Creativity in the Social Studies Classroom - Ancient Civilizations

As a kid in school I loved when my teachers celebrated creativity in the classroom. In fact, when I reflect on my own education, the moments I remember the most were the creative ones.  I vividly remember making salt maps of the state, book report mobiles, models, papier-mâché globes, interactive brochures, puppets, and dioramas.  What about you?  Are the instructional moments that you remember the most tied to creative activities?  There's just something so powerful about hands-on learning with creative opportunities.

Now, more than ever, in our assessment-focused world of education, it's time to infuse creativity into the classroom!  Check out these fun ways to turn ancient history lessons into creative hands-on learning experiences!

EARLY MAN

During this project, students complete 5 different learning stations. Students complete their work on flame shapes that they can transform into a 3-D fire. Working both independently and with small groups, students learn about The Paleolithic Era, the Neolithic Era, the Great Migration, and elements of a civilization. (Learn more here.)

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

As students complete 6 learning stations about ancient Mesopotamia, they'll build a 3-D ziggurat. The stations focus on geography, religion, accomplishments, politics, economics, and society. The end result is a 3-D structure that students can display on their desks or around the classroom. (Learn more here.)

ANCIENT EGYPT

With this hands-on project, students learn all about ancient Egypt before turning their learning into an interactive sphinx. Students build flip-able parts of the sphinx poster while their progress through 6 different learning stations. The end result is a celebration of Egypt and their learning! (Learn more here.)

ANCIENT CHINA

Learning about ancient China is especially engaging with this fact hunt and doodle poster. Not only will students collect critical facts about the ancient civilization, they'll also display their learning with doodles that they create. The poster's extra-long size makes it unique and perfect to display in the classroom. (Learn more here.)

ANCIENT INDIA

If I have to pick a favorite hands-on World History project, this one might be it. During this project, students add information about ancient India to different layers of a lotus flower while progressing through 6 stations. When they're finished, they turn their learning into a 3-D lotus flower. The end result is a stunning collection of learning. (Learn more here.)

ANCIENT GREECE

This hands-on learning project includes 6 learning stations about ancient Greece. During the stations, students create an accordion-style book to showcase their learning. They'll assemble the foldable parts of the book to create a Parthenon accordion book. It's interactive and meaningful. (Learn more here.)

ANCIENT ROME

This ancient history project is especially fun. After completing 6 engaging learning stations about ancient Rome, students will turn their learning into a 3-D version of the Colosseum. And...to amp up the "fun factor" there are even 3 gladiator figures that students can design and display inside their Colosseum. (Learn more here.)

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These projects are the perfect combination of rigor and creativity. If you're looking for fun ways to mix up your Social Studies instruction, check out these hands-on units here:

- Early Man

- Ancient Mesopotamia

- Ancient Egypt

- Ancient China

- Ancient India

- Ancient Greece

- Ancient Rome

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary Beth

P.S. Save on the bundle for ALL of the resources HERE.

Engaging Writing Activities for Reluctant Writers - Classroom Activities to Improve Writing

 

For many students writing can be intimidating and overwhelming. That's why it's essential to provide students with a variety of writing activities to make learning meaningful and rewarding. Here are a few of my favorite ways to make writing engaging for reluctant writers in your classroom.

TIMED WRITING ACTIVITIES

Timed writing activities challenge students to race the clock as they write as much as they can during a fixed time period. Students are encouraged to “just write.” There is no pressure for perfection. In fact, the only parameter is that they need to write for the entire time. The fun nature of timed writing activities help students develop confidence as they experiment with the writing craft. Here are a few challenges to try...

*** In 5 minutes...make a list of 25 things you can do with a hula hoop.

*** In 10 minutes...write a fan letter to your idol persuading them to send you an autograph.

*** In 15 minutes...create a new kind of toy for toddlers that entertains busy toddlers.

CLICK HERE for 15 more!

WRITING HANDBOOK (with examples and prompts)

Another way to support reluctant writers is to teach short, targeted mini-lessons to help build students' writing skills. When students are provided with more support and examples of writing, their own writing improves. As their skills develop, so does their confidence. When developing writing mini-lessons, I like to include:

*** A specific topic like audience, voice, or word choice.

*** Written examples of the skill for students to analyze.

*** A writing prompt for students to practice the skill.

Find 26 writing mini-lessons HERE.

CREATIVE WRITING LESSONS

Reluctant writers benefit greatly from creative writing lessons. Not only are creative writing lessons highly engaging, they're also a lot less intimidating than formal writing genres. Also, creative writing lends itself to sharing. When students share their writing they build a community of writers and develop their skills as they listen to each others' writing. Here are some of my favorite FREE creative writing lessons:

*** Spooky Story Writing

*** Myth Writing Lesson

*** Limerick Writing Lesson

ENGAGING WRITING UNITS

An essential part of writing instruction is guiding students through the writing process as they create different genres of writing. In my experience, the ideal writing unit is 2 weeks in duration and includes step-by-step instruction for each aspect of the writing process. To make longer writing units appealing to reluctant writers, the key is to make the topics engaging. For instance, here are some engaging topics for different styles of writing...

*** Descriptive Writing - Imaginary Pet Sketch (mystery animal) 

*** Persuasive Writing - Write a roller coaster advertisement

*** Informative Writing - Create a historical news article

WRITING MINI-LESSONS

One of the best ways to help reluctant writers build their skills and confidence is with targeted writing instruction. I love mini-lessons that can be easily incorporated into writing workshop, writing units, writing centers, or everyday writing instruction. When developing writing mini-lessons, I try to make sure they are...

*** Quick and targeted

*** Fun and engaging

*** Filled with practice

Check out my 10 favorite writing lessons HERE.

CHOICES

Teachers have long known that choices are the key for engaging reluctant learners. The same holds true for writers. One of the easiest ways to motivate students is to give them choices when responding to writing. Grab this free choice board filled with writing prompts here.

WRITING PROMPTS

Reluctant writers need lots of opportunities to write. The more they write, the easier it will get. The easier it gets, the more success they'll feel as they write. There are lots of ways to use writing prompts in the classroom...

*** Warm-up activity
*** Homework assignment

*** Learning station task

 

Grab a FREE set of 20 fun writing prompts HERE.

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I hope you've found a few ideas for helping your reluctant writers transition into confident writers!

Thanks for stopping by,

Mary Beth

P.S. Check out this blog post filled with 3 secrets to fantastic writing instruction.

Activities and Lesson Ideas for Teaching "A Christmas Carol"

 

December always marked five wonderful days of teaching "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens and dramatized by Frederick Gaines in my middle school classroom. The classic tale about choices and the way they impact those around us is meaningful and profound. 

Since students must navigate through the elements of a drama, the challenging vocabulary, and the historical references in the play, I've created a unit that helps students successfully read and analyze the text. Here are a few of my favorite activities to accompany reading "A Christmas Carol."

BUILD BACKGROUND

"A Christmas Carol" was published in 1843 in England. Nearly one-third of Londoners were living in poverty at the time. The city of London was dirty and overpopulated as factories grew in the city. The Poor Law of 1834 forced homeless into workhouses. It was a dark time for those in need. Dickens sheds light on these issues throughout the play. That's why I like to start the unit with an activity to build background on The Poor Law, Workhouses, Charles Dickens, Novella, and "Dickensian" England. 

Help students build background by...

*** Providing reading passages for small groups to read and collect important facts

*** Assigning topics for students to complete mini-research projects about to share with the class

*** Watching short videos on YouTube about the different topics

VOCABULARY

The vocabulary in "A Christmas Carol" is challenging. While reading they will encounter words like endeavor, surplus, and provision. 

Provide students with a list of new vocabulary words and help students create meaning for the words by...

 *** Having students define the word and create an illustration

*** Challenge students to write sentences or a paragraph using the words in context

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

The character of Ebenezer Scrooge is iconic. His transformation from a greedy miser to a generous gentleman is inspiring in the play. Since Ebenezer's growth is at the heart of "A Christmas Carol," I think it's important to include lessons about characterization in this unit. 

Give students a chance to analyze Ebenezer Scrooge by...

* Recording character traits on a character web. Divide the web into two parts so that students can analyze how he changes throughout the play.

* Host a discussion about Ebenezer's character. Discuss how he speaks and acts in one scene vs. another.

* Encourage students to act out how Ebenezer might react to a situation at the beginning of the play vs. at the end of the play.

WRITING

Once students finish reading "A Christmas Carol," it's a great idea to give them a chance to respond to writing prompts or complete a writing task.

Here are some fun writing tasks...

* Write a letter to Marley as if  you are Scrooge. Recount "your" transformation to Marley.

* Think about a significant choice that you've made. Write how this choice impacted your life and those around you.

* Charles Dickens was a social crusader. Take on a social issue and write how you could make a change.

REFLECTION

To help students connect to the play, give them a chance to reflect on what they learned about while reading. I like to include a creative culminating activity to wrap up and solidify students' understanding of their reading.

You could have students reflect on their learning by...

* Putting together a personal reflection that includes what they have learned in the past, present, and hope to learn in the future.

* Creating a set of questions for students to discuss in small groups.

* Giving students an opportunity to share what they learned, liked, and didn't like about "A Christmas Carol."

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I hope you've found a few ideas to add to your own instruction of "A Christmas Carol." To learn more about the complete unit that includes over 40 pages of resources, just click HERE.

Wishing you and your students a festive holiday season,

Mary Beth

P.S. If you're looking for more ways to celebrate the winter season in your classroom, check out this fun collection of my favorite winter lessons!

Classroom Management Ideas - Easy Ways to Positively Manage Students' Behavior

Here’s a quick list of simple ways to positively manage behavior in the classroom. These tips are designed to be easy and quick. You’ll find ways to manage the entire class and individual students. 

Many of the ideas are things you probably do intuitively. However, this list provides a simple reminder of some effective ways to positively manage students’ behavior.

If a student is becoming distracted or talking too much, stand right by their desk.  Continue your instruction as usual.  Just moving closer to them is often enough to alleviate the distracting behavior.

If a lesson is not going particularly well or if students are super chatty, just get out your seating chart and start changing seats.  Quite often a new seating arrangement equals a much quieter classroom.

On a particularly challenging day, write “PRIZE” on the board.  For even the slightest infraction, erase a letter.  If any letter in the word is remaining at the end of the class period, then the kids get a prize (no homework, pick their seats next class, stickers, candy).  However, it’s important to be firm and strict – erase letters like crazy.  Sometimes, it’s even more effective for students to NOT earn a prize to show that you mean business.

Arrange the desks in your classroom so that you can easily circulate in between desks.  Move a lot.  Teach from the back, middle, side, and front of the classroom.  

Establish a system that recognizes kids making positive choices (for example:  this FREE positive behavior punch card). 

Make a point to acknowledge students that are doing the right thing. The more you focus on the “good,” the happier you and your students will be.

It’s possible to spend most of your time with a select few students in the classroom.  One way to ensure that you are engaging each student in the room is to carry around a class roster for a few days.  Each time you call on a student add a check next to their name on the roster.  This will help you ensure that each student has an opportunity to participate.

If the room gets rowdy, go to your desk and sit down.  Busy yourself with tasks at your desk.  In a few minutes, an awkward silence will come over the room. At this point, just get up and start teaching again.

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I hope you've found a fresh idea or two, or that you've been reminded of a tip you had in your "teacher toolbox." If you're on the hunt for even more ways to positively manage students' behavior, be sure to check out this collection of classroom management ideas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary Beth