Sunday, January 31, 2010

Special Days for January 31st-February 6th

There are so many special days this week, you'll have a hard time choosing!


This week is National School Counseling Week.
 
Honestly, I didn't even know there was a set time of the year to honor our school counselors!  I'm glad to have discovered this and will be better prepared NEXT year.

We think we have tough jobs in the classroom.  Our school counselors touch EVERY student's life in our buildings!  We should take a special moment this week to express our appreciation for all their hard work.  Our counselors not only help students in time of emotional need, but high school counselors help teens plan a career path.  Their responsibilities are endless.

There is a free kit that can be ordered from the American School Counselor Association to help with a week long celebration.  Unfortunately, the "free shipping" promotion has passed.  Maybe this could be ordered for use NEXT year.

Here are several other ways to honor your school's counselor(s):
*Make a special announcement at the beginning of the week.
*Decorate the counselor's door with a "hero" theme.
*Each grade in the building order lunch for the counselor a different day each week.
*Every class take ONE rose to the counselor during their scheduled time.
*Talk to the principal about giving the counselor VIP parking for the week.
*Students can pen thank you notes and make a special delivery.

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Monday, February 1st is National Freedom Day.
 Discussing National Freedom Day is a great way to begin a unit on Black History Month.  This special day is in honor of the abolition of slavery so many years ago by President Abraham Lincoln.  Since discussions vary greatly on the learning age of every class, I've provided some informational links below.

~ Here is some information from timeanddate.com.

~Family Education has a page containing various links for all ages concerning African-American history.

~This page from The Library of Congress that contains more information and  a picture of President Harry S. Truman signing a bill proclaiming February 1st National Freedom Day

Make the day even more memorable...CeLeBrAtE with a bang...just like Independence Day!  After all, we do live in a nation of FREEDOM!

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Thursday, February 4th is Rosa Parks's Birthday.
Now, what is the BEST way to celebrate a birthday?  None other than with a birthday P...A...R...T...Y!  Of course, there would have to be lessons regarding Ms. Parks's importance in desegregation and equality.  After all, she is known as "The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement".

Begin the day by reading a book or two about Rosa Parks.  (Go to the Black History Month page at my Amazon aStore to view a list of books and resources about Rosa Parks.)  Then, follow up with a couple hands-on activities from the list below.

- Head on over to BrainPOP Jr. for some information and activities.
- Go to Education World for a printable activity, called "Rosa Parks Changed the Rules".
- Here is a coloring page from  Teacher Vision.  You must have a membership to access more than three printables.  However, there is a free trial.  This could be one of your three free printables.
- Click here for a site suitable for upper elementary and middle school students.
- Don't forget to check out Scholastic's resources.
- Finally, celebrate with a birthday party!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSA!


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Friday, February 5th is National Meteorologist's Day.
According to this article by Jim Allsopp, National "Weatherperson's" Day is to commemorate one of America's first weather observers, John Jeffries.  My students each have an several opportunities throughout the school year to be our "Classroom Meteorologist".  I incorporate this daily job into my Math Meeting Board routine.  Not only is "meteorologist" an awesome word for elementary school children to learn, but they also LOVE recording the daily weather on graphs and charts.  My "Classroom Meteorologist" reads the outside thermometer, helps the class count to that temperature on the demonstration thermometer, colors a piece of the bar graph based on his/her observations of the weather conditions, and changes a pie graph to match the bar graph.

So, how would a classroom celebrate this rather unique day?  For starters, if you don't already have a "Classroom Meteorologist", maybe now would be a great day to begin!  Next, this day can be an introduction to a science unit on weather.  Or, you could simply watch The Weather Channel with your students and help them discover aspects of a meteorologist's job.  Whatever way you celebrate this day, your students are sure to be interested!

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