Thanksgiving is upon us, and that means it’s time to switch up our lesson plans! Don’t stress out trying to find the perfect fun-yet-educational activity to do with your class this holiday, incorporating Thanksgiving into many of your classes such as Reading, Writing, Math, or Art will be easy with these fun lessons and printables.
Here are 15 Thanksgiving Classroom Activities Teachers can incorporate into their lesson plans.
Check out our Pinterest board “Thanksgiving Classroom Activities” for more fun holiday ideas! While you’re there, don’t forget to give us a follow at California Casualty to stay up to date on every new Thanksgiving classroom game and activity we discover! Scan ourPincodewith your Pinterest camera to follow:
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. California Casualty does not own any of the photos in this post, all are sourced to their original owners. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Most of us would never drive after drinking or pull our phone out and scroll through social media while behind the wheel, but if you’ve ever been jolted awake as your car hit the rumble strip on the side of the road or you fell asleep at a stoplight, you were engaged in as dangerous a situation as driving while impaired or distracted. It’s important that all of us understand the implications of drowsy driving as we observe Drowsy Driving Prevention Week in November.
Drowsy driving is now listed as one of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s top public safety dangers behind the wheel along with drugged, drunken and distracted driving. The National Sleep Foundation has concluded that anyone who has slept less than two hours in a 24 hour period is too sleep-deprived to operate a vehicle.
Here’s why; drowsy driving is estimated to cause the following each year:
• 328,000 crashes in the U.S. • 6,400 highway deaths • $109 billion in costs, not counting property damage
Here are some other startling statistics:
• More than half of drowsy driving crashes involve drivers age 25 and younger • Driving 18 hours without sleep is equal to .05 blood alcohol impairment • As many as one-third of drivers admitted that they have fallen asleep while driving
If you’ve battled to keep awake behind the wheel, you know how dangerous it can be; much like drunk drivers, overtired drivers have proven to have:
• Slower reaction times • Impaired judgment • Increased risk of risk-taking • More frequent blinking/eye closure • Deficits in cognitive performance • Memory impairment • Attention failure
Safety groups and the National Sleep Foundation urge you to pull over, stop and rest if you notice any of these warning signs:
• Difficulty focusing • Frequent eye blinking • Daydreaming • Trouble recalling the last few miles or moments • Repeated yawning or rubbing your eyes • Trouble keeping your head up • Driving across lanes or hitting a shoulder rumble strip
And, if you are a teacher, you are not immune. In addition to the risks associated with drowsy driving, being sleep deprived could also be affecting your performance in the classroom. A Ball State University study found nearly a fourth of teachers said their classroom skills were significantly diminished and half admitted to missing work or making errors do to a serious lack of sleep. About 43 percent slept an average of six hours a night and 64 percent said they felt drowsy during the school day. Exacerbating the problem is that so many school personnel spend late nights grading papers and preparing lesson plans. The study also found that almost half of the respondents worked a second job to make ends meet.
Lack of sleep can lead to serious health issues. Those who get only six hours or less per night were more likely to have a depletion of performance with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, depression, and obesity.
So what can you do to get more sleep? Experts say good sleep hygiene is essential:
• Try to get eight hours of sleep each night • Avoid napping during the day • Stop using stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol close to bedtime • Stay away from heavy meals close to bedtime • Get vigorous exercise during the day and try relaxing rituals such as yoga before bedtime • Keep the bedroom for sleep; remove the TV • Create a good sleep environment: eliminate excess noise and light and the temperature neither too hot or cold
Remember, getting a good night’s sleep and finding more time to relax can lead to a better classroom experience for you and your students, as well as reduce your risk of driving drowsy.
For more information visit:
https://bit.ly/2CyFr7K
https://bit.ly/2O1KRx9
https://bit.ly/32xAxCd
https://bit.ly/2NCKDxy
https://bit.ly/2q3OL0t
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Online writing tools can engage and assist students in the writing process. These 5 free, interactive websites will help students brainstorm, organize, write, edit, and revise. And the best part? They’re all free to use! interactive writing websites
Engage your students in online literacy learning with these interactive tools that help them accomplish a variety of goals—from organizing their thoughts to learning about language—all while having fun.
Grammarly corrects hundreds of grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. This is while also catching contextual errors, improving your vocabulary, and suggesting style improvements. Come for the best-in-class grammar checking, stay for the added polish that will keep your text clear, mistake-free, and effective.
At BoomWriter, the mission is to immerse students, teachers, parents and administrators in an interactive learning experience, both in and beyond the classroom. Students develop their creative writing skills and understanding of literary elements. They can apply, share, and assess vocabulary knowledge in a fun and interactive way. Plus, they have the ability to demonstrate their nonfiction writing skills in information and explanatory, argument/opinion, scientific, or narrative focused projects.
Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts. Produce diagrams reminiscent of a neural net. Additionally, learn how words associate.
Check out these fun writing games for kids. Enjoy a range of free activities, resources and practice exercises related to writing letters, stories, newspapers, debates, advertising and instructions. The games are perfect for challenging students who enjoy interactive learning online. Find a topic that suits you and improve your English by completing as many of the educational challenges as you can.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
If you’re like me, you’ve never really had a structured morning meeting as part of your school day. I simply didn’t have the time. However, over the years, I’ve found that I can squeeze in time during other parts of the day. After incorporating our “afternoon” meeting into our schedule, I saw amazing, positive changes begin to happen in my students. Not only did we get a chance to learn more about one another, but we built stronger relationships, practiced empathy skills, and even had some laughs.
What Is A Morning Meeting?
A time, usually 20-30 minutes, set aside each morning for teacher(s) and students to connect. If you can’t meet in the morning, find another time that works for your classroom schedule. Most often, students and teachers sit in a circle.
Why Should My Classroom Have Morning Meetings?
Morning meetings are an ideal time to:
Check-In with students
Build a classroom community
Allow students to practice academic and social skills
Greeting: students and teacher say hello to one another by name. You might require pairs of students to shake hands and say “Good Morning __________.” You could even try it in another language!
Share and Listen: in an organized fashion, students share about themselves or important events happening in their lives while the other students listen, ask questions, or offer advice. I used this time to read from my “Compliments & Complaints” box.
Activity: prepare a short group activity that requires teamwork and allows students to practice a skill (acting out a skit, playing a game, solving a puzzle, etc.)
Message and Announcements: write a message with daily announcements on the board for the day, have students read it and respond to it. This is a sneaky way to force students to actually look at the day’s schedule, announcements, and other important information, and ask questions if necessary.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
The term “classroom management” implies a process used by teachers to ensure students are learning during instruction even while disruptive behavior is occurring. Teachers use a variety of strategies and techniques to prevent distracting behaviors or to impose consequences for said behavior. Classroom management has become increasingly more important as the stakes continue to rise for students to score better and achieve higher. At the same time, management has become more difficult during the technology-rich era of instant gratification.
Enter classroom management technology. These web-based programs and apps allow teachers to take the burden off of classroom management and focus on instruction.
Google Classroom – Google Classroom is a platform for teachers to create, distribute, and grade assignments paperlessly. Students can receive assignments and other information with their device or desktop. You must have a Google Education account to use this program and sign up is free.
Edmodo – Edmodo is a secure, social learning platform for teachers and students. Teachers can share information, post assignments, and store vital information for parents and students to access. It is similar to Facebook but a controlled environment that is school appropriate.
Too Noisy – The Too Noisy App ($3.99) is a noise level meter that tracks the sound level in the classroom. The app will indicate noise level increases beyond the acceptable level.
The Great Behavior Game – For K-5 students, the Great Behavior Game rewards students for displaying on-task behavior during instructional times. Monitor student progress, generate and print reports, and send home weekly progress reports.
Teacher’s Assistant – “Document student behavior and communicate with parents. Teacher’s Assistant helps you track behavior, notice trends, communicate with parents, and manage your students.” You can create categories to monitor recurring behaviors like talking, bullying, etc. It also allows you to log positive behavior. Try the free version (iOS) or upgrade to Pro on iPad, iPhone, and Android.
Class Dojo – Encourage positive student behavior using a virtual reward system. Using private, digital student portfolios, students can showcase their work for their parents to see. Teachers can share photos, videos, announcements, and message parents. Class Dojo can translate into any language. Download the app for use on your device or log in using your desktop computer.
Teacher Kit – This is great for K-12 and beyond. Manage multiple classes and students simultaneously. Log student attendance, record grades, track behavior, create student seating charts, and print and share reports. You can download the app on your device or use Teacher Kit on the web.
Learn Boost – LearnBoost allows teachers to create and manage lessons, track grades, share student progress with parents, and monitor attendance in a secure platform.
What is your favorite classroom management program or app?
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Educators spend 4 years in college learning how to be effective teachers. However, they are never really taught how to handle situations with difficult or upset parents. Here are a few tried and true tips for teachers when dealing with a difficult parent of a student.
Listen
The most important thing you can do is listen. Let the parent share first and don’t interrupt. Parents deserve to be heard, even if you feel that their concerns are ill-founded.
Acknowledge Parent Concerns
Let parents know you are aware of their specific concerns, regardless of your feelings on the issue. When you and the parent are “on the same page,” you can begin to work together toward a remedy.
Face-To-Face Meetings Are Best
Talk to parents in person. Meeting parents face-to-face is recommended, but a phone call will do if necessary. Speaking in person allows both parent and teacher to focus solely on the issue at hand. It is also good to avoid emails. The tone in an email can be easily misinterpreted and cause unnecessary confusion and frustration.
Don’t React
Remain calm, polite, positive, and professional when interacting with an upset parent. When a parent lashes out, it is simply a sign of their frustration. Calmly remind the parent that you have their student’s best interests in mind. If the parent becomes belligerent or aggressive, ask to continue the meeting another time. It’s okay to be an advocate for yourself if you are feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. If you think a parent meeting might get nasty, ask your administrator to attend.
Keep A Paper Trail
Document everything! Keep track of student behaviors and consequences, and parent communications. The “evidence” will speak for itself if necessary.
Stick To The Facts
It may be difficult, but you should keep your own opinions and emotions at bay. Dragging your feelings into the situation will not help the student. Your focus should remain on the student and the concerns you have. What facts will you use? Test scores? Behavior log? Grade book?
Use Everyday Language
Don’t bombard parents with education lingo and acronyms that they may not understand. Instead, use everyday language, or provide explanations. You don’t want an already upset parent to become frustrated.
Be Kind
Show the parents that you genuinely care about their student. Provide some examples of the student’s strengths, or positives. By doing this, you demonstrate that you have built a strong relationship with their students.
* If you find yourself dealing with a parent who becomes abusive, or poses a threat of danger to you or the student, please immediately contact your administrator, local police, or your NEA representative.
Recommended Reading:
How To Handle Difficult Parent: Proven Solutions for Teachers by Suzanne Capek Tingley
Dealing With Difficult Parents by Todd Whitaker & Douglas J. Fiore
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
