I know I'm about 3 years late to this party - but I've had the book (affiliate link) Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites on my shelf since 2015 and I knew I needed to read it! Since I've been working in an Arts-Integrated school, my teaching has really transformed. I don't do nearly the same amount of crafts as I used to, students create their own graphic organizers and Thinking Maps in composition books, and my reading instruction doesn't include the same amount of comprehension worksheets as it used to. With today's education focusing on brain research and appropriate development, it seemed like a good time to crack this book open and dive on in. Marcia Tate (as seen in this YouTube Video) starts the book off with two scenarios:Mrs. Taylor, a civics teacher, who gives ... [Read More]
Place Value With Legos
I recently had a DonorsChoose.org project funded that I'm really excited about - Legos to teach place value! I got the idea from my friend Jen who blogged about it over on Hawaii's HSTA HYPE blog. Basically, instead of using base ten blocks for place value, you use Legos. Here's why Legos are better:Many students have Legos at home and can use them while doing homeworkStudents have background knowledge of Legos and already love using themLegos create a novelty and bring some fun into your math classI was intrigued by the idea, so I wrote up a project. Here is what I requested - there are some affiliate links that help me continue to run this blog :)From Amazon:Akro-Mils 24 Drawer Hardware and Craft Cabinet2 sets of Drawer Separators 2 sets of Multi-colored ... [Read More]
Arts Integration, Part Two
In Part One of my Arts Integration series I introduced what is arts integration. In Part Two, we will dive into Visual Text. We will answer the following questions:What is visual literacy?How do we observe and describe visual text?How do we make sense of and connect to visual text?What is Visual Literacy? When Common Core came into practice, visual literacy was a term many teachers were not familiar with. Yet, it cropped up in many standards. For example: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and ... [Read More]
Arts Integration, Part One
What is Arts Integration?If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I teach at an arts integrated school. In fact, it is the only arts-integrated public school in the state of Hawaii. We still teach required curriculum - Hawaii is a one-district state with mandated curriculum for math and ELA. But at our school, we use the curriculum as the content to teach the standards and use arts integration as strategies for HOW we teach that content. One main focus is on professional development. We need to learn from teaching artists how to teach through the arts. We need to be inspired. Our professional development also brings the artists into our classrooms so we can see how they work with students. And sometimes it leads to mentoring. We all ... [Read More]
American Symbols
Part of the first grade standards for Hawaii state social studies is to learn about American Symbols! My teaching team puts together these adorable books that I want to show you and provide some resources for where you can put together your own! I've included lots of pictures, lots of links to products and freebies that I use, and also a freebie I put together for you that you can download at the end of this post!We start by singing a silly song I found on YouTube by KinderBlossoms. We then do a simple foldable in our Science and Social Studies Books. I use the organization idea from my gal Corinna at Surfin' Through Second to separate my notebooks. You can download the song freebie here.We then make US Symbols books that I prep and comb bind ahead of time. We ... [Read More]
Classroom Theme and Giveaway
I love decorating, both my home and my classroom. When it comes to classroom decor, I have used Schoolgirl Style for the past 4 years. It started in my 2nd grade classroom on the island of Lanai in 2013 when I used the Rainbow Chalkboard collection. I love the bright colors and it mixed perfectly with my black fabric bulletin boards, freshly painted black bookcases, and bright colored accents. I even used some of the signs to label areas in the computer lab! When we moved to Maui and I got a transfer to a school in Lahaina teaching first grade, I wanted an under the sea Eric Carle theme to match my new ocean rug from Kid Carpet. So I combined the Bugs and the Ocean collections. Then, I learned about our neighborhood school (I had been commuting 45 mins ... [Read More]