Thursday, May 28, 2015

Map the Hobbit


Call me nerdy, but I had a lot of fun figuring out the geographic details of the Hobbit in Lord of the Rings.  I think I might have my own kids do this at home before we watch the movie. 


Map the Hobbit: a follow-along interactive PPT to help students map Middle Earth



This download includes both the 33-slide, 25-step PowerPoint AND the blank Middle Earth map in PDF and MS WORD formats.

The PowerPoint adds one map item at a time as students put it on their map. Each item has a description and an image to help understand the context.  

For example, when students place "RIVENDELL" on their maps, there is a picture of Rivendell from the Lord of the Rings films and text that reads, "Step 11: Rivendell was an elvish stronghold and was the home of Lord Elrond. Many hobbits, dwarves, men, wizards and elves visited this location in Tolkien’s books."

By the end of the activity, student maps will include:

The Shire, Hobbiton, Bree, Weathertop, Rivendell, Moria, Misty Mountains, Lorien, Dol Goldur, Mirkwood, Fangorn Forrest, Wood Elves, Dale, Erebor (Lonely Mountain), Iron Hills, Rhun, Rohan, Helm's Deep, Gondor, Dead Marshes, Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul, Mordor, and several other mountain ranges.  

Enjoy!

Art History Resources

I've always loved art, and as a history teacher it made sense to create some resources to teach Art History.  I hope to get some time to create more resources on other art movements soon! 


 
ART HISTORY "Cubism"


This download includes both the 25-slide PowerPoint AND the follow-along graphic organizer (in PDF and MS WORD format).

This activity can be used as an introductory lesson, a central lesson, or a review lesson on the art movement. Many slides are designed to help students understand the history behind the movement. For example, the slides include:

* flowcharts showing how art movements cause later art movements
* timelines showing other art movements in historical context
* "three truths and a lie" mini-quiz about the movement
* definitions, characteristics, and key figures of the movement
* "Overview" with text and background on the movement
* "artist spotlight" focusing on one artist from the movement
* Instructions for students to select an additional painting/artist from the movement to research further

Students use the graphic organizer (included) to follow along. Enjoy!

Monday, May 18, 2015

Happy Birthday to Me!  Worked all day and came home to party people with a whole lot of gow-in-the-dark balloons!  #teacherlife #iamloved
Tyrone Wells Concert

This past weekend at the House of Blues.  Such a great show!

#12 days of birthday #HOB #tyronewells


Thursday, May 14, 2015

Cold War Coming to an End

Studying the revolutions of '89.  Ceausescu went out with a bang.

Cold War (80s-90s) ALL 5 engaging, highly visual PPTs (85 slides total)


This download includes all 5 of the PowerPoints described below as well as the graphic organizer in PDF and MS WORD format. The graphic organizer handout has been formatted to fit perfectly on one paper (2 pages, front and back). Enjoy!

1 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan; Olympic Boycotts (20 slides)
step-by-step events, with commentary from Uncle Sam and the Russian Bear, statistics on the medal counts from 1980 and 1984, links to videos, and much more...

2 Glasnost and Perestroika (10 slides)
Political Cartoons, explanations, connections to the larger Cold War and much more...

3 Revolutions of 1989, Berlin Wall Falls (25 slides)
Details and images from all 6 Eastern Bloc Nations (East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland), the fall of the Berlin Wall, links to videos, and much more...

4 Tiananmen Square Massacre (20 slides) 
Causes, details, links to videos, tank man, protester strategies, results, and much more...

5 End of Cold War; Dissolution of the Soviet Union
List of the 15 nations formerly part of the U.S.S.R., Soviet Transition to the Russian Federation, list of the 5 remaining communist countries, and much more...

Wednesday, May 13, 2015



Memorial Day Comic Strip Activity: summarize wars the US has been involved in


This download includes a 21-slide PowerPoint that guides students in turning a blank piece of paper into a comic strip that highlights all of the wars that the United States has been involved with. Each box will have a title, an image, and a description. Each topic is summarized, and then ideas for what to draw are provided. Each topic is also linked to a relevant summarizing video on YouTube. Enjoy!

Download here: 

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Are you counting down the days to summer break?  How many days do you have left?  16 days left for us!

What grade level do you teach and what end of year activities are you using? 

Anyone have any fun vacation plans?  


Sundiata & the Mali Empire compared to Disney's The Lion King

Spend a class period having your 7th graders compare and contrast Disney's The Lion King to the story of Sundiata and the West-African Empire of Mali. Help students access the curriculum by tapping into what they already know about a Disney film. Students read summaries of each story, highlight main points, compare characters and story elements, then write a paragraph demonstrating their understanding of the story of Sundiata.

Free!  Download Now! 

Monday, May 11, 2015

AVID Facts of the Week (REVISED AND EXPANDED FOR 2015-2016)


This donwload includes a PowerPoint with 36 digestible fast-facts that encourage students to stay in school and go on to higher education. All slides are designed with text and visuals to promote discussion and provoke thought.

The AVID facts-of-the-week discuss topics like: school, universities, scholarships, jobs, the achievement gap, and opportunities in America.  

Our school reads one fact for the school bulletin each morning, selecting a new 'AVID fact-of-the-week' for each week of school. This resource can be read each morning during the student bulletin or school news...can be discussed weekly in homeroom class...or can be posted weekly in an AVID classroom...or any other classroom for that matter :). Enjoy!

download now!


Idiom-of-the-day - version 4 (61-80)


The idiom of the day PPTs allow students to follow along each day of the school year with the Idiom of the Day Graphic Organizer (available as a free download). Each PPT download contains 20 idioms in alphabetical order.

Each of the 20 slides contains:
*Relevant visual
*Idiom
*Example of the idiom used in a sentence in proper context
*Meaning of the idiom
*Origin and approximate date of the idiom

Suggestions for implementation:
Idiom, Example, Meaning, Origin are all revealed one click at a time
Reveal the idiom and give students think-time before calling on hands to see who knows the meaning
Depending on grade level, revealing the example used in a sentence might give the idiom enough context for students to determine the meaning
Daily, have students write the idiom, their own example, and the meaning on the Idiom-of-the-day Graphic Organizer

download here: 


BBC Would-You-Rather FUN GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITY! #7



My students absolutely love this activity and cannot wait to do the next one (but I spread them out during the school year).

The worksheet has 3 scenarios of life around the globe. Students circle one, then you show the class the BBC video clips associated with each scenario. Students then fill out information about the location of the clip and two sentence frames. They usually need some assistance identifying the continent, country and climate zone, so consider this when teaching your lesson.

The BBC clips are not included, but each worksheet has copies of where to find the links on YouTube (there are 5 versions of the worksheet, making 15 total scenarios). 1 worksheet with 3 scenarios and associated video clips can easily take 30 minutes. Video clips are anywhere from 2-7 minutes in length.

This worksheet is designed for middle school, but can be easily modified to fit any grade level.

download now! 

Top Ten Rivers: engaging PPT with info, links, graphic organizer & map handouts

This download includes all of the following:
- 25-slide PowerPoint with images, maps, video links and more
- Follow-along World Map handout in MS WORD format
- Follow-along World Map handout in PDF format
- Follow-along graphic organizer handout in MS WORD format
- Follow-along graphic organizer handout in PDF format

Handouts have been formatted to fit perfectly on one page (front and back) for easy printing and copying. The PPT slides guide students in identifying the world's 10 biggest rivers, presenting information about each one, and locating it on a world map. Some have links to YouTube videos for even more fun information. Enjoy!

Download at:



Sunday, May 10, 2015

Resources and Activities

FREE DOWNLOAD: George Washington Historical Stick Figure


This assignment can be used in a variety of ways, including:
* taking students to a computer lab to individually research
* Filling out as a class using the answer-key stick figure
* Jig-saw, where different groups have different answers and must work together to complete
* Model for class or scaffold by giving certain answers, but not all
* Homework assignment
* Mini-biography reports
* Brainstorming or graphic organizer for a larger biography assignment

The Stick Figure has 10 body parts (Brain, Mouth, Right Hand, Achilles' Heel, Background, Eyes, Shoulder, Left Hand, Heart, Road)

download now!

About Me

Wow, thanks for taking the time to look at my blog!  I had a sit down with a student for an interview recently, you can find a bit of the dialogue below.

Student: So, tell me a little bit about yourself...

I've had the honor of teaching history for about 10 years now.  When I'm not in my classroom you can find me sitting at a local coffee shop, hanging with my family or playing basketball. I have been blessed with a gorgeous wife and three beautiful children.

Student: When did you know you wanted to become a teacher?

Each grade I was in since first grade, I thought I wanted to teach that grade.  After college I realized I loved History so I narrowed it down to teaching that subject in the middle and high school grades.

Student:  What are five "must-see" history movies that you would recommend to me?

There are too many, but I'd say watch:  Saving Private Ryan, Forest Gump, Last of the Mohicans, Dr. Strangelove, Gladiator, Schindler's List, Band of Brothers, and if you have time, watch a few episodes of Downton Abbey.. hahah.

Student: Your class was one of my favorite classes, why do you think that is?

Well, history is really just a bunch of stories, so it should be fun.  I try to make sure each assignment is both challenging and relevant. If I'm able to connect topics to things that students already know about, it's easy to keep them engaged.

2nd grade social studies biographies

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2nd-Grade-Social-Studies-Biographies-of-Important-People-PPT-handouts-more-1748945

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION


This download includes PART 4 of the 2nd grade resource bundle described below.

PART 1 - Basics of Economics
PART 2 - Basics of Government
PART 3 - Family History
PART 4 - Biographies of Important People
PART 5 - North America Map

With this download of PART 4, Biographies of Important People, comes:

***70 slide PPT featuring all 64 figures
***Trading card printouts (in PDF and MS WORD format)
***64 full page printouts (in PDF and MS WORD format)

This resource, designed for 2nd grade, but appropriate for all grades, features 32 male figures and 32 female figures, one male/female duo for each week of school. Each figure is found on the PowerPoint with an image and a short 3-4 sentence biography. Also included are class sets of "trading cards", printed with images on the front and biographical information on the back. Full page printouts are included for each of the 64 figures as well (in both PDF and MS WORD format). Check out the sample to get an idea. Enjoy!

The diverse group of 64 figures (32 men, 32 women) includes:

Abigail Adams
Abraham Lincoln
Albert Einstein
Alice Paul
Amelia Earhart
Barbara Walters
Carl Lewis
Cesar Chavez
Charlotte Hawkins Brown
Eleanor Roosevelt
Elvis Presley
Frederick Douglass
Gertrude Ederle
Harriet Tubman
Helen Keller
Henry Ford
J.K. Rowling
J.R.R. Tolkien
Jackie Robinson
Jeanette Rankin
Johannes Gutenberg
Juliet Gordon Low
Larisa Latynina
Lisa Leslie
Louis Pasteur
Lucretia Mott
Lucy Stone
Mae Carol Jemison
Mahatma Gandhi
Malala Yousafzai
Margaret Thatcher
Marie Curie
Mark Twain
Martha Washington
Martin Luther King Jr.
Mia Hamm
Michael Jackson
Michael Jordan
Michael Phelps
Mother Theresa
Nancy Ward (Nanyehi)
Neil Armstrong
Nellie Bly
Oprah Winfrey
Orsen Wells
Pablo Picasso
Pat Summitt
Robert Oppenheimer
Scott Joplin
Sojourner Truth
Stan Lee
Steve Jobs
Sun Yat-sen
Susan B. Anthony
The Wright Brothers
Theodor Geisel
Theodore Roosevelt
Thomas Edison
Valentina Tereshkova
Victoria Woodhull
William Shakespeare
Wilma Rudolph
Winston Churchill
Woody Guthrie