Organizing the lesson plan book

 The first thing I do with the lesson plan book is to color code tab the sections.  The Tabs on the right are the month calendars so that I can schedule out units and lesson plans for the semesters. The red tabs are the months for the first semester, the yellow, for the second semester, etc.  I always include no school days in one color and half days in another color so that I clearly see them as I go thru my plans.

color coded calendar for units at a quick glance

 Step two is to go thru the plan book and label each date for the weekly plan areas, and again I color code the lesson plans.  I cannot tell you how many times in my early years of teaching, I would work on writing lessons for the upcoming week or two and forget a half day or a no school day and it messes up how the unit will go and I have to readjust (especially before a break!).  When they are brightly color coded I know not to touch that day, or afternoon for lesson plans.  I use a third color for field trips and assemblies, once I get that schedule on the monthly and daily calendars.  

The colored tabs at the top mark the semesters.  IE Red=1st semester, Yellow=2nd semester, Green=third semester and Blue=4th Semester.  These match the months that are included for the semesters for the calendars at the front too. I add the tab for the new semester for the first week of that semester.

the colors help me remember not to schedule anything for that day in the colored in time area In my system pink= no school days yellow are half days so no lessons for the afternoon.

 Finally, I use a tab, like this one, for the week I am on so that I can quickly flip to it.   I prefer having the entire year labeled before the first week of school so that I can record everything as it comes up.  It takes about an hour to set up the entire lesson plan book, but its an hour well spent for keeping the year organized. It helps to bring to meetings already completed and add to as things come up throughout the year. Happy Planning! :)

Food makes great projects- Project Ideas

I have found time and time again, that just like they say about men, that food is the way to a kid's heart! The more activities you can incorporate with food, the more the kids are excited about the project, and the more excited they are about the project, ultimately, the more learning occurs!

Above were plant cells.  After teaching the plant cells, the students had to create their own edible plant cells utilizing materials that represented each of the components of the plant cell. For example if it had to be twisted, the object representing it had to be twisted too! Or, if it allowed for something to pass thru it, it had to have spaces to show its fluidity, etc etc.  The students has such a solid understanding of the plant cell by the time they were done, and could quickly look at each and every model and identify the major parts based upon the look of each object they saw. Every one was unique and made with different elements, allowing for individual creativity.  Ultimately, the best part was eating and sharing them afterwards!

Here is a 4th grade example, of an edible project that my son did.  Yes, he did this himself! I was so proud of him, but i digress.  The requirement was a 3d model of a state site.  He had Sunset Crater national park, so I helped him look up information for the site.  He said it looked kind of like the bunt cake I make, and asked if we could make a cake for the project.  Of course I said yes- and away we went.  He chose golden Oreos because the name reflects the reddish golden flecks at the top that looks like a sunset from the bottom.  He died frosting reddish for the top and brown for the base.  He filled in the center to show the crater that was created when the top blew off, and had many edible simple representations for the 13 points that you see when you hike around the base of the crater.  (You cannot hike to the top).  Thanks to making everything and using and eating food along the way, when he presented this, he knew each fact about the crater by heart and did not need note cards or anything to present accurately all 13 facts about the edible model.  His class enjoyed the chocolate cake too!


I have had other lessons I have done with food too that the kids LOVE:

Elevation maps using colored frosting and shaped cookies

Book report cakes

Foods native to countries around the world we are studying  (with description of the locally grown foods/resources)

Foods native to states we are studying (with description of the locally grown foods/resources)

Foods native to people we are studying

How to essays for a family favorite recipe (with examples brought in of course!)

M and M elements and molecules

Candy fractions

Cereal color ratios  or trail mix ratios

the list can go on and on but when you add FOOD to any activity the kids are beyond themselves with excitement and that much more engages in the activity!

Holiday Personal Narrative and Elf

 There are three things I want to talk about in this photo.  First, the students love hearing about your life and what you do outside the classroom!  As I was telling them about the elf that visits my house at the holidays, the class conspired and wrote a letter to request an elf to visit our classroom.  So, low and behold, the next day we had an elfin friend visit and bring in powered donuts for the kids.  He hung around for a few days causing mischief and bringing surprises with their good behavior.  Wouldn't have thought 6th graders would like it, but they loved it!   As I have found with 6th and 8th grade, the older kids are still kids, just in bigger bodies they still love cheers, rewards, and surprises that you might think is younger than them- but they get a kick out of it.  Seriously- try to bring out scented markers as a surprise for a project with older students and watch them smile or a random sticker on a test.  Works wonders- especially if its a surprise reward.

Secondly, my favorite activity to work on around the holidays with the kids is hanging behind the elf in the bottom photo.  Each holiday we work on personal narratives describing favorite holiday memories.  I use several books including my two favorites The Christmas Orange, The Christmas Day Kitten and my own written memoir of my favorite holiday memory to introduce the multi-week lesson.  We write letters to family members asking for them to write back about their favorite holiday memory, which incorporates friendly letters and a class and home building activity.  Then the students go thru the process of their own holiday memory (I allow them to choose ANY holiday).  When the family members write back they read aloud the letters, and we hang up the letters in the back display in the class.  After finishing their narratives, we make a copy for their language binder, and mail a copy to the family member we originally wrote to with a thank you for them sending their letter.  It is a great writing unit that spans that time of year when they are squirrely with excitement and gives them a voice to share about how they celebrate holiday traditions in their family.  You get some AMAZING letters back too!  My class has been moved to teary eyes a few times with things people have shared about magical moments they have experienced, centered around random acts of kindness and thinking about others!

Third, the way I display and rotate work in the classroom easily and efficiently is using the sticky hooks that are removable and does not harm the walls (I'm sure my building manager appreciates them), twine and clothes pins.  It looks great, is an easy assembly and allows for student work to constantly be up and showcased within the classroom.  Also, the kids can do the task of hanging them up and taking them down and I do not worry about it at all.  

A Peek into my room.

the Dear students poster was an idea from pinterest, but I loved it so much!  

The best advice I can give to any teacher

If you are anything like me sometimes you struggle because no matter what we all have our elements that we need to work on and improve on, however this is without a doubt one of my favorite things to remember.

Welcome to Funk's Forum

I am an elementary teacher in Arizona, who has been teaching for 9 years.  Having taught a variety of grades including 4th, 6th and 8th grade science I have learned a lot over the years.  I received both my undergrad and masters degree in Education from ASU, and am a third generation graduate from ASU.  I have endorsements in math, science and gifted education.  I have been trained in SDAIE, ESL, Kegan and AVID. I absolutely love planning for my classroom and teaching the young charges given to me each year!  Each and every year I discover new things about the profession, grow and challenge myself to improve my practice.  Having had several student teachers over the years, I have realized that I enjoy sharing ideas with other professionals- hence the blog.  I hope you find resources and activities that spur ideas to be utilized within your classroom.  We are all in this profession together, and together we are stronger.  A favorite quote of mine is "You are only as good as the teacher next to you", and I love the idea that our doors are plentiful with online capabilities and we can glean from each other ideas that ultimately benefit the children we teach!  Enjoy the ideas shared on the blog and please feel free to comment and share how you adapted and maybe even improved upon my ideas!