Book Sculptures!

Just for Fun!

Do you have an old book that is dated or no longer relevant. Don't throw it away. Use it to decorate your classroom! Experiment with different folding patterns. There is no wrong way to fold them. Once you have decided on a pattern, put a small bead of glue down the seam of the book and fold the page, then do the same thing with the next page. Continue squeezing a small bead down the seam until all pages are folded. Presto! An old book becomes an interesting art sculpture in your classroom.

Meet the Teacher

     At the beginning of the school year, create a Meet the Teacher board. Display pictures and honors you have recieved.
     On my personal meet the teacher board, I included my teacher certificate, which lead to a great segway for my 5th graders who then asked what exactly does it take to get that piece of paper. Promoting an education beyond H.S. was important for many of my boys and girls to hear about.
     Also showing accomplishements like recieving "Student of the Year" and "Swim Captain" in H.S. shows them to aim high throughout their education. There will always be a reward for those who try thier best.

Learning Goal

Identifying an Essential Question (EQ) is paramount these days in the classroom. Telling the students straight forward, this is what we will be accomplishing today during this lesson is the new norm.

Setting this up in any classroom can be simple. Electric tape works wonders on white boards. It comes off easily and looks strikingly clean on the board. By marking out boxes for each EQ, it becomes easy and neat to add new learning goals for each day or unit. While the picture does not demonstrate a completed EQ set, each of these boxes would have a statement or question.

For example: If the state standard demonstrated that the student should be able to understand that all matter is composed of parts that are too small to be seen without magnification, The EQ might read: How small is an atom and can we see it with a naked eye? 

The picture shows 5 EQ boxes for Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Writing.

Providing an EQ for the students will guide instruction and give students direction as to what is expected for the days lesson.