Lessons

Bike

2010-06-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

These are just lesson plan ideas. To create a lesson plan, refer to How to Write a Lesson Plan

Link to spreadsheet:
Park Physics Day

Click Photo to the right for photographic instructions on building a bicycle if slideshow below does not play.

Summer School Biology Day

2010-06-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

These are just lesson plan ideas. To create a lesson plan, refer to How to Write a Lesson Plan

Link to spreadsheet:
Biology Day

Summer school one-room schoolhouse activities will be posted as spreadsheets. These are the same spreadsheets that are sent home with parents, not the spreadsheets designed for teaching from. Adapt the sheets for your use, or rework into a lesson plan.

Word Othello

2010-01-15T15:37:00.001-08:00

These are just lesson plan ideas. To create a lesson plan, refer to How to Write a Lesson Plan

Word Othello

This is the one-on-one version of Word Bingo. It combines the sight-word matching of Bingo with the strategic oppositional play of Othello. It works for both beginning readers who are strong in strategy games like chess and checkers, and older struggling readers who need to increase their vocabulary. Word lists for more advanced readers can be built off of roots, endings, or parts of speech.

Materials:

Othello Board and Pieces
Transparent sheets
Mailing Labels/Printable Sticker Sheets
Word Lists

Build the Game:

Print multiples of the words on stickers and separate.
Lay the transparent sheet, cut to size, over the Othello playing board.
Keeping track of which words are in each set, divide the word list into three progressively smaller groups (12, 8, 4, for example).
Stick multiples of the largest set on the bottom sheet, covering all the squares.
Lay the second transparent sheet over the first and replace some of the multiples with the next set.
Use the last set of word stickers for the third transparency.
Using the track sheet for the word sets, print three different colors of word cards, one for each transparent layer.

Game Play:

Option One
The goal is to get a four-square of your color. Block your opponent.
Layer One: turn one card over each turn, placing two pieces your color side up on matching words.
Layer Two and Three: turn one card over each turn, placing one piece of your color side up on matching words.

Option Two
The goal is to get as many four-squares as you can while blocking your opponent in a cover-all game.
Gameplay is the same as above.

Option Three
The goal is to have the most of your color face-up on the board.
Review the game rules for Othello. The difference is that pieces can only be set on a word when the card is drawn.

Sum & Difference Kit for Kinetic Learner

2009-04-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

These are just lesson plan ideas. To create a lesson plan, refer to How to Write a Lesson Plan

Supplies:
(things to count)
Magnetic Fishing Poles
Fish from Fishing Game
Stars and Moons from Magnetic Game
Dice assortment
Digits on cards
(sorting vessels)
18 egg carton divided into
-2 @ 3 connected
-3 @ 2 connected
-6 @ singles
(marking tools)
Post-it notes
Number Stencils
Stamp Markers

Technique progression:

Sort unnumbered things into double vessels. Mark with sum.
Sort unnumbered things into triple vessels. Mark with sum.
Sort unnumbered things into single vessels. Stack progressively 2,3, etc. and mark with sum.

Sort dice into single vessels. Shake and group into same/different results.
Sort dice into double vessels. Shake and mark with sum of results.
Sort dice into triple vessels. Shake and mark with sum of results.
Roll several dice on table. Mark with sum of results.

Sort digits into double vessels. Mark with sum.
Sort digits into triple vessels. Mark with sum.
Sort digits into single vessels. Stack progressively 2, 3, etc. and mark with sum.

Group the above by vessel size and sum/difference as is appropriate for student.
Marking techniques may include tracing the digits from stencils or grouping the appropriate number of stamps.

“Three Stings” -- Shel Silverstein

2008-12-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

These are just lesson plan ideas. To create a lesson plan, refer to How to Write a Lesson Plan

Dialogue
Using quotations.
Review the grammatical structures of quotations
-shape –placement –utility –capitalization –punctuation

Synonyms
How many ways are there to say “said” ? Brainstorm first, then teach how to use a thesaurus to add to the list. Add more characters and have them [say], “[their response to being stung]."

Slang/ Dialect
Shel Silverstein uses the word “somethin’” in his poem. Have someone write something you say with the phonetics you pronounce, and then try to translate. How is it useful to use slang when writing dialogue?

Attitude
Optimism and Pessimism.
Discuss “The glass is half full/ half empty” and positive attitude psychology. Who in the poem is an optimist? List some other awful situations. What would George, Frank, and Lew have to say about them? How would you rate their attitudes (good, bad)? Is there a situation where Lew’s attitude wouldn’t be the best response?

Bee Stings
Some people have allergies to bee stings. Read about bees, stings, and allergies. How could you justify George’s or Frank’s attitude toward being stung using physical reactions?

"Puppies"--Marguerite Gode

2008-12-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

These are just lesson plan ideas. To create a lesson plan, refer to How to Write a Lesson Plan

Active Movement
Have the student circle the way that puppies move in their copies of their poem, and then demonstrate their interpretations of the actions. Make a poster of different animals that perform the movements of puppies (worms for squirmy, etc.).

Language
Word Play
Fold a piece of paper for two columns. List some unconventional words in the poem in one column. In the second, “correct” the word (or phrase) as necessary. On the other side, start with some plain words that describe puppies, their actions, or their interactions in the first column, and then construct new words by combining two (like wag and wiggle into waggle) or by adding unexpected endings (like –ing on pranks).

Biology
Puppy training
Scoldings and spankings sound like good things to get away from, but they are necessary to have good, mindful dogs when they grow up. Witness a puppy class, or read some books about dog training. Discuss how puppy discipline leads to good, cuddly dogs.

Anatomy
Puppy paws, fur, tails, teeth, eyes, ears and nose are all unique. Look at how a dog’s nose works, what happens when their teeth fall out, and why their ears are floppy. Learn what a tail is good for, and why they have fur.

Art
Photo journalism
It’s one thing to read a poem and imagine a puppy acting this way, and another to watch and record them. Take a field trip to several locations where puppies can be found, like a dog show, the humane society, a dog park , or a friend’s house. Shoot pictures of puppies in various activities, and publish them on the printer. Have the student add a caption (use a newspaper or magazine for a guide) for each photo, describing character, movement, location, or some other memorabilia.

Arts and Crafts
Now that you have looked at lots of pups and studied their features, make some puppies. Craft ideas include puppets, clay, pin-the-tail games, drawings with 3d embellishments.

"The Rainbow"--Christina Rossetti

2008-12-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

These are just lesson plan ideas. To create a lesson plan, refer to How to Write a Lesson Plan

Music:
Choral Arrangement
Play the arrangement, or have it sung. How does the music make the poem feel? What did the composer find important (look for repetitions, sustained notes, echoes, etc)?

Language:
Conjunctions
Play with the conjunctions in the poem, switching around “and” with “but” and “or”. Describe how that changes how the piece feels. Add an extra line of description or two to the poem starting with a conjunction.
Tense
What does the present tense of the poem mean? The poem is old and Rossetti is long dead. What happens to the poem if you change it to past tense?

Nature vs. Technology
Metaphor
Learn about Boats and Ships and compare them to Clouds. How are they the same? How are they different?
Learn about Bridges, the shape of a Bow, and compare that to a Rainbow. How are they the same? How are they different?
Learn about the Ocean, Rivers, and the Sky. How are they the same? How are they different?
Opinion
How does the speaker feel about Nature vs. Technology? How could someone feel differently? Rewrite the poem from the other perspective.