Stained Glass for Easter

          Spring is here! 

So, Easter can't be very far off.

       Each year during Lent, I  have my students work on a "stained glass" of the Crucifixion.  Years ago I found a brochure of the Stations of the Cross done as stained glass windows of a church.   I made a copy and then whited all the colors out to have a black and white copy that my students could design in their choice of colors.  

   
      This is my black and white sheet that I give to my students.
Here is what the students work looks like.  As you notice, some are a work in progress.

          These "stained glass windows" are a favorite Lenten project of mine.

Today I linked up with Forever in Fifth Grade for       " Show and Tell Tuesday".

 www.foreverinfifthgrade.blogspot.com 
    Please leave a comment on this project.  Let me know if your could use this in your class someday.

Happy Easter to all!

Beti

Student Journal for Lent

    As a 5th grade Religion teacher, I have my students make a Lenten Journal.  Each day at the beginning of class, my children take out their journal and write a short reflection for the day. I use a group of reflections that I collected over the years, given by to me our Religious Education director and principal.  The whole class can think about the same topic each day. The topics are very simple and can be completed in a minute or two.  Sometimes they share their thoughts and ideas.  Other days, ideas are kept private.  I give my students the option whether they want to share or not.

 

        Twelve small pieces of paper were stapled into a piece of card stock folded in half. I had the children cut the days part and then glued two to each page to save paper. We used the front and back of each page as you can see in the pictures.

       Our students will be at home on Good Friday.  Hopefully they will write in their journal until Easter Sunday.

            

The students can decorate their pages if they like. 

Have a blessed Lenten Season. 

Please leave a comment.  I would love to hear from you.

Beti

Boston Massacre

Boston Massacre      

   This week has been very exciting in my Social Studies class. We have been discussing the events leading up to the American Revolution,  The Proclamation of 1763,   The Quartering Act,  The Stamp Act,  The Townshend Acts,  The Boston Massacre,  The Tea Act,  and The Boston Tea Party.  The Boston Massacre was an especially unsettling topic for my students, especially  the fact that five men were killed.  We talked about the issue that we really don't know what happened during the confrontation, but we do know the result.  We also realized that there are always two sides to a story.

      Among the faculty at my school, I'm known as the "teacher who collects junk".  If someone needs something, they first come to ask me if I might have what they are looking for.  Nine out of ten times, I usually have what they are looking for. 

      So.... last year someone dropped off a bag of "goodies" at the school office, and of course  our wonderful administrative assistants said, " Send this to Beti's room.  She'll find a use for these things."   Inside the bag were about fifteen little wooden coffins. ( I would say that you could find these at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or JoAnn's )

      In our Social Studies text book is this picture.

    I made a photocopy, cut them apart, and glued these onto the tops of the little coffins.

 

   
               I feel that my students have a better understanding of my Religion and Social Studies lessons if they can touch, sing, of get involved in acting out the topic. These little wooden boxes just happened fill the bill for my lesson on the Boston Massacre.

          You never know what the day may bring.  So, keep an open mind to and an open door.  You'll be surprised what or who may come into your life.

        I have linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching  Five for Friday linky.  Check out all the other blogs and their great ideas.

                      www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com  

Please leave a comment on this post.  

Beti
 

Boston Tea Party Notes

              Each spring the Boston Tea Party is part of the 5th grade curriculum in Social Studies.  I was looking on Pinterest and found some interesting ideas.
 This anchor chart is so wonderful with great information. I knew I could use this with my students.   Pinterest stated it was "saved by Katie Shaw- Boston Tea Party Cause and Effect Anchor Chart American Revolution 5th Grade Social Studies."

         I like to have my students take notes and keep them in a Social Studies duo-tang. So I made a worksheet from this anchor chart. So I changed it to fit the needs of my class. 

     I like to have my students add color to their notes when they are reviewing their notes for homework.  This way I know that they did look at their notes because they have to color them.  

        This is what the blank note sheet looks like.




        I also saw another anchor chart on the Boston Tea Party.  This one is from Miss Mills Blog.   I was so impressed.  I knew I could use this in my own class.
www.missmillsblog.blogspot.com 

    

      
      I did take the liberty of making this into a sheet of notes for my students to fill in and keep in their dou-tang for safe keeping.

      I would like to thank these two wonderful ladies for putting their ideas out there for all the rest of us to see.  I also hope that I have done justice to their ideas by adding my own spin. 

      We will be participating in a SKYPE field trip with Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum very soon.   So these notes will be so very useful to my students.

      Enjoy your day. Please leave a comment if you have a spare minute.

Today I linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the Five For Friday Linky. 
See what everyone is sharing by clicking the link below.

www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com  

 Beti

Explorer Diorama

     I really like making dioramas with my 5th graders. Sorry, it is a little fuzzy. This one uses a single sheet of paper.  Fold on the dashed lines and cut on the solid line to form the diorama.

 

     I drew a sailing ship, cut on the solid line, wrote the information, folded the paper, glued and done. These are VERY basic instructions, but I'm sure you will be able to whip this one up in no time.
       I always give my students the opportunity to choose from a list of topics when working on an in class project like this. It gives your students a sense of control over their learning. Of course, you, the teacher has ultimate control of their topic selection if you have limited the scope of topics from which to choose.

          Today I have linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five For Friday linky.   Check out all the other blogs this week.
www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com

   I hope this idea can be used in your class in some way this year or in the future.
Have a great day!

Beti

Toothbrush for teething

        My granddaughter is teething and chewing her fingers and hands.  Nothing seemed to soothe her pain. She didn't want any teething toys.  So gave her  her toothbrush. My daughter put on the Elmo video that says , "Brushy, brush, brush."
She started brushing far back in her mouth where her new teeth are coming in.


   It worked like a charm,  some relief for a little while.

I hope this works for your little one, too.

Beti

Little Love Monsters

       My friend, Dawn, a second grade teacher put up these darling little 
          LOVE MONSTERS.

 

 Her second graders each designed one and wrote a short story. Each one is cuter than the next.  I couldn't resist taking pictures to share with everyone. 
Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I linked up with Kacey at 
Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly Five For Friday linky. 

www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com 

Enjoy a beautiful day.

  Beti