HOODIE TAILS: The Adventures Of The Secular Web Kids
*** Kids
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*More episodes of “The Legend of Darth Harley” to come soon…
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Make a Family Tree
Here are engaging, classroom-friendly ways a teacher can assign a family tree project so it feels creative and fun rather than just filling in names on a chart. These work well for elementary (and adaptable for middle school), encourage family involvement, and build skills in research, storytelling, art, and presentation. Always offer flexibility for blended,…
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Classroom Philosophy: This is a Safe Place
Big Idea: Teachers and kids should always present a friendly, caring classroom because you never know what problems from home a student may be showing up with (hunger, fighting parents, etc) A consistently friendly, caring classroom climate is one of the highest-leverage things teachers and students can offer, precisely because many kids walk in carrying…
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What is Game Learning in Grade 4?
Gamification and Game-Based Learning are two cool ways teachers make school more fun—like turning learning into a game! (1) Gamification Think of it like this: You’re doing regular schoolwork (like a math worksheet or reading a story), but the teacher adds fun game stuff to it. It’s still regular schoolwork… just dressed up with game…
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Combatting Plagiarism with The Writing Process
The writing process at the grade 4 level follows the standard recursive stages that proficient writers use: prewriting (planning), drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. This is emphasized in standards where students produce clear, coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience across opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative pieces. Typical Steps for 4th Grade Teachers often teach…
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Lego Robotics
Lego Robotics (such as LEGO Education SPIKE Prime) makes an excellent team project for 6th graders because it is hands-on, engaging, age-appropriate, and integrates multiple skills in a fun, collaborative way that feels more like play than traditional schoolwork. Why It’s a Strong Fit for 6th Grade Team Projects Types of Learning Involved Lego Robotics…
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Socratic Questioning
Socratic questioning is a way of asking leading questions that was made popular by the Philosopher Socrates. You start with a big idea and lead the student to it with questioning steps rather than just saying the big idea outright. It is about active student thinking rather than passive rote learning. You often see this…
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Think, Pair, Share
Think, Pair, Share is an excellent teaching strategy to expand student thinking and reduce anxiety. You ask a question and tell the class to reflect on it, pair them to discuss their ideas, then share their collaborative thinking with the class. Here’s an example with a fourth grade class: Ms. Rivera’s Fourth-Grade Class: Think, Pair,…
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CoRT Thinking and Lateral Thinking
Edward de Bono created CoRT thinking! He’s the smart guy (a doctor from Malta) who invented it. He made the CoRT program (which stands for Cognitive Research Trust) to help people — especially kids in school — learn better ways to think. He also invented “lateral thinking” (thinking in creative, sideways ways instead of straight…
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Multiple Intelligences
Hey kiddo! Imagine that being “smart” isn’t just one thing, like getting all the answers right on a spelling test or a math quiz. A smart guy named Howard Gardner says there are lots of different ways to be smart — like having different superpowers in your brain! Here’s how he explains it, super simple:…
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Mind Maps and Concept Maps
I’ve been outlining some instructional strategies that effective teachers use to encourage student learning. Mind Maps and Concept Maps are good because we are mostly visual learners. Mind Maps are a fun, creative way to organize ideas around one main topic. They start with a central idea in the middle and branch out like a…