November: Be of Good Cheer

Use these sayings as writing prompts or discussion starters:

One of the best things a man can have up his sleeve is a funny bone.

Be cheerful.  Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

Be a lamp in the chamber if you cannot be star in the sky….

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.

The smile on your face is the light in the window that tells people that you are at home.

If we pause to think will have cause to thank.

No man ever inquired his eyesight by looking on the bright side of things.

I had no shoes and complained until I met a man who had no feet.

It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out…It’s the grain of sand in your shoe.

The more difficult the obstacle, the stronger one becomes after hurdling it.

Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

A smile is a curve that can set a lot of things straight.

A cheerful friend is like a sunny day

A rolling stone gathers no moss but it obtains a certain polish.

A problem honestly stated is half solved.

October Quotations: A Season of Happiness and Joy

These quotations make great writing prompts or discussion starters:

We are never so happy nor so unhappy as we imagine.

….folks are generally about as happy as they have made up their minds to be.

I know what happiness is, for I have done good work.

The only way on Earth to multiply happiness is to divide it.

Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to let them alone to do it.

I am born happy every morning.

Joy is not in things, it is in us.

Happiness is a thing to be practiced like a violin.

The secret of happy living is not to do what you like but to like what you do.

The way to be happy is to make others happy.

We do not know how cheap the seeds of happiness are or we would scatter them oftener.

Happiness is the only thing we can give without having.

There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.

Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

The Extraordinary Einstein

Albert Einstein said, “One hundred times a day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depends on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the measure as I have received and I am still receiving…..”

I love that!

A teaching colleague of mine once told me she takes the time to teach her students all about Einstein.  

Through their examination of the extraordinary Einstein she helps students realize Einstein was the smartest man alive, and they themselves have the potential to be Einsteins. 

They ARE Einsteins!

Page By Page

Do you know about Page by Page Books?

You can find all sorts of classic titles and authors there for use in the classroom.  I especially like the link to various fables by Aesop.   These can be utilized in the classroom when asking students to review various fables for a Language Arts project.   The fables can be found here.

September Quotations.....A Time for Learning

Fantastic quotations that can serve as writing prompts regarding gathering knowledge:

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.

Ignorance never settles a question.

Books, the children of the brain.

I think, therefore I am.

There is great skill in knowing how to conceal one’s skill.

To learn and be filled, is wisdom….to teach and never be weary is love.

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh – at yourself.

Plan your work, work your plan.

One of the biggest thrills in life comes from doing a job well.

Life is not the wick or the candle – it is the burning.

Investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

The man who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away.

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.

The love of reading enables a man to exchange the wearisome hours of life, which come to everyone, for hours of delight.

The dictionary is the only place success comes before work.

11 Reasons Why You Should Use in the Foldables™ in the Classroom

This research article from the Forum on Public Policy advises Foldables™ are interactive graphic organizers which encourage student ownership of study material, provide a kinesthetic component to teaching strategies, and promote long-term retention of academic lessons.

Among the methods used by educators to address these issues include those developed and promoted by Foldables™ guru, Donna Zike.

From the article and according to Zike, these graphic organizers:

...quickly organize, display and arrange data making it easier for students to grasp concepts, theories, processes, facts, and ideas, or to sequence events as outlined in the content standards.

...result in student-made study guides that are compiled as students listen for main ideas, read for main ideas, or conduct research.


...provide a multitude of creative formats in which students can present projects, research, experiment results, and inquiry based reports instead of typical poster board or science fair formats.


...replace teacher-generated writing or photocopied sheets with student-generated print.


...incorporate such skills as comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, and similarities and differences into daily work and long-term projects. For example, these graphic organizers can be used to compare and contrast student explanations of inquiry based questions to explanations currently accepted by scientists.

...continue to "immerse" students in previously learned vocabulary, concepts, generalizations, ideas, theories, etc. providing them with a strong foundation upon which they can build with newly learned knowledge, observations, and concepts.


...can be used by students or teachers to easily communicate data through graphics, tables, charts, diagrams, models and Venn diagrams.


...allow students to make their own journals for recording qualitative and quantitative observations.

...Can be used as alternative assessment tools by teachers to evaluate student progress or by students to evaluate their own progress.


...integrate language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science....


...provide a sense of student "ownership" or investiture in the curriculum.

I have to agree, and the article and subsequent research conducted bears out Foldables™ create success in the classroom.

Try these links for further information regarding Foldables™ :

Larry Ferlazzo’s list of best teacher resources for Foldables™.
The Foldables™ Wikispace
Foldables™ for U.S. History
The Paper Foldables™ Blog
Happy folding!!!!!