Leslie Noggle

musings of an instructional designer

MLK Day Resources

We just got back from Christmas break, and soon we will be
celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. If you’re looking for a
way to incorporate a Social Studies lesson on this topic before break,
hopefully you will find something of use in one of these resources!

I’m sure a lot of you have tons of MLK resources, but just in case, here are a few:
Scholastic’s MLK Day Resources page includes lots of info, links, and a Notebook lesson: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=149
Remember you can get the full “I Have a Dream” speech transcript (print and audio) on American Rhetoric: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm or on Discovery Education
This
school system has compiled a plethora (I just love that word) of
resources, including background info, blackline masters, lesson plans,
technology links, and a list of Discovery Education clips: http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/holidays/mlk/mlk.htm
Larry
Ferlazzo is an ESL teacher who compiles list of website resources for
different topics- this one is 2 years old, but has some good ones that
would be great for EC, ESL, or lower level students. For example, the
first site listed is a biography of MLK created by students that is
text, but can be read to students. http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/12/21/the-best-websites-about-martin-luther-king/
Here are some resources from different government agencies http://www.free.ed.gov/keywords.cfm?keyword_id=954
And finally, if you search for MLK lessons on the SMART Exchange, this is what you’ll get: http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html?m=01&&q=martin+luther+king&tab=resources&sf=d
Hope there’s something in here you can use in the next couple weeks! What’s your favorite MLK Day resource?

The Polar Express and Holiday Ideas

Every year as the holidays draw near, it seems like I see more and more great ideas to use in the classroom. Keep reading to see a few of this year’s favorites!
How many elementary school teachers read The Polar Express with their classes before Christmas break? When I taught 3rd grade, one of my favorite days of the year was Polar Express Day. Of course it was great fun to wear pajamas to school and end the day by watching the movie and drinking hot chocolate with candy canes, but my favorite part of the days was collaborating with the rest of my grade level to come up with Polar Express activities that were so fun that students didn’t even realize they were learning!  All the students on our grade-level rotated around in the morning so everyone got to participate in all the activities we had planned. In one room we used Storyline Online to let students read and listen to the story followed by a retelling or sequencing activity, in another students decorated snowmen cupcakes (cause you gotta have a snack) they could later use in a creative writing activity, they created a chalk drawing of the train, and more! This year I’ve seen even more Polar Express resources, so here are a few…

Click below for a great Polar Express “I have….who has….” game as well as a math facts freebie. Even though the math one is meant to use to practice addition facts, I could easily see it working for multiplication if you just change the number on the tickets. Make it a center activity with your SMART Board by using the interactive dice in Notebook.

 A blog that has quickly become one of my favorites for elementary resources, Pitner’s Potpourri has several freebies created for using with Polar Express. Check out her site for awesome activities to reinforce sequencing, abc order, parts of speech, and synonyms.

Finally, you can download this SMART Notebook lesson for free from Teachers Pay Teachers. (You do have to create an account, but it is free.) It is a Jeopardy style game that compares the book to the movie.

Even though this is not Polar Express related, I couldn’t finish this post without including the following- which is an awesome free cause and effect activity to use with How Santa Got His Job, which is one of my favorite books to read before Christmas!

What is your teaching favorite find so far this holiday season?