Susan Hyde's Blog

Posted by Susan Hyde

Most fourth graders would rather have a tooth pulled than study a school subject for fun. Not my son. Like many gifted children, he is intense about his interests. For him, maps, history, landforms and culture rank right up there with race cars, chocolate ice cream and Scooby Doo. In fact, he has enjoyed studying maps, atlases and geological landforms since toddlerhood.

This year he's taking his passion up a notch to prepare for the National Geographic Geo Bee.

It really helps that the "big stuff" -- state capitals, continents, bodies of water, and the locations of the small former Soviet countries that all seem to end in "-stan"-- but there is plenty more to learn. In addition to ever-changing country boundaries, the diverse cultures and terrain in Africa, for instance, make it a particularly tricky continent to study

We're homeschoolers, so he has plenty of time daily to "play" on his computerized Smart Globe, review his atlases and prep guides, and draw maps. While this is fun for him, I try to mix it up a bit with IMAX and National Geographic videos that highlight different areas of the world. We also spend a little time looking at online resources each day. For instance, National Geographic has a great website with daily quizzes.

As a homeschooler my son's first round of competition will be with a Maine Homeschool group will be in December. Regardless of how he does, it is fabulous that he has an opportunity to study something he loves.

Posted by Susan Hyde

Now that Harry's gone, what will you suggest for summer reading? The Harry Potter series appealed the collective imaginations of young and old with adventure, magic, vivid narrative,clever dialogue, and young, clever protagonists. Here are four tried and true series that will keep Harry Potter loving students reading all summer long!

Classic Fantasy Favorites

• The Chronicles of Pyrdain by Lloyd Alexander: Since the The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers of fantasy have enjoyed reading the adventures of the Assistant Pig-Keeper, Taran, as he seeks to become a hero.
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: The recent cinema and DVD successes of Walden Media's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe have brought well deserved attention to this allegorical series. Challenge students to read Prince Caspian before the movie comes out this May!
• The Time Quartet by Madeline L'Engle: The travels don't end with A Wrinkle in Time. Follow Meg Murry and her family as they tesseract through time and space.
• The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien: Your students will journey through Middle Earth with Bilbo,Frodo and their brave companions as they take on the dark elements that plague their world.

Posted by Susan Hyde

What's the big deal with handwriting? A child grabs a pencil, copies letters, and all is well... right? Well, not exactly. With preschool and pre-K becoming more popular, more children are learning to write earlier. While this might be helpful for reading readiness, research shows that a straight-to-the-pencil approach is developmentally inappropriate for many children and may actually cause problems later on.

At a recent two-day Handwriting Without Tears Workshop, Presenter Patty Bunce, OTR discussed the problems that can occur when children begin writing early but without age appropriate guidance. "Preschools," she explained, "shove all of these kindergarten skills into pre-K." Thus, she continued, "Many kids are going into kindergarten with terrible habits."

This is not to say that young children cannot learn letters. Rather, Bunce suggest ed that quality pre-K programs will emphasize informal multi-sensory and developmentally appropriate readiness activities.

For instance, Bunce suggested that young students should spend a lot of time coloring and drawing with crayons. The resistance that a crayon gives strengthens children's fingers and provides tactile feedback in a way that markers and even pencils will not. Coloring with crayons on construction paper will provide even more resistance. Additionally, crayons are small and developmentally appropriate for little hands as children learn a proper tripod grip.

Squeezing and rolling clay or play dough is another excellent readiness activity that strengthens little hands in preparation for handwriting. Teach students to roll dough balls into snakes. The snakes can then be used to create shapes and letters.

Finally, it is also important to include gross motor activities to "wake up" the brain and help students to become more comfortable with their bodies. Dancing and other kinesthetic activities are fun and provide a wonderful foundation for fine motor movements to come.

Posted by Susan Hyde

From snow to rain to sunshine, spring is a time of volatile weather. It is the perfect season to use math and graphing to collect weather data, calculate averages and graph comparisons.

Charting the Weather

First, work with your class to determine what elements of weather are typically charted. Depending on the level, students may suggest high and low temperatures, average temperatures, humidity levels, rainfall amounts or even barometer readings.

Bring in a variety of weather tools (or perhaps create a PowerPoint presentation of weather tools), old and new, and discuss how the tools are used to measure rainfall, temperature and other levels. As an alternative, meet technology standards by retrieving statistics from the National Weather Service website.

Collecting Data

Discuss why it is important to predict and chart weather. What interest would a farmer have in the weather? An engineer? A fisherman? A NASA scientist? How does weather affect other industries?

Break students into small groups for the purpose of collecting daily weather data. While one group determines temperatures, another group might be in charge of measuring rainfall , humidity or water temperatures. Provide data collection worksheets for younger students. Ask lder or more advanced students to design their own.

Graphing Averages

Continue the data collection for one month. After one month, allow students to work together to determine data averages, highs and lows, and extreme weather changes. Ask students to create a variety of graph designs to Compare results with average information from other years. Can students chart trends? Remember to provide students with an assessment rubric so that they know what elements will be graded.

This would also be a perfect time to invite a meteorologist to the classroom or to create a multidisciplinary unit that includes poetry (April is, after all, National Poetry Month!) or Earth Day gardening projects.

Posted by Susan Hyde

Spring brings new colors, sounds and experiences. What better time to use poetic language to celebrate the newness of the season?

Modeled Poetry

Nature poetry invites students to imbibe in the glory of this fabulous season. Provide and discuss daily poetry models, and encourage students to create poetry of their own. Students will enjoy imitating the styles of famous poets as well as hammering out original verse. Here are some examples of lessons that you may want to use in your language arts or English classroom:

• Read William Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey. Challenge students to write a poem that similarly combines nature with themes such as time, imagination or even religion.
• Read Gary Snyder's Pulitzer Prize winning poem, Rip Rap. How does he use natural images as a metaphor for poetics? Ask students to write metaphoric poetry using spring images.
• Play music with nature images in the lyrics such as John Denver's Rocky Mountain High or India Arie's Nature. How do natural images contribute to emotion in these songs? Ask students to create their own lyrics or have them sing together.
• Read Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan. Ask students to use pastels or paint to draw what the images suggest.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord Hymn. Allow students to write a poem of their own that uses natural images to mark a historic event.

Allow students to create a portfolio of their best poetry place in the school library or to share during a parent-teacher night.

Posted by Susan Hyde

Students love a good argument, but too often teachers assign and re-assign the same argumentative topics so many times that the debates become uninteresting for students and instructors. Update your lackluster persuasive writing list with engaging topics that matter to high school students.

• Do magazines marketed for teenagers send the wrong message? Using at least three specific magazines for support, argue for or against the moral and ethical messages that dominate magazines directed for the teen demographic.
• Is it freedom of the press or harrassment? Argue whether the papparazzi helps or hinders the purpose of the free press.
• Are grades important? Discuss whether grades are necessary in order to keep students on track with learning.
• Is homework necessary? Should teachers lay off, or is homework a necessary element of learning?
• It has been said that America's biggest export is pop culture. Is Hollywood a good ambassador for America?
• Should public schools provide more classes and internship programs for students who choose not to go to college?
• Are college entrance exams like the SAT or ACT good indicators of university success?
• Would a voucher system that allowed for more school choice be a positive change for the American education system?
• Should parents be allowed to sumbit their teens to drug testing?
• Would single-sex public schools be more effective than co-ed?

Student debate topics should, of course, require research, but, just as importantly, they should require students to think and make judgments about topics that are important to them. Be sure to provide students with persuasive writing models and an assessment rubric so that students know what you are looking for!

Posted by Susan Hyde

This week Maine Representative Kerri Prescott (R-Topsham) arranged for my two boys and other members of our homeschool co-op to have a truly inspiring hands-on political experience. The children, who ranged in age from five to eleven, worked as Honorary Pages in the House of Representatives during a legislative session at the Maine State House.

We arrived early for the session so that the kids could meet Representative Prescott, take pictures, and receive a briefing on the rules of serving as an Honorary Page. Before the session, the ten children waited at the back of the chamber where they met several more representatives, including teacher and state Representative Seth Berry (D- Bowdoinham), and they learned about the role of the Sergent-at-Arms.

After the benediction, National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings (D-Portland) introduced the students by name as they were led to the front of the State House ("We were famous!" my younger son exclaimed later.)

As the legislative session commenced, our well-dressed group was kept quite busy delivering messages throughout the chamber, and while I'm quite sure that they did not have a full understanding of all of the precedings, they were definitely introduced to the idea that our representational democracy is "of the people and by the people."

Honorary Page programs exist in many states and can usually be arranged with a call to a local Congressman. What a perfect way to introduce children to the workings of the government.

Posted by Susan Hyde

The sun is shining and the icicles are dripping their last drops. Now is the time to create lesson plans that celebrate the arrival of spring!

Books About Spring

Picture books about spring invite students to think about weather changes. Here are a few of my favorite titles:

• Hurray for Spring! by Patricia Hubbel (Northword Books for Young Readers, 2005)
• It's Spring by Linda Glaser (Millbrook Press, 2002)
• Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur (Clarion Books, 1999)
• That's What Happens When It's Spring by Ellen W. Good (Good Books, 1996)
• When Spring Comes by Robert Maas (Henry Holt & Co., 1996)

Spring Writing Activities

After reading a book about spring, ask students to do their own writing. For instance, after reading Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic, students might enjoy making their own colorfully illustrated acrostic books or posters.

Writing garden poetry is another fun way to bring the spring changes into the classroom. Encourage students to use vivid imagery to capture the beauty of spring renewal.

Science of Seasons

• In spring everything is new again. When spring rains bring earthworms to the surface of the play yard, collect them for a spring composting lesson!
• Spring is also an ideal time to plant gardens, make a sun dial or study the parts of a flower.

Easter Math Lessons and Other Holiday Activities

• Celebrate the Irish with yummy recipes on St. Patrick's Day
• Easter isn't only for bunnies. Use Jellybeans to teach students about graphing.
• Study the Celtic origins of May day, and make Maypoles to mark the beginning of spring.
• Don't forget mom! Use your the class compost for planting flowers to use as gifts on Mother's Day.

Best of all, spring brings in warm weather for outdoor lessons. Reading, writing and math are all more fun when they are brought outside.

Posted by Susan Hyde

If reading groups and basal instruction aren't inspiring your students to love reading, it may be time to try Reader's Theater.

Reader's Theater refers to the use of scripted plays to encourage student reading. The plays usually do not include complicated props or costumes so that they can be used concentrate on the actual presentation of the words.

Because Reader's Theatre uses drama, students learn to articulate and project while also improving reading skills. It is also a perfect way to differentiate reading instruction since stronger readers can be assigned more difficult or lengthier parts than weaker readers, but all students are engaged in all parts of the reading.

In addition to reading skills, students are encouraged to listen to their classmates since inattention might cause them to miss a line. Teachers may likewise encourage kinesthetic involvement by allowing readers to stand and move while reading their lines.

Teachers who use reader's theater should still take time for pre-reading and post-reading activities:

• Pre-Reading Activities: Introduce point-of-view, ask students to visualize or even draw the setting, require students to silently pre-read their parts and ask questions about vocabulary terms, ask students to make predictions based on the title
• Post-Reading Activities: Ask students to re-tell the story, and discuss literary devices used in the script, use a plot diagram to discuss the conflicts in the story, extend the story by asking students to predict what might happen next

Reader's Theater is also a fun way to introduce famous people and events across the curriculum. Ask students to create scripts for their classmates based on biographies or histories that they read outside of class.

Posted by Susan Hyde

Irish Ancestry

St. Patrick's Day has its roots in Ancient Ireland. With as many as 35 milliion Americans claiming Irish ancestry, it is appropriate to learn about Ireland's history, stories, music, traditions and culture.

Research Projects for St. Patick's Day

• Research the story of St. Patrick. What facts are known about this Irish-Catholic Saint? What stories surround his life and Sainthood? Write and illustrate a picture book that tells about this 4th century Saint.
• Research Irish symbols. Examples: Celtic Harp, Leprechauns, Irish Flag, Shamrock, Claddagh Ring, Celtic Knotwork, Celtic Cross or Wheel Headed Celtic Cross
• What role did animals play in Celtic Mythology? Explain the significance of at least three.
• Research traditional Irish recipes and bring in a few dishes to share (Irish panakes, scones, soda bread, Dublin coddle, champ, potato bread, corned beef and cabbage, etc.)
• Watch a movie or read a play by prolific Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. (Recommended: St. Joan, Pygmalion)
• Read excerpts from celebrated Irish novelists and poets such as C.S. Lewis, James Joyce, Jonathon Swift, Oscar Wilde or William Butler Yeats.
• Create a map of Ireland. Include major cities, landmarks and geographic landforms.
• Tell the history of the Book of Kells. Create a visual aid to help with an oral presentation.

Whether individually assigned or provided as a group activity, these St. Paddy's Day projects will promote an understanding of this prominent Amerian heritage.

Posted by Susan Hyde

Students who have support from both home and school are more likely to reach their potential. For this reason, teachers should encourage parental involvement in all aspects of learning. Positive communication througout the school year will invite parents to take an active involvement in their child's education.

• Write notes: Parents should not have to wait for report card time to hear from you. A personal note home shows that you care about a child's learning. Be sure to include positive student information as well as noting areas of concern.
• Email: Emails are a great way to keep parents informed. Use this tool to inform parents of upcoming due dates, holidays, fieldtrips, conferences and classroom activities.
• Class Newspaper or Website: Keep parents interested in student activities with a newspaper or website that highlights from theme units and fieldtrips as well as examples of student writing, poetry, and achievements. Find a way to include every student in these projects.
• Conferences: Meet with parents to discuss student achievement. Don't wait for report card time to address concerns or praise achievement.
• Invite parents to Volunteer: Many parents will be happy to help. Ask parents to assist struggling students, lead small group discussions, create bulletin boards, provide food or assistance with theme days or class parties, or just visit the classroom.
• Parent Classroom Committees: Encourage parental input on everything from fieldtrips to completing course objectives. What would parents like to have happen in the classroom?
• Develop Workshops: Work with other teachers and administrators to create parent workshops on everything from discipline to learning styles.

When teachers and parents work together, there is no end to what students can achieve!

Posted by Susan Hyde

One hundred days of school have come and gone. Celebrate the passage of a century of days with activities across the curriculum !

• Have a race! Divide students into teams of three. Provide them with string and a bucketful of mixed objects that can be strung (ziti macaroni, buttons, beads, etc.). The first team to accurately count and string 100 objects wins.
• Who are the Top 100 athletes? What are the 100 most popular books? Ask students to make a variety of "Top 100" lists based on classmate responses.
• Decorate the classroom with paper chains 100 links long.
• How long is one hundred seconds? Cover the clock and ask students not to talk, laugh or otherwise make noise except to raise hands when they guess that 100 seconds have passed. Use stop watches mark down the second count for students as they raise their hands. Provide awards for students who are the most accurate.
• Arrange for a sharp centurion to talk to your students about about life during the past one hundred years.
• Research the people, events, transportation, architecture and daily lives of a century ago. Create a class newspaper highlighting these events.
• Ask each student to bring in 100 items (cereal, pretzels, nuts, dried fruit, etc.) for a healthy class trail mix. (Be sure to find out whether any students have food allergies!)
• What can students buy for $100? Ask students to use the internet to create $100 grocery lists. Ask more advanced students to include the sales tax as a part of the $100 figure.
• Write creatively. What will the world be like in 100 years?
• Where could students travel if they walked 100 feet? Drove 100 miles? Flew 100,000 miles? Rocketed 100 milion miles?

Use this 100 day anniversary to inspire creative lesson plans across the curriculum!

Posted by Susan Hyde

We're having yet another blustery Nor'easter today in New England, so the kids have a day off from school. When the school doors open later in the week, teachers would be wise to use the snowy opportunity to get their kids interested in learning.

Snowy Day Science and Math

• Go on a snow flake hunt. On day with gentle flurries, send your students outside with a magnifying glass and a laminated (waterproof) handout that shows different types of snowflakes. Ask them to record the types of snowflakes that land on the arms of their coats. Use this lesson as a jumping off point for older students to learn about crystal formation. In math, younger students can use their data to create bar graphs.
• Although ice cream is usually a summertime treat, your students aren't likely to complain if you make it on a wintry day. Use snow from the schoolyard in place of the ice that you would usually use for this activity.
• How does color effect temperature? Ben Franklin's famous experiment can only be carried out when there is snow on the ground!

Frosty Art

Younger students never tire of making cut-out snowflakes, and you never even have to tell them that it is a perfect fine motor activity that strengthens little hands, encourages the use of fingertips (folding) provides scissor practice.

Social Studies on Icy Days

Ask your students to research in order to find answers great questions:

• What ingenious ways have people from different cultures used to keep warm?
• What mythological stories have different cultures used to explain winter?
• What challenges face arctic and antarctic explorers? How have explorers met these challenges?
• How might certain winter events in history -- George Washington's Crossing the Delaware, for instance -- have been different had they occured in another season?

Posted by Susan Hyde

Students are always more excited about writing when it has real world applications. For this reason, letter writing activities provide students with perfect opportunities to understand the use of audience, purpose and tone in a variety authentic writing situations.

Business Letter Lesson Plan

Writing a business letter should not be a dry activity. When teachers add modeled writing, role play and reader's theatre, students are more likely to enjoy and remember what they learn.

Don't forget to provide the assessment rubric in advance of the assignment so that students remember the format and written elements of a successful business letter.

Letters to the Editor

Teach students to be citizen activists! The presidential election season provides perfect opportunities for students to research candidates (remember to teach cyber safety!), determine which contenders best fit their own political beliefs and use persuasive writing techniques to encourage others to vote.

Project-based learning activities that culminate in a letter to the editor assignment will allow students to examine their own beliefs and write for a purpose.

Thank You Letters

Teach gratitude and writing skills! Throughout the year ask students to write thank you letters to school volunteers, parents who bring treats to school, cafeteria workers, maintenance staff and adult mentors.