Trade Fair

Trade Fair!

one man's trash is another man's treasure

During the trade fair we all brought in something we wanted to get rid of. Some people brought in old stuff they never use, some people went out and bought some things and others brought in baked goods. I brought in an art piece that I made.

First, after all our items were set up and ready to be taken, no one really moved or spoke for a little while; it was very quiet. But then one person spoke up and it just snowballed.

Nia had the best luck at the trade fair. She was smart and brought these wonderful red velvet cupcakes that looked delicious. They were the biggest items! Nia was smart and brought in a big supply (6 cupcakes). Because she had many items, Nia could trade more than once. So, Nia ended up leaving with 6 new items after she traded her 6 cupcakes.

The Trade Fair Activity is a great way to introduce a lesson on trade and supply/demand. It is important for students to understand trade and the terms go along with the concept in order to learn about wants and needs. At the end of the activity the students can write a little trade fair book. The students should include a title, what they brought, what they are leaving with and then a little summary of their experience. This is a great way for students to reflect on their experience and what they learned.

Learning Centers

Teaching in Small Groups
Learning Centers

When teaching history some students can get distracted or bored when the teacher stands in front of the class as lectures. Even if the teacher is doing all the talking/teaching, students can get uninterested in the content. In order to avoid boredom teachers can use Learning Centers to help keep the students engaged. Learning Centers can be used for almost all subject areas, and are very helpful for students to get a better understanding of the content through experience. During learning centers students are rotating between 4 or 5 different stations, where at each station the students are doing an activity to practice a previous lesson or introduce a new one. Learning centers are very beneficial for the students if there is an assessment (formal or informal). It is important for the teacher to know if the students are benefiting from the centers and learning something. An appropriate assessment for learning centers would be a discussion, or a written summary of what they learned.




During class we all brought something for a learning center. I brought a vocabulary game called BANG!. BANG! was set up by having cards cut out with social study terms printed on them and then put into a can (I used a Pringles can). The students would pick out a card and say the definition, and if they got it right they would keep the card, if they got it wrong they would have put the card back. The one who ended up with the most cards won! Some other people brought in an art activity with some writing, games and quizzes. It was a lot of fun! I think Learning Centers are great way for students to learn and have fun.

Games From Around the World

Teaching Geography
Games From Around the World

When teaching geography it is important to remember that geography is about people. Teaching geography is all about relating people to places. Keeping in this mind, teachers need to be sure to make connections with students when teaching geography, and the best way to do that is to find a way to make the students connect with the place. The best way to get students to connect to country or region is to have them make connections to the people that live there. Once students relate to the people living in that country or region they can understand that people are people, and we all are a like in some way. After students understand that no matter where you live we all have similarities, they can start to investigate, or research, the geographical areas and learn all about their interests. Listed below are the main areas of geography the teacher can introduce to students.

Geography Areas:

• Location
• Place
• Human/Environment/Interactions
• Movement
• Regions

Games From Around the World is a great activity to have students participate in your classroom. The activity will help students get a better understanding that children are children no matter where they come from. This activity also helps students open up, "let loose," and shoe their true self. The students will understand that there are many similarities in games from all different countries. The rules may be different, and they are played in different cultures, but the overall idea of the game is almost the same. With this activity the students can make compare/contrast statements and use visuals to make connections to other cultures. 

During class I chose  La Bella Lavandaria from Italy. The game is very similar to ring-around-the-rosie, but there is not "falling down." The game has one person in the middle and the rest of the students are in circle around the person (la lavandaria). The students gathered around in a circle sing a song instructed the middle person to do certain actions. The game was a lot of fun! Others brought in games from all over the world, and it was a lot of fun to play them and see a different side to everyone. 

Color of Leaves

How to Teach Time and Change
Color of Leaves 

When teaching time and change it is important to discuss immediate time. For example, the class could chart or graph their wake up time and the times they go to bed. This is helpful for relating time to the student's lives. It is also important for students to focus on time past, time present and time future in order to understand the concept of time and change. The teacher could bring the students grandparents, or outside sources to talk about the past and compare it to the present, or the teacher can teach holidays and relate them to the seasons, so the students can grasp the idea of seasons and time of year. Another way to teach time and change is to integrate families and communities into the lessons. The teacher can have people from the community or the student's family member to come in and talk about the history of their ancestors and/or community. Another effective way to teach time and change is to discuss artifacts. Have the students participate in the artifact shoebox activity we did in class. Students should be able to relate to the subject matter and concepts the teacher discusses in order to get grasp on the time and change; the teacher must make a connection with the student.

Using the color of leaves and change in nature, the students can learn time and change through experience. Using the student's environment and their surroundings will make a connection for the student and they will better understand change. They can see that the leaves change to the colors of orange, red and yellow during the Fall, the leaves are no longer around during the Winter, the leaves are green during Spring and Summer. This is a great way to have the students relate to the lesson and stay engaged.

Artifacts Shoebox Activity

Teaching History
Artifacts Shoebox Activity

When teaching History to elementary students the teacher needs to make sure to make connections so they can make a difference to the students. Using authentic experiences are very important to make an impact on students. When teaching these experiences it is important to use critical thinking with in-depth content, so make sure you ask a lot of questions and let the students ask a lot of questions and share opinions. Listed below are a few ways to make history "fun" for your students.




History need to be:

• Meaningful/Personal
• Active
• Social/Collaborative
• Integrated 
• Hands-On
• Thinking
• Relevant

In class we participated in the Artifacts Shoebox Activity. In Artifacts Shoebox Activity included each student packing a shoebox filled with things they wouldn't want to live without. The idea was: "If you were leaving/moving and you could only take a shoebox, what would you put in the shoebox?" Some of us were thinking about sentimental values such as, pictures of family and friends, music, jewelry, journals, artwork and other meaningful things. Some other thought more practical including things such as, toilet paper, tooth brush, make-up, food and other resourceful things. 

If our items were to be put in a time capsule or buried and later dug up, there are conclusions that would be made about our culture and the kind of society we lived in. For example, because of the pictures and journals one may say we were sentimental and emotional; because of the tooth brush and toilet paper, one may say we were realistic and practical; because of the journals and artwork one may say we were artistic and philosophical; or because of the bible and other religious tokens one may say we were religious and spiritual. Due to the different backgrounds and ethnic groups in our class one conclusion about this culture could be that we are multicultural. On interesting thing about this activity was that technology was a popular item in our shoeboxes. This is very ironic because we are all part of a time where technology is expanding and becoming a necessity in our society. 

The Artifact Shoebox Activity would be a great way to teach history, and make a connection with students. This activity lets the students express themselves and what is important to them. Because of the interest in the activity the students will stay engaged and get grasp on what it may have been like to live during a time when you had to make difficult decisions. With a class discussion after the activity it gives the students a chance to explore their thoughts and evoke critical thinking.