My 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!
Teach PEACE and TOLERANCE
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RESOURCES for this November's Presidential Election:
1. The Election Process, A Webquest: Election Process, A Webquest
Inauguration Day! A Webquest
3. First Ladies of the United States,a Webquest: First Ladies, A Webquest
4. The White House, a Webquest: White House, A Webquest
5. Presidents: A Webquest and Test your Knowledge Challenge: Presidents, A webquest! and Presidents. Test Your Knowledge Challenge
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.
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 OCTOBER:
2. FALL means PUMPKINS.A man in the state of Washington has grown a pumpkin that tipped the scale at 2363 pounds!Pumpkin Fun Facts
3. Ancient Egypt and mummy go together like peanut butter and jelly! Halloween is also a great time to discuss mummies. This resource includes lots of mummy facts as well as extension activities and great resources!Mummy Facts!
4. Doing a Fall unit on apples? Looking for an activity during a study of pioneers? Doing a unit on folk hero? Doing a biography on Johnny Appleseed? This interactive notebook on Apples has several activities and 17 interesting fun facts about apples.Apple Factoids!
5 Vikings:Leif Erickson Day is October 9th. Viking Fun Facts
6. Anti Bullying: Antibullying Freebie
2. Vikings(A Visit with Leif Erikkson and Eric the Red)Reader's Theater Script: Leif Erikkson Day is October 9th. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series of plays, Leif Ericsson and his father, Eric the Red are guests on Ms. Bie Ografee's Talk Show. They share information about their lives and the Vikings. There is a Did You Know? section of fun facts, reading comprehension questions and a teacher section with lots of extension activities, links and the key.Vikings, A Reader's Theater Script on Leif Eriksson and Eric the Red
3. Orange Game: Looking for a Friday activity? Something for your students to do with a substitute or following testing time? Maybe you'd like a learning challenge for over the summer months.Check out my ORANGE Game. There are 24 statements and several extensions. This resource challenges kids about their knowledge of all things ORANGE. Great for a fall activity! I also have other Color Games: RED, GREEN, BLUE , PURPLE and YELLOW. The ORANGE Game,an Activity
4. Columbus: A Reader's Theater Script:Learn about Christopher Columbus with this informative play. There are 10 questioners asking questions of Columbus. Additionally, comprehension questions and discussion questions are included.Christoper Columbus, A Reader's Theater Script
5. Beautiful illustrations! In this story, "Purple and the Pumpkin Race",Purple, Zing and Squirty are exciting about participating in the annual pumpkin race. After they carve out their pumpkin to sail, the race begins. Sounds like lots of fun but something goes very wrong! Purple Turtle and the Pumpkin Race, A Story
6. Halloween Webquest: With 12 informational web questions, this resource is just the thing to use as a learning tool about the holiday of Halloween. Bats, Owls, pumpkins, the human skeleton, the origin of Halloween, superstitions, and famous stories in literature, are covered. There are comprehension questions, lots of fun facts, extension activities, and additional links for teachers:Halloween, A Webquest
7. ALL Mummy Webquest: Kids love mummies. Great for Halloween time(or for a unit of study on ancient Egypt) Learn all about mummies of the world. Included: Bog Mummies, Otzi, Chinchorro Mummies, Taklamakan Desert Mummies, Egyptian Mummies and more. 12 informative text questions/comprehension questions/extension activities, key, fun facts:Mummies, A Webquest
8. King Tut: Learn about King Tut with this biographical play on King Tut.Learn lots of cool facts about mummies and the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Comprehension/discussion questions/ extension activities.Great for a unit on ancient Egypt, around Halloween or as a fun/informative Friday activity.King Tut, A Reader's Theater Script
9. Pumpkin Webquest: Did someone say pumpkin pie?This 10 web question web quest has several comprehension questions(lots of extension activities). Great for LA classes, a fall activity, or for a substitute lesson! Pumpkins, A Webquest
10. Hispanic Heritage Month is September-October: Check out this web quest on Hispanic Heritage:Hispanic Heritage Month, A Webquest
11. This Reader's Theater Script introduces kids to fairy tale writer,Hans Christian Andersen. His story, The Ugly Duckling, some say was actually about him. Great activity for Anti-Bullying Month in October to go along with reading of this fairytale. Comprehension questions, discussion questions, extension activities and resources are included.Hans Christian Andersen, A Reader's Theater Script
12. Fall is the time for flu and Covid is still in our lives. Students will learn about microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protists and virus with this informative web quest. Students will also learn about famous people who work with microbes, including Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Joseph Lister, Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek and Edward Jenner. Students will also learn about helpful and harmful microbes. The web quest also mentions the coronavirus, has a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions and a Teacher Page with extension activities and links. There are 12 webquestions in the resource. Microbes, A Webquest
13. Johnny Appleseed, A Reader's Theater Script: Johnny Appleseed,a Reader's Theater Script
Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series. This biographical Reader's Theater Script is on John Chapman, better remembered as Johnny Appleseed. There area 8 Audience Questioners in the complete resource. There are 12 Did You Know? fun facts about apples, 9 comprehension questions, a teacher page with 9 extension activities, the key and additional links of interest.
14. History of Candy! Show kids that everything has a history!History of Candy, A Webquest
15. The Middle East is in the news. You may find this webquest on contributions and geography of this region of interest. Middle East, A Webquest
Test Your Knowledge Challenges:
1. World Capitals: World Capitals, Test Your Knowledge
2. US Landmarks: U.S. Landmarks, Test Your Knowledge
3. Maps and Geography: Maps and Geography, Test Your Knowledge
4. Women Trailblazers: Women Trailblazers, Test Your Knowledge
Bundle on Countries of the WorldAll sold individually, too.
MATH and STEM Biographies:
1. Hypathia: Hypathia, Woman Mathematician
2. Ada Lovelace: Ada Lovelace, Woman Mathematician
4. Katherine Johnson: Katherine Johnson, STEM Biography
4. Marie Curie: Marie Curie, Stem Bio
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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!
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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 10/17/2024:
p>The five day celebration, known as Diwali, will be a bit different this year, in the capital city of India. The holiday celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs, held October 29th-November 3rd this year, will not have any festive firework displays in Delhi. Fireworks and firecrackers are very popular during this holiday. Diwali or Deepavali meaning "Festival of Lights" is a joyous time. People pray, give gifts, light lamps, eat special foods such as sweet treats called laddus (sweet wheat balls with nuts and fruits) and Karanjis (flour friend dumplings with coconut and sugar). It is a time to get together with family and friends.However, this year, the government has banned fireworks due to increased pollution concerns. Learn about Diwali at this link: Learn about Diwali
Artificial Intelligence(AI) was recently used over the Nazca Desert in Peru and an amazing discovery was made. More than 303 additional geoglyphs of different creatures were found. There were at least 430 previously known geometric designs, birds and animals. What makes these amazing designs very interesting is they can only be seen from the air! Many of the designs are estimated to be more than 2000 years old.
Photographs from goodnewsnetworkThere is a LOT of trash on Mt. Everest. Last year, almost 94 tons of trash was taken down from the famous mountain. That is amazing! Nearly 60,000 people try and make it to the base camp each year. Each climber pays a $4,000 fee and it is only refunded if the climber brings down at least 17.6 pounds of trash. Still the trash continues to grow.Now, drone technology is planned to help lift trash left on the slopes! The drones can carry up to 515 pounds every hour, much faster than local Sherpa guides can do. Interesting piece of Mt. Everest history. Climbers(in 1924),Andrew Irvine and George Mallory, never returned from their trek up Mt. Everest. This week, a boot, with a sock inside with the name of Andrew Irvine,was discovered. Did these two men summit Mt. Everest before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway? (1953) The search will continue in the area of this discovery for more remains and their camera.
Picture from PixabayPreserved in the permafrost of Siberia, a four year old woolly rhino was recently uncovered with most of its skin, brownish fur and organs.Such a discovery is very rare. It was found near the Tirekhtyakh River and is estimated to be 32,000 years old.
Photograph from Live Science< Pesto, the penguin, is a bit tubby. The giant King Penguin, at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, Australia, has become popular for visitors to see. The brown nine month old penguin weighs 49 pounds, even more than his parents...combined. Pesto eats about 25 fish each day! The staff at the aquarium aren't concerned about the whopper sized penguin who will eventually shed his thick coat. Learn more:Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium
Photograph from Sunnyskyz.comDo you like doing jigsaw puzzles? If you are, you are a dissectologist! Did you know there is a annual World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship? Since 2019, the four day event has been held in Valladolid, Spain. This year, the competition took place between September 17-22. Over a thousand people competed from 68 countries. There were individual puzzlers, teams and even kid categories.The winner this year, for individual speed puzzler, Kristin Thug, Norway, completed her puzzle in 37 minutes. Did you know that the very first jigsaw puzzle was made by a cartographer (mapmaker) named John Salisbury, in 1767? Avid puzzlers say the key to solving a puzzler quickly is by sorting the puzzle pieces by color. The very first purpose of jigsaw puzzles was to teach geography!
Illustration is from PixabayImagine finding a musical composition of famous composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, more than 250 years after he died. That is exactly what was discovered this week in a library in Leipzig, Germany. Called Serenade in C, the 12 minute composition is believed to have been written when Mozart was just a teenager. Before Mozart died, at the age of only 35, he had written more than 600 works of music.
Photograph from Smithsonian. Learn about Mozart at this link: Learn about Mozart!
PAST NEWS STORIES
About Gail:
I 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 35 books for children(Purple Turtle Series by Aadarsh Publishing and Odd History Series by Red Chair Press).
My work has appeared in most children's publications including:
Highlights for Children,News-O-Matic,Appleseed,,Scholastic's Super Science,,Scholastic's Science World,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.
. * Special thanks to EducationWorld for letting me use this image of my "alter ego" as Mrs. "Waffenschmidt!