Planning the First Days Back to School

Rural school near Milton, North Dakota, 1913 : Miss Margaret McKay, teacher. Image from the Library of Congress: Digital ID ndfahult b369

If you are already starting to plan the coming school year, or if you want to find some inspiration for something new this year, try some of these "Back to School" ideas:

MiddleWeb's Back to School for The New Middle School Teacher has a long and interesting list of links for The First Days of Middle School. I enjoyed reading through the discussion about the A Million Words... idea that is suggested as "A Wonderful Tool to Connect With Parents."

For younger students, the Responsive Classroom Newsletter features an article by a kindergarten teacher and offers her suggestions for the first days of school. You might also be able to use some of the Back to School Poems and Songs at the CanTeach website.

Education World offers several good resources for the first days. They have a Back to School Index including a list of Icebreakers and another good article with links on Planning for Your First Day at School.

As always, Kathy Schrock offers good Discovery School resources like the ones on the Back to School and End of Year Resources web page. Scholastic also provides Back to School icebreakers, activities and units. Take time to visit this extensive Blackwell's Best Back to School page of links to find templates, ideas, and more.

What are some of your favorite "First Days of School" activities? Please share some of your ideas or links to good resources.

Celebrate the 4th of July!

Parades, picnics, and fireworks! Catching a few fireflies in a jar and eventually letting them go. That's what I remember about celebrating the 4th in the small Midwestern farm town where I grew up. Find out more about the historical significance of our celebration of the 4th by taking a tour of these great online resources:

A Capitol Fourth - America's Independence Day Celebration from PBS is worth some exploration. Learn about the history, test your knowledge,and more. Have fun in the Fireworks and Fun section where you can find suggestions for how to take better fireworks photos and create a little fireworks animation with music. The Library of Congress offers us both Today in History: July 4th and the history of patriotic songs, lyrics, audio recordings, and links to more information about each of 27 songs at Patriotic Melodies.

To study and learn more about The Declaration of Independence, visit the Our Documents website The Declaration of Independence and NARA's website The Charters of Freedom: A New World is at Hand. To read more information on the signers, a history of the document, a timeline, and more, go to the US History.org site The Declaration.

For an important historical perspective by one of our country's most influential thinkers, read through a hard-hitting speech given by Frederick Douglass in 1852 called "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?".

The Read Write Think website offers the Myth or Truth: Independence Day Lesson Plan for Grades 3-5, and their Calendar Activity Page for all grades called "It’s Independence Day! Or is it?"

For a visual treat, see a terrific collection of old 4th of July postcards from an American University website.