After SOL activities

I have had over three weeks after my SOL test before school lets out for the summer.  I have had to be very creative to keep my kiddos entertained and hopefully learning a few things too!

The first thing I did, from the suggestion of another Civics teacher, was have the students make an amendment booklet.  They took 7 pieces of paper and folded it in a booklet.  They decorated the front of the amendment booklet.  Then using my document camera, LCD projector and white board we read through each amendment.  I annotated each amendment and we discussed its meaning.

On each page the student wrote the number of the amendment, the year it was ratified, a short description of the amendment and a picture that correlates to the amendment.  It took four or five school days (there was a Math SOL) to complete.

Another activity that I have planned is a short American geography unit.  This past Thursday the students used atlases to label each state and then identify each state capital.  On Friday I had two more maps: one map was for selected rivers and the Great Lakes and the other for mountain ranges. Each day I have used my document camera, LCD and whiteboard to go over the answers.  On Tuesday we will read a selections about Virginia's State Parks and then answer questions about them.  On Tuesday they will have an open note quiz and then we'll play a map race.

What is a map race?  Well, a former colleague told me about them.  I used them also for National Geography Day in November.  You have classroom map on your board (or in my case I will use a computer image projected with my LCD) and then a list of 75 to 100 items on the map.  You have two challengers and then call out a place on the map.  The place could be a city, state, mountain, island, lake, river, etc.  The winner is the person who can put their finger on it first.  Then they get to face a new challenger.  The winner is the person who lasts the longest.   Teacher and student really like it!

Happy Teaching!
C