GPS

So.....today we tracked a hidden "something" via GPS. Even the rain couldn't/wouldn't dampen (pardon the pun) our spirits! We found what we were looking for thanks to Dr. Meiers and her reliable GPS device. I spend the entire time trying to find an app I could download onto my phone so I could do some navigating. But, noooooo.....wouldn't do it. I did have a little deja vu. It was a day much like today -- rainy and muddy on a downhill slope -- that caused me to destroy my ankle. That made me quite nervous.

Still, it was loads of fun. And, I'm no longer a MUGGLE!!!! Woooo hoooo. I can't wait til I start searching for more hidden "treasures". My daughter has a phone that should be capable of GPS latitude and longitude coordinates. Think I may bring her into the fold.

Thanks to Dr. Meier for all the WONDERFUL ideas of how to make Social Studies (and all it's parts) fun!!!!

Blockborough Box City Lessons

This week's class was held online. Felt kinda funny not having Dr. Meier in the classroom to get us up and moving and doing something fun, but it was also a nice change to finish classes a little earlier than usual to get home to prepare dinner and eat before 7 p.m.!

The question posted by Dr. Meier was a good one. What to do with a Box City in our own classrooms. I think the possibilities are nearly limitless. We would only be limited by our own imaginations. (And of course the level of our students.)

But, there were some GREAT ideas posted by my fellow classmates. I really look forward to using this idea in my own classroom! It will be soooo much fun to use this model for teaching about community, history, mapping, and all manner of things. Math can be incorporated. Language Arts can be incorporated. Science can be incorporated. Gosh....like I said, limitless!!!!

The Big City

Building our make-believe city was so much fun. What a wonderful way to get the kids excited about maps!

The names of our streets are so creative. And the buildings are really neat. It's gonna be so much fun adding to and changing our little "Blockborough".

What a bunch of great people I'm in class with!

Lights! Camera! Action!

Today's class was quite interesting. It was really a lot of fun. I love doing a bit of "acting" (reading from a pretyped script). It was great fun doing it with such an awesome group of people too.

What a way to remember boring history! I mean, if my high school teachers (or any other grades) had made learning that interactive and that much fun...why I'd have all manner of random information floating around in my head!

I now know Samuel Adams was more than just a beer maker! lol

Speaking of history; did you know that on today's date in:

1957: "Leave It To Beaver" debuted on CBS. (Does anybody besides me remember this show?)
1970: Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose.

Critical Voice

The article, "Speaking in a Critical Voice" was a very thought-provoking one. I did try to make sense of some of the scenarios, but I really couldn't. I mean...why would you be so cocky as to tell a group of people that the teachers in your state "would do exactly what they were told to because they didn't have a union and therefore wouldn't do anything they weren't supposed to do for fear of losing their jobs." This is the first statement that angered me.

Then, there's the teacher, John, serving as a mentor to pre-service teacher, Jenni. Jenni is energetic and engages her students in hands-on learning -- something John doesn't agree with or like. Even after the students have proven proficiency in the subject matter, John dismisses Jenni from the classroom so that he can "teach" the students the subject matter so they will pass the test! How insulting!!! This is the second scenario which angers me.

I'm not so naive to believe that my teaching style will be totally accepted or appreciated by my fellow colleagues. But, I really want to engage my students in learning in a FUN way. I want them to learn all they can and I believe by making learning hands-on, challenging, and fun I can do just that. I don't want to be told that I have to do some cut-and-dry lesson plans or else!

Soooo.....let my critical voice be strong!