflegif.com / Via Paramount Pictures

Now raise your goblet of rock!

7. You don’t have to defend the fact that you sleep in every single day.

wifflegif.com / Via Paramount Pictures

You’re welcome.

8. Educating the next generation is super important.

imgfave.com / Via Paramount Pictures

See you in detention Freddy.

9. Respect all the rock gods who came before you.

wifflegif.com / Via Paramount Pictures

We salute you.

10. And never forget to take risks.

fuckyeahreactions.tumblr.com / Via Paramount Pictures

And the legend of the rent was way hardcore!

I think we can all agree that Mr. Schneebly would have the highest rating on ratemyteacher.com ever.