Jean Darnell: Awaken Librarian!

Today's Friday...in April! What does that mean???? THE COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE YEAR HAS BEGUN! via GIPHY I self-medicate with classical music! Lol...NOT! There are bountiful benefits in appreciating classical music: 5 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Classical Music! From the time I was 10, I've known music intimately. I played with my high school orchestra, the Houston Youth Symphony , and I played at Baylor University (Hey, Dr. Hardie ). It is my first love...AND believe it or not, I used to be pretty darn good. I even brought my cello out for the kids a couple of Christmases ago... BE FOREWARNED... it's wretched. I told ya! :) Nevertheless, I've injected my kiddos with small snippets of "classical music" appreciation via 2Cellos ! Luka and Stejan were former competitors, who took their zealous love for cello-playing, and blew the stratosphere by combining their talents into the DYNAMIC DUO! Why do I love these guys? Aside from my obvi...

This lesson is courtesy of my little Plants vs. Zombie Kings (PvZ), Julian and Adrian! They inspired me to create a themed lesson based on the addictive game! It's free on iPad / Android . Look for this ugly guy: If you are STILL lost, then please enjoy this PvZ video: Plants Vs Zombies 2: It's About Time! Game Trailer from Wolf & Crow on Vimeo . The lesson lay-out is fairly simple. Students either work together as a whole table (group of 4) or in pairs. One person/table writes a rhyming poem from the POV (point of view) of the plant. See below: The remaining partner/competing table writes from the POV of the Zombie. See below...as I had MUCH fun composing this poem! The POETRY SMASH part comes in with the lyricist battle! Either via volunteers or members from competing table, the "Plants" battle the "Zombies!" You could have some parent volunteers judge the winners, ELA teacher or it can just be the students rating themselves. ...