Create a Soda

After a trip to the Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, GA, I began thinking about the creative designs and labeling the company has used over the years. Knowing my students, and most kiddos I have taught over the years, I know that they are creative and expressive and love to have any opportunity to use both aspects in an assignment. So, I came up with a creative writing assignment geared toward both their love of writing and art. 
Using the pictures of the various Coca Cola bottles, signs, and advertisements, the students are to brainstorm in groups of two or three to come up with their own brand of soda. They will design the label and bottle, and then write an advertisement to sell their new brand of soda. They will create a poster that "sells" their new product, and then attach their written description of the soda to it. As a group they will present their new soda to the rest of the class. This could be expanded upon in many different ways such as creating their own commercial, to coming up with a cost for the soda and then figuring out how much money they would make selling their soda to various amounts of individuals. 
The original lesson would be graded as follows (feel free to adjust points based upon your needs).

Poster:  
Slogan 10pts.
Colorful Picture and Label Design 30pts.
Neatness 10pts.
Group Effort/Participation 10pts (this part varies per individual student)

Written Description:
Complete Sentences 10pts
Correct Punctuation 10pts
Spelling 10pts

Presentation:
Voice 10pts
Eye Contact 10pts
Group Participation 10pts (again this varies per individual student)

This is a basic outline of a lesson that can be adapted in many different ways, and expanded upon. Sometimes the best lessons come when the creativity flows free with the kids and they are able to truly get excited about their project. I have done other lessons similar to this, and have enjoyed watching my students apply their skills to the activity, and enjoy what they are doing. A fun learning experience on the teacher's part and on the students' part make for a great lesson!

5 Fun Blogs

I'm always on the look out for new creative ideas to use in the classroom. I have a few go to blogs that I pull ideas from, but enjoy playing around on the internet trying to find new blogs to peruse.

I happened to stumble across the blog http://www.theteacherstudio.com/ recently. I was really excited about all the ideas this teacher was posting and the pictures that she was using to show the activities. There are many of her ideas and activities that are similar to things I already do in the classroom, but she approaches them in a different manner. I love the way her blog is set up, it is user friendly and appeasing to the eye. I do find that at some points there is more rambling rather than getting to the point of the assignment, which makes me want to move on and scroll past the writing. I like that she has links back to other ideas or websites to look at that contain similar activities to the one she is showing on her entry. Overall, I am enjoying going through her blog and finding new and creative ideas or ways to enhance my lesson plans.

Another blog I discovered is http://buzzingwithmsb.blogspot.com/ I like a lot of the ideas that she has to share, and in general the way her blog is laid out. It is simple and easy to look at, not overwhelmed with a lot of other links and advertisements. In my opinion, I do not necessarily like the size of the font she is using, as I have a hard time reading it without having to use the zoom on my computer.

I really like http://tailsofthirdgrade.blogspot.com/ I referred to it a lot last year when I was teaching 3rd grade. I love how many pictures she has to show just exactly what she is talking about in her ideas. I like that she has links on the side to the blogs that she likes and follows. Her background is nice, not over the top, but fun and friendly. In general I really like this blog and can't find much that I think it is lacking.

Some blogs have great ideas, but lack a lot in set up and design. http://hedwigsnest.blogspot.com/ is a fun blog, she is creative and has some great ideas, but her layout needs to be revamped. She has pictures that overlap words so you lose part of a paragraph you a reading. The font choice leaves a lot to be desired, again too small, but the choice of the font itself is hard to read.

I'm an avid reader and I love sharing books with my students and encouraging them to read and grow a love of reading. http://www.thirdgradebookworm.blogspot.com/ is a great blog to follow, as she has many a good classroom book recommendation. Her page is laid out well, the font is fairly easy to read, and her ideas are plentiful. Books isn't her only focus, but I am pretty happy that she does so much with them. I like the ticker on her page that tracks the views of her page. Overall, I enjoy looking through her blog.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

There are many things that I enjoy doing in my free time... Although during the school year there is not much of that! 

Cooking: I love cooking and trying new recipes. I'm always looking for something that is fun, fresh, and healthy to try out. I could spend hours in the kitchen slicing and dicing. I'm not a baker, but a cook. My friends and family are my guinea pigs, and most often approve of what I am trying to sell. I love spending time creating the perfect meal, and even shopping for the ingredients! Cooking for me isn't a chore, it's a pleasure.

Favorite go-to cooking/recipe websites:

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/

http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/

http://smittenkitchen.com/

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Crafting: I love creating things to decorate an area, to give as gifts to friends and family, and just for fun. I can peruse the internet finding all sorts of fun ideas, and making a list of all the things I would like to create. I have stacks upon stacks of ideas to make or try. I love having a creative outlet to distract me from my troubles, or just appease the right side of my brain, and make myself happy. There a so many wonderful ideas out there, and just not enough time (or money) to try them all!

Favorite go-to crafting sites:

http://www.cremedelacraft.com/

https://whimseybox.com/

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/

Reading: I am an avid reader, and I am always searching for a good book recommendation. I like a variety of genres, and am always game to try something different and new to me. I have found that I can wander aimlessly in Barnes and Noble, and come out empty handed because I can't make a decision or can't afford to buy all the books I think I need to read! So, going into a book store with a list in hand makes my decision that much easier. I have more books than I can count in a single setting both for my library and my classroom library. What can I say, I love reading!

Favorite go-to book review/recommendation sites:

http://www.goodreads.com/

http://thebooksmugglers.com/