Context Clue FREEBIE and Hunger Games Music in the Classroom-A MUST SHOW video

This is the second year I have read the Hunger Games with my students...it is a favorite.  Today was the day we got to the part of the feast.  Clove scared the pants off of everyone, and Thresh is a new favorite character...

I LOVE that my students just want to read "one more page, one more paragraph, one more sentence?!"  Even better, they BEG to take the book to their next class.   Sorry teaching teammates! 

Our learning target this week is using context clues.  We have been focusing on that concept/skill since day one, but this book offers a ton of opportunities for students to use context clues to determine meanings of unknown words.  Today we came to words like scant, incoherence, tethered, plummeting, poised, etc.  My students were using context clue strategies like crazy.  It was exciting to observe.

Here is the interactive flap we used and I included the notes we recorded below...



With a day full of "context cluing" I thought it might be fun to share some songs from the movie that they could continue to practice their strategies with.  While this song doesn't possess many words that require using context clues, I thought it was a really cool video that my students will enjoy. 

With only five chapters to go-three after tomorrow, my students will have the perfect tool to introduce them to a theme of the novel...

Last year we had the opportunity to take the students to see the movie after completing the novel in the theater the day after opening day.  We were a bit bent on giving this year's crew the same learning opportunity as one aspect of common core is comparing and contrasting a print and nonprint text.

This year a local theater is giving us the opportunity to rent out one of their theater rooms so that the students have the chance to see the movie in the theater setting at a fairly low cost-PRETTY COOL!  Don't ever be afraid to ask...people love to help out teachers!

I will post pictures of our end of novel projects as well as our journey to the theater.  Stay tuned!  Lots to come before winter break!



Music in the Classroom...A Classroom Playlist

I teach in a school building that is 101 years old. In addition, it is located on a city block surrounded by busy streets. It reminds me of the poem "Street Music" by Arnold Adoff.  A few times a day we hear the sirens of the police cars and fire trucks wailing, lawn mowers mowing, and of course the screaming students playing soccer on the blacktop right below my third story window during the multiple recess times. While some are able to block out the noises of the day, with windows open due to high heat, I struggle. My solution-I play music.

I LOVE to play music in my classroom! I use Rhapsody, http://www.rhapsody.com/, a subscription music service, is truly a hit with my students. While I mostly play calming music when they work independently or in small groups by Enya or "Nature Songs" as my students endearingly call spa-meditation music, I love to introduce my students to different artists.

I like to generate playlists of songs that I know they might not ever hear if I didn’t play them. I will find videos on You Tube and allow the students to view an artistic interpretation of the song. A few of my favorite artists to consistently play in the classroom are Mat Kearney, John Mayer, and Jack Johnson. With this music service, you can find the songs that will work in your learning environment, create a playlist, and it will play until I make it stop. To drown out the “hard-to-listen-to-noises-while-we-concentrate” here is a sample playlist of fun to listen to songs while we work and take care of 6th grade things:

What You Know-Two Door Cinema Club
Shuffle-Bombay Bicycle Club
Trojans-Atlas Genius
Ships in the Night-Mat Kearney
Closer to Love-Mat Kearney
Count on Me-Mat Kearney
Annie-Mat Kearney
Better Together-Jack Johnson
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing-Jack Johnson
Good People-Jack Johnson
Never Know-Jack Johnson
Flake-Jack Johnson
Bubbletoes-Jack Johnson
Why Georgia-John Mayer
Waiting on the World To Change-John Mayer
Clarity-John Mayer
Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight-Amos Lee

I will play a random “Brain Break” dance song just to get the kids out of their seats and shaking their tails. A few favorites were: Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen and What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction.

Check out this video by Mat Kearney-my students were fascinated...



Pictures to Videos and the Music to go with...

Starting about now I am already in "full ear to radio mode" listening for potential songs for the end of year video that I LOVE making of all of the pictures I have taken of my 6th graders throughout the course of the year.  My "in your face" photography style begins on day one of the school year and is in full effect until the last week of school.  I am the same way with my own children, of course.  However, there is something about 6th grade that I have to document the growth of the students from beginning to end because the growth is tremendous!  While all pics don't make the video, I utilize them in our weekly newsletter that I create through Smilebox.  If you haven't checked out that site and you are a teacher or parent-YOU MUST! 

http://media.smilebox.com/tt/teachersToolboxHome.html

If you look at the past months of my blog you will see a variety of newsletters, slideshows, and scrapbooks I have created through this awesome site.  If you are a teacher, you can submit an application for Teacher's Toolbox.  Smilebox will give you a one-year subscription for free, although the $40 price is well worth it!  Parents love seeing their kiddos engaged in daily school events, and I love that I have the whole year documented and can share it very easily.  While I don't use this site for my end of year video, it is a hit with parents because I can e-mail them the newsletter or print off copies to share. In addition, parents can print the pictures or share the pictures with others through e-mail or Facebook.    Be sure to check the link above, you will not regret making this site a part of your life.

Here is the list of songs that made the 6th grade video this year:

• Every Tear is a Waterfall-Coldplay
• Count on Me-Bruno Mars
• Shining Star-Dan Zanes
• Feels So Close-Calvin Harris
• When We Stand Together-Nickelback
• Dynamite-Taio Cruz
• Eyes Open-Taylor Swift

Songs I have used, but try not to repeat because I teach brothers and sisters and I want the video to be unique and focused on that group of students:

• Everyday-Dave Matthews
• I Gotta Feeling-Black Eyed Peas
• Kids Again-Chris Rice
• Smile, Smile, Smile-Dan Zanes
• Don't Stop Believin'-The Glee Cast (I know Journey has the original)
• Better Together-Jack Johnson
• We are Going to be Friends-Jack Johnson
• Backyard Super Kid-Justin Roberts
• Yellow Bus-Justin Roberts
• Great Big Sun-Justin Roberts
• Giant-Sized Butterflies Justin Roberts(We have seen him in concert 3 times! He is a great performer.)
• We Are Okay-Joshua Radin
• Live Like We're Dying-Kris Allen
• Did Ya Ever Look So Nice-The Samples
• Something Good Can Work-Two Door Cinema Club

Here is a printable of all of the songs in case you want to utilize it for your own personal use.

I LOVE to include music from the school year, but sometimes the "appropriate-lyric factor" is tricky.  Let me know of other "picture perfect" songs you find...