New Song! Opra, Our Opera Diva Bus Driver!

Hear Opra, Our Opera Diva Bus Driver

Oprah, Our Opera Diva Bus Driver

“La-la-la-la-laaaaa!” she warms up,

 Folding open the school bus door.    

“Me-me-meeeee!” she sings harmony,

Along with the deep engine roar.

Riding along, she’ll belt out a song,

Jaw wobbling as she grips the wheel.

Hitting the brakes, she hits her high notes.

A prima donna duet squeal.

Chorus:

She dreams of singing on the opera stage,

But for now she drives our bus.                

And each day on the way to school,

She sings arias for us.

One morning she wore a helmet with horns,

And warbled “Ho-jo-to-ho!”

She clutched the gear shift like a spear,

While the kids cheered, “Bravo! Bravo!”

The morning she sang Madame Butterfly,

She gave us an excellent ride,

Especially when at the end,

She gripped her kimono and died.

Chorus:

Soon we’ll be meeting her at the Met,

Now librettos lie beside her.

Riding to class is classy because,

Oprah is our diva driver.

Chorus:

Author/Class Skype Chats

Suggestions for a Successful Author/Student Skype Chat:

     1. Have trial run with author beforehand to test connections.
     2. Have students prepare questions to ask author.
     3. Tell students to come up and face camera when asking questions.
        Tell them not to face the screen or computer.
 Some teachers tape an X on the floor to show where to stand.
     4. Let author know what the children are viewing
         —a Smartboard, a projected image, or a computer screen.
     5. Let the author see the audience by facing camera toward students.
          I like asking questions and seeing hands raised
     6. Give a short introduction to students after making Skype connection for the author to hear.
     7. Tell the author know what books students have read and make sure author knows what book
         or books you want to talk about.
     8. Make sure author knows what state and time zone you are in and how long the chat will be.

Mary's Little Lamb

              Mary’s Lamb

    I have this pesky little lamb.

It’s fleece is snowy white.

                 If it follows me to school once more.

                          We'll have lamb chops for dinner tonight.

from Mary's Little Lamb in the book Classroom at the End of the Hall.

The Very Tall Teacher and The Very Tall Teacher 2 Winter @ Spring

The Very Tall Teacher and The Very Tall Teacher 2  Winter & Spring are now available in paperback and e-book formats.
Buy The Very Tall Teacher !

The Upside-Down Playground New Song!

Hear the new song Upside-Down Playground!

Upside-Down Playground

They built the playground upside-down.

The jungle gym looks like a crown.

The tetherball still goes around,

But now it rolls along the ground.

The slide spirals into the air.

The climbing pole takes you nowhere.

The monkey bars are like train tracks.

To use them we must bend our backs.

The swings won’t swing; the rings are dead.

We get drinks standing on our head.

The ball wall did an odd flip-flop.

The play fort floor is on the top.

Basketball dunk shots are a breeze.

We start our bar twirls from our knees.

Our parents built it all the wrong way.

Now it’s topsy-turvy recess play.

Math Rashes song

Listen to the new song Math Rashes !

Noe School

Lipogram (from Ancient Greek: λειπογράμματος, "leaving out a letter") a kind of writing in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided—usually a common vowel, and frequently "E", the most common letter in the English language.
I greatly enjoy lipogram books for adults, in particular A Void by Georges Perec. It was a great fun and a challenge to write what I believe is the first lipogram book for children--a novel without a solitary e in it. That's right: no the, there, where, when, he, she, or they. Now in paperback at all online stores: Noe School on Amazon

MVP: Magellan Voyage Project Skype Chat

Teachers,

              Anyone using MVP: Magellan Voyage Project as part of their  social studies or language arts curriculum, let's set up an author/class Skype chat.  No charge and great fun!

            Also, don't forget to download the marvelous MVP study/activity guide from MVP Guide.