Learn Create Inspire
Sharing successes and challenges through teaching while becoming a (hopefully) published author.
Be an Archaeologist: Active Learning in Social Studies
Help students become archaeologists through active learning. This is the first lesson in my mini archaeology unit and it is always a hit. The kids explore sample bags from a dig site to try to learn about a family/culture that living in Surrey in the past. This post walks through the lesson, the follow-up activity, and how to set up your own dig. Have fun making social studies hands-on!
Social Justice Symposium: The Stations and Logistics (Ideas to share your own learning!)
The Social Justice Symposium is done and I am exhausted! In this post I run down some of the logistics running a day of sharing learning with the school community. The learning was deep and it represented many different learning opportunities. I am so grateful for my class and all of the people who helped us succeed.
Social Justice Symposium: Intersectionality in Literature
Intersectionality is an important topic to explore when talking about social justice. It is complex, but breaking it down and modelling intersectionality can help kids understand our complex world. I modelled intersectionality with two texts: One Plastic Bag and a nonfiction piece about Red Dress Day (May 5th) in Canada before setting the students out to explore the concepts in literature. It was powerful for kids to discover the patterns of oppression.
Social Justice Symposium: Creating and Learning about PSAs
We spent one intense week making TWO PSAs: one visual and one video. The kids learned all about public service announcements and used what they had learned about social justice topics to make PSAs for a student audience. We also made a Kahoot! to test our knowledge after watching and reading all of the PSAs.
Math Games: Multiples and Factors (And some math menus for fun)
This post explains two new math games about factoring and multiples as well as three math menus to help with formative assessment. Handouts are included to help you use this in your classroom easily. This is a VERY short post for me that was a request from one of my colleagues.
Exploring and Responding the Hard Things: Talking About Ukraine
This post explores how I used loose parts, an interactive lecture, and art to help my students start to understand the invasion of Ukraine. It is filled with examples of what I did and provides a few other activities that could be done to support your teaching. My little students with big hearts want everyone to know that they will welcome any Ukrainian people who come to our school and hope the conflict ends peacefully. This is cross-curricular and hands-on.
Informal PJ Day…We needed it!
I blinked and the term was almost done. I feel like I am behind on everything and bone weary. So are my kids…I bet you are as well. So today, my class paused curriculum and focussed on joy, as well as the Core Competencies. We had a PJ Day and you might need one as well. We are all so tired and this year is so hard, I hope this post inspired you to find some joy-even for just a day.
Exploring Storytelling: Accidentally Creating Comics (Part 1?)
We are exploring different ways of telling stories in my classroom. This blog post outlines how making creatures with playdough ended up becoming a comic using Book Creator….and being woven into our storytelling unit. It was a powerful way to combine tactile learning, storytelling, and technology. This activity was filled with student voice and voice, as well as having an authentic audience. The engagement was high and I had fun!
A Message to the Teachers and Students in Quebec: Loose Parts and Poetry to Unpack Ideas
Bill 21 is a racist law in Quebec. Today my class read The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad and used loose parts to craft messages of support for the teacher removed from her classroom in Quebec for wearing a hijab as well as her students. We used these messages to build a poem of support that we hope will get to this educator as well as all of the other educators in Quebec fighting overt institutionalized racism.
Using loose parts is a powerful way to explore challenging topics and it worked well for this lesson. I have included the poem, photos, and lesson information in this post.
Accessibility + Mrs. Salter’s Arcade = A Lesson in Retrofitting vs. Universal Design
Mrs. Salter’s Arcade is ready…and accessible. The last 24 hours has been a lesson in retrofitting versus universal design. My students have made sure ALL kids at our school can actively participate and enjoy our arcade—and I could not be more proud.
Mrs. Salter’s Arcade: Hands-On Cross Curricular Fun
Readers Request: Mrs. Salter’s Arcade. A brief overview of the 2.5 weeks that I use to turn my classroom into a cardboard arcade and the learning that occurs. I have provided BC curriculum links as well as a sample package to use and possible assessment. Be inspired. Get messy. Have fun! This is a great project to start the new year with. You could tell kids about it before they go on break and they will come back with so many ideas!
Cardboard Connections: A Case for Playing with Materials
A cardboard connection lessons to help my students learn how to build with recycled materials. A case for seeing play as learning and letting kids play with materials and manipulative before you construct expectations together. Simple Machines, scissors, glue, Make Do kits, laughter, and a fashion show.
The Class Novel: Designing engaging activities linked to class books (Part 1..maybe?)
Reading a class novel can be a powerful way to model language and to design mini lessons. This post explores how I choose books, start to design lessons, and it also provides a sample lesson for the book Out of My Mind. This might be the start of a series—if people are interested.
Picture Book Study: Exploring the Alternate Experiences of War
As we approach Remembrance Day and Veterans Day, explore the alternate experiences of war through five powerful pictures books. Help teach reading comprehension skills, compassion, and history in a powerful way that every child can participate in. This activity has built in structures to support all students.
Graceful Tree Problems and Assessment: My 1st In Person Pro-D in TWO Years
Feeling grateful for in person pro-d! This post shares an easy number sense routine and non curricular task you can do in your class. Routine: What is the answer? Task: The Graceful Tree Conjecture. I am also working on how to infuse ideas from Building a Thinking Classroom in Mathematics as well.
A Dragon, a Goat, and Lettuce need to cross a river: Non Curricular Math Tasks
I am excited to build a thinking classroom in mathematics once again this year by implementing ideas from Peter Liljedahl’s book. This post also provides a sample non curricular task that you can download and use! Have fun playing with math!
A Case for Real Data: Where Math, Language Arts, and Science Collide
Use real data in your class to create cross curricular hands on lessons with high engagement! This post explores two activities that link science, language arts, and math that I have done in my classroom in the last two weeks as a way to inspire YOU to collect your own data with kids!
Reader Request: Exploring the First Peoples Principles of Learning
This is a lesson that helped my kids unpack the First Peoples Principles of Learning. We unpacked the language and then used these as a lens through which to view literature. This could also be done at a staff meeting or pro-D to help adults unpack the principles as well. I did make a mistake and have corrected it within this blog post. We are all still learning and when we know better…we do better!
Picture Books Part 7: Activities Inspired by Anchor Texts
Do you like to use picture books to explore identity/core Competencies? This post will give you two activities you can use after reading Count of Me by Migeul Tanco or I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes. Both activities are hands-on and one involves loose parts/creating a class book using Book Creator.
Science Experiment: Simple Gravity Experiment
Experiments do not have to be complex to be effective. In fact, simple fun experiments that can be repeated can created the biggest learning/have a huge impact. This is a science experiment that can be used k-12 to explore concepts of gravity, air resistance, and forces. It involved dropping items…yup…you just need some objects to drop. It is engaging and can help students understand how to make/record powerful observations. And did I mention, it is fun!