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A Touch of Irish .
. .Special Days . . .and Spring!
May you always have ... Walls
for the winds, A roof for the rain, Tea beside the
fire, Laughter to cheer you, Those you love near
you, And all your heart might desire! (Irish Blessing)
 Learn
About Ireland and the Irish!
 The Republic
of Ireland (from Enchanted Learning)
Discover simple, concise information about Ireland,
the significance of the orange, green, and white
colors of Ireland's
flag, the "Tricolor," and more. Compile your
information in a narrated PowerPoint show and share!
Use Inspiration to "brainstorm" with your students about
things that are green,
then visit the page of Green
Things! Use Inspiration to record information,
too! (Sample File)
History,
Myths, Legends - Short explanations of St.
Patrick, Leprechauns,
the Pot of Gold, the Blarney Stone, the Shamrock,
Fairies, and the Harp. Use these to launch creative
writing topics - "If I found a Pot of Gold,
I would . . .", "How to catch a Leprechaun in ?
easy steps", "The luckiest thing that ever happened
to me was . . ." Encourage students to
draw pictures that relate to their writing, then
publish
- maybe consider a digital
storybook!
A
Virtual Tour of Ireland - Click "The Lowdown on Ireland" to
discover more detailed information about the country, the
state name, the flag, the coat of arms, the national anthem,
folklore, saints, and more. Informative virtual
tours and photos of the many Irish counties can be found
here
as well!
The
Universe of Bagpipes - Learn about and listen to bagpipes
from all over the world! Good photos!
Bagpipes at Best has midi files for
you listening enjoyment, too!
St. Patty's Pot
O'Gold Money Math Game - Four areas to practice
math here - Addition, Subtraction, Greater or Less
Than, and Variety of Money
St.
Patrick's Day Activities - Printable Books
and other crafts and activities
to
use with your
students!
St. Patrick's Day - An Online Project!
St.
Patrick's Day Project -
Join Pre K-Grade 3 students over the world in this one
day project for March 17! Students will count the Lucky
Charms marshmallow shapes and
record a final tally count for each shape! A perfect way
to encourage math
skills and enjoy special activities on St. Patrick's Day.
Teacher worksheets and classroom integration ideas are
included. (You may also be interested in the Great Egg
Roll VI online collaborative project - see more below.)
Money,
Money, Money!!! - While visions of a "Pot O'Gold" are
dancing in your mind, enjoy learning more about our currency
with this Internet resource page - complete with sample classroom
or computer lab activities/lessons that integrate technology!
p Celebrate
"Pi"
Day - March 14 (3/14)
Spice up your Math class in March by celebrating Pi
- 3.1415926535897932......
A most remarkable number -- It's
irrational! This day is also the birthday of a famous mathematician.
Do you know who? Explore circles, diameter, circumference,
Pi,
and maybe even enjoy a slice of pie!
All
About Pi - from Math Forum: Ask Dr. Math
History
of Pi - Values
of Pi through Time - It all started long,
long ago!
Interesting Facts about Pi
Discovering the
Value of Pi
Discover
Pi
The Pi-Search Page - Search for a string of digits - find
your birthday in Pi!
3.14 Trivia Game
Education
World - Classroom Activities and Lessons for Pi Day
Joy of Pi - Links for information about Pi
It's Music in Our Schools
Month!
How Much Do You Know About SOUND!
 The
Soundry! Sound is the vibration of
any substance. Music is made of different sounds
put together in special ways. Do you know the only
place sound cannot travel? Or did
you know that there are four main parts to a sound wave: wavelength, period,
amplitude, and frequency? How about that sound waves
travel the slowest through gases, faster through
liquids, and fastest through solids? Find out
more about the EAR, PHYSICS of sound, APPLICATIONS
of sound, a TIME LINE of sound, and experiment with
sound in the SOUND LAB!
Get
An Earful! - A game
about sounds from Scholastic
March
- National Youth Art Month!
Artopia -
(from Knowitall.org) One Minute Movies - Be An Art
Critic - Meet an Artist/Sculpturer - Visit the Painting
Studio Student Gallery - Create Your Own Portfolio
The
Artist's Toolkit - Explore the Toolkit,
See Artists in Action, and browse the Encyclopedia
The Rite of Spring - Vernal
Equinox occurs on March 20!
 On March 20, 2006, at precisely
1:26 pm EST (18:26 Universal Time), the Sun
will cross directly over the Earth's equator. Learn
about the equinox
and the reason for the seasons. This
moment owes its significance to the 23.4 degree
tilt of the Earth's axis. People have recognized
the vernal equinox for thousands of years. Did
you know that early Egyptians built the Great
Sphinx so that it points directly toward the
rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox?
What physical signs
of spring can you see in your neighborhood? Daffodils? Longer
days? Budding trees? Brainstorm with your
class. Let students
choose a favorite sign of spring and write
why it is meaningful to them, then illustrate
with a picture - Make a KidPix Slide Show in
the computer lab! Listen to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring or Vivaldi's Spring from
the Four Seasons as you work!
Springtime
Lessons -
Five lessons to welcome a new season - Cherry Blossom
Time, Ode to Spring, Butterfly Hunt, Eggstra! Eggstra!
Read All About It, and Integrating Math into a
Spring Unit
Springtime Online! - Excellent suggestions and ideas to incorporate
spring into your classroom curriculum.
Spring Theme Unit (from
abcteach) - Printable worksheets, shape books,
writing ideas, and other theme units related to spring
- plants, ladybugs, bees, butterflies.
The Rite of Spring - What physical signs of
spring can you see in your neighborhood? Daffodils? Longer
days? Budding trees? Brainstorm with your class. Encourage
students to list favorite signs of spring, then write why they are
meaningful to them. Use Inspiration to
organize ideas.
Spring
Acrostic (MS Word)- Write a simple spring acrostic poem.
Display in your classroom or hall!
 Dance
into Spring with Butterflies!
Learn more about a butterfly's life cycle,
eating habits, and more.
Begin your unit with an Inspiration KWL
chart and continue your study with this Scavenger
Hunt. Included is a printable student worksheet as well as
related butterfly Internet resource sites. Enjoy these delicate
creatures! They're lovely!
Write a "Spring Cinquain"-
a five line poem. Begin with words such as butterfly,
caterpillar, daffodil,
robin, etc. (Spring Cinquain PDF
file)
Unitedstreaming -
Excite your students with "real-life" videos
such as World of Nature: Monarch Butterfly: Milkweed
to Mexico, Insect Metamorphosis, The
Caterpillar and the Polliwog, Exploring the
Diversity of Life: Butterfly Garden, and more! (Do
a Unitedstreaming keyword search: butterfly)
Additional Internet resources about butterflies!
Children's
Butterfly Site - Activities, photos, book resources, and answers
to frequently asked questions about butterflies!
Monarch Butterfly
Lessons
Fun Butterfly Facts
Butterfly Life Cycle
Butterfly Games
 INSECTS! These
creepy crawlies are from the Arthropod group of animals. Do
you know the characteristics of all insects? Take
time to explore Insects! Sample
lesson plans and activities are available!
The
Great Egg Roll VI - Online Project!
Join
schools from all over the world to roll eggs and learn
about estimation, measurement, and
more! You will find ready-made project worksheets as
well as "egg" activities to excite your students.
This project runs March 20 - April 7, 2006
In
addition to the online project, there are 'egg-cellent'
egg resources and ideas for Language
Arts, Math, Science, Art, and Technology! One technology
example is the "Great
Egg Trivia Hunt." A math lesson example is "Egg
Math." Have artistic fun by designing your own
egg at the Hershey's
site ('Create an Egg' area). And, you don't want
to miss the Cadbury
site for kids......learn how they make those yummy
cream eggs and more!
 Easter
Candy! Yum! (Did you know that sixty million chocolate Easter bunnies
are produced each year? And according to 74% of American
children, bunnies' ears should be eaten first.)
Put all 5 senses to work (Taste, Touch, Sight, Smell,
Hear) and describe this candy!
Use Inspiration to record your thoughts. Hersheys Kiss (Inspiration file)
What's your favorite Easter Candy? Survey
students in your class! A wonderful way to encourage
skills in reading charts and graphs and gain
experience using MS Excel. Favorite Candy (Excel file)
Which Came First
- the Chicken or the Egg?
The Incredible
Edible Egg - The American Egg Board's
Incredible Edible Egg site includes a wealth of recipe
ideas, eggs facts, and an 'eggcyclopedia'.
British
Egg Information Service (BEIS) "All About Eggs" is yet another
educational resource for those interested in oology. Where
do eggs come from? What's in a hen's egg? Which
mammals lay eggs? From Hen to Shop - How Strong is an
Egg? and more!
All About Eggs -
Take a peek inside an egg and see how a chick grows - and find more egg
information!
The Chick Hatchery -
View photos of eggs being "candled" and a chick hatching. The Hatching Process web
site also has excellent photos!
Chickscope Embryology - This
Internet resource will take you on an exploration of the 21-day life cycle
of the embryological chick. Older students will enjoy "Egg Math", too!
Incubation & Embryology -
Lesson plans, hands-on activities, and experiments related to eggs
Eggs -
See photos of various eggs compared to a large chicken egg
 How Do You Like Your
Eggs?
See if your students can answer questions using a Venn
Diagram that shows egg survey results. Try making one with your own
class survey or encourage students to design one of their own! Egg Venn Diagram (Inspiration file)
 Oviparous Animals - What are they? Can
you name examples? Students research to learn examples of insects, birds, fish, reptiles,
amphibians, and mammals that are oviparous.
Information is recorded using Inspiration. Oviparous Animals (Inspiration
file)
For an extended activity, students can research one specific oviparous animal and share facts
with fellow class members. A wonderful way to learn about lots of animals! My Oviparous Animal (Inspiration
file)
Egg-centric
Egg Quiz - One dozen Grade A Questions! See how
many you know! Interesting! Also, be sure to view the many learning areas
of this Canadian Egg site -
At the Farm, Making the Grade, Care and Safety - Number One, Egg-Anatomy,
Egg-cellent Nutrition, Egg-citing Cuisine
Eggs
- A Virtual Exhibition! This might be the closest you
get to seeing wild bird eggs without disturbing birds at the nest. This
virtual exhibit showcases eggs of the world.
Let's Go Fly A Kite!
One Man's Adventure with
Kites will always be Special!
 Benjamin Franklin -
Inventor, Printer, Librarian, Statesman, and a Timeline
Energy Quest Discover
the energy story, step aboard the energy time machine,
learn about super scientists, and more facts about
energy!
Electric Universe -
Sections for all grade levels to teach more about
electricity
The Internet Plasma Physics
Education Experience - A cool interactive
site!! You've got to try this one!
Soar Into Spring
With Kites - (from Education World) The
history of kites and lots of integration ideas for
all areas - geography, math, science, writing, art,
listening - plus links to everything you need about
kites!
 March Along
with the American Revolution
PBS:
Liberty! Experience events that led up to the Revolutionary
War with the interactive "The Road to Revolution" and
browse the "Chronicle of the Revolution" for additional
facts and resources.
Loyalty
or Liberty? An interactive adventure! Gather the eight
secrets and choose a side.
Midnight
Rider - A Paul Revere Virtual Museum with 5 Exhibit
Halls to visit! Each exhibit has one or more activities
to complete. ("Paul Revere's Ride", The Real Story,
Colonial Boston, Ride with Paul Revere, Music of the Revolution)
Causes
for Revolution - Reviews main reasons for the American
Revolution; includes questions & game
Leaders
of the Revolution (Patriots and Loyalists) Summaries
of several important Patriots & Loyalists
Effects
of the Revolutionary War - A brief summary with interactive
practice questions and constructed response questions.
Irish Blessings
.....
Dance
as if no one were watching,
Sing
as if no one were listening,
And
live every day as if it were your last.
I'm
looking over a four leaf clover
That
I overlooked before
One
leaf is sunshine, the second is rain,
Third
is the roses that grow in the lane.
No
need explaining the one remaining
Is
somebody I adore.
I'm
looking over a four leaf clover
That
I overlooked before.
May
your blessings outnumber
The
shamrocks that grow,
And
may trouble avoid you
Wherever
you go.
As
you slide down the banister of life,
May
the splinters never point in the wrong direction!
For
each petal on the shamrock
This
brings a wish your way-
Good
health, good luck, and happiness
For
today and every day.
Go
mbeannai Dia duit
(May
God Bless You)
Leprechauns
"One of the first things people think of in association with
St.Patrick's Day is the leprechaun. Leprechauns are little
make-believe fairies from Ireland. They look like a small,
old man standing about two feet tall (The name leprechaun
derives from the old Irish word "luchorpan", meaning "little
body") and usually dressed like a shoemaker, with a cocked
hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns
are cute, mischievous, and playful creatures who love
to drink, dance, and play music, and who pass the time
making shoes. They are also believed to possess a hidden
pot of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a
leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If
caught the leprechaun must grant his captor three wishes.
However, the captor must keep their eyes on him every
second. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun for
even one second (and he often tricks them into looking
away), he vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure
are lost." (from History, Myths, Legends)
All
you need to know about life ---
you can
learn from a leprechaun!
(an American Greetings
Card)
- No one ever outgrows
the need for warm hugs, special dreams, or a wee bit
of mischief.
- The
Word "IMPOSSIBLE" is
NOT an Irish word.
- When
you're happy, SING! When you're sad, SING LOUDER!
- Life is
too short for long faces.
- If
you can't find a rainbow, paint your own!
- Never
walk so TALL that you can't see the "WEE FOLK."
- If
you're feeling blue, wear lots of green and
think hopeful thoughts.
- Expect Magic
to happen....and it WILL!
- Quit trying
to catch a LEPRECHAUN, and just BE one!
- Have A Happy-Go-Lucky
St. Patrick's Day!
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Celebrate
Dr.Seuss and "Read Across America"!