One Teacher's Adventures

I have been working closely with the literacy support teacher at my school recently.  She and I have been co-teaching a Grade 8 Social Studies class and today I'd like to share an activity that she introduced me to: Collaborative Place Mats.  This technique is especially helpful at the beginning of a project or inquiry to help groups start to brainstorm about their big idea, topic, or question. Before we began the activity, we talked as a class about what behaviours we wanted to follow as we worked in groups.  Students offered ideas, and they were recorded on chart paper. From their criteria, I created a self-assessment checklist for the students to use as a reflection after the activity. Once we had established the guidelines, we explained the place mat activity.  Here's how it works: Each table received a piece of chart paper with our project question in the middle.  In this case, the question was "How would you provide for people in a comm...

This term, I've partnered up with the Literacy Support teacher in my school for my Social Studies 8 class.  For two blocks each week, she comes into the classroom and we co-teach lessons for the Grade 8s. She has more experience and so many more ideas than me, so it's been amazing getting to work with her in the classroom and learn from her. One idea that she had was to do an artifact study to explore culture and to spark critical thinking. This is what we did over the course of 4 days. Day 1:   As a whole class, we had a discussion about artifacts.  My co-teacher, Laurie, is Ukrainian and brought in a Ukrainian headscarf from her family.  She didn't tell the kids a lot about the scarf at teh beginning of the lesson.  Instead, she asked them to observe it, ask questions, and arrive at conclusions about it.   For example, one student noticed it was made from wool, and concluded that the people who made it must have had access to sheep to col...

I've been working on this unit for awhile and I'm so glad it's ready!  This unit has biographies, reading comprehension questions, maps, and puzzles for five Early Explorers to Canada - John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain, Martin Frobisher, and Henry Hudson. In it, you'll find:   I've also included answer keys to all the questions and puzzles (except the Cartier maze).  Download the unit here ! Are there any other explorers you'd like to see in this unit?  Let me know in the comments below!

I've just finished my newest French unit for TpT.  This unit is designed for beginner students (Grades 4-7) and would be a great way to start off your year!   This complete unit includes reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities.   You'll get: -Vocabulary list -Create your own flash cards activity -Vocabulary crossword with answer key -Vocabulary quiz with answer key -Fill-in-the-blanks activity with answer key -5 pages of être activities (present tense, positive and negative formation, with answer keys) -Place prepositions vocabulary (dans, devant, derrière, près, etc.) -Preposition listening activity with variation ideas for differentiation -Reading activity (dans mon sac a dos, il y a...) -School dialogue activity Click here to download! If you don't need the whole unit, you can buy pieces of it separately.  Click on the pictures below for more information.

I've been hard at work completing my Community Buildings Clip Art Set and it's finally ready! The set comes with full colour and black and white versions of 13 different buildings.  Buildings include: -2 different house designs -cinema -church -school -police and fire stations -apartment building -bakery and supermarket -gas station -post office -hospital Click on the picture below to buy!

My Grade 8's are in the middle of a science unit on light and optics.  Last week, we were looking at the properties of shadows and why they are created.  It was a beautiful day, so I decided to bring my class outside to trace some shadows that they could find. I then challenged them to find an image in the shadow and fill in the details with lines and colour to create shadow art. The students saw animals, plants, objects, space, and underwater scenes.  I love the way they turned out and I really love that this was a simple activity that the kids enjoyed.  Plus, it can be done with any grade and with students at any level.  Here are some of their creations. Looking for more great tips and ideas for middle school? Subscribe to my email list and receive an exclusive FREE sub plans resource. It includes plans for math, ELA, science, social studies, and Core French. Click  here  to subscribe.

I've been inspired by the Flipbook Fairy!   In the past week, I've created three flip book projects for primary students and posted them in my TpT store . COMMUNITY HELPERS   My Community Helpers Flipbook is a 14-page book that asks students to give information about what each helper does, what tools they use, and how they help their communities.  Click here or on the pictures to see more.   PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES   The Provinces and Territories of Canada Flipbook includes a page for each province or territory with a map, flag, and space for students to fill in the capital city, population, bird, flower, and tree.  Click here or on the pictures for more information. SYMBOLS OF CANADA The Symbols of Canada Flipbook includes space on each page for the students to write about why the item symbolizes Canada (or anything else you'd like them to write!).  Click here or on the pictures for more informa...