Whiteboard Word Wall

Just an idea...

Word Wall, pref on a whiteboard but that large paper sheet would work too -- students add words, can add definitions, syn/ant, illustrations, draw arrows/bridges to connect to other words, list examples of use/quotes from text -- fic or nonfic. Can even add word/def in native lang for ELs.
When board/paper/space is full take a pic and add to a slide show (accessible thru Google docs?) for viewing/study/reference.

Hmmm... I think my sons need to work up an example of this. They love summer projects!

Reading for my GATE Cert. class sometimes leads to too many ideas/distractions, but I guess I'd rather be distracted by ideas than be bored and finish quickly.

Classroom Photos

Too much? Too cluttered? Too yellow?

Bonus points for finding WHERE the events from CNN Student News or anything else covered in class actually is. Twenty push-ups if you cannot find where you live.

I like maps.

Thank you Wonderopolis for the Spring Break Homework inspiration.

 That's as clean as it was gonna get. Eww, hope I didn't leave the apples there.

Teacher Discounts

save a little sumpin' for yourself... check out BradsDeals.com

Wonder Walls and Imitosis

Should be working on cover letters, but instead fighting the urge to pick up my Father's Day gift by visiting cool Education sites and stealing collecting, graciously and gratefully, ideas such as the Wonder Wall .  Also found some awesome music by Andrew Bird* here on this cool video of a teacher's empty but always busy classroom, and virtual post-it notes.

The "Wonder Wall" is similar to something I had thought of before, and it comes more from being a father than a teacher: children are capable of asking over 1 million questions in a single day! Multiply that by a room full of 2nd graders and you can see how easy it is to drown in question marks... I plan on having a wall dedicated to questions students ask, with room for the answers.  Maybe we don't get to the answer right away, I can't let them get me started on Why is the moon so bright? when the curriculum calls for 3-digit addition, but by the end of the year we should have answered them all.  I think I'll have volunteer student "experts" assigned in September so if a stegosaurus question does come up and Jimmy has read every dinosaur book in the Library he can give a mini presentation and answer the question.
Someday...


* and I thought I'd learned a new word, the video's soundtrack is titled "Imitosis" -- but can't find it in the dictionary?

ok, the picture on their home page is scary, but this would be cool to do early in the year with a class photo -- could print b&w and have students color each square? Cheap, easy to change to match various units throughout the year...

Create your own Block Posters