Gail's Glimmerings
I am hoping you will find my teaching resources of value to use in your classrooms. I taught for 33 1/2 years. I was awarded both the NY State Elementary Social Studies Teacher and the National Council for Social Studies Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year(1988). I am the author of over 35 books for children and teachers.
Sunday, April 6, 2025
TULIP Time is Coming! Share with Kids that Everything has a history, including Tulips!
Sunday, March 23, 2025
April Fool's Day is Coming!
The idea of April Fools’ Day soon spread to other countries. In England, pranks are only done in the morning and it’s considered bad luck to attempt an April Fools’ trick on someone after noon time. And, if you are the victim of someone’s joke, you are called a noodle! In India, in addition to pranks, people put colors on each other to celebrate the start of spring. If you go to the country of Portugal, watch for flying flour, which is what people like to throw on April Fools’ Day! In France, people call each other Poisson d’Avril which means April Fish instead of April Fools! Why a fish? That’s because a young fish is thought to be easily caught, not knowing better. A common activity on this day in France is to put a paper fish on someone’s back.
1. Illustrate one of the famous pranks.
2. Write a fake news story
3. Think of an act of kindness you can do.
4. Write 2 facts about the countries of France, England, India and Portugal
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Are you Ready for Shakespeare Week?(March 21-27, 2025)
An estimated 1700 words which we use all the time were first used in the plays of Shakespeare.
Words such as eyeball, hurry, lonely, frugal, majestic and generous are just a few. Shakespeare also used lots of expressions that are common today. Examples include: “Knock,knock, Who’s there?”, “green eyed monster”, “vanish into thin air”, “wild goose chase”, “makes your hair stand on end”, “so-so”, “good riddance”, “tongue tied”, “night owl” and “eaten out of house and home”.
Another interesting fact about Shakespeare you may not know is he is the reason there are millions and millions of starlings in North America! Native to Europe and parts of Asia, the story goes that a person named Eugene Schiffelin really loved the work of Shakespeare. He was called a “bardolator”. He decided to bring the songbird to the United States. In fact, he was part of a group that wanted to bring all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works, to North America, that weren’t native to this continent. The year was 1890. The place was Central Park, in New York City. Schieffelin released 60 starlings in the famous park. Today, there are over 200 million of the birds flying over the skies of North America!
Did you Know?
1.Shakespeare wrote the words found on his tombstone. At the time, it was common to remove buried bones in a cemetery to make room for new bodies. Shakespeare’s tombstone has a curse to anyone who would dare to move his bones. Shakespeare's bones were never moved! See his tomb(and read the curse) located inside the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. http://poetsgraves.co.uk/shakespeare.htm
2. Did you know that pencils were a new invention when Shakespeare was born?
In one of his most famous plays,”Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare uses the word love 150 times.
3. It is thought(based on a 17th century portrait of him), that Shakespeare wore a gold hoop in his left ear.
4. During the time of Shakespeare, plays were only performed in the afternoon.
5. Women were not allowed to participate in plays during the time of Shakespeare so all the roles were performed by men.
Your Turn:
1. Illustrate an expression of William Shakespeare. See examples below in 3. Place three of his expressions into sentences.
2. What are 2 character traits you think a writer needs to have?
3. Select one of the quotes of Shakespeare and illustrate it. Write a short paragraph explaining what you think the quote is saying.
A. "Better three hours too soon than a minute too late."
B. "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."
C. " I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed."
D. "What's done can't be undone."
E. "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."
4. Create a compliment using Shakespeare's words. Go to this link:
https://folger-main-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/08/QuotesScripts_Compliments.pdf
3. Edgar Allan Poe: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Edgar-Allan-Poe-A-Readers-Theater-Script-4345227
Friday, March 7, 2025
St. Patrick's Day is Coming. What do you know About Ireland?
Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day
- Illustrate one of the facts.
- Write down the 3 most interesting facts you learned.
- Create a postcard pretending you are visiting Ireland. Include 3 facts in the information you are writing to a friend or relative. Draw/ color a picture to go with your postcard.
- Would you wish to kiss the Blarney Stone? Why or why not?
1. Before giving the students the factoid handout, ask the students to share prior knowledge about the country of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day.
Irish: Go raibh maith agat
Pronunciation: Guh row mah aguth (row as in cow)
Irish: Tá fáilte romhat
Pronunciation: Thaw foil-cheh roath
Irish: Dia dhuit
Pronunciation: Djee-ah gwitch
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Book Fun FACTS-World Book Day is Coming!
Each child should have a library card. As educators, ask your students if they own a library card and if,not, try and encourage them to get one!
16. The first book printed on the printing press was the Bible, in 1450. It was done on Johann Gutenberg’s press. The Bible is also the largest-selling non-fiction book in the world!
20. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, was the first book written on a typewriter!
2. Illustrate one of the fun facts about books.
5. An American short story writer and poet, Poe, is remembers for such stories as Murder in the Rue Morgue ,The Tell Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe’s poem, The Raven, is considered the most famous poem in American history! Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be one of the first science fiction writers and first writer of the modern detective story. Use this Reader's Theater Script to introduce students to this famous American Writer.