Class Antics – Inside Elementary Education

Dear readers,

Exciting news!  ClassAntics.com has been nominated for the 2012 Fascination Awards honoring the Internet’s most fascinating blogs in the category of Elementary Teacher Blogs.  It’s an honor just to be nominated, but actually it would be even better to win. 

You can help: please click a Google +1 image to vote for ClassAntics.  Voting runs May 14 through May 21.

The Fascinator Awards editorial team chooses the nominees.  ClassAntics caught their attention with FREE Leap Year Worksheets Part 3.  Special thanks to Kumie and Ramona, whose positive comments impressed the editorial team.

Thank you to the tens thousand readers who visit ClassAntics each month.  Please vote for our blog and have a happy end of the school year!

Sincerely,
Corey Green
P.S. For a ClassAntics Sampler, visit these popular posts.

Classroom Management
All for One and One for All: Whole-Class Incentives
A typical elementary schoolday schedule
A Sample First Day of School Letter Home
Chill Music for the Classroom
Best Practices for Professional Learning Communities (Part 2)
Make your classroom a tattle-free zone

 Literacy
AR Report: What Kids are Reading
Teaching Kids to Write Complete Sentences
Figurative Language with Taylor Swift: You Belong with Me

Resources and Worksheets
Dad’s Worksheets: my favorite math resource for parents and teachers
FREE Equinox Worksheet and More Equinox Teaching Resources
Beat Summer Slide: Where to Buy Workbooks

Civil Rights
Red Tails: The Tuskegee Airmen (Part 1)
Coretta Scott King Book Awards 2012
Teaching the Civil Rights Movement, Part 1
Teaching the Civil Rights Movement, Part 2
Ballad of Birmingham
Ruby Bridges

Academics
New Orleans Halloween
Think Inside the Box
How to Ace Standardized Tests

Original poem, FREE poetry worksheet!

In honor of Poetry Month, here is a FREE poetry reading comprehension worksheet written by a National Board Certified Teacher’s…little sister.  The worksheet and poem are very good!

My sister wrote “Ode to Kermit” to help my students with their poetry reading comprehension.  It is a fun poem in the voice of Miss Piggy, who is quite exuberant in her love for Kermit.  It’s a real problem for him, actually.

I hope you and your students enjoy the imagery in the poem.  You might want to explain to them about moi and vous— and why Miss Piggy says “Kermie” for “Kermit.”  Miss Piggy loves the French language because it is très chic!

 Click here for the worksheet and read on for the poem!

Ode to Kermit (in the voice of Miss Piggy)

Kermit, oh, Kermie,
Your name sends me floating through pools of algae.

Just the sight of you sends my heart into thralls
Like the pitter and patter of two ping-pong balls.

Kermit, with your mouth of red felt
And hemispherical eyes that cause me to melt,

Every time I think of wonderful vous
I wish that I could grow old with you.

My precious Kermit, my affection is no mistake,
Yet you still cause moi’s heart to break.

As you can see, the Green family loves the Muppets!  Here are some of the greatest hits from Class Antics Muppets posts:

Muppets in the Classroom Part One: How to integrate the Muppets into your curriculum
Muppets in the Classroom Part Two: More on how to integrate the Muppets into your curriculum
School Garden: John Denver sings “The Garden Song (Inch by Inch)” with the Muppets
Winnie the Pooh Day (A.A. Milne’s birthday): Kermit’s nephew Robin sings “Halfway Down”

Writing tips from Corey Green, National Board Certified Teacher;
use them in class or for fun! 

When creating characters for your story, remember that the relationships between characters will drive your plot.  Here are tips to help you create those relationships.

Writers will tell you that it’s important to know your characters well, especially your main character.  You should develop your characters’ strengths and weaknesses, habits, likes and dislikes, fears, hopes for the future, and favorites.  When I first began to write the Buckley School Books, I developed profiles like that for every kid in Mr. Hoker’s class.

However, my stories really gelled when I realized that the relationships between characters are as important, if not more important, than knowing every tiny detail about each individual character.  The relationships between characters should create conflict in the story.

Here are some common threads between characters.  Weave these phrases between your characters’ names for some great plot ideas!

Ideas for relationships between characters:
> Loves
> Hates
> Envies (Is jealous of)
> Admires (looks up to)
> Rivals (competition between characters)
> Fears
> Protects
> Defies (goes up against, challenges)
> Owes
> Upsets

The Hunger Games is an excellent example of how complex relationships between characters can create a compelling story that captivates millions of people all over the world.  Suzanne Collins created a complex web of characters as she wove her plot.

Now, use this information to create your own story!  Create three or more characters for your story and develop the relationships between them.  You can also practice by figuring out the relationships between characters in stories you love.  Harry Potter, Twilight, Percy Jackson—these are few bestsellers with complex relationships between characters.  Can you list them all?

Use the popularity of The Hunger Games to interest your class in dystopias.  Teach your students how to write a dystopia using tips from Corey Green, writer and National Board Certified Teacher.

People are eternally interested in dystopias.  A new one comes along for each generation.  Fahrenheit 451, 1984, The Hunger Games—these books address issues in our society and imagine a world where the solution takes the problem to its opposite extreme.

A dystopia seems like a difficult and complex genre, but it’s really just another genre in the field of fiction.  That sounds manageable, doesn’t it?  Your students can learn a lot about literature, society, and their own personal beliefs as they create their own dystopias.

Use my printable dystopia planning guide to help your students create their own dystopian story.  Help your students focus on the issue they want to address, create a dystopian “solution” that takes the problem to its opposite extreme, and decide how they want to address oppression.

> What is the problem or issue?
> How does the solution take the problem to its opposite extreme?
> How will the system of oppression work?
> Will the main character overcome oppression?
> Will it be on a large or small scale?
> Or will the character fall prey to the oppression, becoming another victim or even a perpetrator?

Big questions, but your students can handle it if they use my story planning sheet.  After all, a dystopia is really just a story with a beginning, middle and end—students simply need to address the conventions of the genre as they craft a satisfying story.

Good luck to you and your students as you create your dystopias.  May the odds be ever in your favor.

The Hunger Games provides many opportunities for classroom discussion and analysis. Taylor Swift’s haunting “Safe & Sound” gives students yet another opportunity to study her clever use of figurative language, symbolism and rhyme.

 ”Safe & Sound” is a perfect theme song for The Hunger Games. Message boards are full of posts by fans arguing over which story situation the song fits best. I believe the answer is that Taylor Swift penned the song to apply to many, many characters and situations in The Hunger Games. To avoid spoilers, I have listed the characters but not situations. Fans will know!

> Primrose & Katniss
> Katniss & Rue
> Gale & Katniss
> Katniss & Peeta
> Mrs. Everdeen & Katniss

The song is heavy on symbolism and imagery, but actually lighter on rhyme than most of Taylor Swift’s songs.  (No constant internal rhyme like in “Hey, Stephen“.)  Taylor uses a subtle rhyme scheme to create a song that is haunting, not sing-song and catchy.  You might say that she “tailors” her message to her intended audience and purpose.

I hope you enjoy the pdf download of my literary analysis of the song “Safe & Sound” by Taylor Swift from the soundtrack to The Hunger Games.  Click here for two Behind the Scenes videos from TaylorSwift.com. 

This is Part 7 of my series about Fun with Literacy: Taylor Swift.

1. You Belong with Me
2. Love Story
3. Hey Stephen
4. Mean
5. Speak Now
6. Our Song

Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
by Tomie dePaola
Available at Amazon.com

With Tomie dePaola’s signature illustration and simple writing style, this book tells the story of Saint Patrick, from his roots as a Roman slave to the height of his powers.  At the end of the book, Tomie shows myths and legends about Saint Patrick.  My favorite is driving the snakes from Ireland—but I also love the picture of him cruising across the water on a rock.

Activities and tie-ins:

Color Celtic Designs: Your children will enjoy the Celtic design elements in the illustrations.  Click here to print Celtic designs and alphabets for your students to color and  here to print Celtic knot patterns.

Learn about Celtic Designs: Your class will get so much more out of coloring Celtic designs if you take a few minutes to teach them about the history.  This website is perfect for a quick study.  I particularly liked learning about Celtic animals.  Kids love animals, so you know it’s a natural fit for the classroom.

Illustrate & Write: Tomie dePaola’s deceptively simple style is enticing for children to imitate—your class would love to illustrate their favorite part, writing a short paragraph underneath the illustration.

On Saint Patrick’s Day, we’re all Irish!  Have some fun with your class.

Preparation: get a class shamrock plant.  (Bonus points if you can convince a parent to donate it!) 

Ask the kids to save their milk cartons from lunch.  Use them to take home a piece of the class shamrock plant.  Students can repot a piece of the shamrock plant and grow their own at home.  Learn how to grow a shamrock plant at ehow.com

If you are learning about immigration in Social Studies, tie the Irish immigrant experience in with your Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations.  You could talk with your class about how Irish immigrants were treated and compare it to immigration today.  The countries of origin have changed, but in many ways, how people view immigrants remains the same.  Read Eve Bunting’s Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story.

Grownups, take this opportunity to read a book by a wonderful Irish writer, Maeve Binchy.  Her books immerse you in Ireland, and you know her characters better than you know your own family.  Tara Road is her magnum opus, and her newer books all feature that Dublin neighborhood.  Every single book by Maeve Binchy is wonderful.  I read them over and over again.

Here are some fun ideas for Learning with the Lorax from a National Board Certified Teacher.  

The Lorax, the latest Dr. Seuss movie adaptation, stars Zac Efron and Taylor Swift voicing Ted and Audry.  Kids will demand fan activities for these two popular actors right away, so here are some ways parents and teachers can be really cool.  Don’t tell the kids that these activities also tie in nicely with NEA Read Across America Day!

Lorax Games

> Don’t Whack the Lorax: a game tie-in with the movie
> Ted’s Scooter Dodge: a game tie-in with the movie
> Dodgeberry Blast: a game tie-in with the movie
> Hummingfish & Swomee-Swan Survival: a game tie-in with the movie
> The Lorax Quest Game at Seussville: You are in charge of truffula seeds. And truffula seeds are what everyone needs! Gather the truffula seeds from the characters and help the Lorax grow a whole new forest! To reach the game, go to the Seussville Games Page and click “forth” until you come to the Lorax game.

Lorax Worksheets from Random House:

> How Many? A fun counting worksheet—count how many you see in the picture! Your students will need a good working knowledge of The Lorax to complete this worksheet.
> Dear Mother Earth: Write a letter to Mother Earth stating what you will do to help preserve her. The worksheet is basically nice Lorax-themed stationery.
> Lorax Maze:  Help the objects find their way to the recycling bin.

Lorax Writing Contest: Every Inkling Makes a Difference. The contest opens March 2nd. Your students can write an online story describing one creative idea for living sustainably. The grand prize is a $10,000 scholarship. There are 3 prizes in two categories: grades 3-5 and 6-8. Click here for the student printable explaining the contest.

Read The Lorax, Available at Amazon.com

Leap Year Idioms

Teachers, here is a FREE Leap Year worksheet written by a National Board Certified Teacher. I hope you and your students enjoy it! Here is the Answer Key.

This worksheet helps you teach students about idioms—a commonly assessed concept on state standardized tests. Have some Leap Year fun with idioms based on the word “leap” or “year.”

If you haven’t seen them already, check out Free Leap Year Worksheets Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 1: Leap Year Reading and Writing

Part 2: “Fun with Leap Year and Leap Day” reading comprehension and Leap Year Math

This is Part 6 of a series about Fun with Literacy: Taylor Swift lyrics

My students enjoy applying the principles of creative writing, description and figurative language to pop culture.  Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” is one of my favorites.  One year, I was a judge for talent show auditions, and I heard this song several times.  The lyrics are fun!

I like this song for teaching because it is full of metaphors.  Similes are much more common, so it’s nice to show students that metaphors can work well, too.

Quick tip for teaching students to write metaphors: have them write a simile, then erase the word “like.”  Ta-da!  A metaphor!

I extend the lesson by comparing “Our Song” to Elton John’s classic “Your Song.”  The students enjoy finding similarities and differences.  I like showing them how self-aware these songs are—they’re songs about not having a song.

Deep stuff for third grade!

Click for literary analyses (pdf files) of Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” and Elton John’s ”Your Song“

I have a soft spot for stories about writers. When I discovered the TV series Castle, I was hooked at first sight. I really appreciate the high quality work of the writers of the show- and the constant challenge: can I solve the mystery before Richard Castle does?

Then there’s a fun twist: As a promotion for the show, “Richard Castle’s” book Heat Wave was released in hardcover by Hyperion and debuted at #26 on The New York Times Best Seller list, ultimately moving up to #6. The second novel Naked Heat debuted at #7 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

What’s not to love about a fictional fiction writer portrayed by Nathan Fillion?

There’s a lot more to love, actually.

Castle star Nathan Fillion co-founded Kids Need to Read, an organization dedicated to getting more books into underfunded libraries:

“Growing up, my parents managed to show me the importance of reading without cramming it down my throat. A difficult task, I’m sure. It breaks my heart to think that there are kids out there, ready to have their imaginations lit on fire, excited and wanting to read, and facing naked shelves in their school or local libraries.”

Now I have a soft spot for Kids Need to Read, and I hope you will, too. Kids Need to Read focuses on stressed populations, such as juvenile offenders, impoverished urban teenagers, and youth faced with learning challenges. KNTR assists educators who are devoted to helping such children overcome the odds and succeed through worthwhile literacy programs. You can request donations online.

I can tell you from experience that helping kids in these circumstances select a book to read is both personally and professionally satisfying. Even greater is finding out that your encouragement came at a time that made a difference in that young person’s life.

I’ll be donating and volunteering. Hope you will, too!

This is Part 5 of a series about Fun with Literacy: Taylor Swift lyrics

My students enjoy applying sometimes stuffy reading vocabulary lessons to decidedly un-stuffy contexts.  Analyzing how Taylor Swift uses figurative language and storytelling techniques to make her hit song “Speak Now” so catchy has been a nice way to spice up our lessons.

By now, my students know that Taylor won’t be stopping by to help us study her songs, but that hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm for noting similes, rhyme schemes, point of view, and imagery in her songs.

I hope you enjoy my literary analysis of the song “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift, a song about Taylor’s fantasy of interrupting a wedding to declare her love (from her album Speak Now).

For Taylor’s story behind the song, click here.

This is Part 4 of a series about Fun with Literacy: Taylor Swift lyrics

My students and I have enjoyed analyzing Taylor’s songs for literary techniques and figurative language. This song has special meaning to a lot of people because it’s about being picked on and bullied. You’ll see how the catchy chorus provides an empowering message. As usual, telling detail, clever rhymes and storytelling flair help listeners connect emotionally to the song.

I hope you enjoy my literary analysis of the song “Mean” by Taylor Swift from her album Speak Now.

For Taylor’s story behind the song, click here.

This is Part 3 of a series about Fun with Literacy: Taylor Swift lyrics

My students memorize dozens of reading vocabulary terms and then use this knowledge to analyze what they read. When I teach figurative language and literary techniques, I find it’s important to give students pop culture examples so they don’t think that good writing is limited to that which was written hundreds of years ago.

There’s a reason Taylor Swift is a star—the girl writes catchy songs that elicit emotional response. My students and I have enjoyed analyzing how she does it.

“Hey, Stephen” is probably my favorite Taylor Swift song. As we analyzed it, I saw why. It captures a moment very well (Taylor’s crush on a boy named Stephen), telling details elicit emotional response and make it easy to identify, and the liberal use of internal rhyme keeps the song swaying along.

I hope you enjoy my literary analysis of the song “Hey, Stephen” by Taylor Swift from her album Fearless as much as I’ve enjoyed this incredibly catchy song.

For Taylor’s story behind the song, click here

This is Part 2 of a series about Fun with Literacy: Taylor Swift lyrics

“Love Story” is one of Taylor’s most popular songs. When I taught this to my class as part of a figurative language lesson, I set off a surprising discussion that perfectly illustrated children’s moral development.

In the song, Taylor compares her forbidden love with Romeo and Juliet. As part of a discussion of how allusion can add depth to writing, I told them the story. Boy, was I surprised when my third graders had zero sympathy for Romeo. He killed Tybalt! That made Romeo a bad guy. Doesn’t matter that Tybalt killed Mercutio. Romeo was bad and deserved all that happens to him. End of story. Nothing could change my students’ opinion.

I had never thought of the story this way before, but I thought you would be interested in their logic and moral reasoning.

Here is my literary analysis of the song “Love Story” by Taylor Swift from her album Fearless. It’s very good for teaching students how to recognize literary techniques in popular entertainment.

–For Taylor’s story-behind-the-song, click here.