Spiral Paper Art

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

This is probably one of the coolest art projects I’ve ever seen.

The idea is this: roll strips of construction paper into spirals and glue them onto foam board. This particular project was done as a whole class project where students wrote a wishes for the future of the school on the strips of paper before rolling and gluing them with tacky glue (gold bottle, white lid… it works the best). They called it “Wish Upon a Starry Night.” This would be a great activity after studying famous artists. You could use a smaller piece of foam board and use smaller strips of paper to make an individual art piece. It takes a while to complete, so plan more than 1 period for the project. If you have your class try this, I’d love to see how it turns out!

How to Have a Great Summer Break

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

My kids can’t stop talking about summer break (even though we’re pretty far away from it). So I decided to put this energy to good use in a writing project, which I did as a warm up one day. Enjoy!

YahnooChickChick, A Chick-Chick Who Can Yodel

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s another Easter/spring folk song from my childhood that took me forever to recover. I couldn’t find a video that has the music, so I’ll keep on the look out for one. So make up your own tune, or just read it and chuckle.

YahnooChickChick

I know a baby chick-chick
On a mountain top
When he starts to yodel
He never ever stops.

Who’s that baby chick-chick
So happy hooray
Who loves to sing and yodel
While walking on his way?

It’s Yah-noo-chick-chick is a
Chick-chick- chick,
A chick-chick who can yodel!

Yah-noo-chick-chick is a
Chick-chick- chick,
A chick-chick who can yodel!

When you hear his song,
“Yo-de-lee-o”
Sing along: “Yo-de-lee-o”
And you can see it’s fun to be
A chick-chick who can yodel!

Dry, Dry, Wet! (Outside Water Game)

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

This game is a fun twist on the classic game, “duck, duck, goose!” Here’s the twist: instead of tapping other player’s heads, the person walking around the circle holds a wet sponge over each player’s head and says “dry, dry, dry…” until they come to the person they would normally call “goose.” Instead, however, the person holding the sponge wrings out the sponge over the person’s head, and thus the chasing begins. Players get pretty wet, which is nice for a hot say. For the sake of good health, don’t let the sponge touch anyone’s head or the ground. Using a big sponge is usually best, so the person walking around the circle with the sponge will still have water to wring out on someone’s head, even if they go around the circle more than once. Enjoy!

Cereal Octopus Craft

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s another fun craft my friend Carol showed us at our after school program. Even the big kids liked it (the girls thought it was cute and the boys wanted the cereal). We used the cereal Apple Jacks, but any O shaped cereal would work for the octopus tentacles. We found white glue works better than glue stick, and doing this on card stock is better than regular printer paper (since the glue makes printer paper too soggy). Enjoy!

Here’s the template:

Emergency Sub Plans

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Every teacher/class needs emergency sub plans. These are for the day when you’re too sick, stressed, caught off guard to write sub plans… *gasp!* Things you must have in your emergency sub plans:

Substitute Folder Checklist
Use this checklist to prepare a notebook for substitute teachers. It will ensure that
your classroom runs as smoothly as possible in your absence.
____1. Fire Drill Procedures
____2. Evacuation Procedures
____3. Emergency Situation Procedures/Key Codes
____4. School Discipline Plan (including names of teachers the sub can contact if they need help with a student)
____5. Classroom Discipline Plan (including notes about students with unique circumstances, and something to help the teacher gauge how much to use the plan/what warrants certain rewards)
____6. Discipline Forms (referral forms, detention forms)
____7. CURRENT Seating Charts with essential student information included for all classes and students who come in your room (photos if possible)
____8. Emergency Procedures
____9. Daily Schedule (with duty location, parent helpers who come in weekly, special classes, etc.)
____10. Bell Schedule
____11. List of contact people (helpful students, staff members)
____12. Lesson Plans for the week–or–suggested activities to reinforce
concepts and/or skills

Numbers 9 and 12 are the zingers in my opinion. How do you keep updated plans in your sub folder and how can you write a schedule when every day is so different!?

Here are some tips:

A. Use old math assessments (from the previous units or grade). Chances are most kids will have seen them before. When you finish a math unit, stick a class set of the unit test in the folder. Even if you never have to use it when a sub comes, you can use the copies at the end of the year to review for testing.

B. Writing activities. Choose a fun writing activity (that includes an example and good instructions). Leave directions for how to publish the final draft (does it get glued on colored paper? Does it need to be accompanied by a picture?)

C. Just do it. Some teachers put off gathering sub plans and then they regret it. Just do it at the beginning of the year, and then set yourself a reminder (in your planner, Google calendar, whatever) to check it every month. It’s always better to prepare than to repair.

D. Put the sub plans in an obvious place and let your team teacher know where they are also. I put mine in a neon pink binder with huge letters labeling it “Emergency Sub Plans.”

E. Extra milers will prepare plans for each day of the week. Many schools have weekly schedules, where days of the week vary because of fine arts classes, computer lab times or library schedules. Save yourself some time and do it all at the beginning of the year. Again, anything you don’t use during the year can be used for end-of the year review and activities.

Also make sure that your sub plans satisfy the requirements of your school and/or district. Good luck!

Multiplication Dice Game: Landscape

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s an easy way to practice the most basic multiplication facts (totals to 6). Players roll the die, and color in a section of the picture that contains the equivalent. For example, if you roll 4, color in “2×2” or “4×1” or “1×4.” Enjoy!

Click here for more free math stuff!

Fancy Turtle! (Odd/Evens Dice Game)

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

My friend’s class is struggling with odds and evens. So I made her this game and I thought I’d share it. It’s really simple: Roll a die and if it’s odd, color in a section of the turtle with a heart. If it’s even, color in a section with a star. When the kids finish the game, the turtle has shapes and different colors on it, making it a “fancy” turtle.

I also made a version where players roll 2 dice and add to see if the sum is even or odd. While I didn’t make a page for multiplication, it would be easy to instruct your kids to multiply the numbers on the two dice and then determine odd or even…

Fancy Turtle- odd even sums- two dice