Educator Helper by Beth Hammett

Sunday, July 10, 2016

How Elie Wiesel Impacted My Students

The loss of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, author of Night, will be felt throughout the teaching field. His writings have impacted many students. Night encouraged my seventh grade students to explore their inner selves and to think about history and its relationship to current events. Wiesel's story prompted critical thinking debates and discussions on compassion, empathy, history, and humanity.
Here's some of the projects my seventh grade students completed during their Holocaust unit:

ABC Holocaust Banner
Directions: Before beginning the Holocaust unit, bring in as many books and other resources as possible for students to browse through. Ask students to make a list of the alphabet. Find one word that begins with each letter of the alphabet that stands for or is related to the Holocaust. Decorate with symbols that portray the Holocaust.

Holocaust Poetry:
Directions: Have each student choose one chapter from the reading(s). Then, base the poetry topic on grade level concepts (subject, symbolism, theme, topic, etc...) from the text to write about. Be sure to introduce poetry structures beforehand.

Holocaust Wall
(Our version of the Holocaust Wall from the Washington, D.C. museum)
Directions: Using blank white ceramic tiles (free from local hardware stores) or white paper squares (similar to below), have each student decorate the tile/paper with a symbol and caption that represents their interpretations of the Holocaust. This was a final project to end the unit. It was large and powerful when put together and placed in the school's hallway.

In addition, a Holocaust survivor came to speak at our school. He brought a trunk that a woman had lived in for two years during the Holocaust. It was an emotional presentation, but one I'm glad we experienced since there are few survivors left to tell their stories.

Overall, the ELA unit was a huge success, and Elie Wiesel's Night was a great contribution. He will be greatly missed...

Want to teach ELA and history in a unique way? Use Educator Helper's historical coloring comic books with fun, interactive writing activities:

Click here to access ALL historical comic books!

Write your own!

Click here to access ALL historical comic books!

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Fourth of July Sale on TpT and Teacher's Notebook!

Fourth of July
Celebration!

In honor of our nation’s holiday,there’s a big

July 3 and 4th sale on

ALL products at Educator Helper

storefronts:

TpT

Teacher’s Notebook

Happy Fourth of July!

from Educator Helper

For FREE Fourth of July products, see last week's post or search Educator Helper archives!

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Fourth of July Freedom and Fun

Freedom--do your students know and understand what democracy means? Do they realize that people around the world are in daily struggles to defend or obtain freedom? These are difficult questions for students who have never experienced other cultures or who have not traveled outside of the United States.

For a short introductory video and lesson on democracy, hop over to Ted Ed and

view "Democracy, a Short Introduction", which also includes free comprehension checks and discussions. If you have a free Ted Ed account, input your questions for comprehension checks or discussions. This will get students thinking and responding about what "democracy" and "freedom" means.

Then, it's time for reviewing how our country fought for its freedom by having students create their own comic books on the American Revolution. Here's a few sample pages with corresponding fill-in-your-own-comic handouts to get students started:

If you teach younger students, try these unique July the Fourth Coloring Handouts to get in the spirit of Fourth of July:

Still didn't find what you need to help students celebrate and understand our nation's Independence Day? How about some Fourth of July: 24 Fun Activities?

Make understanding democracy and freedom easy and enjoyable! And, "Let freedom ring..."

from Educator Helper

More National Disasters Mean Student Preparedness Needed

If you need evidence that national disasters are on the rise, then view The National Association of Radio Distress-Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE) that "operates Emergency and Disaster Information Service (EDIS)...to monitor and document all the events on the Earth which may cause disaster or emergency" (Google). The society's "main objective is to manage information about events endangering the safety of our own country" (1). Stay informed and know where disasters are forming by downloading the RSOE EDIS Notifier for tablets and smartphones at iTunes or Google Play.

The interactive world map is fascinating to watch because disasters unfold in real time. You can see how many people's lives are in danger! This affects students, their academic performances, and their stress levels. How can you help students?

Help students prepare, survive, and recognize dangerous weather, such as earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes, and their warning signals with Educator Helper's National Preparedness Month packet and activities! It might just save you and your students' lives...