Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels: E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

CampYouTube – “We're bringing the fun of summer camp to families at home with #CampYouTube. Check out our STEM, Arts, Sports, and Adventure themed camps to learn new skills, stay active, and explore the world together. Come back daily for updates! Families can also download #CampYouTube bingo boards and cross off camp activities they complete.” (L:E,M;SA:A)

Canva – Design and print posters for the classroom (L:G;SA:A)

Codelicious – “Codelicious provides courses that are designed to be educator-led, education-standards aligned, and include full-year, project-based curriculum to engage every learning style. For schools interested in planning a curriculum progression across multiple grade levels, Codelicious suggests the following course pathway. Explore the resources included in every course here.” (L:G;SA:A,C)

The Science of the Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich – “This week Reactions is taking a look at some cheesy chemistry in the form of a sandwich. We're giving you some science based tips on how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Consider this a chemical ode to one of the finest comfort foods ever created, the grilled cheese sandwich. Cheese making is an incredibly complex chemical process, and at a certain point, you may have learned the hard way that some cheeses simply don't make the grill grade. Why is it that some cheeses melt perfectly while others crumble into a nasty, oily mess? Today we're going answer that question for you, and while we're at it, we wanted to offer you some scientific advice on how to optimize your ingredients for the perfect grilled cheese experience.” (L:M,H;SA:S)

Neil and Buzz Go For A Walk – “After four days of travel, a daring landing, and hours of preparation, the hatch of Apollo 11’s Lunar Module Eagle opened on the Moon. For the next two hours astronauts NEIL ARMSTRONG and BUZZ ALDRIN explored an area the size of a baseball diamond. This is the story about what happened on that 1969 Moonwalk, told with highlights from the original transmission log. Scroll to see the adventure.” (L:G,H;SA:S)”

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Teaching Shortages

In Clemson College of Education wants to lower in-state tuition to curb the teacher shortage, the article states that

“Last school year, 6,650 South Carolina teachers left their jobs while only 2,170 students earned an education degree, according to the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement out of Winthrop University.”

I’m very worried about the teacher shortages that we are going to face.

We are already short special education teachers. They are always in demand.

Now with Covid-19 and all the uncertainty, we really don’t know what we will have.

Some teachers don’t know if they have a job because we don’t know if parents will send their children to school, enroll in a virtual school, or do homeschool.

Some teachers are at the age where they can retire and the thought of learning new technology and teaching remotely is not something they want to do.

Some teachers are at an age or have health concerns that make them high risk and they don’t want to return to the school building.

They plan to transport students at 50% capacity. This is going to cause a rise in fuel costs because buses will have to run more routes. Our district is determining attendance by last names and not location so the buses may be running all over the county all day long picking up students. Depending on which time they are picked up, won’t students miss some instruction time? Teachers may find this an obstacle that they don’t want to face.

Some schools will be on a hybrid schedule where some students are in the classroom and others attend remotely. If half of the students are getting face to face instruction and the other half learns remotely on two days and then they flip flop the other two days, are they only getting half the instruction they normally would? Do all students have the necessary tools to attend school remotely? Are teachers going to be held accountable for a situation that is not in their control?

Will students be able to master the skills necessary to meet the yearly standards for their grades? Will teachers be held accountable if the students don’t meet the yearly standards?

The education future for our students is a scary thought. I’m not sure what the answer is but I just don’t see how a hybrid schedule is an answer. I also don’t think that virtual school for young children is going to be very effective in teaching all the necessary skills for the next grade.

Do you have any suggestions? Please share.

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Doing Better

In What’s your story? From Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin states,

“Because if we care about it, it’s worth doing better.”

My father used to tell me that any job worth doing was worth doing well. Now that I’m an adult I can really understand his message. When I was a kid, I didn’t understand this at all because all I wanted to do was gt the job done.

The way that I can relate this to teaching is that I care about teaching, so I want to do it better. I want to make a difference and not just get a paycheck.

I want my lessons to be better so that students are engaged and want to learn about what I’m teaching them.

One way to help engage students is to make it mean something to them. If students care about what they are learning about, they will want to do it and do it better.

I like to connect math skills to money as much as possible. Most people care about money. They want more in their pocket and if they spend it, they want to get more value for the cost.

When I teach measurements of volume and weight, I try to relate it to food and recipes. Students can understand the need for knowing measurements.

If student want to make something, they will see why length, width, and depth might be important.

So, when I’m planning on teaching a new skill, I like to think about how students will use this skill. Why would learning this be important. If I can’t figure this out, then I’m just giving them busy work.

All of this has to do with relevance. If students can understand the relevance to them, then they will care about learning the skill. This will help them be more successful.

How do you get students to care about what they are learning? Please share.

Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash

Jones Gap State Park

Jones Gap State Park is located in Marietta, SC which is in Greenville County. The park consists of 3964 acres including the headwaters of the Middle Saluda River. There are more than 30 miles of hiking trails including some waterfalls. This was once the site of South Carolina’s first fish hatchery, Cleveland Fish Hatchery, which operated from 1931 to 1962.

There was once a toll road from Caesar’s Head, SC to Cedar Mountain, NC from 1940-1847. Solomon Jones was a self-taught mountain road builder and cut a road with a hatchet while following a pig. This unpaved Jones Gap Road was the only direct route from Greenville to NC until the 1930s.

Henry Ware and his cousin E. Ervin Dargan bought 2000 acres of Jones Gap land from the Saluda Land and Lumber Company. Then in 1976, they sold and donated their land to the state for a park.

In 1973, Tommy Wyche had the idea of a Mountain Bridge Wilderness and organized the Naturaland Trust. This trust was to secure and protect mountain lands between the Table Rock and Poinsett watersheds, which included Jones Gap. The state began to buy properties with money granted from the federal Land and Water Conservation fund.

The Park officially opened in January 1989. It is a forested wilderness and ranges in elevation from 1000 to 300 feet. Many of the trees are like those that you would find in Pennsylvania or Maine. The Middle Saluda River runs through the park.

Jones Gap State Park joins with Caesar’s Head State Park to form the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area.

I have hiked many times in this park and in all seasons. It is a beautiful park. I have even taken my high school students on a hike in this park because many of my students have never been to a state park before. They loved it!

Original photo by Pat Hensley

The 5 Ss

In the book 2 Second Lean by Paul A. Akers (a free book), he talks about the 5 Ss.

The 5 Ss are:

• Sort
• Straighten
• Shine
• Standardize
• Sustain

Sort – Get rid of junk

Straighten - Prioritize and Organize

Shine – Cleanliness helps morale

Standardize – everyone understands what to expect and what is expected of them

Sustain – find ways to keep changes in place.

I am trying to follow this process in my office. I have separated my office into zones and finished sorting and straightening 2 of the 4 zones. I didn’t realize how much junk I really have.

I want to save everything because I might need it. I have files and files of paperwork and after going through it all, I realize that most of it is outdated. I had papers from students from 10 -15 years ago. Now, it is easy to scan it all on keep a digital copy of it. This takes a lot less room than the actual paper.

Once it is organized, it will be easier to clean.

Since I’m the only one who uses my office, it will be easy to standardize.

I think sustaining this process is going to be hard for me. I only have myself to blame if it doesn’t happen.

I think students have this same problem beginning with their backpacks. Everything gets stuffed into a backpack. No wonder that many can’t find their homework! Teachers need to teach students a way to do the 5 Ss with students. I think this would help them be more successful in the classroom.

Do you follow the 5 Ss? If so, please share.

Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 07/24/2020

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels: E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Math Art Challenges – “Hey folk! Here are links to all of the #MathArt Challenge …challenges. Please feel free to share widely. This dropbox folder has lots of videos/pictures, too. Also, if you have an idea for a future day, I would love to hear it (and credit you, of course!)” (L:M,H;SA:M,FA)

Journey North – “Tracking Migrations and Seasons; Use News Updates to drive instruction. Each update includes a journal page with a question to explore, an activity to try, a map to analyze and more. Over the season, the journal becomes a workplace where students explore ever-changing events, record compelling questions, formulate hypotheses, and document discoveries.” (L:G;SA:S)

Chatterpix Kids – “Simply take any photo, draw a line to make a mouth, and record your voice. Then share your Pix with friends and family as silly greetings, playful messages, creative cards, or even fancy book reports. And best of all, it’s FREE! AGES: 6-12.“ChatterPix Kids” does not collect any personal information or include sharing features.” (L:E;SA:A)

Code with Google – “Practical computer science skills can help students learn and create and bring more relevance to nearly any subject – from history to literature to current events.”

NowComment – “NowComment makes it easy to have rich, engaging discussions of online documents no matter how large (or small) your class or collaboration group. NowComment is fast, powerful, and feature-rich: you can sort comments, skim summaries, create assignments, hide comments, reply privately, and much more It's free, a project managed by Paul Allison, a consultant for the NYC Writing Project and the NWP.”

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Make One Improvement

In the book 2 Second Lean by Paul A. Akers (a free book), he talks about making an improvement each day.

“Just give me a single 2 second improvement a day. That’s it. That’s all I ask for. A 2 second improvement.”

This would be a great place to start in my own home, so I am starting this with my office. It started with what bugs me and the main thing is how easily I let clutter accumulate.

I think one thing that I could do that doesn’t take much time or energy is to put my clothes away. I pile clean laundry on a chair and don’t put it away until the piles fall over. This would be a quick and easy fix and make me feel better in the long run. Once I make this a new habit, I think I would keep it up.

This would be a great thing to do in the classroom. One thing that takes time is to gather necessary things for a emergency drill. I kept a bag filled with necessary items so that when we had to evacuate, all I needed to do was grab the bag on the way out of the door. The bag included my attendance roster, pen and pencil, forms to turn in to an administrator, disposable gloves, and band aids. I would now add a facemask in the bag.

The important thing to remember is to keep this bag in the same place so I would know where to find it when needed. I would also need to keep the attendance roster up to date in case any new students enroll or if any withdraw.

What 2 second improvement can you make in your life or work? Please share.

What Bugs Me?

In the book 2 Second Lean by Paul A. Akers (a free book), he talks about look around and seeing what bugs you. Once you identify what bugs you (the problem), then you can begin to look at solutions.

I recently tried to apply this to my life and began with my office/craft room. What was bugging me about it? The main thing was that I couldn’t find the books I wanted to look at and I could find the yarn that I wanted when I wanted to make something.

My problem was figuring out where to begin.

I started from my goal and worked backwards to my starting point.

To find my yarn, I needed to organize my yarn by color and wieight.
To organize my yarn, I needed to get the books and other things off of my yarn shelves.
To get the things off of my yarn shelves, I needed to add more bookshelves.
To add more bookshelves, I needed to go to Lowes and get the shelves.

So, the first thing I did was get the bookshelves.
To add the shelves, I had to take down the books that were stacked up on the shelves that were already there.
Once I started taking the books off, I realized that I didn’t want to keep all of the books that I’d taken down.
After sorting through the books and adding the shelves, I had a lot more room for the things that were on my yarn shelves.
I organized the books and loaded them onto the bookshelves.
Once I did that, I had plenty of empty cubicles on my yarn shelves.
I sorted my yarn by color and weight. I found yarn that I didn’t remember that I had.

Now I’m motivated to make some many new things and read some of the books that I had rediscovered.

Working backwards in my mind helped me figure out a starting point.

I tend to figure out my lessons in the same way. I think about my goal – the ending point. Where do I want my students to end up? Then I work backwards from there and try to figure out the skills they need to get to the ending point.

What bugs you? How can you work to fix the problem? Please share.

Photo by Gabriel Manlake on Unsplash

Lean Culture

A friend recently told me about the Lean Culture in the manufacturing field. I watched a video called Lean Manufacturing - Lean is Simple by FastCap and it gave a good explanation of the principles. There are eight wastes that are examined in the culture. I began to look at these eight wastes and wondered how it could be applied to field of education.

Here are the 8 wastes that we will look at:

1. Overproduction

2. Transportation

3. Excess Inventory

4. Defects

5. Over-process

6. Wasted motion

7. Customers waiting time

8. Unused employee potential

Finding the waste component can really make a difference in any field if you look hard enough. Making changes can impact the final goal.

In a classroom, students can help look for wastes and probably would enjoy pointing them out.

Students might also have a different perspective than a teacher amd be able to point out things that a teacher might not see.

In the following posts, I hope to examine each of these wastes and try to look for ways that schools and teachers have too much waste. As a taxpayer, I would be interested in looking at ways to reduce waste and get more bang for my money.

Feel free to jump in and share ways you see waste in your school community. We might have a common issue that has been overlooked.

Photo by Tom Morel on Unsplash

First US Multicolored Stamp

The Overrun Countries Series were issued by the Postal Service during 1943 and 1944 to support the war effort during World War II. Thirteen stamps showed the flag of the country overrun or occupied by the Axis forces. This was to remind the American people of the nations whose freedoms they were trying to get. The design was suggested by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The first stamp honored Poland and showed its flag in red and white.

The Postal Service hoped that by making stamps in more than one color, it would be more attractive to people. The Postal Service had issued stamps with more than one color but never more than two colors before. Since the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was so busy during this time, the American Bank Note Company was invited to produce the stamp. This printing facility let flags of different nations be printed in their original colors in one operation. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing lacked the equipment necessary for cost-effective multicolor production of stamps.

This stamp was issued on June 22, 1943, in Washington DC and Chicago. The stamp shows the Phoenix (a mythological bird) on the left symbolizing the renewal of life and a figure kneeling and breaking the bond of oppression on the right. This stamp was the first in the Overrun Countries Series and the first multicolor issue.

Classroom Activities:

· Research what happened to Poland while it was occupied by the Axis forces.
· Draw a map of Poland.
· Find out what other countries were in this series of stamps.
· Research the story about the Phoenix.

Original photo by Pat Hensley

 

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 07/17/2020

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

 

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

 

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

 

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

 

Math Art Challenges – “Hey folk! Here are links to all of the  #MathArt Challenge …challenges.  Please feel free to share widely. This dropbox folder has lots of videos/pictures, too. Also, if you have an idea for a future day, I would love to hear it (and credit you, of course!)” (L:M,H;SA:M,FA)

 

BrainVentures – “Starting with a driving question – How do gorillas live in the jungle? Why is St. Patrick’s Day called St. Patrick – BrainVentures take a child on a visually guided, scaffolded, learning adventure. BrainVentures give a child choices of learning activities, engage a child in constructing animations, videos, photo albums, stories and in exploring simulations. From music to math, from science to the arts BrainVentures light a child’s imagination and increase the child’s understanding of the world. BrainVentures are fun – providing engaging educational opportunities outside of school – and free!”  (L:T;SA:A)

 

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives – “The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) is an NSF supported project that began in 1999 to develop a library of uniquely interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives or concept tutorials, mostly in the form of Java applets, for mathematics instruction (K-12 emphasis). The project includes dissemination and extensive internal and external evaluation.” (L:T;SA:A)

 

Quillionz – “Questions are the hallmark of quality learning. In the age of information overload, the key to a successful learning experience lies in asking the right questions. Quillionz does exactly that. Powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, Quillionz is a platform that lets you build a host of quality quizzes and assessments—within seconds and completely free.” (L:T;SA:A)

 

Super Sharks – by SciShow Kids; “Sharks are fascinating creatures with cool teeth, awesome scales, and there are over 450 kinds of sharks! Join Jessi and Squeaks to learn some super shark facts!” (L:G;SA:S)

 

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Mrs. White’s Sub Snips – Book Review

I recently read Mrs. White’s Sub Snips by Laura Moss White which was sent to me by Aileen Saldana, Account Executive with Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. I am not being paid to give this review.

The book is filled with cartoons about the life of a substitute teacher. There were so many of the cartoons that I could relate to! I could see some of the subs from my schools being treated in many ways that the cartoon characters were. It was a very humorous look at the life of a substitute.

The illustrations are in black and white but could be used as a coloring book for substitute teachers. A lot of research has shown how coloring books relieve stress even for adults.

I think this would be a cute gift for a well-loved substitute in your school. I think it would be a fun gift for someone in the district who heads up training for substitutes.

Teaching Online:Time Management

I am currently teaching a practicum class online and we run a virtual school program. I am learning a lot of things and want to share some tips along the way.

After observing a lot of the teachers, all of them have the same concern about time management.

It seems like everything takes longer online than in person.

I notice that teachers take longer with their introduction than it would normally take in a classroom. It is harder to tell if the students understand what concept the teachers are trying to introduce.

Once the introduction is over, the teachers start teaching the new skill. Usually they start by modeling the skill they want the student to learn. It is hard to model the skill and notice if the students are paying attention. Plus, many parents are in the background using the phone or watching TV which can be very distracting for the student. Even if the teacher mutes all participants on the Zoom meeting, the child is still distracted by what is going on in their own home. After modeling, the teacher checks for understanding which seems to take longer also. If a student doesn’t understand, the teacher explains the skill again. Again, it is hard to check that the student actually understands.

The next step is for students to practice the skill with the teacher. Allowing each student to try the skill online takes more time than if the students are doing it at their desks while the teacher walks around and checks progress.

After the students practice the skill with the teacher’s guidance, they move on to independent work. The students complete the practice and the parents take a picture of the completed work to email the teacher. If the students have made several errors, it is hard to wait until the next class meeting to review the errors and correct them.

One suggestion I have is to write out the procedures in a numbered list. For younger children you can color code each step. After each step, do the step on an example and use the color of step so it will be easy to match the example with the written step. This can be sent to the student before the lesson so they can use it as a reference.

I think this process would make it easier for the student to follow and it will be helpful for the parents to help their child. I think it will also save time so the student will have a visual aid to follow.

I think teachers should also plan on more than one day to teach a new concept online. They should plan on students needing at least 2 – 3 class periods to learn a new concept online.

How do you deal with time management online? Please share.

Photo by Malvestida Magazine on Unsplash

South Carolina State Park Service

I recently started writing about our state parks in South Carolina. Then I realized that I haven’t given you an overview of our state parks. We have such a wonderful state park system here and so much of the parks have such great historical value.

 

We have 47 state parks in South Carolina that cover more than 80,000 acres.

 

The State Park Service was formed in 1933 at the same time the Civilian Conservation Corps program was started.

 

There are four types of parks in the State Park Service. There are 37 state parks, 8 state historic Sites, 1 state resort park, and 1 state recreational area.

 

Cheraw State Park was the first park to be proposed in 1934. Hunting Island State Park is the most popular state park and has more than 1 million visitors each year.

 

Daily admission into the parks is $6 adults, $3.75 for SC seniors 65 years and older, $3.50 for children ages 6-15, and children 5 and under are free.

 

There are two types of annual passes into the park. There is the All Park Passport and the Select Park Passport.

 

The All Park Passport costs $99 and gives everyone in the vehicle unlimited entry to all South Carolina state parks for a year. It also gives you free admission to historic home tours at Redcliffe, Rose Hill,  and Hampton Plantations. It also includes free admission to the historic lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park and Atalaya Castle at Huntington Beach State Park.

 

The Select Park Passport costs $75 and gives everyone in your vehicle unlimited entry to 35 South Carolina State parks for one year. Parks not included in the pass are the more popular parks such as Hunting Island State Park, Huntington Beach State Park, Myrtle Beach State Park, Edisto Beach State Park, Charles Town Landing State Historic Site, Devils Fork State Park, Table Rock State Park, Sesquicentennial State Park, Paris Mountain State Park, Givhans Ferry State Park, Jones Gap State Park, and Landsford Canal State Park.

 

If you live in South Carolina, I hope you are visiting our wonderful state parks!

 

 

 

 

Picture Us in the Light – Book Review

I recently read Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert. I read a review copy compliments of Netgalley. I am not being paid to give this review.

 

The story is about a boy named Danny Cheng. He is finishing high school and pursuing his future in an art career. Yet, his parents have a secret and he is determined to find out what this secret is. When he finds out the secret, his whole life changes.

 

I highly recommend this book for high school students! I believe that boys and girls would enjoy reading this book. The story is relevant to today’s society. There are not many books about Asians in the young adult genre so I’m always glad when there is one that is so realistic. There are several references to Chinese culture and what it is like for many Chinese American children growing up with traditional Chinese parents. I was one of those children so this book really hit home for me. I knew what the characters were feeling and could relate to them. I wonder how many Chinese American students would benefit from reading this book too.

 

This book would open up many topics for discussion such as:

·      Friendships

·      Relationships

·      Suicide

·      Chinese culture

·      Future Decisions

·      Illegal immigration

·      Obeying the rules

·      Obeying the law

·      Driving Safety

·      Sibling rivalry

·      Adoption

·      Abduction

·      Art Careers

 

If you get a chance, please take the time to read this book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 7/10/2020

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Think Like a Coder – TED-Ed series; “This 10-episode narrative follows a girl, Ethic, and her robot companion, Hedge, as they attempt to save the world. The two embark on a quest to collect three artifacts and must solve their way through a series of programming puzzles.” (L:M,H;SA:M,S,C)

360° Videos - National Geographic – 50 videos by National Geographic (L:G;SA:A)

Graspable Math -  “Assign algebra tasks to your students and see live feedback of their step-by-step work. Discover, create, and share engaging math activities for 4th to 12th graders.” (L:G;SA:M)

To Scale: The Solar System – “On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our place in the universe.” (L:G;SA:S)

Sounds of the Wild West – “An audio tour of Montana’s four major ecosystems” (L:G;SA:S)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

One Year Later

My father passed away on July 11, 2019. It has been a year and I still miss him. I wanted to take the time to post this and a picture collage of him. He will be in my heart forever.

Paris Mountain State Park

One of the closest state parks to me is Paris Mountain State Park. When I was a student at Furman University, I used to go here to study. I found nature and the outdoors so peaceful. I think it is also the state park that we go to most often because it is close, and we volunteer in the park. We volunteer with the school program and lead second graders on a nature hike.

 

Paris Mountain State Park is located in Greenville, South Carolina. The park is 1540 acres and includes two lakes, a campground, a group facility called Camp Buckhorn, and many hiking trails. Many of the structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The lodge at Camp Buckhorn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

In1765, Richard Pearis settled in Greenville County and married a Cherokee woman. He was given land by the Indians. Paris Mountain is named after him.

 

From 1890 to 1916, the water from Paris Mountain was the water source for the city of Greenville. In 1928, the Table Rock Reservoir became the city’s water source and no longer needed Paris Mountain.

 

There was a popular resort on Paris Mountain in 1890 called the Altamont Hotel. The resort failed and later became the Altamont Bible and Missionary Institute and eventually became Holmes Bible College. The building caught on fire in 1920.

 

The state park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s when the land was bought from the city of Greenville in 1935.

 

The mountain is a monadnock and its elevation exceeds 2000 feet.

 

There are more than 73 different types of flora in the park. Possums, foxes, snakes, bass, bream, and catfish can be found in the park. I have also seen a lot of beaver activity in the park. There are also over 20 different species of birds found in the park.

 

There are many different trails that are well marked and of different lengths. The trails would appeal to people of all ages and abilities.

 

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Teaching Online: Parts of Speech

I am currently teaching a practicum class online and we run a virtual school program. I am learning a lot of things and want to share some tips along the way.

When teaching online, I notice the students are more engaged when movement is involved and less when worksheets are involved.

One of the teachers was teaching adjectives and I was thinking of fun ways to practice parts of speech. Let’s face it, parts of speech lessons are boring anyway but they are a necessity for communication.

One day, the teachers with the youngest class had a scavenger hunt. They called out a letter and the students had to run and get an item in their home that began with that letter. You could substitute the word letter with the word noun. Have the students find a noun that begins with a specific letter.

You could also do the same activity with adjectives. Find something that could be described by an adjective such as blue. (Other adjectives could be other colors, big, small, tiny, dirty, ugly, beautiful etc.)

One activity you can do involves movement. The teacher reads a sentence very slowly. The student starts off seated. f a noun is mentioned, the students stand up. If a verb is mentioned, the students sit down. If an adjective is mentioned, the students wave their arms in the air.

Another activity like the one above that involves movement but less whole body and just hand and arm movements. The teacher reads a sentence very slowly. The students make an N letter by holding 2 fingers on one hand down in an upside-down V when a noun is mentioned. The students hold their 2 fingers up in a V shape when a verb is mentioned. The students make an N letter by holding 2 fingers on one hand down in an upside-down V and then use their other pointer finger to go across the V to make a letter A when an adjective is mentioned

What other activities would you suggest? Please share.

Photo by Sharon Pittaway on Unsplash

Thought Provoking Questions

In If you were stranded in the forest, what 3 things would you bring? From On an e-Journey with Generation Y, murcha states.

“Students never cease to amaze me with all the ideas that they might have to share in an interactive manner while remote learning.”

 

I thought this would be a great way to start an online class and get the students warmed up to thinking. When students are learning online from home, it is hard for them to switch from the relaxing home frame of mind to a learning school environment frame of mind. By starting the class off with thought-provoking questions, it would be a great way to engage students as you wait for other students to arrive to class. Or, this question could be used when students finish an assignment early. After everyone is finished, you could allow students to share their answers.

 

When you are allowing students to answer, I think it is important to limit students to a specific number of answers so that everyone will have time to answer. You might ask them to give one answer and then if you have time, allow the student to go again and give a second answer.

 

Questions like this could be used for any age and the situation could be adapted to fit your students. For example, you could change the question to:

·      If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 things would you bring?

·      If you were stranded on the moon, what 3 things would you bring?

·      If you were stranded in the desert, what 3 things would you bring?

 

You could also ask different types of questions such as:

·      If you could only have 3 kinds of candy, what would they be?

·      If you could only have 3 kinds of beverages, what would they be?

·      If you could only have 3 kinds of vegetables, what would they be?

·      If you could only have 3 toys, what would they be?

·      If you could go to 3 places in the world, where would it be?

 

What other thought-provoking questions can you think of? Please share.

 

Photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash

 

 

 

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 07/03/2020

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Writer Igniter – “Click the shuffle button to get a randomly generated prompt. Then start writing!” (L:G;SA:LA)

Tour de France – postponed to end of August (L:G;SA:A)

NASA Selfies – iOS app; “Create your own selfies from outer space! NASA Selfies lets you put your photo in a virtual spacesuit in front of some of NASA's most captivating space images. Share these space selfies on social media, and learn about the science behind the pictures.” (L:G;SA:A)

Sodaphonic – online audio editor (L:G;SA:A)

Smithsonian National Zoo – “The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is committed to supporting teachers, students and families around the globe. Below, you will find resources to engage learners in grades pre-K to 12 with science, the natural world, wildlife and conservation. Check back frequently for new activities.” (L:G;SA:S)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

2020 Goals Review for June

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June was a much better month! We came back home from Florida. Many things with my parent’s estate was finalized so my stress level went down. We were eating better and getting a lot more exercise. I was able to work on some of my goals too.

 

1.     Lose 5 lbs. Hopefully this year I will be able to meet this goal. – 1.     I was better about my sugar and step count this month but I only lost 1 lb. overall since the beginning of the year.

2020	10,000 Steps +	25g of sugar or less
Jan	48%	54%
Feb	66%	38%
Mar	77%	45%
Apr	70%	47%
May	19%	52%
Jun	73%	63%

 

2.     Crafts – I’m on track for accomplishing this goal.

a.     Knit 12 squares on my national park blanket. I have a total of 25 completed already. (There are 60 squares in the pattern and this is year 3 of the project.)

                                                        i.     Completed 6 squares

b.     Charity – I want to crochet at least 3 prayer shawls and make 10 more NICU hats.

                                                        i.     January – prayer shawl completed

                                                      ii.     February – prayer shawl completed

                                                    iii.     June – prayer shawl complete

c.     Knit a sweater.  – Completed the Ground Pepper Sweater

d.     Knit a ZigZag scarf – Completed

e.     Repair the neckline on the Henley sweater I made a few years ago. – I looked at the sweater and realized that to fix the neckline, I would have to rip out both button bands and at this time, I’m not sure I want to do all that work so this goal probably won’t happen. I should receive partial credit for at least looking at it and considering it.

3.     Read 12 nonfiction books that are related to nature. – I’m on track for accomplishing this goal.

a.     The Eighty Dollar Champion: Snowman, The Horse That Inspired A Nation by Elizabeth Letts 

b.     A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lion by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall

c.     The Adventures of Henry Thoreau: A Young Man's Unlikely Path to Walden Pond by Michael Sims

d.     The Story of My Boyhood and Youth by John Muir

e.     The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

f.      The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf

 

How is your progress towards your goals? Please share.

 

Photo by 30daysreplay (PR & Marketing) on Unsplash