Sunday, November 7, 2010

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.