The Joy Factor

So an important element of my teaching practice is the what we like to call the "Joy Factor."  This is a best practices that Aspire has shared with many of it's teachers.  I see it as something I already try to do on a regular basis, but it's nice to know that it's emphasized around our organization.  It's basically adding some fun and silliness to your lesson to get the kids more engaged and excited to learn! Easy!


So, here's how my 4/5 team puts the "Joy Factor" into our lesson planning:

Duh!  We come to school dressed up as detectives!


We've been learning about the difference between a "fact" and "opinion," so we had a Fact and Opinion Detective Day!  For the last day of this unit, we dressed up as detectives and "searched" for facts and opinions all day.


I have to admit, it is a "fact" that my mustache started getting on my nerves and crawling into my mouth by first recess, but this "Joy Factor" got the kids excited for our reading lesson later in the day.  





In other news, I made a very tasty artichoke dip this weekend for a bbq that I thought I'd share.  Not many ingredients, and NO OVEN REQUIRED!  This was a big selling point as I hate getting the house hot during these summer months!

Ingredients: 2 cans of 14oz artichoke hearts in water, 2 cups parmesan cheese, 1 cup mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.  And of course, something to dip with!

Directions:

Step 1: Drain and coarsely chop artichokes.

Step 2:  Place 'chokes, parmesan cheese, and mayo into a microwave safe dish.

Step 3: Stir well, then zap in the microwave for 5 minutes.  Be sure to stir half-way through to ensure the dip is well heated.

Step 4: Give another good stir, add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: Enjoy! :)

Enjoy the weekend people!