Wacky Wednesday: Falling in Love Again

If you read yesterday's post, you know that it started with a Wordle image of some Saint Patrick's Day words. Have you played with Wordle yet? This is one of those online Web 2.0 goodies that I simply forgot about for a time -- but was quickly hooked again once I tinkered with it recently. With Wordle, you can type (or copy/paste) a body of text into its word creation generator and -- poof! -- it's art! You can then alter colors, fonts and word orientation. You can also enter a URL, and it will automatically generate a Wordle image from the words found there:

 If a word is used with more frequency, it will be larger than the other words (think of a word cloud generated from tags in the sidebar of your favorite blog -- bigger means it appears more often). Below is a Wordle created from the home page of my blog, Fueled by Anthracite:

I find that creating a Wordle, then putting it on an interactive white board, is a great way to analyze what was important to the author writing the piece, and what comprised its main idea and themes. It would make a great reflection piece in a school journal, or a way to start a critique of a piece of writing in a classroom.

Tagxedo also offers free online word cloud creation, and their service offers even more customization options. You can randomly select options (i.e. font, color), with up to 3 fonts displaying at a time, or put in more specific customizations (quite a few advanced choices). Also, you can click on the "twist" arrow icon, and have it generate a new look with your current options. The shape options feature of this application makes it extra fun, and extends the creativity in a whole new direction:

Can you guess what is being quoted above? (Think: post title) It's the lyrics to "Falling in Love Again" by Marlena Dietrich. Here's another:

This is the famous "It is a far, far better thing. . ." quote spoken by Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities. If creating fab Dickens art isn't enough of a draw for you (as it was for ME . . . you should see my desktop!), there are easily 101 ways that you can use Tagxedo. Tagxedo also has an online shop (through Zazzle) with previously created word cloud creations. My mind is already popping with great ideas for gifts -- and with wonderful lesson plans -- using online cloud creation tools. What have you done, or intend to do, with Wordle and Tagxedo? Please add a comment below and let us know.

Terrific Tuesday: Can You Spell "Shilelagh"?

St. Patrick's Day words, a la Wordle

I cannot say that I have ever needed to spell the word "shilelagh" until today's post. However, I consider myself a good speller, and have enjoyed learning new words, and spelling them well, for as long as I can remember reading or writing at all.

A little spelling practice never hurt anyone, though, and SpellingCity is a great place to visit when you want to practice your list in a fun way. After creating your teacher login account, you can begin to really harness this website, as your specialized lists (i.e. Words Their Way sorts, holiday words, subject area terminology) can be added. (Note: There are pre-made lists and teacher resources available, as well.) Students can sign in to your individual homepage at SpellingCity (visit my homepage to see how they appear to your students), and get started on working with your lists. Students can practice writing the words on computer-generated worksheets, alphabetize their list and even take a practice test online:

Beyond offering online practice and testing options , entertaining games are available. HangMouse (just like Hangman) is one of my favorites:

There are more games and features at SpellingCity, and the option to purchase a premium membership is also available. Explore and enjoy the word fun yourself.

Math Monday: Shamrock Math

Perhaps it was the (slightly) warmer weather, but my thoughts have beent thinking about all things spring today. I have begun photographing my St. Patrick's Day craft items, and they will be available at my TpT store by Saint Patrick's Day. For now, here are some sewn shamrocks (.png files) of various sizes, for use in your next Shamrock Math interactive whiteboard lesson, presentation or newsletter:

While searching for math Web offerings, I found some nice St. Patrick's Day-inspired worksheet options at Math-Drills.com. Addition practice sheets are available:

After completing the worksheet, students could be asked to circle problems (in green, of course!) where they did not regroup, or have even-numbered sums, or another rule that they provide. Money math addition problems are available, as well:

I like that you are given room to show your work on this particular worksheet. Especially when a skill is relatively new, encouraging pencil and paper method allows students to see their error pattern when wrong, and it aids them when explaining how they arrived at their answer in post-worksheet reflection activities. The students would also enjoy getting their own "leprechaun's gold" or "good luck clover coins" and creating word problems about how much money (could use mixed operations to do this) their leprechauns have to share. Coins could be earned by students for accurate work, getting work in on time or whatever classroom skills need to be reinforced. They could then be redeemed for pencils and erasers -- 2 school supplies that always seem in short supply by springtime!

If multiplication facts is becoming a snooze for your classroom, sprinkle some gold on them (also from Math-Drills.com):

If a particular multiplication table (i.e. 7x, 8x) is proving troublesome, have students create their own St. Patrick's Day flashcards for those problems using Google Drive. To make the cards more festive, consider using copyright-free images from CC (Creative Commons) Search (keyword "clover" gives pretty good results). These activities are sure to put some spring into your math drill and skill time.

Fun Friday: Clearing Cobwebs

(Image by mazeo, Open Clipart Library)

Cabin Fever, that dreaded dis-ease also known as The Winter Blahs, has set upon us. Well, at least my family and I are suffering from it. Unable to go swimming or run around an amusement park to blow off some steam, we are thinking of different ways to punctuate our days with fun breaks.

Teachers can also experience a kind of cabin fever when they are in burnout mode. We work hard, every day, including weekends. Writing lessons, creating content, meetings -- when does it stop?

Right now. I'm calling it. This weekend is your Moratorium on Working Yourself to a Frazzle.

How will you beat the blahs? That part is simple. Do something you really like for an extended period of time. No, really. REALLY. Don't just say that you'll join those at your house for a board game in a few minutes. Do it. Now. It is important to pull away from that sense of duty that drives us to be better teachers if we are actually going to be a better teacher. I cannot tell you how many times I have played with a toy, used an arts and crafts supply or watched a movie and said, "Wow! That's IT. I know how I would use this in my classroom."

A rolling stone may gather no moss, but a tired brain tends to produce less than stellar ideas. Revive yourself this weekend by remembering the hobbies and interests that you enjoy most, and having fun. Here are just a few websites to get you back to the Fun Zone:

Crayola: Coloring Page Maker

Drag backgrounds, elements and words into place to make a page to print and color. It gets a little addictive once you start finding the images that really work with your idea. 

FreePatterns

If you like to crochet, cross stitch, work with plastic canvas or create paper crafts, then you will enjoy downloading PDF patterns of a wide array of arts and crafts.

PennyDell Puzzles: Free Puzzles
Get the free puzzles du jour in a variety of formats, including crossword, sudoku and variety puzzles.

PopCap Games: Book Worm
An oldie but a goodie, this game brings out the word (and game) lover in all of us.

(Image by StudioFibonacci, Open Clip Art Library)

Thinking Thursday: What's the Plan?

(Original image by nlyl, Open Clip Art Library)

I apologize for the late post today, but family matters superseded blogging until now. I am actually glad that they did, as it gave me time to put some real thinking into this week's "Thinking Thursday" ideas.

During one of my family meet-ups of the day, a relative of mine (who also teachers . . .lot of educators in our clan!) lamented her recent experience of being asked to give up some of her planning time for the day to "sub" for an absent teacher, even though she is a full-time teacher with responsibilities, as well. It was to be "for only 15 minutes" -- which turned into more than an hour. While my relation is a very accomplished teacher in her own right, it is always nice -- when being thrown to the wolves -- to have a bone. After panicked searching, she did find enough teacher information to make an attempt at teaching a group of children she did not know, er, something. Pitfall after pitfall ensued, mainly because the teacher who was not there was REALLY not there. Where was her presence? You know: overview of the year/marking period/month, key questions to consider/answer, objectives of some kind -- materials in a stack for others to use in case one is absent?

I was going to rant on and on about this topic of unpreparedness in a field striving to have its members considered professionals -- which they most certainly are. However, the whole "extra thinking time" came into play at this point. Rather than protest loudly at the few who drag down the many, or relate my own war stories (you have yours, too, I know), I would prefer to end this on a productive and collaborative note.

Question 1: What do you do to make sure that your room has you in it, whether you can show up that day or not? What do you leave for a substitute teacher at all times to make sure that things run smoothly in your absence (and the day does not turn into a glorified babysitting gig)? 

Question 2: In what form (i.e. paper, Word doc, Intranet server forms) do you write and manage your daily and weekly lesson plans? Are they easily accessible for the substitute teacher to  understand and follow?

Questions 3: Is there a standard operating procedure in place in your building or district that requires your lesson plans to be in a certain format? What, in your opinion, is the actual compliance rate for those specifications?

Any comments or best practices that you can share in a "Comments" post would be greatly appreciated. Many teachers work countless hours to make their classrooms run well, with or without them. Let us laud the hard work of those professionals who do so.

Some Online Lesson Plan Authoriing Options

• PlanbookEDU

• Planbook

• CorePlanner

(Image by TheStructorr, Open Clip Art Library)

Wacky Wednesday: Tweet, Tweet! #seriously

My husband will tell you that I am not someone who "got" Twitter right away. I found Facebook's constant invites by "friends" to farm or fish or whatever very annoying. Please, I do not need any more distractions! Does anyone? Twitter seemed like "Facebook, only shorter", and I could get behind that -- I just didn't want to go the whole "@someone, I ate #breakfast and it was #fun." route. Why would I want to continually tweet my whereabouts and happenings? Where is the return on my time and (heh) talent?

My initial misgivings quickly melted when I gave it some thought. Social networking provides great parent-teacher-student connectivity opportunities and is much quicker and efficient than a daily website update. Here are some Twitter-driven suggestions to get yourself up and running (if you are not already hash-tagging everything in sight):

• Begin slowly, with an account for personal use (@yourname). Watch some how-to videos on tweeting, adding tags and how to add followers. 

• Type in some #education-type searches in Twitter's search engine, and begin to follow your favorite bloggers, teachers, publishers, education groups and government agencies on education. The content to which they will link you will be worth the effort alone.

• Spruce up your profile with a uniform, but fun for you, look (see my Fun Friday post on Themeleon). This is more than a "time waster" activity. A smart-looking Web presence is a good thing to have when dealing in professional circles.

• When you feel comfortable with Twitter, register a Twitter feed handle for your classroom or organization. Be sure that you are very careful in how you use this feed, as this is the "face" that you put on your classroom, teaching ideas and professional contacts. Avoid discussing topics that are not school- or child-appropriate in this feed.

• Remember that Web presence makeover you did for your personal Twitter feed? Do the same for your classroom feed, and begin to "make your brand" by using school district colors, images (to which you have the rights) that tell of your content area or education interests or other style choices that resonate with what you are trying to say about yourself and your classroom/organization.

Terrific Tuesday: Make Writing More (Adjective)

I remember fondly the days of my youth, thumbing through the latest flyer offering from Scholastic Book orders. Mad Libs were always a classroom favorite, and I recall many hours filling these in with my best friend. They never failed to bring laughter and good times.

Laughter and good times: Wouldn't those be 2 words you would like to associate with your next language arts lesson? We all tend to get stuck in our writing ruts, and using the same, tired words is a pitfall that few writers can say that they do not experience. If your students are feeling the word usage doldrums, take a mini-lesson to (re)introduce Mad Libs to them. It will show them that just one word choice change can make a big difference in the final outcome of a story. As the Mad Libs books are still published, the website has recently been relaunched, and an app is available for iPad/iPhone, there are many ways to play with words at school and home:

 Be sure to follow @OriginalMadLibs for a daily Twitter feed dose of a Mad Lib sentence to start your lessons. Remember the rules: Do not show your audience the story. Simply ask them for the words missing from the story (i.e. a name, an adjective), then see the silly results unfold.

If students have forgotten their parts of speech, Houghton Mifflin Company's Education Place website has a quick refresher webpage about them, along with some "Wacky Web Tales" of their own. Here is the beginning, and end result, of my version of "The Perfect Day Show":

Math Monday: A Good Worker

I remember when my son was in kindergarten. His teacher remarked, in our first parent-teacher conference of the year, that he was her "go-to guy". I was especially happy to hear this -- that he was the one on whom she relied for dependable help with classroom responsibilities.

When you are looking for a "go-to" website for math practice, remediation or enrichment, WorksheetWorks is one that I would strongly recommend. Still in its beta launch (so, expect even more goodies and functionality to come), it already serves as my first stop when I am tutoring a student or working with my own children on a specific math skill.

Certainly, there are many websites that serve as online warehouses of worksheets for the PreK - 6th grade learning community. Some are quite extensive in the skills in which they provide practice. What I especially like about the math offerings at WorksheetWorks is the level of customization available.

For example:

If I was working with a student who had only a basic understanding of algebra, and needed more practice in solving binomial equations, I would navigate to the WorksheetWorks Pre-Algebra section, then click on the "Solving Binomials" sub-section. A short paragraph describes the kind of worksheet that will be generated after you make some selections regarding its content. THIS is where I think that WorksheetWorks shines. While some websites allow you to customize parameters for the layout (i.e. vertical or horizontal math problems), or the number of problems and print size, this website accounts for very specific learning objectives, which allows you to practice just the subset of skills that are needed for this student at this time:

For "Font Size" and "Vertical Space", sliders are provided (along with popup explanations) to make sure that the worksheet created is tailored to the needs of your particular student (i.e. vision-impaired, large writer):

The final printout comes out in a highly readable, organized form, and can be printed or saved for later use. It is important to note that these forms, currently offered for free in its beta iteration, are NOT to be posted on your website. (Full copyright information regarding personal and classroom use can be found at WorksheetWorks.)

I encourage you to test out WorksheetWorks for yourself. Create a few forms, altering their options settings to see the different versions possible. It may become your "go-to" website, too.

[Note: WorksheetWorks is MORE than a mathematics worksheet website. While I focused on it in a Math Monday post, you will find many more curriculum areas represented. Maps and organizations tools (i.e. calendars) are also available -- a real multitasking website.]

Fun Friday: Finding One's Marbles

I have always had a fascination with marbles. They are smooth, shiny jewels that fit in your pocket, and can be used to play a myriad of games. I have a special place in my heart for handcrafted marbles and wooden board games made for marble play. Perhaps this is why, when I started taking digital pics for my TpT store, Learning with Craft, marbles were going to be an early item featured. While I cannot make a marble myself, I have added a few free products (more to come) to the store this week that you can use for school websites, multimedia presentations, newsletters, white board activities and the like. Eventually, I will be posting activity ideas for doing a marbles unit there, too. Enjoy your weekend, and hold on to your marbles!

Marble-Related Store Items, Thus Far

• 15 Marble Images (.png files)
• Black and Blue Marbles Template (for PowerPoint/Google Slides)
• 3 Pearl Marbles Template (for PowerPoint/Google Slides)

Thinking Thursday: Musing About the Ol' Book Report

I remember very well the day that Mike stood up to do his book report on a James Bond Jr. book. I want to say it was 007 1/2, but I have only been able to find one James Bond, Jr. book and its spy number is 003 1/2. He talked around it for a bit, and the teacher did not believe he had read it. I am not even sure that he had a copy with him, or the instructor believed in the book's existence, period. Sigh.

We were assigned the same book report assignment, on lined paper (at least we got to draw on its construction paper cover!), with the same topics in the same order every month of that school year. I think we all just got burned out on the whole assignment.

Inventive teachers have been putting their own twist on the traditional book report for years, creating comic strip retellings, trading cards about the book's characters and highlighting specific story elements (i.e. setting, plot climax, character arc) during different parts of the school year. As retelling and summarizing are no less important today than ever, good ideas regarding how to get students motivated to talk about the books that they read is always a topic of interest to the language arts teacher.

Enter another Smilebox project: Valentine's Day cards, created by your student, for the characters in the books that they have enjoyed most this school year:

Another ecard by Smilebox

Students are able to alter the titles of these valentines, and can also add their own photo and signature at the bottom of each one. Here are some ways that these could be used in your classroom or learning setting:

1. Students can record a list of potential valentine recipients from the names of characters in their recently read books in their writing journals. Have small-group discussions to determine which characters will finally be chosen, and why those characters deserve a valentine ("My favorite character always makes me smile when I read about him/her. He/she says the kinds of things that I do."). The reasons for the choices can also be written in the journal.
2. As a whole group, consider short sayings that can be added to the tops of the valentines (i.e "Character Fave", "You Are Brave!", "So Special to Me"). Be sure that students proofread the front display (great white board activity) so that all students write and spell the titles correctly on their final project.
3. Students can take digital photos of themselves holding a favorite book, and add them to the valentine template.
4. Drawings can be made of favorite scenes of the book, or of a favorite character, digitally photographed and added to the cards.

While the students are at it, some time could be taken for a random act of kindness here, too. Students could create valentine cards for cafeteria helpers, teacher aides, support staff members and many other community helpers whom they may have forgotten when they created their original Valentine's Day list.

Did you download your free edition of the Smilebox Teacher's Toolbox yet? Be sure and do so, and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Wacky Wednesday: A Recipe for Valentine's Day Success

A tried and true activity that many teachers and parents use with their children is to create a "recipe" for a concept, rather than cookies or quick bread (i.e. "recipe for success", "kindness recipe"). Jazz up that assignment with the help of the Valentine's Day recipe template available from Smilebox:

Digital recipe card made with Smilebox

[Note: I included a "Reflection" area on my recipe card to relate some information about a best friend that I had. If teachers create a reflective component to their reading, writing, art and other assignments, it's a major BOGO ("Buy one, get one free") moment -- creating the project itself and doing some higher level thinking (i.e. comparing and contrasting, evaluating, defending position) and communicating about it.]

If you do not already use Smilebox, you will soon begin to see a variety of ways to use this application in your home and school projects. With templates for recipes, collages, slideshows, scrapbooks and much more, you can take your favorite assignments and bring them into a Web 2.0-friendly format with a few clicks (and little tech-savvy is needed). Have you signed up for your free Smilebox Teacher's Toolbox account? You get all of the advantages of the ad-free, paid version of Smilebox at no expense, and will have a powerful technology tool with an ever-growing number of templates from which to choose.

Tomorrow, I will include another Smilebox project incorporating Valentine's Day (instead of my brooding, serious "Thinking" section, heh).

Terrific Tuesday: There's an App for That

I have spent many hours over the years bookmarking and organizing collections of websites that offer good sources or information, rich multimedia experiences or enjoyable practice and simulation activities online. My new cataloguing frenzy has more to do with Web 2.0-friendly apps and social networking communities. Recently, I began playing with Anatronica, a 3-D interactive anatomy model that harkens me back to days of investigating the Visible Man model in my attic (image courtesy of Amazon.com):

I am currently using the free version in Chrome app form, but there is also a version for Mac and Windows OS, Android, iPad 2 and an online version:

 The pro version offers much more, and may be worth a purchase if you are a STEM teacher or developing an extensive anatomy unit. Unlike the plastic man above, I can get great 360° views of the skeletal system (the main attraction of the free version), without much trouble. Heck, you could barely touch the brittle form (a hand-me-down from many sibs) by the time I got to use it without it falling apart. This model gives students good information along with the well-rendered graphics, and is easy to use independently, or as a whole-class lesson tool on the white board.

Math Monday: Cupcakes, Anyone?

I am a major proponent for manipulatives in the math classroom. Are there that many anti-manipulatives folks out there? Any? I do believe that creating and using "extras", as they are sadly called too often, are the first things cut when our planning time is short and the week is packed with work and home "to do's". That is where today's post leads us:

How do we have curriculum-appropriate materials ready to go, with great kid appeal? How do these manipulatives serve as multi-taskers, carrying us through many parts of our curriculum, thereby justifying their expense (whether purchased or made by us)? 

Allow me to help with that a bit.

I have just launched "Learning Through Craft", a Teachers Pay Teachers online store, offering free and low-cost manipulatives and activities for a variety of subject areas. Now, when I say that I just launched this store, I do mean this just happened, as in today. Ergo, there is exactly one (free) material available at this time. It is called "Cupcake Math", and it is a SMART Notebook activity, for use with interactive white board technology. Introduce or review the 4 basic operations, discuss operation properties and use high-interest crafted cupcakes (hand-sewn, then digitally photographed) as your prompt:

One of my main goals with this store -- and with the creation of my SMART activities, worksheets and digital images -- is to integrate quality crafted objects (I love working with textiles and paper) into teacher-friendly materials. I like to teach with a thematic approach, taking a season, holiday or kid-friendly topic and turning it into a learning opportunity. As the store grows, expect to see more of my freebies appear in my posts. If you have any specific themes or materials that you would like to see offered at "Learning Through Craft", please leave a comment. I love to create new things!

Fun Friday: @Twitter Saved My Life #ijustlied

Of course, Twitter is important. I mean, how else will you know what kind of syrups I prefer on my pancakes?

@pancakelovers It is #sweet Pennsylvania-harvested maple syrup and my homemade strawberry sauce, which is an easy #recipe to make.

In all seriousness, I have a future post planned on how Twitter can be a very effective teacher tool beyond informing students about your breakfast preferences. But it is Fun Friday, so I have no need (or compunction) to be serious, whatsoever. Instead, allow me to introduce you to Themeleon, a Twitter profile appearance saver. Soooo. . .Twitter did not save my life, but Themeleon may save your Twitter feed from looking pathetic.

You know the primary offenders:

1.) "Yes, I know that these colors don't go together. I like them."
2.) "Yes, tiling this image is a bad idea. I like it."
3.) "I don't have time to learn how to customize my Twitter feed. I'm too busy, um, posting Tweets on my Twitter feed."

You have been to their Twitter feeds. They hurt. Oh, the pain. However, if they would only visit Themeleon, you (and they) could be proud of the quick, tasteful makeover. Created by the COLOURlovers community (another groovy website to check out for color trends and palette goodness), this app allows you to quickly alter your Twitter palette colors (i.e. links, background) and to add a pattern or image that won't cause eye strain or emotional distress to your audience:

The user can start with a color scheme, and move it over to given background patterns and images for further alterations (see arrow buttons between design consoles), or start with a given background/image, then move it into a palette. You can use the current top palettes and patterns from the website, or create your own, and save them for future use:

Just think of it: seasonally-appropriate colors and designs, school/team colors represented, or just a Web presence branded for perpetuity (or a week) by your personal panache. Yup. I like Themeleon, and COLOURlovers. What did my husband's relative used to say? Oh, yeah. "Fun is fun, and you can't beat fun." Have a colorful, pattern-pretty weekend!

Thinking Thursday: Grammar and Spelling

I am in a "just wondering" frame of mind today. I would really be curious to hear comments from other language arts instructors from all levels of education on the topic of the changing curricular focus over the last few decades in reading, writing, spelling and grammar. What truly concerns me is the de-emphasis on spelling and grammar as directly taught topics. I remember receiving (and giving, as a classroom teacher) grades in Spelling and English on the quarterly report card. (GASP! I said "grades". That's right. We don't want to do THAT anymore, either. I think I'll save comments on the grading system in today's school for another Thinking Thursday. Otherwise, this will become an incredibly long post.)

I do see the value in combining reading, writing, listening and speaking into a single curricular heading. However, it feels like direct instruction in spelling and grammar got pushed WAY to the back, and this discourages me. The point of combining the language arts is to give the individual topics more relevance (i.e. learn to spell words from the books/topics that you are currently reading),. To think that you are "covered" when these areas are glossed over, however, seems naive. We may not have the curricular minutes to drill and skill the parts of speech or spelling lists that a teacher in the 1950s had, but to eliminate them almost entirely is a disservice to the learning community at large. Do you know how many times intermediate students I teach cannot instantly tell me the difference between a noun and a verb when asked? Are they able to give a definition or example of either? I am concerned. How can they read, write and communicate more effectively if the terms and tools of the trade are not firmly in place by these years?

Mechanics, doctors, astronauts, lawyers, athletes and every other profession that you can name has its jargon -- words particular to being able to "talk the talk" and perform the work. In the early years of education, I firmly believe that there is a need for direct, explicit instruction in spelling patterns, parts of speech, punctuation usage and other language arts topics. Yes, I am talking "worksheets" here. You can be modern about it all. Save the paper. Increase the interest. Convert them to webpages and SmartBoard activities. Just do it. We certainly do not communicate less than we used to in this connected 21st century world. Let's cut those minutes somewhere else, like from the glut of PSSA testing preparation minutes. Whoops! Did I say that out loud?

You bet that I did. That IS definitely a topic for another Thursday, however.

Wacky Wednesday: Go Read a Book!

Yes, I did. I took the title of my Wednesday blog segment from the Dr. Seuss book (credited to "Theo LeSieg" on its cover -- one of his pseudonyms). Theodore Geisel has been on my mind for a few days, as I just finished reading a biography about him written for the "Who Was?" series, Who Was Dr. Seuss?

I really enjoy this series of books, and think that they are a great way for children to be introduced to nonfiction, and the genre of biography. 

So, today's Wacky Wednesday advice is simple: Go read a book. Like, now. TODAY. Make it a children's book, something that you will finish in one sitting. The educator in all of us -- teachers, parents, caretakers -- needs to be nourished, and a good book is worth the time, no matter the age group for whom it is targeted. When you are done, find a child with whom you can share the book and your impressions of it. Enjoy your day!

Terrific Tuesday: At Street View

[Note: As Math Mondays will concentrate on elementary mathematics, Tuesdays will be the home of other curricular area topics. Be sure to visit weekly to see where you can add goodies in your teacher toolbox.]

I recall setting the stage for a group of 6th graders about to read To Build a Fire by Jack London. The main goal of the activity was to introduce the students to story elements such as setting, plot, climax and resolution. As none of the students had ever visited the Yukon Territory in Canada, I felt that they did not have a feel for the remoteness, or the extreme frigidness, that are characteristic of it -- and make Nature such an important character in the story. A simple Google search unearthed images at once gorgeous and frightening -- instantly setting the stage for our assignment.

If you are looking for real-world images to spark the emotions and creativity of your students, remember that Google Maps has virtual field trips waiting for you at their Collections page. The "street view" available of the Grand Canyon, for example, would be a great way to introduce the Southwest to students, whether in Social Studies class or when reading Brighty of the Grand Canyon.