by James Burns | Jan 2, 2018 | Presidents
This lesson is designed to help students get a comprehensive understanding of who the presidents were/are, years served and who served with them as vice president. The students will work to memorize the required information and then fill in a worksheet identifying the key information. (Answer keys are provided) The students will then answer questions about some of the presidents identifying some important facts. The Students will have the opportunity to create their own fact sheet about a president of their choice. This is an excellent lessons for grades 5-12.
by James Burns | Jan 1, 2018 | Teachers, The Bully Proof Classroom
These lesson are designed to provide the students with a view of some of the quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King and also the character qualities that he displayed as a civil rights leader in the 1960’s. The lesson includes 10 quotes with one bonus quote at the end. Each quote has a character quality associated with it and 5-6 questions that you as the teacher can ask your students that will provoke discussion and give the students a chance to think of their responsibility as it relates to the character qualities. There is a short quiz at the end that the class can take as a whole, with one bonus question. Each question is worth 10 points. The bonus question can be awarded as many points as the teacher would like in order to increase the student’s score.
by James Burns | Jan 1, 2018 | New Year's Resolutions, Student Journal
This journal is designed to help students understand their strengths and weaknesses through the use of a simple motivational gift inventory. Once the students understand what motivates them they then can begin to journal about some of the New Years resolutions that he/she would like to make. The student is guided in the journal with prompts that will help them improve as a student, sibling, son, daughter or friend. It also asks some important questions about the qualities of respect and responsibility. A great resource for the new year and is very useful for students in grades 5 and up.
by James Burns | Dec 31, 2017 | Frankenstein, Mary Shelly, Uncategorized
Two hundred years ago on New Year’s Day, a third-rate publisher issued an anonymous novel with an outlandish premise, quickly discounting most of the 500 print copies after slow sales. Despite this inauspicious beginning, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus,” has haunted us all the way to a time when life is routinely reinvented in a laboratory.
Ed Finn and David H.Guston
Let’s change the story a bit. What if the Frankenstein Monster was really a nice guy? The Monster who was played by Boris Karloff in a series of 1930 films was a bully, who went on a murderous rampage but in the end he solicited the audience’s pity as the towns people tracked him like a dog because of his abject cruelty. The bully became a victim and in an unknown hamlet in some lot at Universal Studios the crowd trapped him and burned down the building where he sought his escape. They thought they killed him but, this was only 1931 and they had to leave room for several sequels. No doubt the monster was different, which is one of the reasons they had to get rid of him. Weakness and difference are the two reasons why victims today get bullied; well the monster wasn’t weak but he sure was different.
by James Burns | Dec 19, 2017 | Teachers
- Effective teachers have mastered their subject are well read and can answer questions spontaneously about what they teach.
- When the effective teacher lectures he or she is well prepared and can carry on a discussion in an orderly manner
- Effective teachers can relate their subject area to real life circumstances and offers practical illustrations to enhance student understanding
- Effective teachers know how to check for understanding and encourages students’ questions and opinions. .
- The effective teacher is enthusiastic about his/her subject area and communicates this to his/her students.
- The effective teacher is approachable, friendly, and makes himself/herself available to his or her students after school hours..
- An effective teacher is concerned about their students’ and places a high priority on their achievement.
- The effective teacher has a sense of humor and knows how to motivate his/her students will humorous stories and appropriate jokes..
- The effective teacher displays warmth, and kindness, and does his or her best to understand student circumstances that may interfere with their academic success..
- The effective teacher knows how to use their resources and is not afraid to ask for help when needed.
