November 2010
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Teaching Tip Tuesdays – Great Websites
The Book Chook – This is an amazing blog run by Susan Stephenson. She is a teacher, a writer, editor, and reviewer. She has a passion for children’s literacy and literature. You can find lots of useful posts here that can inspire you in your classroom. Sean Banville – Search through the archives on how to […]
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Why Expectations Can Ruin Christmas
Image via Wikipedia Toronto’s Santa Claus parade was on television last weekend. As part of the program, the reporters went to the sidelines and talked to some of the families taking in the festivities. The first few interviews were sweet and innocent. They really highlighted what the Christmas season is all about. The families were […]
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Comic Book Imagery in Harry Potter
While I wasn’t overly impressed with the latest Harry Potter movie, there were two moments in the film that were very well done. (Spoiler Alert) In one scene, a wizarding fairy tale was retold. This sequence was beautifully illustrated in a comic book style similar in tone to what we have seen in Frank Miller’s work. […]
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The Colourful Parking Lot
The yellow lines separate.A red car by a school.Black concrete,green cars blend in to the treesby a lonely, cold puddle. That poem was written by my class yesterday. I really love what we are able to accomplish in this guided writing activity. Our goal was to write a colour poem. I started off the lesson […]
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Should’ve Made a Movie – It’s Already a Book
The only movie in the Harry Potter franchise that was true to the book was the very first installment. The first movie didn’t have to leave out any of the important story details. It didn’t need to trim the story down for it to fit in the theatrical format. That first movie was amazing. I […]
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Inspiring Students (Video Game Analogy)
I want my students to learn, but more than that, I want to develop in them a desire to learn, a desire to be productive, to accomplish things, to do more than they ever thought they could. That’s my goal. That is why I push my students to do their work, to use their time […]
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Kish Autograph
Kish was one of my favourite rappers back in the day. He came out with an album entitled Order from Chaos in 1991 and had quite the hit with “I Rhyme the World in 80 Days.” Unfortunately, despite a solid album, he seemed to remain a one-hit wonder. Three years later, A Nation of Hoods came […]
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Teaching Tip – Using Math Support
Did you know that most math textbooks these days come with all kinds of resources and support? Some math textbooks come with a CD-ROM. Others allow access to a website where you can download and print off worksheets. I like to use these resources to create new worksheets based on the lessons I have taught. […]
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Gotta Love Marching Bands
I went to the Santa Claus Parade on the weekend and was reminded of how much I love to see and hear the marching bands. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me. There were some great bands there that I would have loved to have shared with all of you who weren’t able to […]
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Coldstream Conservation Area (Visual Tour)
Time for another Visual Running Tour. This time I hit up Coldstream Conservation Area in Ilderton, Ontario. It’s always nice to see a map at the start of a trail. I don’t understand why this is called a beach area. How can you have a beach area when there is no swimming allowed? Is it […]