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Blog DJ Inkers Yay for our Guest Blogger! Bringing smiles to...

Yay for our Guest Blogger! Bringing smiles to teaching the 3 Branches of Government

/ By: DJ Inkers Staff

We are excited to introduce Aris, our first GUEST BLOGGER at DJ Inkers.  :) We just love her ideas... & it's so fun to see what she's done with our clip art and fonts!  Plus, President's Day is right around the corner... so the theme is perfect!  So, without further ado...

  Hello DJ friends!  I'm Aris Rossi from Sailing into Second and I'm beyond excited to be guest posting for Dianne today! {Holy moly these are some HUGE shoes to fill!} Today I'll be sharing some mini lessons on the 3 Branches of Government using DJ Inkers Kidoodlez U.S.A Clip Art!   In social studies, we've been learning about our U.S. Government, specifically the 3 branches of government. I started out with a pictorial input chart (a strategy adapted from Project GLAD) where I created colorful visuals of information (picture notes) to describe each of the three branches. I drew the picture as I described each of the vocabulary words and concepts. I also used colors to organize/chunk important information. It's super important to revisit the chart on multiple occasions to add additional information or images.  We always keep our pictorial input charts available as resources all around the classroom. At the end of the unit, I "auction" the charts or KWL's off to students...they go b-a-n-a-n-a-s over them! It's absolutely hilarious! Here's an example of the one we've been using during this unit.
One activity I used to help my students remember what each branch does and is responsible for was this fun sorting activity! 
When introducing a new unit (for social studies, math, science, or even language arts) I also like to use an inquiry chart (very similar to KWL) to assess and activate background knowledge, address misconceptions, teach revision and learning as a continuous process, and to model reading/writing skills. I know...sounds like it couldn't possibly hit up all of that stuff, but it really does! This strategy comes from the inquiry method approach to science to think, predict, and hypothesize. The students also keep a copy for themselves in their social studies interactive notebooks to refer back to after we finish our unit (see below for example). 
 During small reading group centers, I pulled out these informational text reading passages and comprehension activities I created about each of the 3 branches. We spent a few days doing close reads with these bad boys to really soak in all the great information found in each passage!
In addition to all the informational text reading, we dove into all academic vocabulary using my vocabulary matching game and cards! They loved all the vocabulary flip books too!
We even got to create some awesome patriotic stories using picture cards! Isn't the clip art simply ADORABLE?!?

Overall, I'd say they enjoyed learning about a topic that might not always be a hit with the kids. It really helps to branch out (no pun intended!) and teach this topic across the curriculum. We spent many days focusing on the important aspects of our U.S. Government, but really made it accessible to my students in a variety of ways and activities. DJ Inkers Kiddodlez U.S.A. Clip Art made these activities and worksheets MUCH cuter!  What are some ways you use DJ Inkers in your classroom?  I'd love to hear all about it!

 

And as a special gift, DJ Inkers has a coupon just for YOU to SAVE 25%!  All you have to do is enter coupon code:  DJUSA in the box at the bottom of the 'view cart' page, click apply & enjoy!  Just be sure to use your coupon before it expires on President's Day (February 17, 2014).

  Sailing into 2ndIf you liked these ideas you can find the full 3 Branches of Government Unit here! I'd also love it if you would stop by my blog at Sailing into Second!      -Aris Rossi     Thank YOU, Aris!   You are adorable.  Teachers like you make us look good.  ;)    If you are interested in being a guest blogger at DJ Inkers, please contact us (smiles@djinkers.com) & send us an idea for what you might like to blog about.  :)