Can you believe that Thanksgiving Day is less than two weeks away?! It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already upon us. I’ve created a free printable activity for you to use in your classrooms or homes. Simply have your children or students write on the lines at the bottom of the page the amount of each item they find. Click on the “download” button below to save and print a copy (or two!) for the kids in your life. You can print one off and laminate it, then have your kids use dry erase markers to write the number of items they find. You can also print off several copies and use them as a counting activity in your classrooms. Whatever way you choose to use it, have fun! Please only use for personal or classroom use, and do not sell the file. Happy I-Spying!
The Power of Music in the Classroom
My son, who is in third grade, just sat down to do his homework: completing a multiplication chart. I was headed downstairs to get my computer when I suddenly heard him burst into song. He was counting by two in the tune of “Yankee Doodle,” then proceeded to count by six to the tune of “London Bridge is Falling Down.” He continued this process, with a different little song for each row of his multiplication chart. He had it completed rather quickly, thanks to the help of these little songs.
As he worked, I started thinking about how important and helpful music can be in the classroom. Music has this super neat ability to make information stick. It’s really pretty cool. I remember my 10th grade Biology teacher having us write our own songs to go along with the process of photosynthesis. Come test day, I flew through the questions as I sang my song in my head. I could even hear my classmates quietly muttering out their own songs as they worked their way through their tests.
I recall a time when I was teaching junior high. I happened to be out in the hall during my prep period and could hear Mr. Hodges’ ninth grade Biology class walking down the hall chanting/singing a song he had made up about amino acids. It was catchy. No doubt those students remembered those amino acids for a long time to come.
For those of us old enough to remember “School House Rock,” I’m sure you are able to recall all sorts of facts about our government and such because of those songs. These seemingly silly songs helped kids remember important information.
Today’s kids will likely never know the experience of having your teacher wheel the TV to the front of the room, put the VHS tape into the VCR, then push play. But they still have their own version of “School House Rock”-esque songs. You Tube has a plethora of songs designed to teach and help students retain information. Unlike older generations, kids today can watch it at school, then come home and be able to watch it again and again with the click of a button.
Not only can infusing music with information be helpful, but simply playing music during work time can be helpful. My junior high English students practically lived for the days that I would allow them to bring their headphones to class so that they could listen to music of their choice while they completed assignments. I found this especially helpful on days when we were in the drafting and writing stages of essay or story writing. Students who were normally squirmy and disruptive were suddenly quiet, focused, and still. For students who didn’t have their own music-producing device, I would plug my phone in and turn on a quiet mix of songs that played through my classroom speaker system. Never did I have students work harder and quieter than I did during music days. It was magical!
Music is transformative. It has the power to do so many things for the human brain. It can calm, heal, bring peace, help release anger or frustration, and, as noted here, can have the power to bring things to memory. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Music brings so much color to the classroom!
Fast Finishers: A Blessing and A Curse
Fast finishers. Every classroom has them, and every teacher should have something for them to do when they do finish quickly. Let’s dive into some of the whys behind fast finishers and discover some ideas teachers can use to keep these students from getting bored, causing disruptions, or wasting time.
For some students, finishing quickly happens because the material comes easily to them, and they are able to get through the work faster than their peers. Other students finish early because they may have lost motivation to care about their work or are bored with it, so they rush through it, not moving slowly enough to check if their responses are correct. Other students may find the material to be difficult, and rather than asking for help, they answer questions quickly in hopes of not getting frustrated or embarrassed.
Whatever the reason, teachers need to have a plan in place for these students. For the students who finish quickly because they truly do know the material, it might be a good idea to have them help a student who is struggling with the assignment. This is a great option for students who are advanced. It can give them a chance to feel important and will give them a special role in the classroom. On the flip side, for the struggling student, having a peer help them has the potential to help them understand the material better, as the advanced student may have a unique way of “teaching” that may make more sense to the struggling learner.
Other ideas for fast finishers who understand the material include silent reading time, word searches or crosswords, drawing or coloring, or, for secondary students, maybe a little time to work on an assignment for another class. I always found it helpful to have a place in my classroom that contained extra “fun” worksheets or activities for my fast finishers to do.
For the students who are finishing early because they simply don’t care if they do the assignment correctly, have them go back through their work and check their answers. Sit next to them, if possible, to help keep them on track.
Students who turn work in early because they truly are struggling might need a little extra coaching. If possible, sit next to this student and help them through a couple of questions. Allow them to use their notes. Pair them up with a student who does know the material and have that student help their peer.
Any teacher knows that fast finishers are a blessing and a curse to a classroom. If some students get bored because they are done with their work, they turn to bugging classmates who are still working, causing other disruptions, or wasting their time. Rather than having to deal with disruptive behaviors, it’s best that a teacher have some activities ready and on hand for those students who need a little bit of a time filler. Being prepared with these kinds of activities will be a big help when you’re faced with a fast finisher. You won’t regret being prepared!
Get Your Wiggles Out
“Shake, Shake, Shake Your Sillies Out” is more than a silly song; it’s a brilliant classroom management tool. Students of all ages get restless if sitting for too long. Think of the last time you were sitting in a training meeting, staff meeting, or conference where you were asked to just sit and listen and/or look at a powerpoint. I’d bet it’s safe to guess that you got bored fairly quickly and wanted to get up and move around for a minute… and I’d bet you weren’t the only one feeling that way!
Imagine sitting in a classroom for hours on end, listening to teachers instruct, and never getting the chance to move around. I think if this were the case, we’d have a lot of students enjoying a little nap during the school day. Our minds tend to slow down unless they are engaged in some way. A visual presentation can be engaging, but some students just need a little bit of movement every now and then to keep their brains focused. Beyond recess, students need time in the classroom to take a break from learning for a few minutes.
There are many resources on YouTube that provide excellent brain breaks. GoNoodle is a favorite with many kids. It has catchy songs and easy movements to get kids up, moving, and refocused. DannyGo is another great one! He gets kids moving and jumping, which keeps them awake and engaged.
Another great idea is to do any kind of breathing and grounding exercise with your students. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes of mindful breathing to get students refocused and ready to learn again. Cosmic Yoga on YouTube is a great place to go to watch engaging, movement inducing, calm exercises for the classroom or home.
And of course there’s always the oldies but goodies from “back then”… “The Hokey Pokey”, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, or playing freeze dance. Even simple stretches or silly dance moves can be effective. It doesn’t need to be fancy for it to work!
Movement is a great way to keep students alert and engaged with the lesson. It gets their blood pumping and their brains active, which leads to better focus and more energy to learn. And let’s be honest; students and teachers will benefit from a little bit of a break every now and then!
Halloween Printable (Free!)
Sometimes teachers (or parents) just need a little extra something fun for their students to do. I’ve created a Halloween word search that you are able to print out and use for your classroom or home. Use it for quiet independent work time, as a group competition to see who can finish the fastest, for your fast finishers who need a time filler, as a class party activity, or whatever else works for your classroom. Enjoy!
- Please do not resell this printable. It is for classroom and home use only.
Using Spooky Season in Your Instruction
Kids and holidays are such a fun combination. There is a certain magic that comes when you incorporate holidays into your lessons and activities in your classroom. Holiday activities take ordinary math into holiday math, and suddenly math is more fun! They take regular art time into holiday art time. Holidays can add such a fun element to classroom learning.
With Halloween approaching, it seems fitting to share a few ideas of how to incorporate spooky season into your lessons. Holiday lessons can be used with any subject, and with any grade level. Secondary students might act like they are too cool and too old for holiday themed activities, but I would bet that most of them would still have fun with them.
There are countless ways to add Halloween fun to your math lessons. For elementary grades, using worksheets that are color by number (with or without math equations) can be a great way to bring in the holiday. Rather than using math blocks or circle counters, using small Halloween themed figures like miniature pumpkins or ghosts, can be a fun way to make math more engaging during Halloween time. For secondary students, you might create story problems that are based on Halloween themes, or create an assignment where students must plan out a Halloween party and need to figure out all the costs.
In Language Arts classes, there are an abundance of halloween books and stories that can be used. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is a favorite picture book that students of all ages would enjoy. Another halloween favorite is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. And of course we can’t forget There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat by Lucille Colandro! For secondary grades, there are a plethora of stories and books that are excellent to use for Halloween. One of my all time favorites to read with my eighth grade classes was “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. The suspense and mystery are the perfect level of “spooky” for junior high aged kids. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a fun mystery book to use for younger secondary students. For older secondary students, other works by Poe, Christie, and Bradbury, among others, can be used to add some holiday fun to learning.
In art classes, students can create a haunted house from various mediums. In history classes, students can study the history behind Halloween and how traditions and celebrations have changed over time. In sewing classes, students can sew a pillow that is a Halloween shape. In cooking classes, students can bake pumpkin or bat shaped cookies.
In preschool classes, students would enjoy playing with a Halloween themed sensory bin or listening to silly Halloween songs and rhymes. They might also enjoy using Halloween shaped cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of play-doh.
The options are endless, but one thing is certain: mixing in some Halloween themed activities is a sure fire way to add some fun and excitement to your instruction!
Current World Happenings: A chance to enrich the curriculum
Over time, the way we take in information has changed. We’ve gone from verbal and written communications that took days or even weeks to reach people to information being available instantly. I remember reading various Scholastic publications that my teachers would receive every week or month, and that was, for the most part, how I learned about current events. Today’s kids have access to information literally at their fingertips, and can access it almost immediately after an event happens— or even as it happens.
Because of this easy access, teachers have a great advantage. They can teach current events in real time, using articles, posts, videos, and livestreams to inform their students what is happening in our world. It gives teachers the opportunity to enrich their curriculum.
Science teachers can use current weather events like hurricanes or tornadoes to teach students how events like this happen. They can use interesting news about space to enrich their instruction on the cosmos. If there is a breakthrough in medical research, it provides an opportunity to study health and medicine.
History teachers can use various political happenings, wars, social injustices, and so on to create meaningful curriculum that can link to the past and allow students to make connections between the past and present.
Geography teachers can integrate information about the places where big events are happening. A class might learn about the physical lay of the land where a war is taking place, and learn how the landscape can impact how the war is fought.
Art teachers can have students create pieces based on the emotions they feel when they learn about current events. Art is a great way to process feelings and emotions.
Math classes can use current events to produce graphs, charts, and equations of varying forms. One class might choose to conduct research to see who has experienced different kinds of weather, then create a bar graph based on what they have learned. Another class might calculate the cost of providing needed items to war torn or weather ravaged places and peoples.
English teachers can use all kinds of events to have students produce pieces of writing. An election would provide students with a good opportunity to write an opinion piece. A catastrophic weather event would give students a chance to research and write about that particular kind of weather. Students could also use current positive world events to write a piece highlighting the good there is in the world.
Whatever the content area may be, using current events is a surefire way to enrich curriculum, let students learn about current happenings in new and exciting ways, and allow them to draw deeper connections to what is happening in the world around them.