Digging Deeper with Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel's birthday is coming up this week, so I thought I would share how powerful and relevant his stories can be to growing and developed readers. I recommend five of his books to discuss symbolism, history, and schema; these books show that there is more than meets the eye when we read.

Helping Students Read through a Balanced Classroom Library

I had a former student make his way to my classroom Friday afternoon. He quietly said, "Mrs. Bunyi, how are you? I am going to the Grand Canyon soon, and I was wondering if you had a book I could borrow before I go." I knew exactly where to go and sent him on his way within a matter of seconds. Honestly, it felt great to be able to place that book in his hands. It also felt wonderful to have a system that made it easy to find the requested books.

Scholastic Teacher Share Beta

Bonus: The ramblings of a sick lady (including random sites of the week!)

 

I am rooting for the little engine that could. Scholastic has started up a new resource that allows teachers to create, edit, and share classroom lessons and ideas. Unlike other resources out there (ex-www.proteacher.com), Scholastic's version has a Facebook twist to it. You should check it out today. I believe Jeremy and Danielle are throwing out incentives for lesson plan ideas right now. Do you get that with your principal? I think not!

To learn more about this resource, with links, and some flu ramblings of my own (diagnosed yesterday and writing this from my bed), continue reading on. I might be all over the place, but I blame Tamiflu, a steroid shot, and Robitussin with codeine for my mental decline.

Regional Tour through Google Earth and Video Conferences

 

So, this is not a post...it's a plea. Our class is currently completing a tour around the United States regions using various web sites and Google Earth.  We'd love to chat with you, should your class choose to be our regional representative via a video conference.  Live outside of the Southeast? Have a Skype account? In grades 3-5? You pass the test. There is still a glitch with the comments that is being worked out. Email me if you are interested, and we'll set something up soon. bunyia@rcs.k12.tn.us

As an added bonus, I am including a quick "how to" for video conferencing. Pictured above was a video conference with a special education teacher in Mumbia, India.

Teaching Moon Phases

I guess science has been on my mind lately. I believe it's called Science Olympiad, and I'm in charge of it. Anyway, I promise to return to my usual literacy state of mind with the next post, but before I do, let's take a moment to look at some incredible resources for teaching moon phases. From a great music resource I dub my new favorite, instructions on making a Moon Phase Transporter, fun with Strep cookies, and (I'm not humble) an Oscar worthy performance in our latest class video, I've got your back on lesson plans. 

Teaching Cause and Effect through Mistakes

 

I love Mistakes That Worked: 40 Familiar Inventions and How They Came to Be by Charlotte Foltz Jones and think this book is a fun way to talk about real-life cause and effect scenarios. From post-it notes to Velcro, this is a highly entertaining book!

Science Inquiry and Science Notebooking

 

Many districts provide hands-on science kits to help teach science through a hands-on, inquiry based approach. While all the kits are a great resource, I particularly enjoy our electricity unit. From creating a filament to testing out conductors and inductors, we record our thoughts and observations through science notebooking. If you are not familiar with these kits, I'd like to share a sample of videos, pictures, and writings from our current electricity kit. I have also included a slide show of a student's science notebook for you to view.

Create a Valentine's Venn-O-Gram Chart

 

Considering our class will be on a full day field trip during the unofficial "Valentine's Day" festivities, I thought I would share a quick academic tie-in to the month of love. I combined my love of books and libraries by reading The Librarian Who Measured the Earth and held a discussion on how our libraries differ now compared to 2,000 years ago in Greece. It just made sense to turn the Venn-Diagram into a Valentine Venn-O-Gram instead. Continue reading to view the book I used for this lesson along with a list of books that teach about libraries.