Sign Language Art Project

   In high school, we spent a lot of time drawing hands in my art class and as my homeroom's "art teacher," I thought we could incorporate that into one of our art projects.  I found this lesson to help me out: Sign Language Art.  I first introduced the sign language alphabet to my class.  My students were much more interested than I expected them to be.  They immediately began spelling their names or sending messages to their friends across the room.  From there, I told them to think of a word (not too long) that describes our school.  Once everyone chose a word (no repeats) they practiced drawing the letters of their word.  After some practice, students chose a color of construction paper to draw their final signs.  Once I approved their final signs, they traced them with a Sharpie and cut them out.  The next art class, they used water color to paint a white sheet of paper the same color as their construction paper.  The first layer of paint was very light, but for the next layer, they darkened up the paint to make designs on their paper.  Finally, after everything dried, students glued their hands to their water colored paper and used stencils to label each letter.  The students loved this art project and many of them asked to laminate it so they could take it home!

Skin Brochure

  To wrap up our unit about the skin, students created a skin brochure that could be used in a dermatologist's office.  The brochure would provide information about the layers of the skin, functions, of skin, and of course, the risk of skin cancer.
  Thanks to the computer teacher, students were able to use Publisher to make their brochures fancy and professional!

Illinois State Standards:

12.A.3a  Explain how cells function as “building blocks” of organisms and describe the require­ments for cells to live.

Objectives:

Students will:

-create a visually appealing brochure 

-identify the layers of skin

-list the functions of the skin

-explain the risk of skin cancer

Assessment:

Students were assessed based on the completeness and accuracy of their brochure using the following rubric:

Apples to Apples

  Of course I want to help expand my students' vocabularies, but I struggle to find a successful method.  Our middle school students have a vocab book which basically introduces 20 new words each week.  In my opinion, this is a lot of words.  These 20 words do not include the vocabulary words from the short stories or novels in reading.  With all of these words, I find that students simply memorize the definition and forget most of them the next week.  I try to encourage my students to use the vocabulary words in their writing for extra credit, but students tend to use the "easy" words or words that are already familiar to them.  I also try to play vocabulary Bingo to make vocabulary more fun.  I recently tried having my students create and play Apples to Apples using vocabulary words.
  First I had students play the real Apples to Apples game so that they could become familiar with the rules.  Next, I copied red and green blank Apples to Apples cards.  On the green cards, students put a vocabulary word from The Outsiders along with three synonyms.  On the red cards, students had fun putting random (and appropriate) words, people, events, or places with a simple explanation or quote.  After the cards were completed, students were able to play Apples to Apples and practice their vocab words.  This worked very well and kept students' attention.  They even played this with a substitute while I was at a workshop!

Common Core Standards:

Language Standards

4c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

5b. Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonym/antonym, analogy) to better understand each of the words.

Objectives:

Students will:

-identify synonyms for vocabulary words

-make connections to vocabulary words to encourage retention

Assessment:

Students were assessed based on the completion of their Apples to Apples cards.  They were formally assessed based on the final vocabulary test for The Outsiders.

Viscosity Races

During our study of volcanoes, viscosity became an important word in each sixth grader's vocabulary.  In order for students to have a good grasp on how viscosity is a property used to describe liquids, we hosted Viscosity Races!  After introducing the word and discussing some examples, I gave students a list of materials that would be available to them during this lab.  Students worked with a buddy to brainstorm a procedure the class could use to compare the viscosity of various liquids.  After working in pairs, we discussed our ideas as a class and agreed on a procedure.  The next day, students worked in groups of four and were given four liquids.  They worked together to build a ramp and have the four liquids "compete" in a viscosity race.  Below are some pictures and the guided lab I used.

Illinois State Standards:

11.A.3a  Formulate hypotheses that can be tested by collecting data.

11.A.3b  Conduct scientific experiments that control all but one variable.

11.A.3d  Explain the existence of unexpected results in a data set.

11.B.3b  Sketch, propose and compare design solutions to the problem considering available materials, tools, cost effectiveness and safety.

11.B.3e  Evaluate the test results based on established criteria, note sources of error and recommend improvements.

12.C.3b  Model and describe the chemical and physical characteristics of matter (e.g., atoms, molecules, elements, compounds, mixtures).

Objectives:

Students will:

-design a controlled experiment

-create a data table to record results of experiment

-identify possible sources of error 

-compare the viscosities of various liquids

Assessment:

Students were assessed based on their data collection, analysis, and conclusion in their lab report.  Students were required to identify two possible sources of error, identify two ways to improve their experiment, explain how the different viscosities affected the results, and confirm or disprove their hypothesis.

How? Why?

  Last Friday I heard about the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School right before I went to the teacher's lounge for lunch.  As I joined the discussion in the teacher's lounge, I was truly in shock.  Unfortunately, it is not unfamiliar to hear of shootings in public places.  Just recently we have heard about shootings at a mall and a movie theater, but how could something like this happen in an elementary school?!?  I didn't understand how anyone could intentionally harm an innocent child, no taller than three feet.
  When lunch ended, I was still in shock, but I don't think it had quite settled in yet.  I did not say anything to my students, first of all, because I did not have all the facts and second of all, I honestly did not know how to tell them something like this.  At the end of the day, our principal asked us all to pray for those in Connecticut.  My students immediately turned to me with a confused look.  I told them to pray and I would explain it to them.  After the prayer, heads immediately turned my way, waiting for an explanation.  It was in that moment that all of this actually hit me.  I barely held it together as I told my 7th grade class that someone had entered an elementary school and killed approximately 26 people, a majority of them being around the age of 6.  My voice was shaking as I tried to answer any questions.  The hardest thing was seeing panic set in for one of my students who has cousins in Connecticut.
  I truly do not think I will ever forget the moment I told my class about this horrific incident.  It was hard to tell children that other children were murdered for no reason.  I felt as if I took away a piece of their innocence that day.
  As Monday rolled around, I was still having trouble grasping how something so terrible could happen.  I continuously pondered how I was going to approach this topic with my students.  I decided to initiate an open discussion.  I asked students to first share what they have heard about the incident and then to share any thoughts, opinions, or questions they may have.  It turned out to be a beneficial discussion and many of my students knew a lot about what had happened.  We had limited time to discuss the topic, but I did not want it to end there.  I decided to give my students the opportunity to reflect on what had happened through writing.  To get them started, I suggested they may write letters.  These letters could be written to the victims, the victims' families, the shooter, the shooter's family, or the teachers.  The students had powerful and thoughtful words to share.  Many expressed anger and confusion, while others wished the shooter to be forgiven by God because "everyone deserves to be forgiven."  The words of each student showed both their maturity and their innocence.  It also showed me how extremely lucky I am to be a teacher working with extraordinary children.
  My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected in the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.