Did you get your Scholastic flyers for January yet?  Did you notice the amazing offer for the book, “Stone Fox?”  Scholastic is offering the book for only one dollar!!  I thought, why not!?!  So from now until Feb. 14th my Stone Fox Reading Group Guide will be available from both my site, Power Point Maniac’s Teaching Resources, and from my Teachers Pay Teachers store for only a buck!  

This “Stone Fox” by John Reynolds Gardiner Reading group activity guide is set up so it can be used as a unit plan for the teacher, or used by students in literature circles. It is broken up into a 13 day plan, and includes chapter questions, vocabulary, projects, and reading comprehension. This would also be a great resource for a homeschooler to follow along with the book.

Enjoy! 

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Wow!  Have you seen a book draw as much excitement and buzz as the Diary of a Wimpy 

A Valentine’s Day dance at Greg’s middle school has turned his world upside down. As Greg scrambles to find a date, he’s worried he’ll be left out in the cold on the big night. His best friend, Rowley, doesn’t have any prospects either, but that’s a small consolation.

An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out. But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who’s going to be lucky in love

Here is where you can order the book at the Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you’ll receive the lowest price

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Happy Fathers’ Day!  I’m so appreciative of the many great fathers out there, and especially the great father figures in our education system. I have a five year old son and a five month old son!

Fathers are under attack in our country today. Some of this is warranted because of the amount of dead-beat dads and fathers who give up their responsibility, but not all dads fit this description.  Our culture seems to be fueling this idea. If you are not sure what I am talking about, check out some of the family sitcoms on TV today.  Modern Family, Three and a Half Men, Rugrats, and practically every Disney Channel show has the same character:  the goofy dad who acts like an idiot, is a pushover, and gives the kids everything they want.  This character completely leaves it up to the mom to be responsible, handle all the discipline, and clean up all of the dad’s mistakes.  I grew up watching Married with Children, Home Improvement, and Everybody Loves Raymond.  Don’t forget the classic example of Homer Simpson! I don’t think anyone would argue that this pattern holds true for these shows as well. 

Unfortunately this is slowly leaking into Young Adult and Children’s books, and the movies that are associated with them.  Consider a recent entry in the Knuffle Bunny series (Hyperion), by Mo Willems, which revolves around the obsessive relationship between Trixie, a Brooklyn girl, and her plush bunny. Trixie, beginning school in Park Slope, discovers that another girl owns the same toy. They accidentally switch bunnies. That night, Trixie wakes up and realizes that her comfort object is an alien impostor. She flips out—she wants Knuffle Bunny, now! Her dad sheepishly requests a reprieve: “Trixie’s daddy tried to explain what ‘2:30 A.M.’ means. He asked, ‘Can we deal with this in the morning?’” Trixie’s fixed stare makes clear that the answer is no. Salvation comes in the form of a ringing phone: the other girl’s father, equally cowed, has called to propose a handoff in Prospect Park. There’s an element of satire here, but the idea that children have complete authority is now so normal that many readers, old and young, are likely to consider a moonlit stuffed-animal exchange an ordinary turn of events.  

The other day in my classroom I turned off the newest movie version of “How to Eat Fried Worms” because of its portrayal of parents and teachers.  I then went on to explain to my students that not all parents and teachers act like the adults in the movie, and we had a nice conversation about it. 

You may be asking, “What does this have to do with me?” I would like to ask that in your influential role as an educator, parent, or adult,  you make a point of picking some books that portray fathers as heros, or books that show a father as a firm, but fun-loving dad who is not an idiot, and doesn’t skirt all of his duties.  Do you teach Pre-K to 2^nd?  You may want to consider Kevin Henkes, a Wisconsin author, who uses some of his Midwestern good sense to make the parents firm and consistent.   How about 3^rd – 7^th?  One of my favorite series to read aloud is the Adirondack Kids series. These kids know how to be respectful to their dads. As educators and parents let’s help change this stereotype, and celebrate dad as a hero and for goodness sake turn off the Disney channel! 

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Thank you so much if you were able to participate in the Teacher Appreciation Jackpot.  I’m very sorry if you were not able to download the freebie!! Check back soon for the next great promotion and don’t forget my site www.powerpointmaniac.com  is 30% off until May 11th if you use the code, “teacher”.  Thanks again!

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Something brand new I implemented is an incentive to get my students reading.  March is such a hard month for us in the North because it has been a long winter and kids are just starting to get outside a bit.  There amount of reading drops way down in March.  We are having “The Last Great Reading Race” from Anchorage to Nome and they are loving it!

Here is our reading course – sorry about how blurry it is! 

We will also be doing an iditarod glyph, reviewing a power point, and Iditarod math and ELA pages. I also put together a great list of Iditarod related resources and lesson ideas.  You can find all this stuff either together in a unit or individually at my site.  www.powerpointmaniac.com 

Have fun,

Jason

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BLACK FRIDAY MADNESS SALE

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 ”It took (Name withheld) over an hour to do the 28 division problems tonight.  Would it be possible next time to check for understanding with only 8 -10 problems?”  

Thanks,

Concerned Parent

I sat and thought about it for about 15 minutes.  I had nearly every emotion running through my head but eventually I got to, “Oh my gosh. What was I thinking?  I gave 28 long division problems last night and that was just in math!” I had always given homework because I was given homework when I was in school. 4th graders should have 40 minutes of homework right? (10 minutes per grade level rule) Sometimes even when I didn’t have homework to give out I would make something up.  I found my self really asking, “Why am I assigning this?”  I use to make the kids write their spelling words 4X’s each and they hated it!  What’s the point? (Let’s not get started on spelling!)

Now this year my family has gotten the opportunity to be involved in the life of an amazing 4th grade student. Wow – talk about busy!  Soccer, homework, snack, clarinet practice, good news club, dinner, reading, and shower. Of course she would NEVER procrastinate at any of these! (I need a drink, oops my lead broke, I know I got this assignment last week, but now it’s due tomorrow!!) Students are busier than I ever was!  For me, this school year is different. I’m giving WAY less homework. Sometimes the homework I do give is “Read for 20 minutes” or “study your spelling words”  Homework that can be done in the car, or at sister or brother’s game.  It just makes sense.

 Here are a couple questions for you to consider.

Who actually does the homework and is it a good representation of what the student is capable of?

 What types of students/family life really have issues with homework?

What is the real purpose of the homework? Is it just busy work?

I think the parents appreciate a little less homework this year, and I KNOW the students appreciate it!

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Each morning the students get to use their iPods for some morning work. The kids LOVE doing this and they are quiet!  At the beginning of the year I give the students the option of doing any 3 of the apps.  After a month or two I have them do all the applications. Here is a great list of  the apps I use.  Most are free! 

BrainPOP

Learn something different each day with the free BrainPOP Featured Movie App for the iPad, iPhone,and iPod Touch! After watching BrainPOP’s daily‐animated movie, you can test your new knowledge with an interactive quiz.

Superkids Vocab 4 – 6

A good vocab is essential to your childs future. Superkids Vocab 4‐6 provides a fun and easy way to master the words they need to excel in school and beyond.

Weatherbug

This is the only source for truly live, local weather – providing users access to the largest network of professional weather stations in the US and thousands of locations around the world.

Today in History (lite)

Today In History is the easiest/best way to get the history information you want when you want it. We are dedicated to sharing world history, and personally significant “historical” information

Inspiring though of the day

Every day a new inspiring idea will appear on your screen, making you think about life and inspiring you to live it.

You can find all of these in the iTunes store.

I also use a worksheet to guide the students along the way.  Here is the worksheet:

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Click this to download the worksheet for free!

This is also available with a poster, worksheet, and list of apps on Teacherspayteachers.com

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