Free Teacher Joke - "Contractions"

Teacher: If "can't" is short for "cannot,"
what is "don't" short for?

Student: Doughnut.

FREE INTERESTING FACT FOR TEACHERS - "Patriotism"

Did you know...

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. The last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

The US national anthem actually has three verses, but everyone just knows the first one.

Francis Scott Key was a young lawyer who wrote the poem, 'The Star Spangled Banner', after being inspired by watching the Americans fight off the British attack of Baltimore during the War of 1812. The poem became the words to the national anthem.

The motto of the American people, "In God We Trust," was not adopted as the national slogan until 1956.

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Hope you have a terrific month of July! If you are on the internet, please check out our website, we have tons of school supplies to help make your summer activities more enjoyable! Please visit us at Schoodoodle.com. Thanks!

Free Interesting Fact for Teachers - "Apples"

I thought we'd try a new title -- isn't that interesting? Here's the first of many interesting facts:

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

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Hope you have an interesting weekend! If you're using your computer this weekend, try browsing our online catalog, Schoodoodle.com. You never know what interesting items you may find helpful for your happy summer!

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Fishing for Letters & Words" - Grade K-3rd

Pre-Reading, Phonics, Word Recognition, Vocabulary

Create a "fishing rod" by attaching a length of string to the end of a twelve-inch stick (a ruler works well). At the end of the string, use a glue gun to attach a small magnet.

Next, write individual letters or words at (or slightly above) your child's reading level on small, fish-shaped, pieces of construction paper, and attach a metal paperclip to each. Distribute the "fish," letter-side down, in a random pattern across the floor.

Give the "fishing rod" to your child and encourage her to "fish" for the letters or words. (The magnet will attract the paperclips.)

When she "catches" a letter she can think of a word that starts with that letter. When she catches a word, she can read it or use it in a sentence.

Variation -- Place the fish face up on the floor and encourage your child to catch a specific letter or word.

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Reading, Grades Kindergarten to 3rd. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Clock Hunt" - Age 2

Listening Skills, Observation & Discovery

Set the alarm of a battery powered clock a few minutes ahead. While your child is not looking, hide it somewhere in the house, such as under a couch cushion, table, or blanket, or in a cabinet or closet. When the alarm goes off, help your child locate the clock, emphasizing the need to "follow the sound."

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Activities to do with your Child, Age 2, 24-36 months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Teacher Joke - "Punctuation"

An English professor wrote the words: "A woman without her man is nothing"
On the chalkboard and asked his students to punctuate it correctly.
All of the MALES in the class wrote: "A woman, without her man, is nothing."
While All the FEMALES in the class wrote: "A woman: without her, man is nothing."

Reading Between the Lines: Making Inferences About Idioms

Subject: Language Arts
Grades: 4-6

Overview
Idiomatic expressions are a great way to give students practice with inference skills. In this lesson plan, students practice using prior knowledge and textual information in order to infer (or guess) the meaning of idiomatic expressions.

Objectives
Students will:
· Learn the definition of “idiom”
· Identify idioms in passages
· Infer the meaning of unknown idioms through prior knowledge and textual information
· Write sentences that provide textual clues to the meaning of unknown idioms

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Materials Needed
· WordTeasers: Idioms

Getting Started
Write the following sentence on the chalkboard:

The cowboy rode into the sunset.

Call upon a volunteer to read the sentence aloud. Then ask: “What do you think the cowboy was riding?” (A horse.) Why is that a good guess? (Because cowboys usually ride horses.) Could the cowboy be riding a motorcycle into the sunset? (Maybe. But cowboys generally ride horses.)

Next, ask: “What direction was the cowboy riding?” (West) How do you know? (He was riding into the sunset and the sun sets in the West.)

Finally, ask: About what time of day was it? (Late afternoon; early evening.) How do you know? (The cowboy was riding into the sunset.)

Tell students that in answering these questions they used information they already knew about cowboys and about where the sun rises and sets. They were able to make a good guess or infer the answers to the questions based on this prior knowledge.

Development
Write the following idiomatic expression on the chalkboard.

Alex does not mince words.

Ask the class if they know what it means to “not mince words.” Allow time for students to tell what they know about the idiomatic expression.

Next, write these two sentences on the chalkboard.

Alex always says exactly what is on his mind. He does not mince words.

Again, ask students what they think it means to “not mince words.” (To say exactly what you think, even if it upsets other people.) Did the first sentence in this passage help students understand the meaning of “not mince words”? Why or why not?

Tell students that the phrase “not mince words” is an idiomatic expression. An idiom is a phrase that means something other than what the individual words might suggest. When students come across an unknown idiomatic expression, they can often guess (or infer) the meaning from the rest of the passage. Distribute the activity sheet to the class. Give students time to complete the worksheet. Then discuss each passage with students? How were students able to infer their answers?

Activity Worksheet
Directions: When you read a story, you often find clues that make it possible for you to make a good guess about words or phrases or facts that are not stated in the story. This is called making an inference. Read each passage below. From what the passage says, determine the meaning of the idiomatic expression in bold. Check the correct answer.

1. Whenever anything goes wrong, Ted gets very upset, while his friend Esai rolls with the punches.

What can you infer about Esai from this sentence?
_____ (a) Esai gets into a lot of fights.
­­­­­­­­­­ _____ (b) Esai is ten years old.
_____ (c) Esai usually takes things as they come.

2. Cassie can’t keep a secret. Whenever there is a surprise birthday party for someone, she always seems to spill the beans.

What can you infer about Cassie from this passage?
_____ (a) Cassie is clumsy and if always knock over the cake.
_____ (b) Cassie’s friends are planning a birthday party for her.
_____ (c) Cassie often tells or reveals secrets.

3. Eric is really two-faced. He says nice things about you when you’re together but always disses you when you’re not around.

What can you infer about Eric?
_____ (a) No one likes Eric.
_____ (b) Eric is phony.
_____ (c) Eric is clumsy.

4. Whenever it’s time for recess, Juan always jumps the gun. He runs to the door before the bell rings.

What can you infer about Juan?
_____ (a) He often does things before he should.
_____ (b) He jumps up and down when it’s time for recess.
_____ (c) He doesn’t like school.

5. Brittany is feeling down in the dumps. She got to school late. She got a bad grade on a math test, and her best friend is mad at her.

What can you infer about Brittany today?
_____ (a) She watches a lot of television.
_____ (b) She doesn’t like math.
_____ (c) She is sad and unhappy.

Extension: Distribute WordTeasers: Idioms cards to students. Challenge them to write a statement using an idiom. Then have them write one or two other sentences that provide context clues to the definition of their idiomatic expression. For example:

Statement 1. Gary wants to bury the hatchet.
Supporting Statements: Gary was mad at Nicole, but since she apologized he is ready to bury the hatchet.

Have students read their first statement out loud. Does the class know the meaning of the idiom in the statement? Now have them read their second passage. Can students infer the meaning of the idiom now?

Next Week: Vocabulary Skills for High School Students with WordTeasers: College Prep

Source: WordTeasers: Idioms — an educational game designed to get kids talking, laughing, thinking, writing…and improving language arts skills. Ages 9+ .

Available at SchooDoodle.com.

WorldTeaser Geography Challenge

Subject: Geography; World Culture
Grade(s): 4-6

Overview
Using the process of elimination and critical thinking skills, students determine the correct answer to questions about geography and world culture and then demonstrate their understanding of the process of elimination strategy by creating their own WorldTeaser Challenge questions.

Objectives
Students will:
· Understand the meaning of process of elimination
· Learn how the process of elimination can help in answering multiple choice test questions.
· Locate countries on a world map and identify their world region or continent.
· Develop questions that demonstrate an understanding of the process of elimination

National Geography Standards
Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places.

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Materials Needed
· World map
· WorldTeaser: World Culture and Geography game

Getting Started
Write the following WorldTeaser Challenge on the chalkboard:
The name of this country in Asia means “land of the pure.” Is it:
(a) Peru
(b) Pakistan
(c) Pachyderm
Ask for students to vote by a show of hands whether they think the answer is (a), (b), or (c). Tell students that the answer is (b) Pakistan. Then ask students: “If you didn’t know that the answer was (b) Pakistan, is there a way you might have been able to guess at the correct answer?” Lead students in a discussion of Process of Elimination. Ask: “What is a pachyderm?” (An elephant.) Since pachyderm is not the name of a country, we can eliminate it as a possible answer. Then ask: Is there any other clue to the correct answer in the question? Say: “The question tells us that the country with the name “land of the pure” is on the continent of Asia. On what continent is Peru? (South America.) Therefore, we can eliminate Peru as a possible answer.

Development
Next, write the following WorldTeaser Challenge on the chalkboard:
The very first international Starbucks opened in this Asian country in 1996. Is it:
(a) Jordan
(b) Japan
(c) Java
Then ask: Which one of the possible choices can we easily eliminate? Why? (Answer: (c) Java, because it is not the name of a country.) What clue to the correct answer can we find in the Challenge statement? (The answer is the name of a country in Asia.) Then, have students locate Jordan on a world map. Ask: In what world region is the country of Jordan? (Middle East) What does the challenge question tell us. (The correct answer is a country on the continent of Asia.)

Activity
Divide students into small groups. Let each group select a different country of the world to research. Tell students they are going to write a WorldTeaser Challenge question like the two they just read. Tell students to follow these steps.
(1) Find an interesting, unusual, or trivial fact about their country. For example, if their country is Libya, students might write: The flag of this country is one solid color with no writing or decoration on it.
(2) Next, have students revise their statement to include the name of the country’s continent or world region. For example: The flag of this country in Africa is one solid color with no writing or decoration on it.
(3) Now, write three possible answers to the question. Tell students to pick one silly or obviously incorrect answer, such as Limeaid. (Tell students their choice does not have to begin with the same letter of the alphabet as their correct answer.). Then pick one possible answer that is the name of a country which is not in the same continent or world region as their country. (For example, Latvia or Luxembourg.) Finally, tell students to write the correct answer. When completed, their question should follow this format:
The flag of this country in Africa is one solid color with no writing or decoration on it. Is it:
(a) Limeaid
(b) Latvia
(c) Libya
Have each group pose their WorldTeaser Challenge to the rest of the class.

Follow-up
For a more advanced WorldTeaser Challenge game, suggest that students develop clues about their selected country based on the certain physical and human characteristics, such as:
Physical characteristics:
1. The name of a country that the selected country borders.
2. A tangible or intangible characteristic that help distinguish their selected country from other places.
3. The climate, vegetation, or typical animal life found in their country.
Human characteristics:
1. The primary language of their country.
2. The political system of their country.
3. The primary religion of their country.

Next Week: Language Arts Lesson Plan on Idioms

Source: WorldTeasers: World Culture and Geography — An educational game designed to help upper elementary grade students supersize their global knowledge with fascinating, intriguing, and amusing trivia about countries and their culture. Grades 4 +. Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Composer/Artist of the Month" - Age 7+

How many pieces did Mozart compose before he died at age 35?
Composer/Artist of the Month -- Choose a composer or artist to focus on during the month and gather information from the library (musical samples of his/her work, books, art magazines, etc.) to explore with your child. find a picture of the artist or composer and post it prominently in your jhome as a way to spark discussion about his/her work.

As you listen to the composer's music, disucss with your child the kinds of emotions it makes you feel and what things it reminds you of (the sounds of a circus, wind in the trees, etc.). If at all possible, attend a concert featuring this composer, or attend an exhibit featuring the artist's work and ask your child for his opinions. What does he think the artist is trying to express with each piece? Does the artwork seem to be telling a story? Consider letting your child create a piece of artwork using the featured artist's typical medium (oil paints, watercolors, clay, etc.).

Exploring the works of various artists and talking about their differeing styles, choice of subjects, etc., can yhelp your child develop an understanding of how art takes many forms and how it changes over time.

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Thinking Activities to do with your Child, Ages 7 & up. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Watering Jug" - Age 1

Observation & Discovery, Imagination

Using a hammer and nail, punch six small holes in the cap of a half-gallon plastic milk jug. Also make one small hole halfway down the side of the jug under the handle, as an air vent.

Fill the jug halfway with water and screw on the cap. show your child how to tilt the jug and sprinkle the flowers and grass outside. This is also a toy he will enjoy in the bathtub.

CAUTION! Monitor your child closely during this activity. Never leave a child unattended in or near the bathtub.

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Age 1 Activities to do with your Child, 12-24 months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Teacher Joke - "Water"

TEACHER: What is the chemical formula for water?

BOBBY: "HIJKLMNO"!!

TEACHER: What are you talking about?

BOBBY: Yesterday you said it's H to O!

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Hope you have a great weekend! I love this time of year because of the beautiful lilac bushes in bloom. Take time to smell the flowers! And...

If you are a mom, have a Happy Mother's Day on Sunday!

An Analogous Relationship: A Vocabulary Lesson Plan

Subject: English
Grades: 7th +

Overview
Help students sharpen their critical and logical thinking skills and improve their vocabulary in preparation for the SAT or ACT test with this lesson plan on analogies.

Objectives
Students will:
· Determine the meanings of new words through the use of analogies
· Create analogies to build their skills for learning new words.

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Materials Needed
· WordTeasers: College Prep

Getting Started
Write the following analogy on the chalkboard.

Restaurant: food :: bar : liquor

Tell students that this is a type of a word problem called an analogy. Explain that an analogy is made up of two word pairs. Both pairs of words have the same relationship. Ask students what the “relationship” is between the two pairs of words in the analogy on the chalkboard. (A restaurant is a place where food is served; a bar is a place where liquor is served.)

Development
Tell students that until March 2005, the SAT test included analogies on the Verbal section of the test. Although the new SAT test (first administered in March 2005) eliminated Analogies from the Verbal section of the test (now called the Critical Reading section), analogies are still a great way to help improve vocabulary and critical thinking skills.

Explain to students that there are many different kinds of analogies. Usually analogies are presented in this format:

[word 1] : [word 2] :: [word 3] : [word 4]

Explain that the relationship that exists between the words that are left of the double colon is exactly the same as the relationship that exists between the words to the right of the double colon. The analogy can be read as: Word 1 is related to Word 2 in the same way that Word 3 is related to Word 4.

List the following analogies on the chalkboard. (Don’t write the Relationship.) Help students identify the relationship between the pairs of words. Be sure to tell students that there many other kinds of relationships in analogies, such as part to a whole (e.g, minute : hour; petal : flower), object to its use (e.g., pen : write), type of …(e,g. utensil : fork or tool : shovel) and object to a function (e.g., glasses: read).

Analogy Relationship
off : on :: up : down (Antonym)
top : summit :: wicked : evil (Synonym)
bed : sleep :: school : learn (A place where…)
carelessness : accident :: rain : flood (Cause/Effect)
cold : pneumonia :: hot : scalding (Intensity)
carpenter : saw :: surgeon : scalpel (Job-Related Pairs)

Activity
Write the following six analogies on the chalkboard (or copy and distribute the Worksheet), using words from WordTeasers: College Prep. Tell students to first try to figure out what the relationship is in the pair of words in a given analogy. Then, have students select the best answer to complete the analogy. Finally, have them identify the relationship expressed in each analogy. (Note: You may want to list the relationship choices on the chalkboard or worksheet.)

Analogies Worksheet
Directions: Read the three given words in each analogy below. Determine the relationship of the words in the given pair. Look at the four possible answers. Select the word that completes the analogy. (Hint: The answer should be the same part of speech as the corresponding term in the complete pair.) Finally, write the type of relationship that the analogy presents.

1. __________: abolish :: ruminate : ponder
(a) establish
(b) abrogate
(c) ruin
(d) annulment
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

2. kennel : dogs :: __________ : birds
(a) nest
(b) house
(c) fly
(d) aviary
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

3. sad : __________ :: snowfall : blizzard
(a) maudlin
(b) happy
(c) drama
(d) cry
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

4. dentist : teeth :: __________ : feet
(a) ache
(b) podiatrist
(c) legs
(d) shoes
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

5. __________ : success :: laziness : failure
(a) persistent
(b) win
(c) tenacity
(d) tough
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

6. generosity : stinginess :: __________ : extraordinary
(a) special
(b) rarity
(c) mundane
(d) exuberant
Relationship: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________

Answers:
1. (b) abrogate. Relationship: synonym; 2. (d) aviary. Relationship: a place where…; 3. (a) maudlin. Relationship: intensity; 4. (b) podiatrist. Relationship: job-related pairs; 5. (c) tenacity. Relationship: cause and effect; 6. (c) mundane. Relationship: antonym.

Extension
Challenge students to create their own analogies using WordTeasers vocabulary.

Next Week: Geography Lesson Plan with WorldTeasers

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep— an educational game designed to get students talking, laughing, thinking, writing…and supersizing their vocabulary. Ages 12+ .

Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Because We Love Idioms: A Cause and Effect Lesson Plan

Subject: Language Arts
Grades: 4-6

Overview
Students use idiomatic expressions to develop a better understanding of cause and effect relationships and hone critical thinking skills.

Objectives
Students will:
· Learn the definition of “idiom”
· Demonstrate their understanding of cause and effect relationships, using idiomatic expressions
· Improve their critical thinking skills by identifying both the cause and the effect in sentences using idiomatic expressions
· Apply their knowledge of cause and effect by using idiomatic expressions in writing

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
Standard 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Materials Needed
· WordTeasers: Idioms
· 3 x 5 index cards

Getting Started
Write the following sentence on the chalkboard.
Sebastian studies once in a blue moon.
Ask students to tell what they know about the expression “once in a blue moon.” Have they ever heard that expression before? What do they think it means? (Something that happens or is done rarely.) Tell students that the phrase “once in a blue moon” is an example of an idiom or idiomatic expression. The meaning of an idiomatic expression cannot be determined by the individual words. Can students think of other idioms? (Raining cats and dogs; cool as a cucumber; chip on his shoulder.) Suggest other idioms from WordTeasers: Idioms and help students determine the definition for each.

Development
Next, ask students what they think will happen if Sebastian studies once in a blue moon. (He won’t get very good grades. He’ll fail the next test.) Write the following sentence on the chalkboard:
Because Sebastian studies only once in a blue moon, he failed the spelling test.
Then ask: What caused Sebastian to fail the spelling test? (He didn’t study for it. He studies only once in a blue moon.) What happened because Sebastian studies only once in a blue moon? (He failed the spelling test.)

Tell students that this sentence is an example of a cause and effect relationship. An effect is something that happens. A cause is what made it happen or why it happened. Write the following cause and effect sentence on the chalkboard.
After losing 10 games in a row, the basketball team threw in the towel.
Then ask: Why did the basketball team throw in the towel? (They had lost 10 games in a row.) What happened after the basketball team lost 10 games? (They threw in the towel.) Can students identify an idiomatic expression in that sentence? (throw in the towel) What does “throw in the towel mean”? (to quit)

Activity
Duplicate the following Cause and Effect Activity below and distribute to the class. Call on volunteers to read each sentence in the left-hand column and to identify the idiomatic expression and its meaning. Then, explain to students that the sentences in the left-hand column all state the cause or reason that something else happened. Put the letter of what happened (the Effect) from the right-hand column in the blank next to its cause or the “why” something happened.

Cause and Effect Activity
Name_______________
Directions:
Cause Effect
(1) _____Jeff felt under the weather. a. He was grumpy all day.
(2) _____Jack had a chip on his shoulder. b. The kids stayed in the house to play.
(3)_____ Sally was feeling down in the dumps. c. He didn’t go to school.
(4)_____ Jake got up on the wrong side of the bed. d. She called her bff Maria.
(5)_____ It was raining cats and dogs. e. She doesn’t watch the TV show.
(6) _____Vanessa thinks American Idol is for the birds. f. He got into an argument with his coach.

Extension
Have students combine the sentences in the left-hand column with the sentences in the right-hand column, using one of the following transitions words (or words that “signal” a cause and effect relationship).
because since due to the fact that
Finally, let students work in teams of two to come up with their own original cause and effect sentences that incorporate an idiomatic expression from WordTeasers: Idioms. Distribute 3 x 5 index cards to each team. Tell each team to write a “cause” sentence on one card and an “effect” sentence on the other. Then, mix up all of the cards and distribute to the class. Allow time for students to “pair up,” matching a cause and effect for each pair of students.

Next Week: Analogies with WordTeasers: College Prep
Source: WordTeasers: Idioms — an educational game designed to get kids talking, laughing, thinking, writing…and improving language arts skills. Ages 9+ . Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Free Teacher Joke - "The Composition"

Teacher: Jeff, your composition on "Our Family Dog" is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?

Jeff: No, teacher, it's the same dog!

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Hope you have a great weekend! It's time to open up the windows and let some fresh air in! If you find yourself at home and need to order supplies for your class, please visit our website. Click here and be directed to Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Tour Guide" - Age 0 to 12 months

Language Skills, Observation & Discovery, Sensory Awareness

House Tour: Walk around the house with your child, describing what you see and do. For example, you can demonstrate how the light switch works, "The light is on. the light is off." As you let your child touch a particular object, give a detailed and repetitive description of what he is seeing, "This is the door. The door is open. The door is closed." You can also talk about the pictures on the wall, what you are doing as you start a load of wash, how the drawers open and close, etc.

Neighborhood Tour: Walk around your neighborhood with your child, letting him touch and experience the different textures of the plants and trees. Describe to him what you see, feel, and smell, "These pine needles are green and prickly." "Let's smell this pretty red rose." "Feel how soft the moss is, but this bark is rough." Nature is a great source of stimulation for all the senses!

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Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Baby Activities to do with your Child, Age 0-12 months. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Captions" - Grades K-3rd

Creative Writing, Composition, Handwriting

Help your child cut out interesting photos from newspapers or magazines, and glue them onto pieces of construction paper. Encourage her to provide appropriate (or just plain silly) captions for them. If your child isn't old enough to write yet, simply have her dictate captions to you.

Another fun place for captions is the family photo album. Let your child think up captions for a roll of photos you have just had developed or have her write captions on strips of paper and tape them under pictures in the family album. For extra fun, let her create and tape word and thought bubbles above peoples' heads in the photos.

__________________________

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Writing Activities to do with your Child, Grades K-3rd, Ages 5-9. Available at Schoodoodle.com.

Chart Your Geography Smarts: A WorldTeaser Geography Challenge for Kids

Subject: Geography; World Culture
Grade(s): 4-6

Overview
Students conduct a classroom-wide geographic literacy survey, chart the results on a graph, and then compare those results to the answers that young adults (18 to 24 years old) gave in a national geographic survey in 2006.

Objectives
Students will:
· Demonstrate knowledge of physical and human characteristics of given places around the world
· Collect, organize, and analyze survey data
· Create a bar chart to display that data, using Microsoft Excel
· Present those findings to a larger group

National Geography Standards
Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places.

National Educational Technology Standards for Students
Standard 3: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Materials Needed
· Computer with Microsoft Excel
· Geographic Survey (one copy per learner)

· (Optional) WorldTeasers: World Culture and Geography

Getting Started
Ask students if they have ever seen the television program called “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” Let students tell what they know about the program. Then, say: “In a recent national survey among young adults, only 31% correctly estimated the population of the United States. Do you think our class is smarter than the adults in the survey? Let’s find out.”

Write the following chart on the chalkboard:
Population Range Number Answered % Answered
a) 10 million to 50 million
b) 150 million to 350 million
c) 500 million to 750 million
d) 1 billion to 2 billion

Then, ask: “Which of the population ranges in this chart contains the correct population of the United States today?” Write the number of students who vote for each population range under Number Answered. Then, have students calculate the percentage for each range, based on the total number of students who voted, and enter their answers into the % Answered column.

Next, tell students that the correct answer is (b) 150 million to 350 million. (Note: If you have a computer available, you can check the exact population of the United States at any given moment at http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html) What percent of the students in the class got the correct answer? Ask: “How does our class compare to the national average of young adults?”

Finally, tell students that they are going to conduct a classroom-wide survey of six geography questions, chart the results on a graph, and then compare those results to the national survey of young adults.

Development
Duplicate the Reproducible Geographic Survey (printed at the bottom of this Blog) and distribute one copy to each student in the class. Tell students that they do not have to put their names on the paper. The purpose of the survey is to determine how much the class as a whole knows about world, rather than to “test” individual students. Allow sufficient time for students to complete the survey.

While students our completing the survey, put the following chart on the chalkboard. Then, tally the results of the classroom survey by a show of hands to each answer for each question.
Survey Results
Number % Answered Adults Answered
Question 1 Answered Correctly Correctly
(a) Indonesia
(b) South Africa
(c) Armenia
(d) India

Question 2
(a) Russian
(b) Mandarin Chinese
(c) English
(d) Arabic

Question 3
(a) China and Russia
(b) United States and Mexico
(c) North Korea and South Korea
(d) Syria and Lebanon

Question 4
(a) Honolulu, United States
(b) Manila, Philippines
(c) Tokyo, Japan
(d) Mexico City, Mexico

Question 5
(a) Less than half the size of U.S.
(b) About the same size as U.S.
(c) About double the size of U.S.
(d) More than four times the size of U.S.

Question 6
(a) Africa
(b) Antarctica
(c) Asia
(d) Australia
(a) Europe
(b) North America
(c) South America

Activity
Tell students that they are now going create a bar chart that visually shows the results of each survey question and compares the results to each questions with those of the adults. To create a simple chart, follow these directions.
1. Open Microsoft Office Excel.
2. In Column B1, type the word Adults; in C1, type Our Class.
3. In Column B2, type the percent of Adults who answered this question correctly. (For example, for Question 1, 25% of adults answered the question correctly. Put 25% in B2.) In Column C2, type the percent of students in the classroom that got this answer correct, e.g., 62%
4. In Column A2, type the answer to the survey question. For example, type: Question 1: Correct Answer: Indonesia
NOTE: You may want to create a bar chart for each question. If not skip a row and enter information in the same Worksheet for the next survey question.
5. Highlight A1 through C2.
6. Point to and click Insert on the Main Menu. Then, drag down and highlight Chart Wizard.
7. Under Chart type, click: Bar. Then, click Next.
8. Next to Series in: Click Rows. Click Next.
9. In the Chart title box, write the name of your school.
10. Click the Legend tab. Then click the Placement button for where you want the Legend to appear, e.g., Left.
11. Click the Data Labels tab. Under Label Contains, click Value. Click Next.
12. Under Place chart, click As new sheet.
13. Click Finish.

Here are some things you can do to enhance your chart.
1. Right click the Legend text box and Title text box and click Format Legend. Highlight the type and change the font, font style, and size, as desired.
2. Right click one of the bars in the bar chart and click Format Data Point. Change the color or the Fill Effects of your bars.
3. Click the Text Box icon on the drawing toolbar and insert a text box in each bar. Insert copy and format the copy as desired.

Answers to Selected Questions from
National Geographic-Roper Survey of Geographic Literacy

% Adults (18-24)
Correct Answer Answered Correctly
Question 1: Indonesia 25%
Question 2: Mandarin Chinese 18%
Question 3: North Korea and South Korea 37%
Question 4: Mexico City, Mexico 62%
Question 5: More than 4 times the size 39%
Question 6: South America 59%

Reproducible Geographic Survey

Geographic Literacy Survey
Conducted by __________________
Age__________ Grade __________

Directions: Read each question. Mark an X on the line next to your answer choice.
Question 1 of 6
In which of these countries is a majority of the population Muslim?
Choose Your Answer
_____ (a) Indonesia
_____ (b) South Africa
_____ (c) Armenia
_____ (d) India

Question 2 of 6
Which language is spoken by the most people in the world as their primary language?
Choose Your Answer
_____ Russian
_____ Mandarin Chinese
_____ English
_____ Arabic

Question 3 of 6
The most heavily fortified border in the world exists between which two countries?
Choose Your Answer
_____ China and Russia
_____ United States and Mexico
_____ North Korea and South Korea
_____ Syria and Lebanon

Question 4 of 6
Which city would be least likely to be threatened by a tsunami?
_____ Honolulu, United States
_____ Manila, Philippines
_____ Tokyo, Japan
_____ Mexico City, Mexico

Question 5 of 6
How does the size of the population of China compare to the population of the United States?
_____ China’s population is less than half the size of the population of the United States.
_____ China’s population is about the same size as the population of the United States.
_____ China’s population is about double the size of the population of the United States.
_____ China’s population is more than four times the size of the population of the United States.

Question 6 of 6
On which continent is the Amazon rain forest?
_____ Africa
_____ Antarctica
_____ Asia
_____ Australia
_____ Europe
_____ North America
_____ South America

Conclusion
Have students prepare a report of their findings to present to another class or during a Parent conference.

Survey Variations: (1) Allow students to select 10 WorldTeaser Challenge questions around which to develop their survey. (2) Conduct a school-wide survey and chart the results by grade.

Next Week: Jumpstart Your Grammar Lessons with Idioms

Source: WorldTeasers: World Culture and Geography — An educational game designed to help upper elementary grade students supersize their global knowledge with fascinating, intriguing, and amusing trivia about countries and their culture. Grades 4 +. Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Free Teacher Lesson Plans

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Free Teacher Motivational Quote - "Doing"

Determine never to be idle.
No person will have occasion
to complain of the want of time
who never loses any.
It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.

Quote by: Thomas Jefferson

Can a Clown Be Morose? And Other Provocative Questions to Help Teach Vocabulary

Subject: English/Vocabulary
Grade(s): 7 and up

Overview
These four research-based word-building activities can be used across the curriculum to help take students advance from rote memorization of new words and their definitions to a total integration of the new words into their personal lexicon.

Objectives
Students will:
· Create “student-friendly” definitions of new words, using language and examples which are already familiar to students
· Relate new words to something they are already familiar with, using metaphors and similes; examples and non-examples
· Explain connections and answer deeper processing questions involving the new word
· Practice strategies for learning new words, using higher-level thinking skills

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials Needed
· Vocabulary list from content area instruction
· (Optional) WordTeasers: College Prep

Background
According to R. J. Marzano in his paper “Building Background for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools” (2004), “Direct teaching of vocabulary might be one of the most underused activities in K-12 education.” The reason, says Dr. Marzano, is that there is a misunderstanding of what it really means to teach vocabulary. “There is a belief,” he says, “that teaching vocabulary means teaching formal dictionary definitions.”

While learning the definition of a word is obviously important, many researchers believe that asking students the question “Does anybody know what the word ___ means?” or instructing students to “look it up” in the dictionary are two of the least effective strategies for teaching vocabulary at the secondary level. (Copying the word several times follows close on the heels of “least effective,” as well.)

What, then, are the hallmarks of good vocabulary instruction? According to Anita L. Archer, Ph.D., author of “Dynamic Vocabulary Instruction in Secondary Classrooms,” there are at least four key elements:
· Actively involve students
· Provide multiple exposures to words in different contexts
· Encourage deep processing of new words, connecting with and relating to prior knowledge when creating their own sentences
· Discuss new words together with related words

There are numerous word learning activities that support these strategies and that can be adapted for any curriculum or content area, while also serving to introduce “academic vocabulary.” Here are four of those activities, which use, as examples, the SAT-level vocabulary taken from WordTeasers: College Prep. You can easily adapt your own relevant vocabulary to these activities.

Yes/No/Why Activity
In this activity students are challenged to provide an answer to a question in which two or more key vocabulary words are juxtaposed in the same sentence. Be sure to tell students that there is no right or wrong answer to the question, but that they must provide a full and thoughtful explanation for their answer.

Can you aspire to something you are ambivalent about?
Is a salubrious activity ever deleterious?
Can you be frugal and benevolent at the same time?
Does someone you venerate have to be a luminary?

Extension: Distribute the WordTeasers game box and let students select pairs of words to construct their own Yes/No/Why sentences.

Idea Completion Activity
In this activity students are given partial sentences that include key vocabulary words and are challenged to complete the sentence. Examples of sentences using words from WordTeasers: College Prep might be:

José had a contrite look on his face after he…
Vanessa was reticent to talk about why she came home late because…
Derek was willing to condone Peter’s bad behavior because…
It is ludicrous to think that I…

Extension: Have pairs of students work together. One writes the first part of an Idea Completion sentence, using a word from WordTeasers: College Prep (or words you assign from a text or content area); the other then completes the sentence.

Meaningful Sentence Writing
When writing sentences using new vocabulary words, encourage students to connect or relate their prior knowledge or experience. Sentences should answer three or four who, what, when, where, or how questions. Suggest that they identify something from their personal life experiences the term reminds them of.

Poor Meaningful Sentence Example
Luke is gregarious.
Better Meaningful Sentence Example
I like Luke because he is always so friendly and gregarious when we are together.

Extension: An essential part of this “elaboration process” in writing meaningful sentences is having the students explain the connection. For example, the students should not only say what personal experience the term makes them think of, but also why it reminds them of it.

Examples and Non-Examples
When introducing a new word, such as proponent, give students an opportunity to distinguish between “examples and non-examples” of the word and then encourage them write their own examples.

Is [name of school coach] a proponent of our soccer team? (Yes)
How do we know she is a proponent? (She is our coach.)
Is [name of rival school] a proponent of our soccer team? (No.)
Why is [name of rival school] not a proponent? (They are an opponent or rival.)

Our soccer team has many other proponents. Can you name some? (Parents, teachers, siblings.)

Extension: Ask deeper processing questions, such as: “How do we know if or when someone is a proponent of something?”

By implementing some of these word learning strategies at the beginning of a new lesson, you can help students not only improve their vocabulary, but also actually enjoy and have fun learning new words.

Next Week: A Rose by Any Other Name: How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep — An educational game designed to help high school students improve vocabulary and have fun at the same time. Grades 7 + .

Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Can a Clown Be Morose? And Other Provocative Questions to Help Teach Vocabulary

Subject: English/Vocabulary
Grade(s): 7 and up

Overview
These four research-based word-building activities can be used across the curriculum to help take students advance from rote memorization of new words and their definitions to a total integration of the new words into their personal lexicon.

Objectives
Students will:
· Create “student-friendly” definitions of new words, using language and examples which are
already familiar to students
· Relate new words to something they are already familiar with, using metaphors and similes;
examples and non-examples
· Explain connections and answer deeper processing questions involving the new word
· Practice strategies for learning new words, using higher-level thinking skills

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts
Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials Needed
· Vocabulary list from content area instruction
· (Optional) WordTeasers: College Prep

Background
According to R. J. Marzano in his paper “Building Background for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools” (2004), “Direct teaching of vocabulary might be one of the most underused activities in K-12 education.” The reason, says Dr. Marzano, is that there is a misunderstanding of what it really means to teach vocabulary. “There is a belief,” he says, “that teaching vocabulary means teaching formal dictionary definitions.”

While learning the definition of a word is obviously important, many researchers believe that asking students the question “Does anybody know what the word ___ means?” or instructing students to “look it up” in the dictionary are two of the least effective strategies for teaching vocabulary at the secondary level. (Copying the word several times follows close on the heels of “least effective,” as well.)

What, then, are the hallmarks of good vocabulary instruction? According to Anita L. Archer, Ph.D., author of “Dynamic Vocabulary Instruction in Secondary Classrooms,” there are at least four key elements:
· Actively involve students
· Provide multiple exposures to words in different contexts
· Encourage deep processing of new words, connecting with and relating to prior knowledge when creating their own sentences
· Discuss new words together with related words

There are numerous word learning activities that support these strategies and that can be adapted for any curriculum or content area, while also serving to introduce “academic vocabulary.” Here are four of those activities, which use, as examples, the SAT-level vocabulary taken from WordTeasers: College Prep. You can easily adapt your own relevant vocabulary to these activities.

Yes/No/Why Activity
In this activity students are challenged to provide an answer to a question in which two or more key vocabulary words are juxtaposed in the same sentence. Be sure to tell students that there is no right or wrong answer to the question, but that they must provide a full and thoughtful explanation for their answer.
Can you aspire to something you are ambivalent about?
Is a salubrious activity ever deleterious?
Can you be frugal and benevolent at the same time?
Does someone you venerate have to be a luminary?
Extension: Distribute the WordTeasers game box and let students select pairs of words to construct their own Yes/No/Why sentences.

Idea Completion Activity
In this activity students are given partial sentences that include key vocabulary words and are challenged to complete the sentence. Examples of sentences using words from WordTeasers: College Prep might be:
José had a contrite look on his face after he…
Vanessa was reticent to talk about why she came home late because…
Derek was willing to condone Peter’s bad behavior because…
It is ludicrous to think that I…
Extension: Have pairs of students work together. One writes the first part of an Idea Completion sentence, using a word from WordTeasers: College Prep (or words you assign from a text or content area); the other then completes the sentence.

Meaningful Sentence Writing
When writing sentences using new vocabulary words, encourage students to connect or relate their prior knowledge or experience. Sentences should answer three or four who, what, when, where, or how questions. Suggest that they identify something from their personal life experiences the term reminds them of.
Poor Meaningful Sentence Example
Luke is gregarious.
Better Meaningful Sentence Example
I like Luke because he is always so friendly and gregarious when we are together.
Extension: An essential part of this “elaboration process” in writing meaningful sentences is having the students explain the connection. For example, the students should not only say what personal experience the term makes them think of, but also why it reminds them of it.

Examples and Non-Examples
When introducing a new word, such as proponent, give students an opportunity to distinguish between “examples and non-examples” of the word and then encourage them write their own examples.
Is [name of school coach] a proponent of our soccer team? (Yes)
How do we know she is a proponent? (She is our coach.)
Is [name of rival school] a proponent of our soccer team? (No.)
Why is [name of rival school] not a proponent? (They are an opponent or rival.)
Our soccer team has many other proponents. Can you name some? (Parents, teachers, siblings.)
Extension: Ask deeper processing questions, such as: “How do we know if or when someone is a proponent of something?”

By implementing some of these word learning strategies at the beginning of a new lesson, you can help students not only improve their vocabulary, but also actually enjoy and have fun learning new words.

Next Week: A Rose by Any Other Name: How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past

Source: WordTeasers: College Prep — An educational game designed to help high school students improve vocabulary and have fun at the same time. Grades 7 + . Available at SchooDoodle.com.

Free Parent Involvement Activity - "Coin Flip Stats" - Grades K-3rd

Statistics, Probability, Graphing

Create a 3 x 10 grid, as shown, and label the columns "heads/heads," "tails/tails," and "heads/tails."

You and your child each flip a coin, and then let your child color a square of the grid according to the results of the coin toss. for example, if both of your coins come up "heads," she will color a square at the bottom of the "heads/heads" column. If one of you flips heads and the other tails, she will fill in a square starting at the bottom of the "heads/tails" column.

Continue tossing coins until one of the columns is full. You and your child will find that the "heads/tails" column is most likely to fill up first. the probability of heads/tails coming up is greater because the combination can occur as either heads/tails or tails/heads.

Variation -- Weight the heads side on one (or b0th) coins with a bit of clay. Continue tossing the coins and see if (and how) that skews the results.

_______________

Source: Bright and Beyond, Smart & Simple Math Activities to do with your Child, Grades Kindergarten to 3rd. Available at Schoodoodle.com.