New Book:Mrs. Paddington and the Silver Mousetraps
Anti-Bullying Resources
Bell Ringers!
Updated regularly
Mrs. Portulaca Purpilopilis
and the Purple Adventure Goggles
Facts to Wow your Friends!
Teaching Ideas!
Mrs. Waffenschmidt
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Mail Gail:
Gail Hennessey
by The JavaScript Source
Welcome to My Website for Educators!
Try doing an act of kindness for someone, today!
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND SIGN MY GUESTMAP. I'D LOVE TO SEE WHERE MY VISITORS CALL HOME! Click on the GLOBE ICON on the left to open the map.
"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
My latest article just came out in the January issue of Highlights for Children! I interviewed Sunniva Sorby and Hilde Falun Strom, two women Arctic Explorers(first female team to solo at the North Pole). After a brutal winter and having to extend their time at the pole due to the Coronavirus, Sunniva and Hilde returned home after 14 months. WOW,these two brave citizen scientists have since RETURNED to the Arctic for another winter at the Arctic to observe and collect data.
7/2020:Mrs. Paddington and the Silver Mousetraps won a 1st place Purple Dragonfly Book Award in the Picture Books 6 & Older category. Thank you, Story Monsters!
3/24/20:Excited to have my latest children's book, Mrs. Paddington and the Silver Mousetraps, chosen as a 2019 Story Monster Approved winner!
Highlighted FREEBIES for JUNE:
1. World Ocean Day is 6/8:Ocean Fun Facts
2. Famous Games of Ancient Greece:(SUMMER 2021 in Japan) Famous Games of Ancient Greece Fun Facts
3. World Giraffe Day is June 21st. Giraffe Fun Facts
4. Brain Factoids: Brain Fun Facts
5. Color Me Amazed( Fun facts about colors):Color Fun Facts
6. Cool Facts about Ice Cream: Ice Cream Fun Facts
7. Fake News: Teaching Digital Critical Literacy: Fake News: INA
Highlighted Resources for JUNE:
1.With Flay Day coming in June, check out myFlag Day Webquest.AMERICAN FLAG: A Webquest Star Spangled Banner Webquest Francis Scott Key and the Star Spangled Banner: A Webquest
2. End of the Year Activity: Learn about some of the famous landmarks around the world. This web quest includes: Uluru Rock, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Mt. Everest, Dead Sea, Rock of Gibraltar, Great Pyramid, Suez Canal. Stonehenge, Sahara Desert,Abu Simbel, Easter Island and Angkor Wat. There are comprehension questions and several extension activities: World Landmarks: A Webquest
3.Taj Mahal:Explore World Landmarks are great to introduce kids to some popular world landmarks around the world. .With writing in the content area, the short activities can also be used in Language Arts classes, too! About one page of reading, discussion questions,mapskill activity and extension activities.Taj Mahal: A Reading Activity
4.Eiffel Tower:Explore World Landmarks introduce kids to some popular world landmarks. About one page of reading, discussion questions, mapskill activity and extension activities all help students learn some informative facts about famous world landmarks in the world. Eiffel Tower, A Reading Activity
5.Uluru(Ayers Rock):Explore World Landmarks are great to introduce kids to some popular world landmarks around the world. Great for a Friday activity, for social studies/LA classes or when you are going to have a substitute. About one page of reading, discussion questions,mapskill activity and extension activities all help students learn some informative facts about famous world landmarks in the world. Ayers Rock(Uluru)
6. Learn about the Statue of Liberty with this web quest:State of Liberty: A Webquest
7. Everything has a History(shoe, peanuts, candy, chewing gum, tulips, pretzels, soccer(football): Everything Has A History: A Bundle of Resources
8. Readings in History: George Washington and the Camel: George Washington and the Camel: A Reading Activity John Adams Swims the Potomac: John Quincy Adams Takes a Swim: A Reading Activity Calvin Coolidge and the Pennsylvania Avenue Zoo: Calvin Coolidge and the White House Zoo> Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Cheese: Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Cheese
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Use my THINGY letters to have kids write spelling words, vocabulary words or as an art activity! Have students try and guess what some of the THINGY Letters are.(also have Black/White option):ClipArt: Alphabet Thingy Letters!
Check out my series of Children's Books from Aadarsh Publishing!
LOOK!
Stop Bullying!
To any young people visiting my website. Please,if you are being bullied, seek help...SPEAK TO AN ADULT today!And, if you SEE something that looks like bullying-SAY something to an adult!
Check out my Pinterest page to see all my resources in one easy place!Click here to learn more:Gail's Social Studies Emporium(and More)
IN THE NEWS:6/12/2020:
The answer to how many oceans are on the planet, has for some time, been four. Not anymore. National Geographic has officially recognized the waters around Antarctica as the fifth ocean. Called the Southern Ocean, it is defined by the currents that are around it. All the other oceans are defined by the continents that touch them. NG made their announcement on World Oceans Day, June 8 and unveiled a new map showing the five oceans. Many oceanographers have felt that the Southern Ocean is simply an extension of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Since 1999, the US Board on Geographic Names has recognized the Southern Ocean.
Illustration from DailyMail.
A whopper of a dinosaur discovery has been made in Australia. The length of a BASKETBALL court, the "australotitan cooperensis", is the largest dinosaur ever found in Australia and one of the 5 largest dinosaurs to roam the planet. Paleontologists say it lived about 96 million years ago and measured up to 98 ft. long and 21.3 ft. high(from the hip). It is estimated the sauropod, a plant eater, nicknamed the "southern titan" would have tipped the scales at about 163,000 pounds. Found back in 2007, on a cattle ranch, in Queensland, it has just been reported this week.
Illustration from DailymaiIn a swamp on the island of New Guinea, scientists have found a yummy species of frog. The frog, about 3 inches long, is chocolate colored and has been named the "chocolate frog"". Found in crocodile infested waters, the frog with big black eyes is actually called Litoria mira ("surprised" or "strange" in the language of Latin) and is related to the green tree frog native to Australia.
Scientists studying the suction power of elephants, made an interesting discovery. One 7400 pound elephant, named Kelly, showed that elephants use suction to pick of items with their trunks. Kelly successful suctioned up a thin tortilla chip without breaking it!
Photograph from scienceshowforkidsWhat may be the largest drawing in the world has been found in India. Huge man-made spiral shapes were found in the Thar Desert and extend for more than seven miles. The discovery was originally discovered back in 2016 using Goggle Earth. It isn't sure who or when the drawings were made but the lines are thought to be at least 150 years old.
Photographs from dailymail.Thought to be approximately 2000 years older than Egypt's oldest pyramids, amazing stone structures, called mustatils, are found in the country of Saudi Arabia. There are about 1000 huge stone rectangular shapes and scientists have determined their age to be about 7000 years old. All similar in shape, some are more than 1500 ft.long. It isn't known who constructed the mustatils but the stone structures may have some religious significance. Some muscatels were found to have bones and horns of sheep, cattle and gazelles.
Photograph from nbcnews. Learn about the country of Saudi Arabia:Saudi Arabia
Photograph from CBC.caScientists that study viruses(virology) in Netherland have trained about 150 bees, known for their keen sense of smell, to detect the odor of Covid. Using a conditioning technique, the bees received a reward of sugar water when they correctly sniffed out the virus. The trained bees can detect the Covid virus in only a matter of seconds. 
About Gail:
I have retired from teaching after 33 1/2 years in the classroom. Of that time, I taught Grade 6 Social Studies teacher for 31 1/2 years.I earned my BA in early secondary education with a concentration in social studies from SUNY Oneonta, New York, and my MST in social studies education from Binghamton University in New York. In 1988, I was awarded the Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from the New York State Council for the Social Studies. Additionally, in 1988, I was also awarded the Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award by the National Council for the Social Studies. I am the author of 8 books for teachers and over 30 books for children(Purple Turtle Series by Aadarsh Publishing). In 2019, my new series of three books, "Odd History" will be published by Red Chair Press.
My work has appeared in most children's publications including:
Appleseeds,Scholastic's Super Science,Scholastic's Science World,Highlights for Children,Jack and Jill,National Geographic World, Ranger Rick, Cobblestone, Faces, Muse Magazine,Contact Kids, US Kids,Action Magazine(Scholastic),Girls' Life,Boys' Life,American Girl, Instructor,Creative Classroom,Middle Years,Time for Kids,Scholastic News,Scholastic News Zone, Time for Kids , Ask Magazine, Dig,Calliope, Cobblestone, FACES, Studies Weekly, Glo Adventurer, and more.
