Here's just one of many writing prompts for specific days in March that will entertain and motivate students...and adults!
Today is St. Urho Day in Finland. St. Urho didn't really exist, but was made up by a department store manager as an excuse to have a sale—and a party. It is said he chose today for his saint to get ahead of the Irish and St. Patrick's Day. He made up a story about St. Urho's holy chanting driving away the grasshoppers that threatened to ravage the wild grape vines of Finland. Since grapes have never grown wild in Finland, the story is way bogus. The Finns know it, but many of them celebrate the holiday anyway. A fake saint deserves some fake traditions to go with his holiday. Invent a tradition about how St. Urho's Day should be celebrated.
Click below to find out when to celebrate St. Urho Day and to access dozens of additional prompts.
Here's a fun way to play hangman with 3-6th grades. It gives the students the option of using different parts of speech to use as the missing word (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions).
With so much "heavy" news being reported this week, this is a great article offering interesting tips for using current events in the classroom. Please pass it on!
All of those intriguing questions and many more will be answered during March in Jim Wayne's very popular Writing Prompts! The first installment for March is now online!
Here's a sample from the writing prompts for Feb. 28:
Most of the people of Curiepe, Venezuela, make their living fishing for sardines. Every year on this day, they have a funeral for the sardines they have caught during the previous year. The funeral serves to remind them of the need to protect the sardines from overfishing and pollution. Describe another ceremony or celebration that would help to remind people of the need to take care of the natural world.
Jennifer Davis Bowman, Ed.D. writes in Teachers.Net Gazette:
After thinking about the curriculum that most educators (including myself) fall into during the month of February, I compiled a list of 8 things to avoid during the study of Black History. [Click below to read her list.]
Hello. I am looking to get my ESL endorsement preferably online since I teach full-time. Has anyone completed the online ESL endorsement program at St. Francis University (Joliet, IL)? If so, how was it and was it easy to apply for the endorsement via ISBE? If not, please suggest an accredited institution in IL. Also, the expense. Thanks so much!
U of I has a program online that is fully approved by the state. I'm guessing it is cheaper than St. Francis as well. My message was flagged for posting a link, so you'll have to google "University of Illinois online esl endorsement" and it will pop up.