A- HAUNTING- WE - WILL - GO !!!!!!

HALLOWEEN COMING SOON !!!!!  31st OCTOBER 2010

DO SOME SPOOKY ACTIVITIES.....

• Prepare your students by talking about Halloween and making some Halloween crafts to decorate the classroom and create the appropriate atmosphere to motivate the students by making them enthusiastic about it.
• Teach them words such as "ghost", "witch", "Jack-o'-lantern",etc. in context by handing out worksheets such as Word Search, Crosswords,etc. A useful source is the following site : http://www.theteacherscorner.net/printable-worksheets/  
• Here are some craft ideas 

•   Use old magazines to cut out different body parts and create a FRANKENSTEIN !!
• Alternatively, the older students can work on a SKELETON ! They can use post-its to name the bones.
• Riddles can be given to older students to solve, such as :  
  

   

   

   

  Ghost Riddles

  Ghost Riddles...solve these and then create some of your own to stump your classmates!
  1. What kind of music do ghosts like?
  2. Why did the ghost take his family on an elevator ride every day?
  3. What do ghosts do when they want to start up a computer?
  4. How did the ghost do at the comedy club?
  5. What do you call a website for ghosts?
  6. What is Casper's favorite sticky treat?
  7. Where do baby ghosts come from?
  8. Why did the ghost go to the doctor?
  9. What would you get if you crossed a cocker spaniel, a French poodle, and a ghost?
  10. Who protects the shores where spirits live?
  11. What did the papa ghost say to his ghostly children?
  12. What is a ghost's favorite direction?
  13. Why couldn't the ghost ride the bus?
  14. Why did the ghost rush home from school?
  15. Why did the police officer arrest the ghost?
  16. What do young ghosts call their moms and dads?
  17. Where do little ghosts learn to yell "BOO!"?
  18. Why are ghosts like newspaper?
                                                                            Ghost Riddles Answers:
  1. Rhythm and boos.
  2. To raise their spirits.
  3. They boo-t it up!
  4. He was a dead-knockout.
  5. Bahoo or Yaboo!
  6. Boo-ble gum.
  7. Boo Genes.
  8. To get a booster shot.
  9. A cocker-poodle-boo!
  10. The Ghost Guard.
  11. Fasten your sheet belt.
  12. Horror-zontal.
  13. Because he didn't have exact chains.
  14. To watch an afterghoul special on TV.
  15. Because he didn't have a haunting license.
  16. Transparent.
  17. In noisery school.
  18. Because they appear in sheets.
• Create a story using Halloween characters such as a ghost and a spider....The students can draw the characters and act it out .

FRIENDSHIP WEB: This is a game.  Cut out a big round piece of butcher paper (black or orange for Halloween). Have the students sit around the paper on the floor. With a roll of white yarn in hand and after the student has expressed who they want to roll his/her ball of yarn to, ("I'm rolling this to my friend, John", "Where's my friend, John?","Here I am, here I am"), he/she will roll the yarn to the individual. Either another student or a helper will tape the yarn to the paper so that it is secure for the other player. After the game, you will have a friendship web to put up on a bulletin board and the class can decorate with spider crafts. The students love to see the web get bigger and more detailed!

Spooky Bags
Put various items in bags for the students to feel. Don't let them look in the bag. To make it more Halloweeny, bags could be labeled as "spooky" things; intestines for macaroni, cobwebs for cotton, toenails for artificial nails, maggots for rice, etc. Then have them list as many words as they can to describe the testure of the item. Great for increasing their vocabulary or getting them to a more varied vocabulary in their writing.

AND OF COURSE STORIES AND SONGS ..........
FOR THE YOUNGER


AND THE OLDER


HAVE FUN !!!!!!!!!!!

TEACHING THE ALPHABET IN CONTEXT

Research has shown that the children learn the alphabet letters and sounds more successfully if they are associated with a picture or visual image.  Each letter has a craft follow-up activity related to it for the purpose of incorporating this for visual learners.

 

              

    And a great idea to get feedback to see whether your students can really sort out the letters taught is the   

    following :

All you need is a muffin tin and some magnetic letters!

Have fun with your students and make their first lessons as memorable as possible. The "clue" is that they must learn to "discover"  language for themselves and furthermore to LOVE it! 

                                                                                                                                                                  

BACK TO SCHOOL BULLETIN BOARD IDEAS

1. Back to School Balloons!

• Each student receives a paper plate that he/she can decorate as they wish. You can provide paint, crayons, stickers, glitter, pencil crayons, markers, tissue paper and glue, or whatever you have at your disposal.
• While the children are creating their "balloons", you can add lengths of yarn to the bulletin board (using thumb tacks). These lengths of yarn will become the balloon strings.
• When all is complete, you can attach the paper plate balloons to the bulletin board and voila ... a big bunch of back to school balloons! 
  

  2. Welcome Students!

  
  
  • Each student receives a paper plate that he/she will draw, paint or glue a self portrait on. You can provide paint, crayons, stickers, glitter, pencil crayons, markers, tissue paper and glue, or whatever you have at your disposal. Hair can be added by using construction paper or bits of yarn.
  • When every paper plate face is complete, they can all be added to your bulletin board for a wonderful display.
  
  

  3. Make a Handprint Tree!                      

  
  
  • Each student traces their hands onto construction paper.
  • The construction paper hands are cut out using safety scissors and the children write their names on their handprints. (You might have them decorate further with markers or crayons).
  • On the bulletin board, attach a tree trunk which has been cut out of construction paper or brown craft paper (or you can paint a tree trunk onto the bulletin board).
  • The handprints can be attached to the tree trunk as leaves. Some can even be added to the "ground" to show leaves falling in autumn!  
    

    4. Wild, Wacky Cylinders!

    
    
    • Each student receives a paper tube from toilet tissue or paper towel roll.
    • Students can decorate their tube as they wish. You can provide paint, crayons, stickers, glitter, pencil crayons, markers, tissue paper and glue, or whatever you have at your disposal.
    • Once the tubes are decorated, attach them as a fantastic border around your bulletin board.
    • Inside the cylinder border, you can create wild and wacky shapes with even more decorated tubes!
    
    

    5. Sunflower Magic!

    
    
    
    
    
    • On your bulletin board, attach a large circle cut from yellow construction paper. You might instead wish to cover your board with craft paper and paint a yellow circle on the paper.
    • Next, attach yellow construction or crepe paper pieces all around the circle to create the sunflower petals.
    • Each of your student can help to create the sunflower by gluing real sunflower seeds to the center of the yellow sunflower! 

USE BULLETIN BOARDS !!

Bulletin Board Ideas... By Tricia

As far as holiday bulletin boards go...I don't do them. I have a bulletin board that is seasonal, that way I don't have to change it all the time. The fall theme will be pumpkins and leaves with student pictures on them

and the title will be something like "Falling into 5th Grade". My winter bulletin board is rolling hills of snow with snowmen, snowflakes and student photos, and the title is "All flakes welcome!" I have found that students enjoy seeing their work/projects hanging up. This seems to create a sense of community and pride in the classroom. Most of my bulletin boards have student work

displayed on them. Add a catchy title that goes with the assignment or project and you're all set!
I have one board that focuses on a character value, such as respect, responsibility, cooperation, etc. and this changes as the theme changes. I hope this helps...Good luck!

BULLETIN BOARD IDEAS

INTRODUCING THE LANGUAGE

What a better way to introduce the language and its origin to the students than crafts? You can make the British flag using the following pattern with beads or paper.

You can find more crafts at :     http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/england/index.htm      

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL CRAFTS

   

You can also have the students trace their feet and hands on A3 size paper and then add a body and a head. A great idea for welcome posters and introducing themselves at

 http://oodlesofart.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/falling-back-in-space-portraits-3rd.html

CHOOSING THE PROPER COURSEBOOK

ASK YOURSELVES ...........

• Is the layout and design user-friendly for both teacher & student?
• Is the material well organized topically and grammatically?
• Are the topics engaging and interesting?
• Does the book sufficiently cover all four skills? Is the coverage balanced?
• Does the material get progressively more difficult and is this progression clear and functional for use in your class?
• Are the topics cognitively challenging for the age level you will be teaching?
• Does the book re-enter taught material such as vocabulary, grammar, and skills throughout the book to facilitate real internalization?
• Is there a practice book? Can it be used for homework, in class only, or both? Do the exercises in the practice book build upon what is covered in the course book or do they just act as fillers to the program?
• What components are included in the program i.e. are there CDs with games, tests and/or interactive reading passages and questions. Do these cost extra?
• Will you be using supplementary books along with the course book and how many weekly hours do you have to teach this class?
• Can the book easily act as a reference for students and not function wholly as a teacher-centered course?
• Does the book provide opportunities for learner- strategy-instruction which is much needed in Bagrut preparation courses?

Teacher's Guide Analysis

• A TEACHER'S GUIDE should outline the rationale and methodology of the program. This can help you decide if it is in sync with your own style of methodology or not.
• A TEACHER'S GUIDE should clearly use step by step induction and modeling of the process taught in the course book to facilitate implementation of the activities.
• TEACHER'S GUIDES ideally should have additional ideas for extra and/or alternative activities and additional materials for the teacher to complement the program.

And finally…

Checklist:

• Do I agree with the rationale?
• Do I like what I see (layout, design)?
• Do I understand the goals, the process?
• Can I easily implement the activities and tasks in the classroom?
• Is there enough scaffolding in the process to achieve the designated goals? For example: contextualized grammar exercises of different levels of difficulty, scaffolded writing tasks, varied text types, scaffolded reading practice (phonics), layout, format, level of interest, reliability.
• Will my pupils get a sense of enjoyment/achievement/challenge with this course book?
• Can I easily monitor my pupils' achievements and thus chart the success/failure of the program?
• Can I see myself getting up in the morning to work with this course book day in and day out?

• Choose a number of course books for the same target audience.

• Critique these books according to your list of criteria. Score them on a scale from 1-10.

• Modify your list of criteria as needed.

ICEBREAKERS

   Data Processing

Divide the students into groups of 10 to 20, depending on the difficulty level you want. The more students in a group, the higher the level of difficulty. Give directions for the "data", groups are to  "process" themselves. The more creative the "data" the more fun the "processing." Give prizes to the group who is the first to correctly process their data. Several rounds can be played in a short amount of time, depending on the size of the groups. Here's a list of my favorite "data" for this activity: Alphabetical by best friend's first name Alphabetical according to favorite food Length of hair Shoe size Birthdays Number of letters in last name Length of thumb For teachers, number of years taught

Knots of People

Divide the group into teams of 8 to 12 members. Have each person join right hands with another person in the group, but it has to be someone who is NOT standing immediately to the left or right. Then have each person join left hands with another person in the group, but it has to be someone who is NOT standing immediately to the left or right and someone other than before.Now the groups have to untangle themselves without letting go of hands. They may have to loosen their grips a little to allow for twisting and turning. They may have to step over or under other people. The first group to untangle their knot is the winner. SPECIAL NOTE: There are four possible solutions to the knot. One large circle with people facing either direction. Two interlocking circles. A figure eight. A circle within a circle. Who Am I? For this activity you will need one sticky note per person. On each note write the name of a celebrity, political figure, cartoon character, book character, etc. You can choose one category or mix them up. Use a different person for each note.Place a sticky note on the back (or forehead) of each participant. The participants are to figure out who they are, but can only do so in the following manner. Find a partner and read each other's sticky notes. You may ask the other person three questions to which there are yes or no answers. Once your questions have been asked and answered, make a guess as to your identity. If you are correct, move the sticky note to your chest and you become a "consultant" who gives clues to those still trying to figure out their identities. If you are not correct, find a new partner and repeat the process. SPECIAL NOTE: Be sure to choose characters that are appropriate to the age of the participants to avoid "generation gap frustration." Animal Scramble There is some preparation for this activity. On a slip of paper, write the name of an animal that makes an obvious noise. Create five to ten slips for each animal.Give each participant a slip of paper, but tell them to keep their animal a secret. The participants are to find the rest of their kind, but there is no talking. So how do they find the others? They have to make the noise of the animal. Once two of the same kind have found each other, they stay together to find more. Continue until all of the like animals have created one big group. Use Animal Scramble, but add a hint of danger by planting a couple of danger animals who if incorrectly approached can take you out of the game ( snake, lion, tiger, etc). The last survivor of non-dangerous animals is winner (Non-dangerous animals need to gather say 4 of a kind to be safe in a  pack; they can even fake being a dangerous animal but cannot take out anyone - someone catches onto this and the fun begins!)   Clever catch Inflatable ball that has icebreaker questions for students to answer.  Questions include, "What do you like best for breakfast?" and "What would you have in your will for the person you care about the most?" Complete the sentence                                                                      One student starts by forming a sentence about himself/herself. "My name is ............and " and the next finishes the sentence talking about himself/herself "I spent my holidays in Canada." and then the same student starts another sentence "My name is ..................and" and so on.                                                                                                                     Did You Know? Bingo                                                                     The objective of this game is for people to wander around the room and to obtain the signatures of people who have the facts listed on the bingo sheet.  Once a person successfully obtains a full row (5 in a row), whether horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, he or she shouts “BINGO!” and wins. This game requires a little bit of setup.  Prepare a 5 by 5 table, with interesting facts written inside the boxes.  These facts can include funny or bizarre things.  For example: Likes anchovies Has been to Hawaii Speaks more than two languages Has never been on a plane Has more than four brother. Pass out a sheet to each person, along with a pen.  Explain the objective of the game and the following rules: (1) each person you talk to may only sign your sheet once, and (2) to win, you must get signatures to form 5 in a row horizonally, vertically, or diagonally.  Say “Go!” and ask your participants to begin.                                                                                                                                                                 Fabulous Flags Pass out a sheet of paper, pens, and colored pencils, crayons, and/or markers to each person.  Explain the activity: “We’re now going to draw flags that represent or symbolize us.  Please design your own flag of you – include some symbols or objects that symbolize who you are or what you find enjoyable or important.”  You can show your own sample flag if you like.  For example, you could draw: a guitar (representing your passion for music) a tennis racket (someone who enjoys sports) a country like India (representing your affiliation with a country) a cross and a heart (representing Jesus and His love for the world) Give everyone a set amount of time to draw (e.g. 15-20 minutes or so) and then reconvene.  Ask for volunteers to share their flags and explain the meaning of what they drew.  If it is a large group, you can divide everyone into smaller groups and ask them to share their flags with each other, or you can just ask a small number of volunteers to share. Variations After everyone has finished sharing the individual flags, as a big group you can ask everyone to brainstorm ideas on what to draw for a large class-wide flag.  Proceed to delegate individuals to draw certain parts of the class-wide flag.  Alternatively, you can collect the individual flags and paste them onto a board to create a “quilt” of individual flags, representing unity.

Two Truths and a Lie Ask all players to arrange themselves in a circle. Instruct each player to think of three statements about themselves. Two must be true statements, and one must be false. For each person, he or she shares the three statements (in any order) to the group. The goal of the icebreaker game is to determine which statement is false. The group votes on which one they feel is a lie, and at the end of each round, the person reveals which one was the lie.

                                             

Some more suggestions at http://insight.typepad.co.uk/40_icebreakers_for_small_groups.pdf