What To Do Over Winter Break?

Take this winter break and relax! You deserve it, do something new that makes you happy. You have about to 5 or 6 months of school left where you will have endless to-do lists items to complete, take this time and spend with your family. Laugh, read a book and enjoy this time of freedom. The work with be there next year. 

In the upcoming year we can work on utilizing our time better. Time management is often something that teachers struggle with and this is something that I would like to fix in 2018. So next year, we will create a schedule, utilize a planning system, and create and use an organizational system. 2018 will be the year that we will have a work home balance. 

The goal for 2018 is to make new memories, spend time enjoying the people and world around us. Let's live our best life in 2018. 

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I have come to realize that teaching is one of the hardest jobs where you play multiple roles. You are a teacher, mother/father, sister/brother, social worker, nurse, chef, maid, and so much more. It can often be emotionally and physically draining. Sometimes it is okay to just release the emotions that you are holding in. Just today I witnessed a situation at work that caused me to cry. I had to leave my classroom and just cry and release all the emotions that I was feeling. It felt good to let it all out. Just know that you are not alone and that you are making a difference. Today, you might cry but remember that in the midst of all of that you are changing lives.

You are a Superhero.

Keep Pushing and Making a Difference.

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Social Studies is a vocabulary rich subject which students need an understanding of the definition of the words in order to grasp the different concepts. To aid students in the grasping the definitions of the words it is important to pre-teach vocabulary. At the start of each unit I gave my students a vocabulary list with all the unit’s vocabulary. I then have the students use a vocabulary chart where they define the words, create their own definitions, use the word in a sentence and then create an image to help with remembering the meaning of the word.

Example of Chart:

Vocabulary Word	How the word is defined	How I define the word	How I use the word in a sentence	How I create a picture to help me remember

Using this chart helps my students manipulate and use the vocabulary words before they are exposed to the concepts. Often times after my students are instructed on the different concepts they will go back and change the way that they defined the words and how they used it in a sentence. The vocabulary chart that I use in class is consider a working document where students are constantly referring to and changing information. The exposure to the unit’s vocabulary words helps my students focus on learning and applying the concepts rather than trying to decipher the meaning of the vocabulary words.

Students have the option of using the vocabulary chart in their social studies interactive notebook or on Google Classroom™.  Check out my TeachersPaysTeachers’ store for vocabulary list for the different units that I teach.

Thinking like a Historian unit’s Vocabulary Words

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