Learn Create Inspire

Sharing successes and challenges through teaching while becoming a (hopefully) published author.

Self Talk Art: 54 Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers
Core Competenices, SEL, Art, Literacy, Class Community Melissa Salter Core Competenices, SEL, Art, Literacy, Class Community Melissa Salter

Self Talk Art: 54 Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers

Positive self talk art inspired by 54 Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers. This blog post is about our class discussion of ‘should-ing’ on yourself and the positive self talk art we made after the discussion. It was a community building activity that has become a powerful display of the good our classmates see in us—and the good we see in ourselves!

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Self Talk & Emotions: Three activities to explore 54 Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers
Literacy, Core Competencies, SEL, Read Aloud, Class Community Melissa Salter Literacy, Core Competencies, SEL, Read Aloud, Class Community Melissa Salter

Self Talk & Emotions: Three activities to explore 54 Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers

Using literature to unpack self talk and build class community is powerful. Three more activities to do with 54 Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers. I also share a few ideas for how I design lessons linked to books I am reading. Making a novel do double or triple duty in the intermediate classroom makes engagement with the text even deeper.

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Activities for September (and a new math game)
Gamify Math, Math, Community Building, Literacy, Active Learning, Early Year Melissa Salter Gamify Math, Math, Community Building, Literacy, Active Learning, Early Year Melissa Salter

Activities for September (and a new math game)

Looking for ideas to start the year? Let me help! This post provides links to ideas I shared last year to help start your year. It includes community building activities and books that work well! I have also included how to play a game I ALWAYS teach in September that is loved—The Nasty Place Value Game!

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A Message to the Teachers and Students in Quebec: Loose Parts and Poetry to Unpack Ideas
Core Competencies, Loose Parts, Hands On Learning, Racism, Literacy Melissa Salter Core Competencies, Loose Parts, Hands On Learning, Racism, Literacy Melissa Salter

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.

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