Do You Really Know George & Abraham?

January 28, 2018Leave a comment

Fact or Fib?

George Washington never told a lie. Abraham Lincoln walked ten miles to return a nickel. Theses are some of the “facts” I was taught about these two most beloved and celebrated presidents. What’s the truth?

I went on a hunt for facts about both of these presidents, each of whom have wonderful, but not necessarily true stories about their lives.

sharing is caring!

As I accumulated the facts about George and Abraham, I began to think about how to share these facts with my students. It was an easy decision to make a game of it all. Part of why I create products is to make learning fun for my students while also making life easier for my teacher friends. Here was a perfect opportunity to share what I had learned with both my students AND friends!

Celebrate With George and Abraham

I created a “FACT” or “FIB” sort to have students read statements about each of the presidents, and after discussion, decide whether it’s a fact or a fib. I have included the answers for teachers. I also thought it would be fun for students to then take their newly acquired facts and create an acrostic about either president or both! I’ve included a short assessment or pre/post worksheet and also a Venn diagram to compare the two presidents.

Celebrate Presidents’ Day with George and Abraham!

What are some and engaging ways you celebrate Presidents’ Day? Let me know!

Thanks!

How I Make Fractions and Valentines Fun !

January 15, 2018February 5, 2023Leave a comment

The most dreaded fifth grade math skill…fractions!!!

After 27 years in teaching and 22years of teaching fifth graders, both departmental and self-contained, the most dreaded standard faced by teachers and fifth grade2rs alike is the dreaded FRACTIONS unit!

Fractions seem to be the “boogie man” of math and so I was looking for a way to combine the practicing of fraction skills and the upcoming Valentine’s Day with a fun activity. While we do have a small party and exchanging of Valentine’s cards, there is still an expectation of staying the course with lessons!

Awkward age…Fifth Grade

Fifth graders are looking forward to middle school at this time of year…more freedom, less teacher monitoring. At the same time, they still enjoy Valentine’s parties and the exchanging of cards. I wanted to make an activity that my kids didn’t see as “baby-ish” and would also challenge their math skills…always an area that needs practice!

The best of both Fractions and Valentine’s day!

The result was “Fraction Operations Valentines Mystery!” My students love to break codes and solve puzzles, so combining that with fractions, which we are studying and reviewing, seemed a natural.

Cupid has had his bow stolen by one of his holiday symbol friends and in order to identify the thief, students have to solve 4 different coded messages by solving fractions problems using all four operations.

I have also included a “How To Use” for teachers! Let me help you with your lesson planning!

Last, but certainly not least, each fraction worksheet has an answer sheet to help teachers help their students solve the mystery!

You can find this newest of my store products in my store by simply clicking on any of the pictures in my blog!

What do you think? How do you make fractions fun for your students? Let me know…I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks,

Sue

New Years Is A Time For Change

December 31, 2017December 28, 2017Leave a comment

Promises, Promises!

I’ve never been one of those folks who sit down on Dec. 31 and make all kinds of “promises” about changes I planned to make in the coming New Year. So why the title? Wellll…I can explain

As some of you may know, I have a store, Susan Mescall, where I sell lesson ready products. While I personally may not be making any changes, I have started looking at my store products and noticing that one of my earlier products needed a makeover…in other words…A CHANGE!

Who’s That?

I’m a fifth grade teacher and my students and I often share what books are being read out of school or during independent reading. Somehow the subject of adventure books were being discussed and I mentioned Kidnapped. One of my students wanted to know who the author was and when I replied with Robert Louis Stevenson, no one in my class had any idea of who he was! Kidnapped was my first experience with a “classic” adventure book when I was a kid and it bothered me that my students had no idea who he was.

What to do? What to do?

It really concerned me that my students had heard of the book, but had no idea about the author. I decided to introduce my students to people who had impacted the world around them, but because to time, had been “forgotten”.

I began to search for people and their words of wisdom. I have included such well-known people as Oprah Winfrey, and Mohammed Ali. I have also included lesser known people as Jaime Escalante and Marva Collins.

Cha-Cha-Changes!

(apologies to David Bowie!)

Imagine my dismay, when I took another look at my early product and discovered errors in grammar and the fact I no longer liked the look of my product. So I have spent time changing, and hopefully you’ll agree, improving my product.

I changed the name to “Journal Responses for Students”. I have taken out the clip art and made the pages and font larger. I have also enlarged the author’s picture and updated information.

So I guess you can say that Change is in the air today!!!

Let me know of any other folks you think today’s students should know about!

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Want To Start the New Year on a Positive Note?

December 27, 2017December 27, 2017Leave a comment

Who Usually Gets The Teacher’s Attention?

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How To Conquer The Early Finisher Syndrome

October 23, 2016Leave a comment

We’ve all been there…It’s small group and station or center time. You are in the middle of small group when you hear them!!! Those words of horror… “I’m done! What can I do now?” What do you do? Sweat pops out between your shoulder blades and your mind goes blank.

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Be The Change!

July 12, 2016July 21, 20163 Comments

If you have been on any social media in the past few weeks, you know there’s been a lot of tears shed. It’s left me feeling helpless and wondering what I can do. How can I, one person, make a difference? I have three kids and six grandkids and I worry about their future.

Well, I found my answer in a most unexpected place…FACEBOOK! Say what? Yup, I was kind of surprised myself. I was rolling through my feed this morning and there it was. I am friends with a neat lady who has a Facebook page titled, “Read Like A Rock Star”. She, too, was shocked and upset with what has been happening AND she had a plan!

Her plan is simple and yet so powerful that I felt that I needed to let everyone know about it. Here it is… Acts of Random Kindness… with a twist. Read Like A Rock Star has a plan and I want all of us to get on board with it…that’s why I am writing about it. She has a store on Teachers Pay Teachers, but this won’t cost you anything more than a moment of your time.

She has created a ARK board of ideas that each of us can implement on our own! You could cut the board apart and hand the individual cards out to people or simply choose an act to work on each day. I have already downloaded my own copy and I plan on starting today! You DON’T have to be a teacher but you will need to make an account…doesn’t cost a dime!!! You also don’t ever have to download any thing else from her store. As she says in her description,

“It’s time to take action. I am a strong believer in being the change you wish to see. One of the happiest times in my life was when I printed A.R.K (Acts of Random Kindness) cards for myself that said, “This act was performed by me, but inspired by God. All I ask in return is that you perform a random act of kindness for someone else.” be the change Here’s her link…https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Be-the-Change-2639829

BE THE CHANGE WITH ME!!

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Do You Need to Engage and Excite Students? Use these words!

February 7, 2016September 1, 2016Leave a comment

The words are, “Shall we play a game?“, which is a throw back to an old 1980’s movie…”War Games”. Sometimes trying to get our students excited about class work can be like a battle. I have a very competitive group of students this year. They really love to outdo each other but I also want them to pull together as a team.

I tapped into that competitive streak to get them excited about doing classwork earlier this week. I have a game I call “Captain and the Crew”. It takes nothing more than a worksheet, white boards, markers, and erasers. This game really appeals to them as it pits the class against me!!

As the teacher, I am the “Captain” of my class and my students are my “Crew“. I handed out the worksheet and then wrote the words “Captain” and “Crew” on my whiteboard at the front of the room. The students work a problem independently. When the lid is on the marker of all the students, we are ready to share our answers.

Students hold up their individual white boards to show the answer. If everyone is correct, the students earn 2 tally marks. If even one student is wrong, I earn 5 tally marks. That’s not fair, you say? The students were more excited about beating me and me not being “fair” then really had them fired up!

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