Sweet Secondary Teaching Blogs and Pinterest!!

Are you a pin addict? Are you a blog addict? Are you a Secondary Teacher? If you answered yes, I'd like to share some awesome teaching blogs with you. If you like pinning awesome teaching ideas, these are just for you!

You will find all subject areas in this crew. We follow each other on Pinterest and thought you might like to too.  Ready to meet them? Okay:

Bio:  Hi!  I'm Adrianne from The Tutor House.  I love tutoring and creating engaging lessons for math in reading for grades 3-8!  If you've ever thought about starting your own tutoring business, you should come on over to The Tutor House!

Follow Adrianne of The Tutor House on Pinterest.

 

Bio: Welcome! I am Connie from Teach it Write. I am a retired English teacher and I’m thrilled to now write curriculum full time that I love to share on my site http://teachitwrite.blogspot.com. My book, The House of Comprehension, shows how the elements of literature form the structure of any fiction or non-fiction text. Check it out on my blog site or on www.teachitwrite.com.

Follow Connie of Teach it Write on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi Everyone! It's Kristy from 2 Peas and a Dog. I am a Canadian middle school teacher who loves to pin and blog about things related to Grades 6 and up.

Follow Kristy of 2 Peas and a Dog on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hiya there!  I'm Jamie but you may know me as MissMathDork! I am a lover of all things mathematical!  Patterns, sequences, geometric shapes, if it's mathematical, I'll find a way to make it fun!  Want to see some of my ideas? Check out my ideas and pictures at www.missmathdork.com!  You won't be disappointed!

Follow Jaime of Miss Math Dork on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hello, there. I’m Charlene Tess from Simple Steps to Sentence Sense. Grammar is my specialty. I have always loved taking sentences apart and putting them back together, and I successfully taught my students using the simple steps method for over three decades. Visit my blog to get helpful tips on grammar, usage, and writing.

Follow Charlene of Simple Steps to Sentence Sense on Pinterest.

Tammy Manor!

Bio:  Hi my name is Tammy and I've been teaching high school English for 13 years now. I know that teaching can be very stressful. My school is constantly changing the book list and I've taught every grade 6-12 as well. As a result I have unit plans for a large variety of novels, plays and memoirs. Come check out my store on TpT for a variety of ELA materials. Follow my blog for teaching related posts.

Follow Tammy on Pinterest.  

Bio:  Meet Sabrina, author of A Space to Create.  Find teaching resources for art teachers and classroom teachers alike. My art lessons teach students the creative process enabling them to build confidence and have amazing results.  Come visit my blog A Space to Create! (K-12)

Follow Sabrina of A Space to Create on Pinterest.

Bio: Hi there!  I'm Gina from All Things Algebra.  I have taught Algebra and Pre-Algebra for seven years and have a passion for creating activites and games that engage my students.  If you are interested in finding ways to have more fun in math class, head on over and check out my blog!

Follow Gina of All Things Algebra on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi there!  My name is Amy Brown and I write a blog called "Science Stuff."  I am a 29-year teaching veteran of biology, chemistry and AP biology.  I love science and I love kids, so I have the best job in the world!  Hopefully, I have passed my love of nature and the environment on to many students.  My blog has tips and tricks for teaching science as well as a lot of free science teaching materials.  I hope to see you there!

Follow Amy of Science Stuff on Pinterest.

Bio: Hi! I’m Krystina from Numbers Rule My World. I love incorporating hands-on activities and technology into the classroom for Math: grades 7-9. If you’re looking for great ideas about math then you should come on over and check it out at Numbers Rule My World!

Follow Krystina of Numbers Rule My World on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hello, my name is Jennifer Smith-Sloane. I am a Middle School Math and Special Education teacher. I have a strong passion for differentiated instruction to meet the needs of each learner in and out of my classroom. I love seeing the light in a student's eyes when something finally clicks and I do everything that I can to make that happen as often as it can.  Visit my blog 4mulaFun!

Follow Jennifer of 4mulaFun on Pinterest.

Bio:  This is Madame Aiello, author of Teaching FSL. Although I've taught other subjects as well, French as a Second Language has always been my passion. My focus is the higher grades, since I taught high school originally but teach grade 7 & 8 since six years ago. I share lots of resources, blog about second language teacher specific topics as well as those that apply to all teachers.

Follow Madame Aiello of Teaching FSL on Pinterest.

Bio:  Bonjour! Hola! I'm Liz from Liz's Lessons. Languages are one of my passions, and I love teaching with technology. I create fun lessons for teaching secondary French, and Spanish. I also make formative assessments and technology activities in English, that can be used in any secondary classroom. If you are looking for some engaging activities for your classes, be sure to stop by Liz's Lessons!

Follow Liz of Liz's Lessons on Pinterest.

Bio: I'm Andrea Kerr from For the Love of Teaching Math. It is my mission to change traditional math classrooms one game and activity at a time. If you like to incorporate hands-on, group activities and games into your classroom, check out For the Love of Teaching Math!

Follow Andrea of For the Love of Teaching Math on Pinterest.

Bio:  I'm a middle / high-school teacher and I love to create ELA, Social Studies and Geography related resources.  I blog at Addie Education - Teacher Talk... come on by and see some of the fun things I do with my students.

Follow Addie Education on Pinterest.

Bio:  I'm a high school English teacher in a 1:1 school who loves books and fostering creativity. My blogs are Mrs. Orman's Classroom and Hunger Games Lessons. I share my teaching resources on TeachersPayTeachers.

Follow Tracee Orman on Pinterest.

Bio:  Hi! I'm Kim from Teaching Math by Hart. I am forever planning and thinking of new and innovative ways to teach math to my students. Why, you ask? Believe it or not, I think learning Math should be FUN and it should be REAL! If you are looking for some ideas to engage your students in math class, come check out Teaching Math by Hart - in the middle years classroom!

I hope you enjoy visiting these blogs and finding lots of great pins to add to your boards!
Have a great day!!

KinderKay of Love Those Kinders, Innovative Teacher-Author and Back to School Freebie!

Learn a little bit about this fabulous teacher-author-blogger!! 

Welcome, KinderKay!

Classroom Experience:

I have been teaching for 24 years! Wow! It is hard to believe that many years have gone by! I taught second grade for 7 years and thought that was the perfect grade for me. Then my children came along and I became a stay at home Mom which I thought I would be doing for the rest of my life. But this was not to be the case! One evening as I was finishing up the dishes, I received a phone call from our priest. He told me that he wanted to start a kindergarten and that he wanted ME to be the first teacher. Now get this.... It was June and he wanted it going by August! There was nothing - no books, no table, no chairs, not even a classroom! He had ordered a portable classroom that hadn't even arrived yet! Yikes! Only a crazy person would take this job, right?? Well, I took it and here I am.... 18 years later and LOVING it! Since then, we have built a new wing for our kindergarten and I now reside in what the rest of the school calls "the palace!"

Valuable info learned...beneficial to teachers/teacher-authors, bloggers: Oh gosh, since joining TPT in June of 2011, my whole teaching life has been transformed! Before becoming a part of TPT, I thought I was a good teacher, but I didn't realize how sheltered I had become. Some of it, of course, was from teaching in a private school. But much of it was from the fact that the only teachers in which I shared experiences with were from our local area. I am not saying that I did not grow as a teacher, but being able to bounce ideas off of other teachers from around the country (and other countries) has enabled me to become more focused on the changing needs of my students. When I started a blog in January of 2012, I found even more of an opportunity to improve myself as a professional. For example, I participated in a book study this summer with other kindergarten teachers as we explored how to implement the Daily 5 into our literacy curriculum. My blog gave me the opportunity to learn this new skill and now my students will benefit from the knowledge that I have gained!

Advice for a beginning or veteran teacher?
Be flexible and accept the fact that your students may know more than you know! Instead of getting upset about this, rejoice in it! As teachers it is our job to inspire and guide, but after we have done that, we have to let our students turn our lesson into something that becomes their own!


Great ideas, lessons, or pieces of advice learned from other blog(s): I have learned so much from SO MANY blogs! There are so many really, really GOOD teaching blogs around! I guess the thing that I have learned the most from all of them is how to organize my classroom. Being able to find materials when needed has always been a weakness of mine, so reading blogs that show how to organize a classroom have been so helpful. The biggest help I have received, I think, are the classroom library bin labels. I am presently re-designing my library and these labels will come in SO handy!

A Freebie KinderKay Has Chosen to Share! 
I have quite a few freebies to offer! I really believe in sharing and also love FREE things myself!Here is one for Back to School...

KinderKay's Online store---Check it Out!
Teachers Pay Teachers

Helpful Hints for Classroom:

Hmmm... This is hard, but I think the thing that makes me unique is how I try to bring Art into our everyday curriculum. I truly believe that children learn by doing and with all the curriculum changes that are occurring in our nation, the arts have slowly been replaced. So in order to give my students a taste of the world around them, I encourage them to use pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, and paint in their daily activities. For example, instead of giving them a printed worksheet of a plant to color and label, I show them how to DRAW the flower and then label its parts. Instead of giving them a pattern to trace and color, I show them how to create their picture using simple shapes and step-by-step illustrations. When children create their own illustrations, learning becomes real for them and they feel some ownership in their school journey.

Something cool, weird, funny about you, OUTSIDE the classroom: Let's see...My husband thinks I am weird because I like to eat sweet pickles wrapped in cheese and I put ketchup on my scrambled eggs! I take water aerobics classes and love lakes and boating even though I am petrified of water! I am afraid of cows even though my husband is a farmer and has a herd of them! I can sit hours watching the birds in my bird feeder! I love to use drawing and cutting in many of my lessons. I would so much rather sew, paint, draw, cut, or work in my garden than do household chores - yuck! :) My favorite vacation is spending a few days enjoying Lake Michigan!

Connect with KinderKay...

I just started a Facebook page in June and have no idea how to use it yet! But, This is what keeps our brain active, correct? Learning new things!

Visit KinderKay on Facebook! 

Here is my Pinterest link! 

I love Pinterest! 

_________________

I would like to say THANKS to Cindy, for sharing her ideas and freebie with us!  Be sure to swing by her blog, Love Those Kinders, and/or her store to see all of the other teaching resources she has! Please leave a comment below to let her know you stopped by and picked up some helpful info and her awesome free download! Show some love! 
Oh, I must also admit, I love Pinterest TOO, just like KinderKay!!!

Do you have a favorite idea, tip, or activity that you've found on another blog? Share it below!! We love to find and share new ideas, so give us one--maybe the blog name if you remember too!

The Best Education Blog Award Mystery!

I love it that some go the extra mile to let you know when you are doing a great job. I feel special to have received this great new badge to proudly add to my blog from an outstanding educator, author, teacher, blogger, and.....That is all I can tell you, folks! The rest is to remain a mystery!!
No passing the award to a list of peeps with rules or anything...I'm just posting about it and bragging on this new badge I received! 
I want to THANK a very special, outstanding "secret someone" for such a lovely gesture!!!
Toodles,  Everyone!!! Have a LOVELY Sunday night and great week!

Learn from Reading.Writing.Thinking.Sharing.

Get to Know Kristin Jordan of 
READING. WRITING. THINKING. SHARING. 

Classroom Experience:

I have been a Literacy Specialist for four years, working with struggling readers and writers in grades 2-5.

Valuable things learned beneficial to teachers, teacher-authors, or bloggers:

     In both blogging and creating teaching resources, I've learned the power of Professional Learning Communities. 21st century tools and technology have created endless opportunities for collaboration and professional learning among teachers. I love being a part of these networks because I can stay "fresh" as my teaching evolves with current trends of best classroom practice. I'm amazed at how being a part of the teacher-author community has changed my teaching!
     I will admit though, I am often overwhelmed with the number of blogs, forums, and options for collaborative learning that are out there, and I always feel like I'm one step behind. (Seriously, how can we keep up with them all?!?) I try to manage reading all my favorite blogs, while marketing and keeping up with my own blog, but I'm still working on finding a better balance! 
     For teachers who are new to the blogging world, I would recommend starting small and not jumping in too fast. It can easily become overwhelming! I tend to be overzealous and bite off more than I can chew, but I've learned that even if you do that, you can always take a few steps back. For now, my goal is to learn ONE new thing a day, or connect with ONE new teacher a day. Although I'll probably never be able to read EVERYTHING or blog everyday, I feel like I'm constantly growing and learning. Be active at a level that works for you!

Advice for a beginning or veteran teacher?
My advice would be to never stop learning! There are always new strategies to try and ideas to explore. As the world changes around us, students evolve as learners. Teachers need to evolve too. Not only does it help us stay "fresh" in the world of teaching, but it provides a great model for students to become lifelong learners as well.
Great ideas, lessons, or pieces of advice learned from other blog(s):

Teaching blogs have opened up a whole new world to me! Reading about strategies and activities REAL teachers are integrating across the country is truly inspiring. I love learning about new ideas and trying them out in my own classroom. Of course, I can't just pick ONE!

Some of my favorite blogs recently are:

http://theorganizedclassroomblog.com/

http://teachinginroom6.blogspot.com/

http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.com/

http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/

http://panickedteacher.typepad.com/

TWO Freebies Ms. Jordan Picked to Share! 

"What is Fluency?" Student Reference

"Ticket Out the Door" Post-Lesson Assessment

At what online marketplaces/vendors does this teacher-author have stores?

Teachers Pay Teachers
 Teachers Notebook

Helpful Hints for the Classroom:

I feel like I'm constantly saying, "Why didn't I think of that?!?" as I'm exploring Pinterest and teacher blogs. Some of my recent favorites for small groups...
Dice in small, clear containers for games and table work:

Source: sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Thumbtacks glued to clothes pins for quickly hanging and displaying student work:

Source: etsy.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Taking pictures of anchor charts and putting in binder (saves wall space, and great when you have different charts for different groups you want to save!):

Source: teachingmyfriends.blogspot.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Check out my growing boards of additional Classroom Organization & Management ideas: 

              Classroom Management      Classroom Organization

Something cool, weird, or funny about you, OUTSIDE of the classroom:

     I love to travel! I've been to seven countries since 2005 and hope to explore more in the near future. Traveling allows me to continue learning and growing as a teacher and an individual. I'm always intrigued by new places and hope to one day write children's books from my experiences around the world.
I have an extremely fat cat named Zeus, who thinks he's 10 lb lap-cat (not the 20 lb tiger cat that he actually is!). Zeus keeps me company as I explore blogs, write posts, and create my products! Perhaps he's my muse?
Also, I just got engaged and am getting married in 2013! Hmmm... I wonder (and worry!) how I'm going to juggle wedding planning, teaching, blogging, selling, and learning! :)

Stay Connected with Kristin...
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Google +

_________________

I would like to say THANKS to Kristin, for sharing her ideas and freebies with us!  Be sure to swing by her blog and/or her stores to see all of the other teaching resources she has! You can leave Kristin a comment below to let her know that you stopped by, and that you picked up some helpful info and her awesome free download! 
Have a great day!
Ann Marie

Snatch Some Valuable Info and Learn from a Fab Innovative Teacher-Author!

Get to Know  

Rachel Friedrich of Sub Hub 

Visit Sub Hub's Blog!

A Little Bit About This Innovative Teacher-Author from San Antonio, Texas... 
"I'm married to a wonderful man and have been for nearly 18 years! We have 2 beautiful children, a dog and a cat. My husband is also a teacher, so it runs through our blood! In the classroom, I am commonly known as the "baby teacher" because I do a lot of long-term sub positions for teachers on maternity leave. I also was a journalist for 12 years before I decided to go back to school for my teaching degree and certification. Because of this, I love to teach writing!"

Classroom Experience:

“I have been a substitute teacher for grades K-5 for 4 years.”

Some valuable things you've learned that would benefit other teachers, teacher-authors, or bloggers:

“I have learned that there is a huge resource of other teachers out there who are willing to share ideas, strategies, and solutions.”

Something cool, weird, or funny about you, OUTSIDE of the classroom:

“I love to sing and dance, but I do both very badly." J  

Advice for a beginning teacher? A Veteran Teacher?
"Don't be hesitant to ask questions. New teachers have lots of questions, and you should! Veteran teachers should continue to ask questions so that they continue to grow as teachers."


ONE great idea, lesson, or piece of advice learned from another blog:

“There was a wonderful lesson about fraction sundaes that I used with second graders. It worked so well. The students loved that it was ice cream and it really drove home the point of fractions!”

Here's a Cool Freebie Full of Reading and Writing Skills that Sub Hub Picked to Share with You! 
(Below are a few pics from the unit.)

The Lorax K-5 Unit

How Characters Change Over Time

A Connections Chart

Cause and Effect Chart

At what online marketplaces/vendors does this talented teacher-author have stores?

Teachers Pay Teachers

A Helpful Hint for the Classroom:

"I use decorative hole punches and sticky notes for classroom management. I give the students a sticky note in the morning that they can write their name on and decorate. Then as they are showing good behavior, I give them hole punches. My favorite punch to use is a little frog one. At the end of the day, students in the top group get to choose from the prize box. It works really well for one-day subs."

How Can Other Teachers/Bloggers/Authors Stay Connected with Sub Hub?
                                                                     Facebook 

Twitter   Pinterest   

_______________________________________________________________________________

I would like to say THANKS to Rachel, for sharing your ideas and freebie with us! I totally bet she can both "dance" and "sing" too! ;) Be sure to swing by her blog and/or her store to see the goodies she has to offer! 
* Please, feel free to leave Rachel a comment below to show her some love and that you stopped by to read up about her! 
She'll love knowing that you picked up a few valuable pieces of info as well as her awesome freebie!! 
Have a great day!

Learn About This Innovative Teacher-Author

Yvonne Crawford of Mixminder

Classroom Experience:

I taught 11th and 12th grade in Texas - English Lit., SAT/ACT prep class and Teacher Cadet class. I taught all high school grades English as a foreign language in Hungary. I've also taught adults and college level EFL in France and in Slovakia. I homeschooled my children from Pre-K to 3rd grade. They are in school now so they can become fluent in French, but soon I will most likely go back to homeschooling. I'm currently teaching EFL in France in elementary school.

Some valuable things this teacher-author has learned that would benefit other teachers, teacher-authors, or bloggers to learn:

     I think I've learned through creating innovative products that you can make math fun. My own kids were so tired of math worksheets, so I decided to create my own fun things to make math more enjoyable. Then, I realized through emails that other moms (and teachers) were having much more fun teaching math with my materials. Their students were actually asking to study math which is a great thing! So, I guess the moral is the story that we , as educators, can actually change the perception of how a subject is viewed by students. We can all make a difference and make education more enjoyable for our students and children!

Something cool, weird, or funny, etc. about this teacher-author OUTSIDE of the classroom:

I love to design and create teddy bears. I have made about 20 mohair teddy bears. It takes a long time to sew them by hand and design them properly so that they are in proportion. I love it. It's a lot of fun! It's not really funny nor weird, but to me it's cool!

ONE great idea, lesson, or piece of advice, etc. learned from another blog:

Never forget why you started to teach in the first place. Sometimes this gets lost in the course of dealing with administration, other teachers, etc. But, don't lose sight of your love of teaching!

Featured Freebie by this teacher-author:

SpaceshipAddition Math Craft  Workshop

A Helpful Hint for the Classroom:

When buying or downloading freebies from websites or from TPT for use in your classroom… Back them up! You never know when your computer will crash. Try a place like Dropbox to back them up. It's easy and you can organize them nicely by month, holiday or however you normally have them organized on your own computer.

Connect with this teacher-author at these places:

Facebook

Twitter
Pinterest
Yvonne's TpT Store
Yvonne's TN Store

Yvonne’s Blog at Mixminder

Tag Tag Tag Tag...

I'm grateful to Mrs. K. of The Teacher Garden for "tagging" me for this unique blog tag party! Thanks, Mrs. K! Be sure to stop by her blog and check out the neat things she has going on there!
Here's how to play:

Rules

Post the rules.

Answer 10 questions.

Create 10 questions. 

Tag 10(ish) people and link them with your post. Let them know they have been tagged.

Here are the questions she wanted me to answer:

1. What grade do you teach (or did you teach), and how long have you been teaching?

Currently 8th Grade! I'm about to finish my 11th year teaching!

2. What is your favorite subject or topic to teach?

Hmm, I've taught English Language Arts for 8 years, so I guess English? I thoroughly enjoyed K, 2nd, and 5th and all subject areas too!

3. If you weren't teaching, what would you be doing?

Wow!! My Online Career would launch into FULL TIME MODE!! How fun would that be? 

4. What do you like to do when you're not at school?

I spend lots of time working in my backyard, playing with my dogs/cat, painting, and lots of time on computer in my "blogging, teaching product, networking" ventures....

5. What is your favorite way to incorporate technology into your classroom?

Using the smart board notebooks, promethean flip charts, and VIDEOS to incorporate into lessons which seem to hold students' attention in that long 97 minute block of English!

6. How long have you been blogging, and why did you start your blog?

I began blogging in October 2011; after seeing all the super teaching blogs and what there was to offer and gain through one, I decided I was missing out not having one!

7. What is your favorite book and why? I LOVE vampire novels! (not the scary kind); I think it's because I love romance books! 

8. What do you always carry in your purse?

Lipstick, mascara, cell phone, and headache medicine! It never fails, anytime I leave without the Advil, I get a headache!

9. Share your easiest/quickest/yummiest recipe.

Chicken Breasts in Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Original Recipe, smothered cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, cream of cheddar cheese soups, and add one can of mushroom pieces! Bake for 1hr. 1/2 (uncovered last 30 min)---VOILA! Happy Hubby!

10. What is the best (or most exciting) thing that's happened to you so far in 2012?

TAXES DONE!! Is that sad? Okay, I got a beautiful pair of sapphire/diamond earrings from my hubby for Valentine's Day, card, and a 1 lb. bag of conversation heart! It is usually a sweet card and conversation hearts! Never forget the conversation hearts!

There!! Because I didn't have to ponder answers, I'm going to use these same questions...So, TAG! You're it:

Tonya at

Jana at

The Lesson Lady at

La Profesora Frida at 

Mrs. Dwyer at

Yes, I guess I cheated. I used the same questions, and I selected 5 blogs as opposed to 10! It's okay! Just pass along the fun! It's fun to get to know others, and I enjoy learning about others. However, it seems to take a really long time to choose 10+ blogs that haven't already done a particular post or received an award, so I was trying to make it a little faster and leave some for others! Okay, I was pushed for time..... :) lol!!

And here are your 10 questions:

1. What grade do you teach (or did you teach), and how long have you been teaching?

2. What is your favorite subject or topic to teach?

3. If you weren't teaching, what would you be doing?

4. What do you like to do when you're not at school?

5. What is your favorite way to incorporate technology into your classroom?

6. How long have you been blogging, and why did you start your blog?

7. What is your favorite book and why?

8. What do you always carry in your purse?

9. Share your easiest/quickest/yummiest recipe.

10. What is the best (or most exciting) thing that's happened to you so far in 2012?

Have Fun, Ladies! Can't wait to hear your answers to these questions!Regards,

Hand On, Not Hands Off!

Guest Post by: The Lesson Lady of One Less Headache  

Have you ever had a student in class that couldn’t keep his or her hands to themselves and wanted to touch everything all the time? What about the student who can’t sit still and fidgets during class? Hands on projects will help you meet the needs of these students and more.

I am a little biased being an art teacher, but hands on projects can be an important and great way to help both you and your students. Kinesthetic learners will love doing hands on projects in class and learn well. Hands on lessons are also great ways to have students reach higher levels of learning from the top levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. You can also teach problem solving skills and creative thinking through the use of hands on projects.

Here are some suggestions of ways to use hands-on projects in a variety of subjects.

Language Arts

·      Billboard or Ad Design – Have students create an ad or billboard for a book that they read. What would they show and why?

·      Mandala – Have students create a mandala with different levels about different aspects about the book, its time period, and culture.

·      Board Game – Have students design and play a board game based on terms or reading passages.

Math

·      Ratios – Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing “The Vetruvian Man” is created out of ideal ratios and is called the Golden Ratio. Students can find the Golden Ratio in his work or trace their body and find their own ratio.

·      Binary Numbers – The South Korean flag is related to binary numbers. Have students create their own design or flag using their birthday binary numbers.

·      Origami – Have students create origami and ask questions such as how many folds were symmetrical or perpendicular. Unfold the origami when finished and see the patterns on the paper. Estimate or measure each angle the paper folds, determine if the paper is symmetrical each fold, use fractions when speaking about how to fold the paper.

Science

·      Optical Illusions – Use optical illusions to see how they trick the eye.

·      Classification – Classify animals and varied life forms viewed in different paintings.

·      Prehistoric Era – View cave paintings and determine what this says about the people, animals, or social ideals of this time. Could also work for Social Studies.

Social Studies

·      Class or Small Group Mural – Particularly in Mexico many artists created mural about Mexico’s history. Students could view the mural and discuss how it relates to Mexico’s history and create a mural either as a class or in a small group on a large paper that describes the history of a selected time period.

·      Time Period Review – Show students a variety of works of art from time periods they have studied. Can they tell which art is from what time?

·      Values – View artwork from different time periods to tell what is valued during each time period. What does the art say about each time period?

Social Awareness & Team Building

• Symbolic Portrait – Use a light and have students trace their profile. Inside the profile have them draw things that represent themselves or collage items that represent themselves. To add another dimension to this, have students do things that represent how others view them outside the profile. Giuseppe Arcimboldo does some unusual portraits like this.

·     Story Quilt – Create a class paper quilt like those of Faith Ringgold. Have each student tell a story on their paper quilt square. Attach them together to form a big class quilt that tells a story. You can also have students write a story to go with the image.

The Lesson Lady

TpT Store 

Sharing is Caring, Right?

       Well, I'm feeling "Cared" about today because I was featured on "Share-a-Blog Sunday" This is a Sunday post by Michelle Lundy of Making it as a Middle School Teacher, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen for this week! Thanks, Michelle!  Please stop by her blog & check out the post, as well as the great things she has on her teaching blog!

       Now I get to post the "Share-a-Blog" Award Button! I have had such a great time in my blogging adventures, learning tons and getting to know some truly awesome people and teachers!! (Two of the many perks!) I feel special! 

       So, Yes- Sharing is Caring! (I was getting around to my post title..) And, in the blogging sense, Michelle's "Share-a-Blog" post is a little "token" to show she cares about her fellow teacher/bloggers! 

       I appreciate the many teacher/bloggers I've had opportunities to network with and get to know who are just like that--Caring! Funny, I feel as though several I know personally---yet they may be in another country or at least across the country from me! Anyone else feel that way?

Question...What has someone done for you in the world of teaching, blogging, etc. to show you he/she cares by helping you out when you needed it? Or, have you made the extra effort to help out a fellow teacher or blogger in need of a little feedback or tip?