Funny Moments in Teaching and Great Music

Humor First

Art by Ron Leishman Digital Toonage

Since we're all at home, I figure it's time for a little humor in our dark days. Here are a few teaching situations to make you chuckle. One of my favorite stories was of the seventh grade teacher who came to class without her glasses. She had a most persistent student in the back of the room who kept his hand raised but refused to answer when called upon. After repeatedly calling on this silent student, she became angry and yelled at him, until one member of the class told her that her "student" was the overhead projector.

I also recall the teacher who went to the theater. Periodically throughout the show, she waved to a man who continually waved at her. At the end of the show, she approached the man to learn that she didn't actually know him, like she thought. He was merely flirting with her. She said, "I'm sorry. I thought you were one of my children's fathers." The man turned red and abruptly took off.

Stories are best told in three, so here is another favorite from my gifted and talented classroom. We were partaking in a Jeopardy Game in honor of Black History Month. The following conversation gives you a peek into the bright students that I've had the pleasure of teaching.

Girl: Who was Collin Powell?

Boy: His name is Colin!

Girl: I don't like names that sound like body parts.

Boy: Really? I have an Uncle Pancreas.

I hope you enjoyed the laughs and find ways to make new ones, even in our at home situation!

Distance Learning

If you are stuck at home, here are my newest resources for distance learning. All of these are being offered in Google Applications for student downloading.

I just love David Shannon's picture book, 

A Bad Case of Stripes! 

Your students will be able to complete distance learning with this resource!

Inside this easy to use resource, you'll find:

• Introduction to Story
• Meet the Author
• Vocabulary Activity
• Vocabulary Fill Ins
• Critical Thinking Questions
• Book Review Directions
• Answer Key

You need to give students grammar practice whether online, at home, or in

school, but you do not have an easy resource to capture kids' attention. Find this beautiful and useful resource right at your fingertips in Google Drive!

Inside this easy to use Google Slide presentation, you'll find:

• "I can" Statement
• Core Standards
• 38 Lessons
• Practice Identifying Basic Parts of Speech

1. Nouns
2. Verbs
3. Adjectives
4. Pronouns
5. Prepositions

• Practice Writing Sentences with Specific Parts of Speech
• Complete Answer Key

Are you looking for an easy to use historical fiction passage with vocabulary work and questions that can be shared through remote learning? Look no further. This resource in Google Drive will motivate your students through a reading passage just for them!

Inside this easily shared Google document you'll find:

• Six page historical fiction story
• Twenty vocabulary words
• Fifteen vocabulary fill in sentences
• A word search puzzle
• Eleven high level discussion questions
• Complete Answer Key

Musical Monday Moves Me

Now, it's time for some musical selections. This week is a freebie. During the lockdown, my daughter, husband, and I were painting Erica's old bedroom. Since my husband hadn't painted a room since 1966, he put on the oldies station to reminisce those times. Here are a few of the songs we heard from the 1966 countdown.

First up is a timeless classic from The Mamas & The Papas, "California Dreaming."

Next, enjoy Simon and Garfunkel with, "Homeward Bound."

Finally, The New Vaudeville Band with "Winchester Cathedral" was a fun song of the past!

Monday's Music Plays the Fool

It's Monday, again, and I have a few things to tell you. First off, our music theme is songs with "fool" in them, but I want to wish my husband a Happy Birthday. I guess he's the fool for marrying me.

Happy Birthday, Mitchell!

First up is Beatles related, and the Beatles are his favorite band of all times. Here is Paul McCartney with Fool on the Hill.

Next up is a foolish little video of my grandchild. You read that right. Great times are coming in October with a wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! Here's something put together by my son, the future papa. In honor of becoming a grandmother, I will be sending out a great free resource to my mail group. If you want it, you have to sign up before I send out the mailing, soon. You can join my group HERE.

And finally, keeping up with the "Fool" theme is another homemade film. My daughter made this movie and mastered it to great music. It was for a movie quarantine contest that she won! The music in this is fun so have a listen to this original piece called The Bearded and the Restless.

Distance Learning & TpT Sale Starts Tomorrow!

This morning, I listened to my daughter teach her third grade religious school class through the computer. The kids sounded cute with their little voices, and I saw that she really is a good teacher. At one point, I started recording her on my phone, but she saw me and got angry. Another stressor of this distance teaching is not only is Mom listening in, but she had the administrator pop by, too. None-the-less, I am happy that she is still getting paid her full amount, even though school was closed for several weeks, and she is only teaching half hour classes with half of the kids, present.

Now, this is not "real" school, so I'm not surprised that not everyone showed up. I have to ask, how is attendance for a "normal" remote learning session? Do the kids show up? 

I always told my students that the best thing they can do is read, read, read. I also recently learned that Scholastic has loosened their copyright so that teachers are now allowed to read books to their class online. If you decide to do this, I have a lot of book studies for sale. Link to Book Studies A lot of teachers have been buying these, probably because they are on PowerPoint, so they are easy to use in class.

Good luck with remote teaching! Also, to help you out, TpT is having a sitewide sale starting at midnight. My entire store will be on sale for 20% off, and you can get an additional 5% off by using the promo code: ForYou

Primary

• Pirates Past Noon
• Berenstain Bears Trouble with Money
• The Truth About Bats
• Frog and Toad Activities
• Katie Woo No More Teasing
• And More  Primary Book Studies HERE

Elementary 

• Be A Perfect Person in Just Three Days!
• The Indian in the Cupboard
• The BFG
• Mrs. Zimmerman's Donuts
• The One and Only Ivan
• Frindle
• From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Francis E. Frankweiller

Upper Elementary or Middle School

• Savvy
• Refugee
• Bull Run
• A Long Way From Chicago
• Streams to the River, River to the Sea
• Number the Stars
• Among the Hidden

Good luck with remote teaching!

Joyce
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Monday Music Moves Me

COVID 19 parody songs

And I think this last one is my favorite.

And, here are two additional songs in honor of 

my son's 32nd birthday! Dang he got old.