The Talking Historian

A great friend sent me this video and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, especially as we near the 4th of July.  The Great American symbol of America flies proud and strong! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOZF4vTAF2M 

I usually am not a jealous person, but my little green monster came out when I saw the great work that the Northern Virginia Partnership did with the Library of Congress.  How awesome and amazing their work is, and the better part, is that they want to share it with everyone. 

In a 5 year period, they have created lessons, acitivities and a multitude of resources for teachers.  The activities were created by teachers of VA, so they center around, but are not limited to, the Virginia Standards of Learning.  I am just blown away by what they have done and can’t wait to share it with my teachers. 

As an administrator myself, I was impressed by their professionalism, their true feeling of team work and pride (rightfully so) of what they have done, and their willingness to share with others.  If everyone worked as hard as them and shared like them, we would all be successful teachers, administrators and better human beings for doing so.  The warm and fuzzy feelings that were in the rooms was just contagious.  The Library of Virginia was a great host and had wonderful presentations on their own, and I am grateful for their “new and improved” website and the ease of use, especially for the teaching community. 

Here are three strong websites that deserve your time to cruise and wander through, you will be pleasantly surprised at the wealth and depth of them.  These will also be great additions to our newly revised curriculum and resource packs. 

Once again, thanks to the Partnership for raising the bar and the Library of Virginia for a welcoming and giving host!  Best of luck for the upsoming school year and to further successful workshops and partnerships! 

http://va.tpslessons.org/index.php  (Lessons, Acitivities and so much more from the Northern Virginia Partnership)

http://www.virginiamemory.com/ & http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ (both sites from the Library of VA, Va Memory is a format close to the American Memory site from the Library of Congress)

http://americanpast.richmond.edu/voting/elections.html ( A great site for elections from 1840 to the present, a great resource for Civics, US History and Government teachers)

Well, I was lucky enough to come to Richmond for the Library of Virginia’s Digital and Primary Source workshop.  The reception tonight, I am glad I went.  I usually don’t go to those things, but with no one here with me I decided that it would be a neat learning opportunity.  The reception was at St. John’s Episcopal Church.  It didn’t hit me that I would be stepping into history, but sure enough, when I walked in and saw the men in period dress, the light bulb went off.  We are where Patrick Henry gave his rousing speech, and I was so lucky to hear it.  No, I didn’t talk to dead men, they came alive and everyone got to see them.  There were several men who put on a reinactment of the debate on the floor during the Virginia Convention in March 1775.  George Washington was there, as was Thomas Jefferson, Mr. Pendleton, Benjamin Harrison and Mr. Pendelton, along with a few others.  The debate was strong and gave me goose bumps as I got to hear history happen again.  We were sitting the galley that they sat in, the set up is the same as it was during that convention and it was pure heaven for this history learner.  We were then escorted by the gentlemen from Virginia to a reception where Col. Washington handed out door prizes.  Hilarous!!

The rest of the day was OK, the drive up was uneventful, thank God.  I arrived to the Holiday Inn Express and checked in, easy enough.  Went to the room, unpacked the few things I brought, hopped in the shower and WOW was is cold, and stayed cold.  The only reason the water was warm by the time it got to my feet was because of the heat in my body from the tanning bed.  Ahh…the benefits of the bed.  So I called the front desk and they said they would find me another room, so went I got back from the reception at 9:15 I was changing rooms.  I went from a king bed to a double, but its a suite…so its huge.  Too bad its only me. 

Sitting waiting from the reception to start, I got to observe the neighborhood I was in.  Quiet, old part of Richmond with a fire station across Broad from the church.  It was a very busy station tonight as it took out the water rescue vechiles (big rubber boats).  I can’t wait to watch the news tonight to see if any of those handsome, well trained men are on the news, hopefully for good rather than bad. 

Can’t wait to see what we get into tomorrow!!  I’ll let you know soon enough.  Good Night now, from Richmond. 

Henry B. Adams:

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

What a great thing to remember as we begin to push the panic button, either consciously or not.  Our students need us to be postive and comforting, polished and caring.  Our bad day may make 100 bad days for our students, but our postive day may make 100 postive days, and lets be honest, our students need positive energy, now more than ever, regardless of if its an SOL or not! 

Put a smile on, it makes your day brighter and your kids day better, just by smiling! 

As I go through the days, I often need a little something, sometimes its music (Pandora is my new best friend at work) sometimes it pictures (thank you Nat Geo for some breathtaking pictures and views) and sometimes its quiet, which isn’t always easy in the middle of an elementary school.  But that’s the daily motivation, what about the BIG PICTURE?  What about, what to do next, not tomorrow??  What will be my big project next year?  What will I hang my hat on??  Ever had those questions??  Ever needed someone to ask those questions too, but you are so involved in the everyday things that the big picture waved bye-bye a long time ago?? 

I found the picture above (Nat Geo) and I completely understood it.  I felt like I was this litte fish who stood out for being themselves.  I have forgotten how to be me sometimes, that I have to fit into a box that is/was expected or needed me to be.  I have forgotten my smile and loud voice to fit into the “standards” of my job.  I have lost sight of my box, which is bigger than what I am in now.  So I have to get my RED back, I have to come back and have something to WOW me, and if it WOW’s me, then its a good project or idea, because I have come up with some dooseys!!! 

So my quote for those of you today is this: 

Inspiration and genius–one and the same.
Victor Hugo

Have a wonderful day everyone, I know I am working on my RED!!! 

Wow!!! Welcome Spring, the 80 degree day just makes me want Spring Break to come sooner rather than later, but we have some work to do before Spring Break, so lets make a list!

1.  Complete Teaching ~ all of our tested grades will finish teaching new content in the next three weeks.  Remember to use your data as to how hard and often you review content.  At your review workshops you will receive your pacing for the review time.  Lisa will also post them on her blog after the workshop has happened, for those that need more copies.

2.  Clean out the notebooks!  Once you have finished teaching, you can take some of the “good junk” out of the notebooks.  make them clean, simple and neat for review and study time for your babies!!  the less clutter, the more often they are likely to pick it up and study! 

3.  Have fun ~ with your students, with the content and with your fellow staff.  Tensions start to run high this time of year, the SOL is upon us some people become cranky and may need a laugh.  You may need one too one day so give them out, put a smile on your face and greet everyone with a Hey, how are you??  Keep the mood light, especially for your students, who may see 4 grim teachers a day, that’s no fun for them and they won’t keep it fun for you either!!  Remember, what goes around, comes around!! 

I hope that you have a productive and FUN day!!  I look forward to seeing you all soon!!

Brit and Lia ~ my thoughts and prayers are with you during this time.  Such a horrible and horrendous thing to have happen to anyone. 

For those of you who have not heard, Brit and Lia are an engaged couple traveling the world.  However, they were met by some coward in Esmereldes, Ecuador who attacked them and made them have to cut their trip short. 

Having spent time in Ecuador and reading their blog (http://sudamericadventure.blogspot.com/) what they experienced in Ecuador is nothing out of the norm.  If traveling in a small group I would have been doing the same thing.  Ecuadorians, for the most part, are kind and curious and gracious and love having people in their country (for economic reasons only sometimes, but that’s ok) they are just living their life and making sure that everyone else is OK.  This thing that happened to these people is not a common occurance.  the state department says 8 americans have been kidnapped near the columbian border in 10 years.  Granted, 8 people is a lot, but it isn’t that common. 

I hope people do not get the wrong impression about Ecuador from this.  It is a great place that I would love to go back to one day, and share my experiences with others. 

Brit and Lia ~ stay strong.  And keep us posted on your progress!!  I hope that you get help from all over the world and that it makes you feel whole again! 

Hey Everyone ~

Lisa and I have now presented at the Virginia Council for Social Studies conference this past Friday (Oct 17, 2008).   We had a great time and wish everyone a great school year.  For more conference information, check out Lisa’s blog (under Blogroll on the right). 

We are also excited to plan our new podcasts for our students and teachers.  This will really bring a new element into the classroom.  We plan to start doing them at first, and then bring in students to create and narrate, as well as send in questions and have them answered each week.  We are going to start with Veteran’s Day, for second and third grade and work our way into 6th grade as we get a knack for podcasting, which is new….so we have to practice, the more the better. 

We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions as we start down this road, so feel free to check them out at http://ppsblogs.net/sarahduncan for the newest installation of our feeds!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month ~ While I write this, I know many people have been affected by breast cancer in some shape, fashion or form.  There really has be an answer to this, unfortunately, I am not the one that has that magic wand!  But through the power of people, it can happen.

A Busy month for Lisa and I ~ as we plan and prep for our state conference presentation in less than 2 weeks, it will be exciting and it will be a chapter in our book completed, and put the focus back on our elementary schools, not middle schools.  Also, Lisa and I are planning our first podcast for Halloween.  I can’t wait.  We are looking for names that relate to history (up to 1877).  Lisa has named me Sara Toga and I have picked Cali West for her, but we aren’t really getting good responses for those, so if you have any suggestions as to our podcast persona, please let us know!

Making new roads ~ Dr. Fisher granted me a $1,000 grant for staff development.  I (along with Lisa, since we work so closely together)  decided to take some teachers to the state conference.  So I am excited to take teachers, I believe it will help them become better teachers and leaders, because they will have to present some information from the conference also. 

A busy month personally ~ I am having my bathroom gutted (not by choice) so I am busy working on getting wallpaper down, picking out flooring, vanities, counter tops, sinks, etc and my brain is just running 100 miles an hour. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to leave a message if you want.  Check out Lisa’s blog for all of our Social Studies materials (http://ppsblogs.net/lisapennington) and my other blog (http://ppsblogs.net/sarahduncan) for our pod cast pages when we get started, I can’t wait for that!!

Have a wonderful, beautiful, productive day!!!

Picture This! Bulletin Board Economics

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 4:30 – 6:30pm

Virginia Beach Higher Education Center

Receive a set of 12 posters when you attend this workshop. These posters, illustrating economic and financial literacy concepts, give teachers innovative teaching tools to cover the SOL economics strand.

During the workshop we will review the K-3 economics concepts and learn great tips on teaching them in your classroom. Connect the concepts with the provided list of children’s literature and you have ready-made interdisciplinary lessons. To register please provide your name, school, grade you teach, and phone number to Ruth Cookson by email (rcookson@odu.edu) or by phone (683-5570). Free

Economics, Money and Children’s Literature

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 4:30 – 7:30pm

Virginia Beach Higher Education Center

Personal Finance and Children’s Literature is a resource manual with

15 lesson plans on popular children’s trade books that teach about money skills and math. Lessons are designed for children in grades K-3 and provide literature connections with the following books: Annie’s Pet, Beatrice’s Goat, Bunny Money, Glow goes Shopping, The Case of Shrunken Allowance, My Rows and Piles of Coins, Pigs will be Pigs, Matilda The Moocher, Doggone Lemonade Stand, plus seven more titles. Participants will receive a copy of the curriculum. To register please provide your name, school, grade you teach, and phone number to Ruth Cookson by email (rcookson@odu.edu) or by phone (683-5570). Free

Risky Business: What Every Teenager Needs to Know About Living Smart for

Grades: 6-12

Thursday, November 6, 2008 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Tri- Cities Higher Education Center, Portsmouth

Risky Business shows your students how sound economic decision-making can empower teenagers to enter their adult years with skills to be healthy, wealthy, and secure. This complete DVD teaching resource contains four 15-20 minute video segments that are complemented by 12 lessons and activities (3 for each video). Workshop participants receive the DVD (a $99 value) which is also a wonderful resource for meeting several of the newly mandated Economic Education & Personal Finance Literacy Objectives. To register please provide your name, school, grade you teach, and phone number to Ruth Cookson by email (rcookson@odu.edu) or by phone (683-5570).  Available for recertification credit. Limited to 12 participants!