Interdiscipinary learning – Page 2

July 22, 2015

Grandparents and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes

Your two granddaughters come to visit while their mother copes with a new baby. Every morning, you pour mountainous bowls of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes for each one before they come downstairs. You set out spoons and the yellow milk pitcher. You have firm ideas about the propriety of leaving the cereal box on the table, so you put it back in Continue reading

Interdiscipinary learning, Math, Reading, Rituals, Science, Teaching and Learning, Vocabulary

breakfast, Grandchildren, vacation activities

July 14, 2015

Pluto: A Girl, A Grandfather, and A Teacher

Eighty-five years ago, 11-year-old Venetia Burney sat at breakfast with her grandfather, who was a university librarian at Oxford. He talked to her about the latest exciting news story, that a new planet had been discovered. A suitable name hadn’t yet been found, he pointed out. Venetia’s teacher had taught her students that the other Continue reading

Interdiscipinary learning, Science at Home, Social and emotional development, Speaking and listening, Teaching and Learning

New Horizons, planetary discovery, Pluto, space, Venetia Barney Phair

June 23, 2015

Do Pets School at Work, or Work at School?

To mark Take Your Dog to Work Day (June 26), I offer this piece from 2010, published at Lesley University as “The Magic of Mario and G Force.” Learn what a difference pets make in the classroom. It’s a steamy spring afternoon in a city school. Twenty-six hot first graders in navy polo shirts plop onto the rug to hear their Continue reading

Interdiscipinary learning, Social and emotional development, Speaking and listening, Storytelling, Teaching and Learning

pet writing center, relax and learn with pets, school pets

May 12, 2015

Common Core Plus S’mores

Our daily conversations are full of fractions and estimation: I’m half way there…The project is 75% complete…About a quarter of a piece That’s why it’s important to thread these skills into teaching whenever possible. And since this Friday, May 15, is National Pizza Party Day, pull out all the stops! Remember math worksheets with pictures of Continue reading

Celebrations, English Language Arts, Interdiscipinary learning, Math, Teaching and Learning

Common Core, estimation, math fun, teaching fractions

April 30, 2015

From Zymurgy to Zyzzyvas

Are you a dictionary lover? If so, you enjoy holding the book in your hands while browsing through its pages. You relish the distraction of looking up a word, because you see lots of other cool words along the way. I never mind when students do that; in fact, I encourage it. At their age, I’d visit Continue reading

English Language Arts, Interdiscipinary learning, Science, Vocabulary

discover, read dictionary, words