April Show and Tell Tuesday

This month's Show and Tell finds great changes in the weather- we hit a wonderful 80 degrees, yay!- and in the classroom... the year is starting to wind down. Currently, my students and I are on Easter break. When we return to classes next week, there are only six weeks left in our school year. YIKES!

Prior to our Easter break we were actively involved in tons of fun LEARNING.

For the second half of the third quarter and the fourth quarter we turn our attention to Earth Science. One of the first units of study is the structure of the Earth and its system. A fun, engaging (and tasty) activity that our text, Science Studies Weekly, suggests is entitled "Hard Boiled Earth." Students color a hard boiled egg to represent the landmasses/oceans of the Earth's surface, then peel the crust away to reveal the mantle (white), and finally cut apart the egg to locate the core (yolk). When all was completed, we enjoying eating our Earth!

For Show and Tell, I often share STEM activities that my sixth graders experience. The week before our break, my sixers and the seventh and eighth graders experienced the ultimate STEM activity of our year. United Skates of America, located about an hour away from our school, offers a day of STEM and skate, so we took them up on it! For our first hour we learned about "Motion and Rink Design," applying the laws of motion and math to determine the speed of skaters. We also attempted to design a more efficient, safe skating assistant (a support for beginning/challenged skaters). When our lesson was completed, we were treated to pizza and soda, followed by 90 mins. of skating! This was our first time with United Skates but definitely won't be our last; they offer five STEM lessons, so we can make this a yearly activity and experience a new STEM lesson each year.

On the day before our break, we did a little toaster oven science/Religion, making the Christian fish with Chi Rho pendant. We started with a white styrofoam tray and a fish pattern. After tracing the pattern onto the foam, coloring it with the Chi Rho and personal colors/designs, and cutting it out, we placed it in a warm toaster oven and watched the magic begin! First the fish swelled and puffed in the heat. Then it began to twist and curl. Finally it shrunk and layed still and flat, revealing our newly formed pendant. After cooling, we strung the fish on a length of fine yarn and modeled them for all to see.

As always, my last photo of the monthly Show and Tell is of my girls, DaisyMae and Lulubelle. They are seeking each other out more and more... to sleep together and even to play.... only took FOUR years!!!

Be sure to stop by Forever in 5th Grade to read more fun Show and Tell Tuesday posts. They are a great way to keep up with what is happening in the teacher blogging world!

Advent: Season of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love (freebies)

It's that time again! It's the beginning of the Liturgical Year, our New Year! The Season of Advent begins this coming Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016. Advent is one of my favorite times of the year- it is the season of hope, peace, joy, and love that reminds us of the coming of  Light into our world of darkness.

To help you celebrate this wondrous time of the year I have many freebies for you and your students...

First, if you are using brag tags in your classroom, HERE is a set for you.

Next is a packet of materials: spelling list, graphic organizer, editing activitiy, and more. You can download it HERE.

HERE is a simple Advent Take Three. This is a great pre-writing activity!

Speaking of Writing Activity, HERE is a prompt from the original Paragraph a Week program just for Advent.

Are you and your students keeping Interactive ELA Notebooks? Here are three foldables perfect for integrating religion with Language Arts. One for ADJECTIVES, one for VERBS, and one for ADVERBS.

Need a quick, yet attractive Advent decoration for your classroom? HERE is a banner for your students to construct that combines research, writing, and fun!

Working with older students? HERE is an activity that integrates Language Arts skills with Music. Students must scavenge the lyrics of the familiar Advent hymn "On Jordan's Bank" for poetry, literary, and grammatical elements.

Just for fun or for a writing center HERE is a list of Would You Rather's tailored for Advent.

Interested in STILL MORE Advent/ELA activities? Just click HERE.

New Saint September 4, 2016

The Catholic Church received a brand new saint on Sept. 4, 2016... St. Teresa of Calcutta! Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful blessing.

Mother Teresa is known far and wide, not just by Catholics, but by so many who are interested in helping the less fortunate of our world. Although she passed from this worldly life nearly thirty years ago, her popularity is as strong today, if not stronger, than when she was alive. A tiny woman, standing just a bit more than five feet tall, her message of love and care for the poor is more powerful than leaders of large nations.

My students and I spent some time last week reading a biographical picture book about this wonderful lady and how she impacted our world. As a memento of our study and Mother Teresa's canonization, I presented my sixth graders with special brags tags (my students collect these as rewards for goals met and for special occasions). You are welcome to share these tags with your students as well.

Just click HERE to download your own file.

Those of you who have visited my desk in the past might remember how I enjoy creating teaching materials that combine my Catholicity with my ELA teaching. I try to incorporate Catholic teaching with typical academic teaching so you will see ZAP games about Lent or Advent, or a mystery picture about First Communion, or even task cards about different saints. My latest creation is in honor of St. Teresa of Calcutta's canonization and is my students' favorite... a ZAP game! I am surprising them with this game on Tuesday morning, after our long holiday weekend.

This is such a fun way for Catholic School students to practice identifying the four types of sentences because all of the sentences are about St. Teresa of Calcutta! Here's what the game strips look like; you can see what the sentences are like. Notice there is no end punctuation to give away the type of sentence. Students must read and think rather than rely on visual cues. There are a total of thirty three sentences that relate a brief biography of St. Teresa of Calcutta's life.

If you are interested in learning more about this fun, engaging game or would like to obtain a copy for yourself, please click HERE.

Five for Friday

Holy Shmoly! I couldn't tell you the last time that I was able to join this fun, Friday linky hosted by Doodle Bugs Teaching.

FIRST... We had a wonderful visit from our Science Coach, Dr. Ann. She is the chemistry professor from the local branch of Kent State University whom we have the pleasure of working with throughout the year. Dr. Ann presented a lesson, along with three hands-on activities, about electrochemistry. My kiddos were totally engaged for the complete 90 mins. During this time they exploded (took apart) a flashlight, drew its schematic, and then put it back together; they built a simple motor from a simple kit (base, magnet, battery, and copper wire); and they drew working circuits by using special pens with silver ink.

SECOND... I was given an old, rusty cast iron skillet. It was a mess so I googled how to clean/season it. You see, I was craving an old family dish that I hadn't had since long before my mother died, over six years ago. Known as placki, I LOVE these fried potato pancakes, and was taught by grandma then mom that REAL placki could only be made in a cast iron skillet. Mom had one that was used ONLY for this favorite dish, but it sat unused for so long that it looked awful so I threw it out! SHAME ON ME! This past Wednesday, I fried a batch of placki in my refurbished iron skillet and ate every single pancake by myself... YUM!

THIRD... One of my students has a mother who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. As a sign of our love and support for her, we made her cards and purchased pink, stretchy band bracelets to wear throughout her treatment time. Here we're showing off our bracelets for a photo we popped into one of the cards. I have THE BEST kiddos!

FOURTH... We completed a fun-filled STEM project earlier in the week wherein we designed catapults to help Jack-Be-Nimble jump over his candlestick. Check out the variety of designs!

FIFTH... I FINALLY finished a set of task cards that I've been working on FOREVER, and just in time since Pentecost is this coming Sunday! The pack consists of three distinct sets of cards, each focusing on a particular ELA skill. However, you can also mix the cards to form three multi-skill sets of cards as well. Each card contains a QR Code answer so the sets are perfect for placement in a literacy center. They are also perfect for a round of Scoot, Scatter, or a Scavenger Hunt. You can read more about them HERE or even download a pack for yourself.

I hope you all had a terrific week just as I have had! Be sure to stop by Doodle Bugs Teaching for more fun Five for Friday posts!

Lenten Linky

Teaching in a Catholic School/homeschool poses a few unique curricular issues. We are required to include all of the curricula that our public schools do while being encouraged to integrate our faith within all content areas without adding any extra time to our already packed school day. In my particular teaching area of concentration, English Language Arts, it is a fun challenge to create activities centered on faith and content. With the help of some terrific clip artists on TpT, I've been able to make games and task cards for many of the liturgical seasons and holy days that incorporate grammar, reading, and writing skills. My kids LOVE them!

I know that I'm not the only Catholic school/homeschool teacher who creates fun, faith-filled classroom activities. I would REALLY LIKE to see what kinds of items are being shared by talented, creative Catholic school teachers and homeschoolers so I've set-up a little linky dedicated to the liturgical season at hand: LENT. I've added a few of my Lenten ELA activities and invite anyone who has Lenten items to link them up as well.

An InLinkz Link-up

Mind Boggling Monday: Immaculate Conception

Tomorrow, Dec. 8th,  we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception by attending Mass together as a school. This is an often confusing feast day for y students. Many Catholics associate this feast with the event wherein the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will become the mother of our Lord. That is actually placed on the Church calendar on March 25th (the Annunciation). Just do your math a little and it makes complete sense. Count forward nine months (the human gestation period) from March 25th and what do you have? Christmas, Dec. 25th.

Now do the same from Dec. 8th and what do you have? Sept. 8th. Don't recognize that date? Check your Church calendar and you should see "The Nativity of Mary" listed there. Sept. 8th is Mary's birthday. So then Dec. 8th is the day that Mary's mother Anne conceived her daughter without sin... Immaculate Conception. Ah!

I will be doing a lesson to help my sixers understand this Church holyday. They will be taking a few notes in their Religion notebooks, using this foldable. It's yours for the downloading if you like. Just click HERE.

Here's this week's boggle board. Just download the image for you and your students to use. Can you find the Immaculate Conception words? Mary, feast, babe, pray.

Sunday Scoop and Sainthood Freebie

I can't believe it's Sunday already! I can't believe I almost missed it again like last week! I'm so glad to be joining one of my favorite weekly linkies...

 

Here's my scoop for this week...

 

 

Be sure to stop by The Teaching Trio to find out more Sunday Scoops! And be sure to download this FREE foldable for the steps in the process to sainthood in honor of All Saints' Day.

 

 

My sixers and I have been studying this process as part of our Religion class. We watched this fun little video (there is a bit of unusual humor to it) while taking active listening notes and compiled them on a classroom chart.

 

 

It did take two viewings to get all the necessary information. From the chart my sixers copied the notes under the flaps of the folder. Now they have a terrific learning resource that they can refer to as we study the lives of saints throughout the year.

Buddies Learn about the Pope's Visit to America

My kiddos are so excited about the Pope's visit to the United States! On Tuesday we met with our second grade buddies to help them learn more about this historical event. We used Catholic Cutie's FREE (for a limited time) pack designed just for this occasion. The buddies read a nonfiction article, answered questions, and created an illustration of the papal parade. The only negative of the whole
activity was that we didn't have enough time together!

Spark Student Motivation: Overnight Camping

This weekend I'm joining Joanne over at Head Over Heels for Teaching for her weekly linky...

 I have taught in a parochial school for over 35 years, and although academics is an extremely important part of our curriculum, it is not the most important part. We are most concerned with our students' spiritual growth, how they  value themselves and each other, and how they live a faith-filled life. To this end our entire day, including academics, is built upon a faith foundation.

To help foster a sense of God's community within my sixth grade class and really motivate my students to live their Christian beliefs I involve my kiddos in an overnight camping trip (really an old-fashioned youth retreat).

We leave school on a late Thursday morning and travel about 30 minutes with all of our camping paraphernalia by bus to a beautiful nearby camp. Located directly on the southern shore of Lake Erie it is one of the most beautiful areas in our county. The presence of God is evident everywhere you look. God's gorgeous creation is just awesome!

Once we arrive, we settle into our lodgings and get started with team building activities. These activities are designed to help us learn to appreciate our talents as well as the talents of our classmates. We focus on problem solving, relying on each other, following directions, trying to succeed in a non-competitive environment.

 

 

The second day is all about God: God's beautiful creation, how we fit into God's creation, how we care for creation, what is our purpose in God's creation... some pretty serious stuff for 11-12 year olds.

A large part of this day is spent on a nature/scavenger hunt into the woods and along the lakeshore.

 

 

 

 

 

Next we gather in the arts and crafts building to create an artistic collage of our time spent together.

We end our stay at camp with an inspiring prayer service, held in a simple chapel built from felled trees during the building of the camp more than 60 years ago. Who wouldn't be spiritually inspired in this quaint building?

My students were required to keep a journal of their experiences, noting their feelings and experiences; however, they were unable to finish the journal before we left camp.  Many of the activities were purposefully not completed (our lives are not yet completed and are a work in progress) and will serve as starting points for discussions and additional activities throughout the school year. We will integrate our camping experience into all of our academic courses, from writing about it to creating a power point presentation, from doing science investigations to researching about fauna and flora we observed and especially into our prayer and spiritual life, our life lessons.

I can't wait for Monday morning to hear and see how my students have been motivated by this wonderful experience!

Assess Me Week 2: This or That and Then Some

Rachel from The Tattooed Teacher has a fun little linky going on to help us get to know each other a little better. This week we're sharing a little of THIS and a little of THAT. Be sure to stop by her blog to check out all the assessments. I've had a great time reading them and learning so much more about you all!

And speaking of assessments...

For us TpT Sellers, assessment comes in the form of feedback from our customers. Not only do we sellers benefit from the constructive criticism, but so do the buyers. By leaving feedback (would that be formative or summative assessment?) our buyers earn TpT credits that they can use toward future purchases.

Because of the current TpT Back to School Sale (it ends at midnight tonght, BTW) I have received a larger than usual amount of feedback; buyers are accumulating credits to spend on their sale purchases. Each comment encourages me to continue creating teaching items, something I truly enjoy. I try to take the advice and suggestions to help me improve as well as to please my customers.

Every once-in-a-while I receive feedback that touches me most deeply. This happened yesterday. I work hard on all of my teaching products, but I put extra effort into my Catholic items. These are near and dear to my heart. Marge H. took the time to leave this assessment of my work. God bless  you, Marge, for your kindness and encouragement.

God certainly directed me to your store today. I used most of my budget to purchase your games. I taught 6th grade in a Catholic school for 30 years, and would have loved these for my students. At least now, I can use them with my grandchildren. THANK YOU. 

Thank you, Marge! Thank you, Lord, for the gift of teaching, for teachers who offer support and encouragement, for ways to collaborate and communicate, for the talent to create, and the willingness to share. I am blessed indeed!

Throwback Thursday 2.12.15 Valentine's Day

Welcome to...

What is Throwback Thursday? How does it work, you might ask? Simply look through your PURR-fect Previous Posts, perhaps a particular favorite of yours, and re-post it! Then add the TBT badge to your post and include your link below! Purr-fectly easy and simple! Your post doesn't have to be from LOOOONNNGGG ago; it can be from last month or even earlier this week. And if you don't have a post to share, perhaps an old photo or two from WAY BACK will do! Even a favorite pin is PURR-fect! Just join in the Throwback fun!

This post first appeared on The Teacher's Desk 6 2/14/14.

SAINT Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Many people enjoy celebrating this fun holiday; they love the chocolates, the exchange of cards, the bright colors, the flowers, etc. However, many people don't realize the origins of this "holy day". Yes, holy day. It is actually a Catholic feast day that honors a special saint whose celebration has crossed-over into commercialized society life.

Each year my sixers are awed by the story of the simple, humble man who lived in Ancient Rome and gave his life in honor and love of Christ Jesus. This year I came across an amazing picture book about this generous, loving saint.

How did Valentine's Day, one of our most popular holidays, begin? 

It started in ancient Rome when a kind physician named Valentine took an interest in a young blind girl. With his healing skill and his deep faith he restored her sight. What we now call Valentine's Day began when he sent the little girl a secret message, which she received after the Christian martyr was executed. For this tale rich in sentiment, master illustrator Robert Sabuda has created exquisite paper mosaics to suggest early Christian art that resonates with both subtlety and power... Amazon.com

There was a stunned silence when I finished reading the book, until my student, the most unruly of them, said: WOW! I wish I could be like that dude. He was so not self-centered.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I asked them all to personally respond with why they thought Valentine was recognized as a saint by completing this simple notebook foldable.

There were such wonderful responses! Many similar to the one that my student had voiced aloud. However, one stood out. This one was from one of my boys who struggles with written communication. He has difficulty with spelling, with the act of writing, with getting his thoughts on paper, and more. In shaky writing, missing letters, and no punctuation,  he simply wrote...

he lovd everon

With just this simple story, my kiddos GOT the meaning and true message of Valentine's Day... SAINT Valentine's Day. It isn't about the chocolates or the cards or the flowers, it's about putting others before ourselves, it's about being a light for others, it's about our call as goodly(Godly) people...

Now it's your turn for a THROWBACK!