The first day of spring is about one month away. Spring break for most public schools is about six weeks away. Much of the nation has been hit by snowstorms and frigid weather. Things may be getting dull in the classroom as students and their teachers may be suffering from cabin fever. Creative teachers need to look into their bag of tricks and devise some creative ideas to keep the educational process going and maintain a high level of student enthusiasm until reinforcements arise. Also looming in the future are the state testing programs on which so much depends. Below are a few suggestions foractivities and programs to help you get through this difficult period.
1) Take a virtual field trip. If your school is short of funds or if the weather is too treacherous to take students on a bus trip across town, why not try a virtual field trip? Many museums and historic sites offer virtual tours via the internet. Are you teaching about the American Melting Pot or immigration then why not try a virtual field trip to Ellis Island? (http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/webcast.htm) Sponsored by the Scholastic Book Company, this program allows students to tour the buildings narrated by ranger from the US Park Service. The program lasts about 30 minutes. Also available is a tour of the US Museum of Natural History and The National Gallery of Art. See this web site for a whole host of virtual trips for elementary school students (http://www.techtrekers.com/virtualft.htm).
2) Schedule an educational game day or week. Engage the students in a geography bee, a spelling bee or your own customized version of “Jeopardy.”
3) Establish a Book a-thon. See how many books your students can read in a month. Award prizes to whose students who read the most books.
4) You and your class write a class play. Have the students select a topic and spend some of your language arts periods writing the script. Assign parts to all of the students.
5) Plan a trip around the world. Have each student select a country and devise an itinerary of places to visit on the trip. Have students research what typical meals would be like. Show pictures of a country’s stamps and money- all readily available on the internet. Have a travel fair in your classroom where each student can present his plans for travel abroad.
The options are limitless. Keep at it. I understand that the groundhog in Pennsylvania did not see his shadow this year. Maybe spring will come soon. Keep warm.
c. 2013 J. Margolis
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