Football Fun!

The big day of football is almost here! You can bring the excitement 
 of the big day into your classroom and still stay focused on academics. 

Here are some ideas for a Super Football Week:

New York Times Student Super Bowl Crossword-

Football Crossword Puzzle for Kids

This page has a link to a printable crossword and the answers.

It might be a good idea to let students work in teams.  Let the teams choose a name for themselves.  I suggest you make the teams a fair mix of football knowledgeable students.   Some of the clues look a little challenging. (Of course I'm speaking as a pretty weak football fan.)  The crossword might make a good research tool.  Students can use reference sources to find the answers.

Learn about Roman Numerals

Since the years for the big games are numbered with Roman Numerals this is a great time to introduce them to your students.

Click here or on this picture to download a chart of the numerals from 1 to 100. See if your students can fill in the blank chart on the second page.

The Teacher Hub has lots of great ideas for lessons that tie into the Super Bowl.

 http://www.teachhub.com/super-bowl-activities-classroom

Game Predictions:  Here's a fun activity to do with your class early in the week.  After students make their predictions you can graph some of the results.  Then on the Monday after the game check the statistics online and see which student has the most correct predictions.  You can give out fun coupons for the winners.

Click on the picture to download the pdf file.  The file is editable so you can make changes for your class.



How do you bring big events into your classroom?

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The More you Read . . .

the better reader you become. The better reader you become, the more you read!

It just makes sense that to become a better reader you have to read.  I used to tell my students that pro basketball, baseball or football players got there by practicing!  They dribbled, batted, passed, ran, jumped and practiced shooting the ball into the hoop for hours and hours in order to become the best player they could be.  To be a better reader, writer or mathematician is the very same, you have to practice. (Click on the image to download the free sign.)

I found this chart on Mrs. London's Free Resources that very clearly shows how reading more often leads to increased test scores.

I know the school day is very busy, but you should try to squeeze in as much time as possible for students to read.  In my classroom, if students had any extra time they were to get out a book to read. There weren't any other little time filler activities, they just got out their book and read.

Here are some tips for getting your students to read more:

1.  Make sure they have access to books at their level.  Set up your classroom library so they can easily find good-fit books.  Teach them how to find those books.  You can show them the 5 finger test. Choose a page from the middle of the book, read it.  Count one finger for each word not known or not able to read.  If you get to five fingers then this book may not be a good fit.
2.   Make finding a good-fit book part of your morning routine.  Each student should have 2 or 3 books at their desk, ready to read.  I liked giving my students a Book Baggie.  They kept at least 3 books in it at all times.  When one book was finished it was taken out and another was put in.  This Book Baggie went home every night and was returned the next morning.

3.  Make reading the one and only choice of what to do when an assignment is finished.
4.  Schedule a relax and read time after recess or lunch.  Kids can get their water bottle and find a place around the room to relax and enjoy their book.  In order to maximize the time, set a timer.  When the timer goes off, if everyone is in their spot and reading, the class earns a point toward a Friday reward.
5.  Connect independent reading to your reading lessons.  One way to help connect your reading lessons to the independent or read-to-self time is to use Thinkmarks.  Thinkmarks are small bookmarks students keep in their book to remind them of a recent skill or strategy taught during a lesson.  The Thinkmark may even have a place for students to stop and jot down notes as they read.  

 Click on the image to download a free sample of the Thinkmarks from Crockett's Classroom.

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