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
`
Mail Gail:
Gail Hennessey
by The JavaScript Source
HOLIDAY SALE OF MY PLAYS...ALL PLAYS ARE $3.50. SALE 12/3-12/6! SCROLL DOWN TO SEE AVAILABLE PLAYS.
HOLIDAY SALE OF MY PLAYS...ALL PLAYS ARE $3.50. SALE 12/3-12/6! SCROLL DOWN TO SEE AVAILABLE PLAYS.
Welcome to My Website for Educators!
Teach PEACE and TOLERANCE
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!
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."
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 DECEMBER:
1. Aviation Fun Facts: Remembering a Historic Day in History: Wright Brothers Fly over Kitty Hawk, NC!(Dec. 17th):Aviation Month Freebie
3. Happy New Year! New Year's Customs from Around the World, Freebie
4. Rockefeller Center Tree: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Freebie
5. Learn about Charles Dickens: Charles Dickens, a Freebie
1. Holiday Traditions from Around the World Webquest: Whenever different cultures meet, ideas are exchanged. Did you know that skiing was started by the people of Norway? Did you know that the kite and fireworks were invented by the people of China? The idea of Trial by Jury and the idea of Democracy come to us from the Ancient Greeks. During the holidays is a great time to share with kids the many traditions which have been shared with different cultures. Learn the history behind some popular holiday traditions with this webquest.Holiday traditions from Around the World, A Webquest
2. Charles Dickens :With this being the time of year for the story, A Christmas Carol, it's a great opportunity to learn about its author,Charles Dickens. One of the most famous writers of all times,Dickens also wrote Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and more. My webquest includes 8 fun/informative questions to learn about Dickens. Additional activities/links,too: Charles Dickens, A Webquest I also have a Ms. Bie Ogrefee Reader’s Theater Script on Charles Dickens: There are 11 questioners in the play as well as a Did You Know? section of fun facts, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extension activities, additional links and the key.Charles Dickens, A Reader's Theater Script
3. Which president didn't allow a Christmas tree because he was an environmentalist? Which president organized a snowball fight in the White House for kids(using cotton balls). Which president hired a camel to entertain kids at Christmas time? Learn 12 informative facts about the Holidays at the White House with this possible Interactive Notebook Activity:Traditions at the White House during Holiday Season
4. Learn about the History of New Year's with this fun/informative web quest. There are nine questions, lots of interesting customs of how people celebrate New Year's around the world, comprehension questions, extension activities and the key. Great activity for reading for information and research/computer skills. Included are also other holiday New Year's celebrations including Diwali, Chinese New Year, Songkran and Rosh Hashanah. The resources also mentions how April Fool's Day originated over when to celebrate New Year’s!History of New Year's Eve, a Webquest
5. History of Candy:The first in my series, Everything Has a History. Why not show your students that even candy has a history with this fun/informative web quest! Learn facts including marshmallows date back to 2000 BC and King Tut's Tomb contained licorice. I also have included several additional resources and extension activities. Great for a Friday, a day before a vacation activity or just when you'd like to share with kids that...everything has a history!History of Candy,a Webquest
6. The Wright Brothers first flight was December 17th . Did you know that people actually thought that the airplane would have not real purpose? Less than 10 people showed up for the Wright Brothers attempt to make history on that December 17, 1903, morning. This informative web quest will help students learn about the Wright Brothers and their first flight. Extension activities as well as additional links for information are also provided as is the key. History of the Wright Brothers, a Webquest. I also have a Reader's Theater Script on the Wright Brothers: Wright Brothers, A Reader's Theater ScriptAdditionally, I have a Reader's Theater Script on Female Pilots during WW2, Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman and the Tuskegee Airmen. I have a reading passage on Aida de Acosta. 7. Teaching American History and want to introduce your students to First Ladies of the United States? Try this fun and information play based on the Mark Goodson Production To Tell the Truth Game Show on Mary Todd Lincoln. Students in grades 4 and up will have fun acting out their parts and learning some interesting facts about First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln whose birthday was December 13th. Discussion questions, comprehension questions and activities are also included:Mary Todd Lincoln, A To Tell the Truth Play
8. If you live where there is snow, you have probably built a snowman. The snowman has been around for quite a while. In fact, the earliest drawing of a snowman was found in a book dating back to 1380! The book, "Book of Hours" was found in a library in the country of the Netherlands. Read about a famous sculptor hired to make a snowman, a snowman which helps predicts the weather in Switzerland and two more stories about snowmen! Four short reading passages that have to do with snowmen with questions and extension activities:Snowmen,Four Reading Passages
9. Rosa Parks Day is December 1st. Check out this Ms. Bie Ografee Reader's Theater Script on Rosa Parks! Rosa, called the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement", helped to change the way things were on a bus ride home from work. The fun/informative play uses the format of Rosa Parks being a guest on a talk show and the studio audience asks questions about her life and contributions. Great for Black History Month in February or Women's History Month in March. Comprehension questions/extension activities, key. Rosa Parks, A Reader's Theater Script
https://outlook.live.com/mail/inbox
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!
>
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:12/03/2023:
Teddy Cottlel, of Oxfordshire, Great Britain, doesn't like the emoji of a nerd, a face with glasses and buck teeth. He is asking Apple to change the design to something that doesn't make kids wearing glasses feel badly. He has a petition he hopes others will sign to bring about the change and has even designed an emoji he hopes Apple might used instead.
Photograph from Msn.comAxolotls are unusual fish-like salamanders. They can actually regrow lost legs and even lungs and other organs. Now, that is very cool! Very endangered, the country of Mexico, where they are found, is hoping that people will participate in an adoption program. You don't actually get to own an axolotl but the money given helps to protect the areas they are being raised and help to pay for their food. You also receive an adoption kit and thank you note. Scientists say there are less than 1000 left in the wild, with the vast majority dying within the last couple of years. It is thought that water pollution and a fungus are the main cause for the axolotls becoming critically endangered.
Photograph from popular scienceWould you like your name to go into space? NASA has a Message in a Bottle program where you can get your name engraved onto a microchip (smaller than a penny). Deadline is New Year's Eve to submit your name for the upcoming Europa Clipper spacecraft which will travel past the planet Mars and to one of Jupiter's moon's, Europa. The journey will be about 1.8 billion miles! Click here to submit your name: NASA's Message in a Bottle
Illustration from NASAIceland is bracing for a volcano eruption and people, in the area of Grindavik, are having to evacuate. When the Fagradalsfjall Volcano erupted in 2021, it was the first time in 6000 years. Now, it appears ready to erupt, again. There have been numerous over 2000 small earthquakes, with over 800 just today! Iceland, called the "land of fire and ice", has 130 volcanoes,of which most are considered active. A very famous tourist site, the Blue Lagoon, has been temporarily closed due to the earthquake and volcanic activity. Learn more:Iceland Bracing for Volcanic Eruption Learn about the country of Iceland: Iceland, Fun Facts!
Have you ever heard of Meret-Neith? She is being called "the forgotten female king" of ancient Egypt. Archaeologists believe they have discovered her grand tomb in Abydos, central Egypt. Meret-Neith lived about 5000 years ago. Her tomb, actually discovered in 1900, has recently been excavated. Lots of artifacts for someone of a royal status, have been found. If, Meret-Neith indeed was the first female ruler, ruling around 2960 BC, she would be the very first female to have been "ruler" of ancient Egypt,
Photograph of her tomb from Daily Mail.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:
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.
