Endangered Species Art Contest!

If your kiddos love to draw and you want to give them an interesting challenge, suggest the 2012 Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest.  

From the website:

Artwork should highlight one or more land- and/or ocean-dwelling endangered species—mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, plant, and/or invertebrate (e.g., insect, spider, snail, coral, crustacean or clam)—found in the United States. Entrants are encouraged to depict species found in their region, ideally in the species’ usual habitat. Entrants may wish to choose from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Spotlight Species. (See: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/ for a list of all endangered species.)

Winners will be chosen from 4 age categories.  Prizes include a trophy and a round-trip flight to a reception in Washington, D.C. and art supplies.  Visit the website for more details and requirements.

Entries must be postmarked by March 15!

image:  microsoft

Mystery Motivators for Classroom Management

Ever heard of "mystery motivators"?  They are advocated in The Tough Kid Toolbox as a way to assist in classroom management.  Basically, a mystery motivator requires a list of things your class would enjoy as a reward (simple, inexpensive things will do:  10 minutes extra recess, drawing time, computer time, listening to music while working, etc).  As they perform the tasks and behaviors you'd like to reinforce, a random reward is chosen from the list (making them a "mystery" for which one will be picked).  


The book gives several ideas for the "random-picking" aspect of the technique, and one is a "yes/no" box.  I think this would be particularly effective for younger students (PreK-2nd).  You can use a shoebox, bowl or anything else.  When the class (not just individual students) performs a behavior you want, write "yes" on a slip or paper or notecard.  When they do something you don't want, write "no".  Put the slips in the box and keep them there until it's time for the drawing.  I would also consider using smiley faces and sad faces in lieu of "yes/no" for the very young ones, since they will probably find them familiar.


At intervals, pick a a slip from the box without looking.  If you pick "yes," they get a mystery reward.  If "no" then they don't.  They should come to realize that the more they are given "yes" slips, the more chances they have for a reward.  Conversely, each "no" slip helps ruin their chances.


I like classroom/team motivators because they help students work together towards a goal.  What I like about the book is that it recommends being SPECIFIC with students about what types of behaviors we want to see.  A "good job" is ambiguous.  We want students to know exactly what they're doing right so they can connect that behavior to the reward; likewise, they need to know exactly what they're doing wrong.  The book suggests using the rules and expectations you actually have posted in your classroom as a guide.  That way, there won't be any confusion about what they're supposed to be doing.  For instance, if the class gets a "no" slip for talking while you are, make sure that rule is specifically posted somewhere for students to see, and that you've gone over it with them.  Pinpointing a few, specific behaviors for the "yes/no" box will help fine-tune the classroom's focus.  If getting out of their seats is your class' biggest issue, make that the one thing that earns "yes/no" slips.  If they have a real problem turning in homework, focus on that.


I would suggest being liberal with the "yes" slips when first implementing the technique, and doing drawings on a daily basis.  That way, kids will have a chance to see how it works and experience the reward once or twice.  Then, I'd adjust the amount of slips and decrease the drawings to once a week.

image: microsoft

Great Deals on Classroom Reading Materials

Don't break the bank trying to find reading material for your classroom library.  Many public libraries sell old material, especially magazines, for dirt cheap prices.  If they carry children's magazines, you can probably stock up on several issues for just a few dollars.  One of my local libraries sold me several Highlights magazines for about $.25 each.  Many libraries also place gently used books up for sale for a low cost.  These would both be great, inexpensive resources for teachers to use in their classroom.

image: microsoft

Picture Book Writing Activity: Top-Secret Files for Students

It was a delightful coincidence to read a unique picture book a few weeks ago, and later stumble upon a great writing activity to tie-in with the book.  Mrs. Rojas posted this activity for students to stretch their imagination, which won't be hard at all once inspired by this engaging book:  The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups by David Wisniewski.


The book presents "top-secret" information about the hidden, previously undisclosed reasoning behind the rules adults enforce on kids.  The book provides some truly fun, outlandish explanations for many of our rules (apparently, we tell kids to eat their vegetables not because they're healthy, but because vegetables will go on a rampage if we don't keep the upper-hand).  The book is silly, and it kept students laughing. 


Mrs. Rojas' activity includes a printable writing activity (I also found a similar one at writingfix) that asks students to imagine their own explanation for their parents' rules.  You could adapt it to explanations for school rules.  I imagine kids could come up with a ton of great reasons why we ask them to walk in quiet lines down hallways, or raise their hand to get permission to speak, or why they have homework.  You could even have them illustrate pictures to go with their writing assignment.


Writingfix posted some nice examples of students' ideas.  What ideas can your class create?

Ender's Game Activities

The internet is buzzing with news of an upcoming adaptation of the beloved sci-fi/young adult classic, Ender's Game.  Since the 1980's, readers have relished the story of how a gifted, young strategist faced many challenges while trying to save the world from the threat of an alien invasion, and save himself from many dangers at the brutal, military space academy that's training him to become a leader.  While the movie is in the beginning stages of the filmmaking process, your students can read and enjoy the novel now.  Here are a few activities you can give your students for an independent study, or a classroom unit on Ender's Game:

• Here is a pretty thorough lesson plan revolving around the novel.  It includes objectives, comprehension questions by chapter, assessment projects, and a complete schedule and grading rubric for all activities. 
• This is a guide put together by starscapebooks.  It contains rich, thoughtful discussion questions, and good writing and research activities for themes presented in the book.
• Tiffany Stoddard created an anticipation guide for the book.  I enjoy this activity, and it's pretty simple if you want to make your own.  Basically, you take themes from the novel, create broad "agree/disagree" statements related to those themes (the more controversial or extreme, the better), and have students line up or arrange themselves around the room based on how they feel about the statement.  It's always good to have students revisit their initial thoughts about the statements after they've read the book.  After reading, how might their thoughts change about the statement that "destroying a species is never right"?
• Here is a list of activities organized by Bloom's taxonomy.
• Create biographical poems (biopoems) for the characters.
• Have students create a book trailer on video, a Glogster poster for themes in the book, or a MyFakeWall page for the characters.

Analyze Characters with MyFakeWall.com

http://www.myfakewall.com/

If you want a creative assessment tool and way to integrate technology, visit MyFakeWall.com.  If your students are avid Facebook users, they may enjoy creating imaginary Facebook pages for historical figures, book characters, and anyone else you want them to study.


If he had Facebook, who would Ben Franklin have listed as his friends?  What would Elizabeth I's timeline look like?  


These are the types of questions that can really spark your students' creativity.  Show them some examples and let them create profiles, updates, and friends lists of whomever they are studying.


For a printable alternative, try some of the TeachersPayTeachers accounts that offer free Facebook page activities.

Students Will Love "Peculiar Children"

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope the school year has been a good one for you.  I'm back with a book review for a great story I enjoyed over the break.  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a delightful read, particularly for students who enjoy the fantastic and the creepy.  Miss Peregrine finds an intriguing balance between the two, and uses visual art to create a truly original experience for readers.

The story is tense, suspenseful, and emotional.  The author masterfully manipulates concepts of past and present, reality and illusion, splendor and horror, intricately weaving them all until they are indistinguishable in a lovely tapestry that makes the book hard to put down.  I highly recommend it, and I think it would be an ideal read-aloud for middle-grade classrooms.

If you're interested, rather than describe the plot for you, allow me to lead you to the author's excellent book trailer that convinced me to pick up the book.  The photos shown within it actually appear in the book!  Show the trailer to students and see if it gets them interested in reading this novel.  You could also pique their interest to read it by informing them that Tim Burton is in talks to direct the upcoming adaptation.  Check it out the trailer (not related to the film, which is still in the beginning stages):