I saw this video on my Google Reader the other day (on a side note, how sad is it that Google Reader is retiring?!):
I LOVED it! How great would this be to show to students (it might have a few slightlyyyyy inappropriate moments for kids under 8th grade) and then have them come up with the "ever afters" for other disney/fairy tale characters.
I was trying to think of other characters they could "ever after" this is what I have so far:
Cinderella
Snow White
Any of the Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Peter Pan
Dalmatians
Lion King
Timon and Pumba
Sleeping Beauty
Bambi
Tinker Bell
Any of the Pooh characters (maybe they could use the image below to guide them haha)
I am trying to come up with fun activities to do after the SOL tests are over this year that are not movies, and I think this idea might be a winner!
I was reading an article on Yahoo! and they were recapping all of the food items that are only available at certain points in the year because they are tied to holidays.
Here’s a look at the short-lived items added to some of the major fast-food restaurants’ menus throughout the year:
Food of the month article link I thought that this could be a fun descriptive writing or sensory activity. I was thinking about giving the kids a calendar and having them create a food item for each month and then describe that food in as much detail as possible (maybe using the five senses). They could also create a persuasive ad for their foods using different persuasive techniques!
1. You wake up, only to find yourself covered in dirt. You have no idea how you got here. You start to dig. It seems to be taking forever. Keep digging. Finally you reach up and a million smells hit you at once. You crawl out of the pile of dirt. Something smells weird………. Finish the story, you are the zombie.
2. The zombie apocalypse has begun. Describe your lead character and the group that follows. Let your readers know the ins and outs of their compound.
3. Heather has been crushing on the boy next door since they were in third grade. One morning she peaks between her curtains to see him standing in the window. He appears to be undead. Tell the story.
4. Your best friend has been cursed, he must spend the rest of his life looking like a zombie. Tell the tale of the curse and how two friends break it.
5. The character is digging in her garden when a familiar hand reaches up for her.
6. Your character is taking a walk in Central Park. The wind is chilly, the park, oddly silent. There is a man sitting on the bench holding a newspaper. As the character jogs past, only one headline catches attention; ZOMBIES!!!
7. Write a zombie love story. Start it with a line like – the most beautiful piece of flesh I ever saw was…
8. (Insert favorite social media here) is taken over by zombies.
9. The characters favorite doll turns into a zombie. The rest of the toys follow, one-by-one.
10. Write a poem containing these keywords – zombie, flesh, dirt, earth, blood, stink, rot
Before students turn it in they could "zombify" themselves and put it at the top of their writing prompt?
I found a few neat "Make yourself a zombie" suites:
I have a thing for Babysitters Club books. I still remember the first one I was allowed to get. It was called "Little Miss Stonybrook and Dawn!"
I own almost every single one ever released. When I am at used book stores I still try to find the ones that I am missing to round out my collection.
Whenever I am feeling a little down and don't feel like I can emotionally invest in an "adult" book I choose a Babysitters Club book to read.
The other night was one of those nights and I was reading #66 "Maid Mary Anne"
The book opens with the first line from Anna Karenina. Mary Anne was thinking about great opening lines from books because her teacher had given them an assignment to write a memorable, unforgettable opening sentence for a story.
I think that is a really great idea for me to do with my students to teach them about ATTENTION grabbing openers.
When you are writing a novel or essay you want to grab your audience's attention from the very first moment so you don't lose them before you have even really started!
What better way than to start by reading some of the greatest first lines of all time!
I found a site that has a list of great first lines of novels:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934311.html
I could have the students read through them and choose what they think are the top ten best opening lines.
They would need to write down the quote, author, book, and why they think it is a great opening line.
They would then need to compose what they think would be a memorable, unforgettable opening sentence for a story.
I found this really neat site that the students could upload their opening quotes to:
http://recitethis.com
We could print and display them around the classroom and vote on the best opening lines!
The class that I have to meet with is the class that treats each other like crap (Which I suppose is fitting for the topic at hand). I think that a lot of the "activities" provided for us are extremely dated and very juvenile for 8th graders so I try to come up with some of my own activities to fill the time slot.
If you know anything at ALL about me by now you know I love animals so I thought I could tie the two themes together!
I found a collection of clips about animals working together or odd animal couples I thought I could show in class:
I thought I could have a discussion with the students after showing the clips about why they think these odd couplings and teamwork work.
I could maybe tie in the idea of different colored eggs.
Even though they are different on the outside, they have a lot of the same feelings inside.
One of the clips ends with the quote,"It seems that survival in the animal kingdom hinges not only on being the fittest, but also being a friend."
I LOVE this quote because I think a lot of my students focus on being the "Fittest" rather than being a "Friend."
If we have time after the videos and discussion I think I would like to have students write about why being the "fittest" doesn't mean not being a "friend."
***On another note I have a student who is OBSESSED with the weather and I was trying to think of a way to incorporate a bully lesson in with the weather, but I am feeling stumped.....any ideas out there?
I found this site today that I thought could be interesting in the classroom in a few different ways.
The site is: www.typoeffects.com
You can upload a picture and it will place words of your choosing to generate your picture with words!
I like this site rather than others that I have seen a lot on Pinterest because it still retains the colors of the picture AND it is easier to read the words/see the original picture.
I thought that it could be used at the start of the year for students to introduce themselves to the class (Instead of using tagxedo)
I only used three words for this picture, but I was just playing around with the program.
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Students could use it with book covers or characters and write words associated with them
Harry Potter
-or-
Perhaps I could have students choose an image and write words associated with that image and then write on the following prompt:
People say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Do you believe them? Why or why not?
I stumbled upon www.tagxedo.com a few year ago and I absolutely love it!
Instead of making standard word clouds like in Wordle you can make word clouds in the form of almost any shape.
There are so many uses for it in the classroom!
To Show Symbolism
Choose a symbol (shape) and put words commonly associated with the symbol inside of it
Once completed write a paragraph about why you chose this symbol/these words and what it symbolizes
To Compare and Contrast
Students can paste in text from documents (they will need to make two separate tagxedos) and then click "Word/Layout Options" -->Advanced-->Slide the Deja Vu scale up.
The words used the most in a piece of text will be larger.
I pasted in the inaugural addresses of both Bush and Obama below:
Bush 2005
Obama 2013
Students could compare and contrast these by discussing the differences in the most commonly used words in both!
Example:
They both discuss the nation quite a bit
Bush discussed the government more than Obama
Students could then make inferences to why these differences and similarities exist!
To Introduce
If you have access to a computer lab at the start of the year students could input words that represent them or items that they like. If they like something MORE they should repeat that word several times (when the tagxedo is created that word will show larger)
Synonyms
There is a neat option where you can make the shape a word!
Click "Shape" -->"Add Words"
Students can input a boring word as the shape and then fill it with more interesting synonyms for that word!
Inference
You could input quotes from novels you have read or words associated with a specific topic you are studying and have students infer what novel/topic it relates to and explain why!
I used quotes from Harry Potter for the image below!
Improving your writing
I found this idea at: http://blog.tagxedo.com/101-ways-to-use-tagxedo-completed
I thought I could show these to my students and have them create captions for the pictures inferring what is occurring in the photos and then write a story based only on the photos and their inferences.
But wait there's more!
I thought that after doing this assignment, perhaps I could have kids create a photo story of their own. I could split them into groups and they could plan, storyboard, and direct photo shoots of their own devising.
I could limit the stories to a certain number of pictures and have them printed at Wal Mart for 4 cents a piece and have the groups create a storyboard
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I could have them create a slideshow of the images themselves.
Then each group would be assigned another group's photo slideshow and infer/write the story they think they were trying to tell!
If you are interested in any of my inference lessons:
I am always looking for fun new things to use either in the classroom or in my personal life. Recently, I stumbled across something that could work for both!
The blog www.graceisoverrated.com has a TON of brilliant printables, but my favorites are her journaling pages. There are 50 of them and are, as she puts it, "Created out of a sense of delightful, insightful personal exploration. They combine fill-in-the-blank journal prompts with unconventional to-do lists, game-show-inspired lightning rounds, action-inspiring quotes, and oodles of hand-drawn doodles."
I absolutely ADORE the format of these pages, the quotes, and the questions that are posed on each one.
Each page really causes you to stop and reflect.
I don't think that I spend enough time doing things like this because I am so focused on other things in my life.
I was thinking that I would love to start working through the journal pages on my own time each night and doing a journal page a week with my students. (All she asks is that you email her to ask for permission first. I did and she was really friendly!)
Some of the journal pages have content that would not be 100% suitable for the age my students are, but if I am working through them on my own I will know which ones I need to veto for classroom use.
If we do a journal page a week in the classroom at the end of the year my students would have 36 journal pages that show their thoughts/growth over the course of the year. Perhaps we could bind each student's journal and they can do a culminating journal entry in which they talk about their personal journalling experience over the year!
This is my favorite find of the new year and I would definitely suggest you check it out!
I am always trying to integrate the latest technology and trends into my lessons. I may be getting older, but I try to stay up with the trends (SOME of the trends, I will never understand Lil' Wayne, The Bad Girls Club, or Jersey Shore).
I think that the idea of social networking as book characters is something that really resonates with most kids (Especially with the new MTV show Catfish gaining in popularity)
A lot of teachers create printable templates for Facebook and Twitter that their students can fill out on any given book character. I think those templates are GREAT, but the kids sometimes need a break from the worksheets.
I found a few ONLINE generators that I think the kids will have a lot of fun with.
I would really like to find a Wikipedia generator one day so that I could tie in my "Research" standards in with my book characters.
I know that computer lab time is sometimes limited so sometimes we are tied to paper worksheets.
Because of this (and because I couldn't find an online generator for cell phone apps!) I created a Character Cell Phone Hack activity that is available on TPT and Teachersnotebook if you are interested!
These two pictures show the most popular words used in the US Billboard Top 10 songs from February 21, 1960 and February 21, 2010. I’m sure you can work out which is which.
I think we can all agree that the penning of songs has gone downhill and that doesn't help our students' vocabulary, imagination, or creative writing skills.
I came across this videos on my google reader one day. A guy took popular songs from 2012 and translated them to extraneous lyrics.
Song list:
'Call Me Maybe by Carly' Rae Jepsen
'Boyfriend' by Justin Bieber
'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' by Taylor Swift
'Gangnam Style' by Psy
'Somebody That I Used To Know' by Gotye
'What Makes You Beautiful' by One Direction
'We Are Young' by Fun.
I thought I could use this to introduce my lesson in descriptive writing!
I wrote down some of the lyrics that were translated and their original versions:
'Call Me Maybe by Carly' Rae Jepsen
Extraneous Lyrics
I dispensed hope into a subterranean reservoir
Interrogate me and I’ll remain taciturn
I glanced wayward during the gravitational pull
And now you’re impeding my peregrination
Your retinal cones were transfixed
Lacerated denim visible epidermis
Coalescent dusk zephyrs and turbulence
What’s your predetermined thoroughfare baby?
Hey, we’re barely acquaintances
And this is borderline schizophrenic
But here’s a set of sequential integers
So perchance we’ll engage in telephonic discourse
Original Lyrics
I threw a wish in the well,
Don't ask me, I'll never tell
I looked to you as it fell,
And now you're in my way
Your stare was holdin',
Ripped jeans, skin was showin'
Hot night, wind was blowin'
Where do you think you're going, baby?
Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
But here's my number,
So
call me, maybe?
'Boyfriend' by Justin Bieber
Extraneous Lyrics
Giving all the disposable
income and affection that I’ve got
Hearthside eating Swiss
melted cheese in a pot
I’m unsure about myself but
confident in my knowledge of you
Greet some high-pitched faux
feminine vocals as I’ve been know to do..swag (No translation?)
I’d aspire to fulfill your
requirements
Hello woman
Let’s schedule a conference
If I was your male companion
Your movement would be
constrained
Retain you in a sleeper hold
You’d never be quarantined
And I can remain courteous
Or change my mannerisms to
fit your preferences
If we engaged in a
consensual relationship
My grasp would never cease
Original Lyrics
I got money in my hands that I’d really like to
blow
Swag, swag, swag, on you
Chillin' by the fire while we eatin’ fondue
I don't know about me but I know about you
So say hello to falsetto in three, two, swag
I’d like to be everything you want
Hey girl, let me talk to you
If I was your boyfriend, never let you go
Keep you on my arm girl, you’d never be alone
I can be a gentleman, anything you want
If
I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go, I’d never let you go
I thought I could explain to my students what this artist had done, taken the lyrics and translated them into their most literal and descriptive sense. I would then ask them to bring in the lyrics to three of their favorite (and edited if necessary) songs.
I would have them choose three stanzas from each song and translate them into extraneous lyrics (using thesauruses of course). We could display the original and extraneous lyrics side by side on my classroom bulletin board when we are done as a reminder.
