Like me , I'm sure that you have received emails on 100s of resources to use for curriculum content as well as tools that will assist you in delivering content, collecting content... It's very overwhelming. I would like for us to work together to create a resource that includes resources that have been vetted and that SOUTH SCHOOL teachers have used with success. I will be compiling that information on a spreadsheet and will share them below as they are created.
Hello Teachers! PBS Learning Media has short video clips, word finds, crossword puzzles and activities to help you provide educational fun for the Halloween holiday. Click on the link below to see what they have to offer.
Epic! has a great selection of Halloween books, videos, and audio recordings. Remember you can assign these to your students if you want. Let me know if you need help with this.
Brain Pop has videos on Halloween, Mummies, Spiders, and Bats. Brain Pop Jr. has a video about Halloween. Remember that you can assign specific videos and quizzes to students and that students can now log into Brain Pop through Clever. I'm happy to help with this if you need it.
Don't forget to use Pebble Go and World Book (through the Digital Maine Library) to dig deeper into whatever you might be studying. Students in grades 3+ should know how to use World Book on their own. Students in grades 1-5 should know how to use Pebble Go. Kindergarten will be introduced next week!
Search the Online Library Catalog for books in the South School Library including nonfiction books about the Halloween holiday and fiction books from our favorite characters: Arthur, Mercy Watson, Henry and Mudge, Hank the Cowdog, Stick Dog, Clifford, Amber Brown, Nate the Great, Franklin, Heidi Hecklebeck, and Magic Treehouse. Reserve your books early otherwise I will make them available for students.
Where do all the pumpkins go after Halloween? Unfortunately many go to the landfill. Read this blog to learn more. The blog includes information about Maine's own Pumpkin Festival in Damariscotta as well as ideas for things to do with those pumpkins so they don't end up in the landfill. LINK How to make a pumpkin bird feeder. LINK Nature Cat Composter LINK Halloween Pumpkin After Party LINK
In the book, "The Boy and the Whale" by Mordicai Gerstein a young boy from a fishing family has a difficult decision to make. Read the story and watch the video below to see the true life story that inspired the fiction book. The Boy and the Whale is a Chickadee Nominee.
Hello Goodbye Dog by Maria Gianferrari is the latest Chickadee nominee we are reading at South School. It introduces students to the concept of therapy dogs and encourages them to read aloud to their pets. "Therapy dogs can be used in classrooms and libraries to foster a love of reading. Therapy dogs provide a "pawsitive" association with reading, and especially with reading aloud, since child readers are neither judged on nor corrected for mispronunciation."
Students can now access Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr in their Clever accounts. Teachers also have the ability to assign videos to their classes along with other activities. The teacher dashboard allows you to see student scores on quizzes. You can look for lesson plans that relate to Brain Pop videos in Brain Pop Educators, LINK. Brain Pop videos can be searched by standard, grade level, and subject. If you need help doing any of the above or would like support the first time you roll this out in the classroom, please schedule a time to meet with me.
Duolingo is a free foreign language app for all ages. Teachers can create accounts, set up classrooms, and add students. Use this as an option in your Language Arts classroom for students who have completed their work or as a rotation during center time. Lessons are audio driven so headphones are needed. The teacher dashboard will allow you to create assignments and monitor student progress. Please let me know if you need help with this or if you would like to explore further. LINK
Code for Kids Each yearin December we celebrate Computer Science Education Week by participating in coding activities during IT classes. Hour of Code is an international effort to get kids creating computer code and many of the resources we use come from code.org. Students in grades one through five have a code folder on their home screen. Even though these apps look like games and kids have a lot of fun using them, they are in fact learning some great skills.
This year students in grades 3-5 had a great time creating dance routines with Dance Party. Here are some other programs we used: First and Second Grade Kodable CodeSpark Third and Fourth Grade
We read, How to Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funke to all students in grades 1-5. This simple book provided a basic overview of how code works and introduced us to sequences, loops, and conditionals. If you would like more information about code or would like to collaborate on more coding projects please stop by.
Student reading folders can be a source for free reading materials and for classroom research. Many online libraries provide opportunities for unlimited numbers of students to read the same book so they are also great for small group reading. Some digital libraries include digital as well as audio books. Folders should include the following:
Epic!
For information on how to create a classroom account you can watch the "Getting Started" video. LINK
You can also learn how to create a student quiz (multiple choice or true and false) to check for understanding, create a collection of books and use the student reading logs.
Destiny Discover Our South School library collection of digital books as well as access to the online library catalog and personal account information. Students (and teachers) can put books on hold here and see what they have out.
