Halloween Hangman (for Thanksgiving, too!)

Here's a fun way for students to practice October or November spelling words - play Halloween Hangman. This is a fun game for any holiday, Thanksgiving included!

Students will need their current spelling list,a piece of lined writing paper, and one set of "scarecrow parts" for each pair of students. Play as in regular hangman.

One student chooses a spelling word and draws a number of blanks to represent the number of letters in the word he has chosen on the writing paper. The other student guesses letters in an attempt to guess the spelling word. If the guess is correct, the first student writes the letter in the correct place.

For each incorrect guess,the first student builds the scarecrow on the desk in front of him, adding one scarecrow part until the whole scarecrow has been built.  If the student guesses the word before the scarecrow is complete, he gets to give the next word. If the scarecrow is completed first, he must try to guess another word.

Have students reuse their "scarecrow parts" throughout the game.

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. The copyright of the article Halloween Hangman in Teacher Tips and Lesson Plans is owned by Irene Taylor. Permission to republish in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Presidential Election 2012: The Road to the White House

 The upcoming presidential election in the United States is a great time to have your students brush up on some Election Day facts. The events leading up to the November elections provide many great opportunities for students to learn about the office of the president, the responsibilities of that position, and what it takes to become the president.

Give some of these activities a try to make the Election of 2012 a great learning experience for your students.

The Road to the White House

Brainstorm with your students the steps they think a person would need to take to be elected to the office of the President. Help them to include these steps: declaring as a candidate, winning the nomination, outlining a platform, campaigning, winning the electoral votes, being inaugurated. Next, give each student several 3" x 18" pieces of black construction paper which will be used as the "road." Along this "road" have students use index cards to illustrate each of the steps they have listed as candidates follow the road to the White House.

Can You Be President?

Ask students to make a list of the requirements for becoming the president. Then have them share those ideas and create one class list. Next, share the actual requirements with the class and discuss the similarities and differences between their lists and the actual requirements. You may wish to have students write about why they chose some of the other things that they included on their lists.

Mock Election

Prior to the actual election, hold a mock election in your class or school. Have students nominate classmates for class president, vice president, and any other offices you choose. Have them follow the steps the actual candidates go through, making speeches, getting the nomination, and the actual vote.

Straw Poll

You may also wish to conduct a straw poll of the actual candidates in your school. On Election Day, have students take informal votes in other classes. Tally the votes at the end of the school day, and then compare your results with those of the real election.

Don't Forget to Vote Posters

Help students encourage their parents to vote by having them make "Don't Forget to Vote Posters." On a 12"x18" piece of construction paper, have students create posters detailing the importance of voting. Encourage them to display the posters at home and remind their parents to vote on Election Day.

Electoral College

The concept of the Electoral College is difficult for many voters. Help your students to understand this idea by discussing how actual votes translate into electoral votes, and how that determines who wins the election. Discuss the importance of states that have the largest number of electoral votes, and the strategy the candidates may use while campaigning.

Winning Web Sites 

Use these sites for information and other resources to enchance your study of the election:

The Election: Classroom Activities
Brain Pop: The Presidential Election
Project Vote Smart
Who Elects the President?
The Electoral College
POTUS: President of the United States
The American President
Kids Voting USA
Election Comic Strips

Original copyright 2000 Irene Taylor. The copyright of the article The Road to the White House in Teacher Tips and Lesson Plans is owned by Irene Taylor. This article is reprinted here with the author's permission. Permission to republish The Road to the White House in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Little Book Adventure: Create a Book Tableau

The My Little Bookcase challenge for the month of September is a really great one for both families and teachers! This month, the challenge is to Create a Picture Book Tableau - complete with costumes, artwork and photography.

My Little Bookcase defines a tableau as "the motionless staging of a group of costumed people and props to represent a picture or  an idea." In this challenge, readers are invited to choose a favorite picture book, create a scene using real people to duplicate and/or illustrate the book cover, take a photo of the tableau and upload it to the My Little Bookcase Facebook page.

Three prizes - copies of A Family of Readers - will be awarded to Australian entrants - but even if you aren't eligible for a prize, this is a great activity to use at home or in school.

This activity has many possibilities for in-school use. Teachers may want to break the class into small groups and have each group select a book, brainstorm ideas, and create a tableau; or it could be a whole-class project as well. Tableaus could be presented to other classes or at a small grade level assembly to spark interest in the chosen great books. Older students could participate as well by creating tableaus illustrating chapters of a longer book - or cover tableaus could be created as well. School or public librarians might want to use this as a library activity to promote a book of the month or a genre of favorite books school or library-wide.

There are many suggestions for how to complete this challenge at the Create a Picture Book Tableau website. Whether you enter to win a prize, or just use this as an activity in your home school, preschool or classroom - it will give your children a new and different way to think about favorite books.

Just remember, all entries must be received by 9pm (AEDT) on September 30, 2012 to be eligible.

Original copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. Permission to republish Little Book Adventure: Create a Book Tableau in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Publishing Student Writing

Writing teachers are always looking for fun and interesting ways to publish their students' writing - an important step in the writing process. Over my years of teaching, we published in many formats - from individual masterpieces, to student anthologies. The advent of the computer lab simplified the process somewhat - as did the ring binder to put those great stories into book form.

Kristin Fontichiaro has taken the idea of publishing student work to a new level - creation of free ebook anthologies using a Smashwords, a popular - and free -  ebook publisher. Her free ebook, Publishing Student Writing to the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch Using Smashwords and Bluefire Reader explains the process of publishing class work on Smashwords.  Fontichiaro takes the Smashwords style and publishing guidelines and applies those to classroom use. She includes chapters on formatting, cover creation and downloading the finished product.

Image how terrific it would be to have a class anthology available to all students and their families in digital form. Smashwords ebooks can be downloaded in a variety of formats, so students can read their masterpieces on laptops, desktops, and many types of ereaders - including, but not limited to the various iDevices.

Publishing Student Writing to the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch Using Smashwords and Bluefire Reader is a 21st century solution for teachers who want to publish their students' work. It is a quick read and a great resource for teachers, students, and anyone hoping to enter the digital ebook world!

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. Permission to republish in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.

Back to School: First Day, First Week, First Month Ideas and Activities

•  Make "Getting to Know Me" posters with your new students. 
•  Play "Bingo Get to Know Ya!"
•  Share your favorite stories and let your students do the same. 
•  Learn about each other by holding class interviews and then "publishing" a class book. 

There are many fun ways to break the ice and start to build a feeling of community within your class. Many of the ideas found at the sites listed below are great for the first day, but many can also be used to fill a rainy Friday, to ease the tension after a big test, to end a semester, or to just have a little fun. Check them out!

Ice Breakers Volume 1
Ice Breakers Volume 2 
Getting Acquainted 
Fun Activities to Get the Year off to a Great Start
First Day of School Icebreaker Activities
Scavenger Hunt: A Fun Way to Introduce Staff

Copyright 2012 Irene Taylor. The copyright of the article Back to School: First Day, First Week, First Month Ideas and Activities in Teacher Tips and Lesson Plans is owned by Irene Taylor. Permission to republish Back to School: First Day, First Week, First Month Ideas and Activities in print or online must be granted by the author of this blog in writing.