Friday 20 April 2012

Yay...!

Today is a great day. Today I am jumping for joy...
I am a lucky girl. I have been invited to become an author for Teaching Blog Addict. I am so proud - what a huge honour. Heartfelt thanks to Tamara and Leslie. I can't wait to get started.. See you all there!

Today is also a great day because it's Friday. I have been off work now since 2 April (apart from my usual French runaround last Monday) and it's beginning to pinch the pocket. So I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove next week. As I get paid on a week-in-hand basis, it'll continue to pinch the pocket until 4 May though.... Is that the case where you are? Mixed feeling about the main summer break - 6 weeks long (yay!) with no prospect of pay (oo er..).

Today is also a great day because I finally finished my Earth Day unit last night. There's so much great stuff out there already that teachers can pick up and use. I wanted to do something a little different, this time for the upper elementary grades. I thought long and hard about the type of thing I'd like to do in my own class and came up with my "Make the Change Challenge". It's a whole block of work designed to get children thinking about how they can make a difference - even a small one. They have to identify an area of their school grounds or local neighbourhood, assess good points and bad points, focus on how they can change the bad points and improve the area. This part of the challenge includes map skills and brain storming. In terms of literacy, the children then have to write a persuasive argument for their changes and present it in a letter to the school Principal or Municipal Offices. Finally, after the change has been implemented, they have to present their project in two ways - a slideshow presentation and a newspaper article. Children have to use thinking skills to plan the project, decide what jobs are needed and who is best placed to do each job, and put the project in action. I'm pretty pleased with the overall result and I'm looking forward to giving it a whirl. It's not just for Earth Day, though - it's a great tool for Earth Studies, Environmental Studies, Geography or Literacy. At the moment I'm giving away two sets in my Teachers Notebook store. Click on the icon on the right or the thumbnail below to be taken to the page. Closing date is Wednesday 25th April.

Today is not such a good day because I've lost most of the buttons from my blog roll on the left bar... But I'll have so much fun blog hopping to find them all again....!

15 comments:

  1. Hello,
    I just wanted to take a minute to tell you that you have a great site! Keep up the good work.

    Organic vegetable seed

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  2. Hi Sue!
    I'm glad to have found your blog.
    I just read though some of your older posts--it's fun to get to know you through your "voice."
    I'm your newest follower.
    And... Congrats on joining TBA!

    Kim
    Finding JOY in 6th Grade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kim. Thanks for stopping by. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all through TBA. I'm your newest follower - cute blog..

      Sue

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  3. Replies
    1. I LOVE your blog, Janine. Thanks for the welcome - I'm really looking forward to working with you all.

      Sue

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  4. Just found your blog! I am your newest follower! Stop by and visit me...

    learnplayandhavefun.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jessica. Thanks for stopping by. I've been round to your too - cute blog with lots of great stuff! Looking forward to reading your blogs.

      Sue

      ps I'm your newest follower - one less to 200 :-)

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  5. I am your 59th follower! Thank you for visiting my blog and becoming my 80th follower. I love your Earth Day unit. I have entered your giveaway but will have to buy it if I don't win. I am moving from first grade to 6-8th science next year and this would be perfect for next year.
    Pamela
    First Class Teacher

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pamela. I'm a huge fan of your blog - love the science. My daughter went to NASA last year on a school trip and since then we're all hooked. Keep your posts coming - fabulous to read.

      Sue

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  6. Hi Sue! I just found you on TBA. Congrats on becoming an author there. Your post about losing your router connection was awesome. I'll be back! If you have time, I'd love to get your opinion of my blog. I'm pretty new to the blogging world.
    Barb
    itsabouttimeteachers.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Barb. Thanks for stopping by - I really appreciate your comments. I've pooped on by your place and your blog looks fab! I love the watch! Hope you don't mind I've grabbed yhour button, and I am now your newest follower. Looking forward to reading more

      Sue

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a message. I read every single one and try to reply to as many as possible.

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