“I freely confess: It was the objection of David Hume which first, many years ago, interrupted my dog-matic slumber” (Philosopher Immanuel Kant)”
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*** Star Wars offers the image of the Teacher: Think of the wise, respected, and mysterious martial arts Teacher, and the focused, eager, and respectful student/learner.
Dear Teachers:
One of the difficulties in teaching citizenship, multiculturalism, and pluralism is integrating into lessons resources that are effective at encouraging differentiated instruction and fostering creative and critical thinking while being truly cross curricular and engaging. I think you will find a springboard for all those things at this site as a whole. Our goal here is not simply to provide set units and lesson plans, but rather offer a springboard from which lessons and rubrics can be drafted with students, grade/division teams, etc.
There are a wealth of freely available creative and critical thinking resources from school boards and the web, so it is just a question of integrating them into lesson and unit building. If students are to be assessed on their creative and critical thinking skills, these need to be explicitly taught and modeled.
Darth Plagueis The Wise: Teacher of Darth Sidious
*** image fair Use Wiki: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darth_Plagueis?file=DarthPlagueisHS-SWI130.jpg
Here are some of my favorite Lesson Building Resources:
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Darth Harley Character Reveal
I did a character reveal for Darth Harley yesterday on Secular Web Kids blog HERE as part of my end of summer posting that I also did on my Secular Frontier blog. It turns out that while Harley is a bright kid, he also has significant mental challenges he is managing. I wanted to create…
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Darth Harley, The Sickest Boy in the World
Darth Harley was a Bark Lord of the Sith. Of course, Harley knew he wasn’t actually a Sith. The Jedi and the Sith were from long ago in a galaxy far, far away. But, he liked to think of himself that way. Interestingly, Harley’s favorite movie series wasn’t Star Wars, but the Rocky movies. He…
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Weird Facts
Did you know the oldest goldfish lived to be 43 years old, or that you’re taller in the morning than at night? Check out some totally weird facts on this Reader’s Digest site and share some unusual facts about yourself to your friends.
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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,…