The Kids Should DEFINITELY See This!

On this beautiful Good Friday in Tennessee, I have to share an amazing website that I just came across.

I just watched Newton's Three Laws of Motion (always close to this former Physics teacher's heart) and loved it.

TKSST was started in 2011, by Rion Nakaya, who curates it with the help of her own two children. She says, "There’s just so much science, nature, music, art, technology, storytelling and assorted good stuff out there that my kids (and maybe your kids) haven’t seen. It’s most likely not stuff that was made for them…But we don’t underestimate kids around here." That's my favorite! I always felt the textbooks I was provided tended to do that, and I would give my students much more detail and background so they could see the big picture. I think it made a difference.

The 2400+ videos shared on the site include science, technology, space, animals, nature, food, DIY, music, art, and animation. What a treasure trove!

Parents, as well as teachers, will find SO much to love about this collection. Here's a video about making the gorgeous Pysanky Easter eggs.

Of course, before or after watching the video, you need to read your kiddos Patricia Polacco's Rechenka's Eggs! This beautiful book was always a favorite of my ESL students, and we would let them draw designs on plastic eggs after reading it. We also made bookmarks and did activities found on Polacco's book page.

Enjoy The Kid Should See This, and please let me know what your favorite videos are!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

On this 57th Inauguration Day AND Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, here are some of the best online sources for teaching your students about Dr. King. And since there are only ten days until February, what a great lead-in to Black History Month!

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University

The NAACP

Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1964:

Storyline Online, from the Screen Actors Guild

How would you like to have 25 FREE read-alouds for your students to enjoy? What if all 25 of them were GREAT children's books? And if the readers were people like James Earl Jones or Jane Kaczmarek, or perhaps Ernest Borgnine or Annette Bening?

If this sounds amazing, then you are in luck! 

The Screen Actors Guild Foundation provides this great resource via YouTube or, for those whose systems block the site, via SchoolTube's Storyline Online channel. 

Here's Betty White reading Gene Zion's classic Harry the Dirty Dog:

As if the videos weren't enough, Storyline Online also provides a downloadable activity guide for each book that includes questions, suggested research extensions, internet activities, and biographical information about the author, illustrator, and reader, plus more book suggestions.

I know you'll enjoy all this site has to offer you and your kiddos!

Cures for the Common Core Blues: BOOKS, Vol. 5

I'm a bit behind on this series because our son, daughter-in-law, and grandbabies who live in Tanzania arrived in the states last week for a visit. Oh, and we had a booth selling crafts made there by Holly and her Tanzanian friend Suzy at the local Arts and Craft Fair for three days...a busy and joyful week!

Today I want to share a book by one of my favorite authors, Leo Lionni. Having taught high school for 25 years, I came late to his wonderful writing, learning to love it during the 7 years I taught elementary ESL. 

Inch by Inch was the first of Lionni's books to win the Caldecott Honor, with three more following. It's a fantastic book for integrating measurement skills; Scholastic has a lesson plan on this page. Not only is the prose wonderful; his illustrations are as well. The iconic Horn Book Magazine praises the book's “...lovely colors...sharp definition of cutouts against white space...rhythm of the composition...simplicity of the whole...” 

Weston Woods produced an animated version of the book in 2006, which costs $59.95, but ArtsEdge has a story performance, by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, online and FREE!

You and your young friends can read more about Leo on Random House's website, which provides tons of information for an author study - seven short chapters and an essay written by his granddaughter Annie Lionni. Your students can also 

• watch him explain why he writes books about animals in a short video,
• see how he makes a paper mouse(and try one themselves) here,
• learn about his childhood and his imagination in this video,
• see many pictures, including one of him playing his accordion!

I have other favorite Lionni books (he wrote 40!) that I'll share later, but in the meantime, please let Inch by Inch and Leo's personal story help cure your Common Core blues.

I hope you're having a happy Thanksgiving week; many blessings from my family to yours! 

Cures For The Common Core Blues: BOOKS, Vol. 3

What a book I have for you today! My Name is María Isabel has been on my short list of fantastic children's books for several years.

Publishers Weekly describes Alma Flor Ada's beautifully written chapter book this way: "Armed with her new blue book­bag, María Isabel bravely faces her first day at a new school. But when she meets her new teacher, she is told there are already two other Marías in the class. 'Why don’t we call you Mary instead?' her teacher sug­gests, unaware that María was named for both her grand­moth­ers, a grand­fa­ther and her father. María's inabil­ity to respond to 'Mary' leads to more prob­lems. Sim­ply told, this story com­bines the strug­gle of a Puerto Rican family’s efforts to improve their life with a shared sense of pride in their her­itage. The author’s care­fully drawn char­ac­ter­i­za­tions avoid stereo­types, thus increas­ing their appeal and believ­abil­ity. An essay involv­ing a wish list gives María a chance to reclaim her name, and allows her teacher to make amends."

Reading is Fundamental has several excellent activities for the book that you can adapt and make your own:

• A guide for educators that includes a prediction chart template.
• A tic-tac-toe of activity options, with math, science, geography, art, and writing extensions for the book. I LOVE these!!!
• A guide for parents and families that includes a recipe for beans and rice.

You and your kiddos can read Alma Flor Ada's biography and watch a video interview with her over at Colorín Colorado, a fabulous site worthy of its own post, and soon!

When I read My Name is María Isabel with a group of 4th graders several years ago, I asked them to write an essay about their "Greatest Wish" as María did; one of them brought me to tears. My sweet student wrote about how much she wanted to see her sister who lives in Mexico with their grandmother, and whom she hasn't seen since she was two years old. What a heartfelt, and mature, wish from a precious little girl! 

(Note: one of the activities suggested by Reading is Fundamental is writing just such an essay.)

Enjoy this wonderful book, available at Amazon, with your kiddos! Teach them the important vocabulary -  attentively, Hanukkah, manger, menorah, misunderstanding, pageant, strumming, Three Kings' Day, troublesome. Discuss the realistic fiction genre. Have them write, look for evidence and cite it, learn about measurement using the recipe, and much more.

And as always, let it help cure your Common Core blues!

Coraline. The book. On video. Free!

"When Coraline steps through a door to find another house 

strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem 

marvelous. But there’s another mother there, and another 

father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. 

They want to change her and never let her go. 

Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage 

if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life."

Good news for fans of Neil Gaiman's Coraline! To celebrate the 10th anniversary of his #1 New York Times bestseller, Neil Gaiman is posting readings of each chapter of Coraline on his official website for young readers, Mr. Bobo's Remarkable Mouse Circus.

Gaiman himself reads Chapter 1, Lemony Snicket reads Chapter 2, and Gaiman's "fairy goddaughter" Natashya Hawley reads Chapter 3. Chapters 4 through 11 are online now, read by such luminaries as John Hodgman, Melissa Mars, Holly Black, and R.L. Stine.

Gaiman was born in the U.K. and now lives near Minneapolis. He is a lifelong "devourer of books" who began his writing career as a journalist. I love this introduction of his biography on the website:

"Sometimes, when he was smaller, people used to tell Neil Gaiman not to make things up. He never listened. Now he’s written over twenty books, been given dozens of awards, many of them astonishingly ugly. He’s written television drama and for movies, and for comics. He’s even written “non-fiction” which he learned is only marginally less made-up than the fiction. Sometimes he thinks about finding some of those people who warned him of all the awful things that would happen if he kept making things up, and finding out if it’s happened yet, or is still going to happen, and whether he should buy a tin hat and thick boots for protection. In the meantime, he grows pumpkins and keeps on making things up."

Coraline was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. The 10th Anniversary Edition of the book features a new foreword from the author, a reader's guide, and an author Q&A.

In 2009, the book was adapted by Henry Selick into an animated film of the same name, which is now available on DVD.

Columbus Day?

So. Columbus Day, hmm? Such a romantic story of the discovery of a "New World." 

"In 14 hundred 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," was the sing-song verse I learned in elementary school. The First People weren't mentioned, of course.

My missionary son (a member of a minority in Tanzania, a former colony itself) posted this link on Facebook today: Rethinking Columbus: Towards a True People's History. The embedded question is, "Is it OK for big nations to bully small nations, for white people to dominate people of color, to celebrate the colonialists with no attention paid to the perspectives of the colonized, to view history solely from the standpoint of the "winners?"

Also for your consideration:

10 Things You May Not Know About Christopher Columbus

Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491

Hatuey: 1512 - 2012

Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years

Should Columbus Day be changed to 'Exploration Day'?

Students Make Film: Columbus – The Hidden History

Why do we celebrate Columbus Day?

Food for thought, and for your reflection and planning for teaching your kiddos.

Common Core Practice | Floating Buddhas, MacArthur ‘Geniuses’ and Fracking

Today's Common Core Practice from Sarah Gross, Jonathan Olsen, and The Learning Network includes narrative, informative, and argumentative writing tasks. 

Floating Buddhas so inspired Sarah and Jonathan's students "that they have designed a challenge for students (and adults) everywhere: find a piece of “art” (however you define it) in your own surroundings, and post a photo of it to Twitter with the hashtag #art4me. They hope to 'see how far this project will travel,' so consider joining in!"

Librado Romero/The New York Times

Chang Jin-Lee’s inflatable Buddha sculpture, called “Floating Echo,”

is anchored on the East River at Socrates Sculpture Park

in Long Island City, Queens. Go to related article »

MacArthur ‘Geniuses’ tells students that “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction (can win) $100,000 per year for five years" and asks them to "propose a dream project that you hope the MacArthur Foundation would help fund."

Fracking refers students to the article Shift by Cuomo on Gas Drilling Prompts Both Anger and Praise, as well as a video and an earlier lesson plan, and asks them to "write a letter to the editor of The New York Times explaining whether Governor Cuomo should allow fracking to occur in New York State, (using) evidence from the article to support your argument."

"Winning!" again, with this great resource at The New York Times.

White Flour - The Book and The Video

There are fourteen white faces in Geita, Tanzania, a rural town of 40,000 souls. Our son Carson, daughter-in-law Holly, and grandsons Jude and Silas are four. The rest are members of their mission team, except for a single German woman who also came to Geita as a missionary.

Since our kids moved to East Africa in 2009, I've spent a total of almost eleven weeks there, and I've glimpsed life as a minority. This has led to a great deal of reflection, as have my seven years of experience teaching English as a Second Language to Hispanic children and working closely with their families.

Holly sent me a link to this video last night, and I had to share it with you. If I were still in the classroom, I would get a copy of the book, download the video, and create a lesson to use with my students. I hope you will.

The book is available at WhiteFlourBook.com and at Amazon.com. From the website: "White Flour is David LaMotte’s second children’s book, with illustrations by Jenn Hales. In Seussian rhyme, it tells the funny and inspiring story of the day that the Ku Klux Klan met the Coup Clutz Clowns, who offered a whimsical and wise retort to their racist rally. The poem that provides the text for the book was inspired by true events in Knoxville, TN in 2007. White Flour was written for middle school students and older, but may be appropriate for younger kids at their parents’ discretion."

Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is a national multimedia literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.               

What does this website offer you and your students? Honestly, it should become one of your go-to sites for all things reading! It's jam-packed with a vast library of information for the most discriminating educator among us!

Selecting the For Teachers tab, here's an overview of SOME of the resources, with links intact:

Children's books & authors

• Author video interviews
• Author study toolkit
• Writing prompts inspired by children's authors and illustrators
• Themed booklists
• Poetry
• Multicultural books
• Award-winning books

How to...

• Do an effective read-aloud
• Find the right book level
• Find great informational books
• Set up a classroom library
• Find free or low-cost books

Professional development resources

• Professional development webcasts
• Reading 101: First Year Teacher 
• Launching Young Readers series

Struggling readers

• Reading Rocks! 
• Target the Problem!
• Put Downs & Comebacks
• LD resources
• ELL resources
• Tutoring
• More resources to help struggling readers

Impressed? I thought so. But that's just a taste of what's in store for you. Let's look specifically at Classroom Strategies, 54 of them in the areas of:

• Print awareness
• Phonological awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
• Writing

Each includes:

• Instructions on how to use the strategy
• Downloadable templates
• Examples
• Recommended children's books to use with the strategy
• Differentiation for second language learners, students of varying reading skill, students with learning disabilities, and younger learners
• Supporting research

There's even a chart that tells you when to use each strategy - before, during, or after reading.

My favorite thing about the strategies? That each one has recommended books to be used when teaching the strategy. Not dull, low-level textbook stories. Not excerpts. Not paraphrased sections of a piece that is age or reading level inappropriate. Real books that your kiddos can hold in their hands, read for themselves, and understand. I couldn't ask for more, and I don't believe you could, either!

So. Bookmark Reading Rockets (or just go ahead and put a link on your desktop!) Read a section every chance you get. Choose resources that fit your needs in making your class the best it can be for your students. Enjoy this fabulous, FREE site and all that you can find within it! 

And have a great week!

Teaching About September 11

I have to share this blog post with you today, from the The Learning Network at The New York Times. It is the first post of the 2012-2013 school year in their series Great Ideas from Readers. 

You'll find two lesson plans there, one by teachers Bev Berns, Shaelynn Farnsworth, Shawn Hyer, Erin Olson and Todd Vogts from schools in Iowa and Kansas, and another by Rachelle Lamoureux of North Dakota. Please read the post, and then watch the video.

Shannon Doyne, who wrote the post, says: "Shaelynn Farnsworth and Erin Olson, along with other teachers...used our collection of 9/11 resources as the foundation for research for the video (below), which was created by students at multiple high schools."

Ms. Doyne continues, "Rachelle Lamoureux...used front-page Times articles from the first 10 days after the attacks as readings to which her “current generation” students responded, then contributed a word for a group collage that captured their reactions." (Lamoureux is a middle school teacher.)

In addition to these two lesson plans, you will find many links to additional teacher resources on the website.

Chemistry/Physical Science teachers, this is for YOU! (And it's great!)

When I was teaching Physical Science, I had a set of samples of chemical elements. They were small, sealed in lucite bars, but they were so much better than pictures in a textbook. My students enjoyed them, and they were able to see some of the elements' physical properties up close.

Your students can see much, much more now that video journalist Brady Haran has created 118 videos about the elements featuring chemists from the University of Nottingham. Check it out at The Periodic Table of Videos.

http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/periodic-table-videos-620x324.png

This is a totally amazing site, with much more than a video for each chemical element. Extra Videos has news, travels, special occasions, and funny stuff, too. The group has also added a new collection called Molecular Videos that provide information about their favorite molecules and compounds. Here's one called "Fire Water":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1z0AVvY9yM 

This video could be used to kick off your study of chemical properties and reactions, during which you have your students investigate for themselves many other reactions.

http://www.upwardbound.unh.edu/images/chemistry.jpg

Hurry on over, and enjoy this great resource!

A Private Universe - It will change your life!

Heads up: If you teach science, this post is very important for you and especially for your students.

I first watched the video "A Private Universe" several years ago in a summer workshop, and yes, it changed my life. If I had ANY lingering idea that science could be well-taught with lectures, textbooks, worksheets, and vocabulary lists, this film blew it out of the water! 

http://www.learner.org/newimages/resources/pic_privateuniverse.jpg

Here's Annenberg's description: "This video brings into sharp focus the dilemma facing all educators: Why don't even the brightest students truly grasp basic science concepts? Interviews are held with high school students and Ivy League graduates asking them to explain what causes the seasons and the phases of the moon. Even the brightest students in the class have false ideas based on enduring misconceptions that traditional instructional methods cannot overcome." (emphasis mine)

You MUST watch it if you haven't already seen it! Go to this link on the Annenberg Learner site, scroll down to A Private Universe, and click on the Video on Demand button. The video will open in a new window. It's only 20 minutes long, and worth every minute!

And once you've seen it, we'll be ready for more posts about hands-on, minds-on science...I have some great ideas waiting for you!

UPDATE: The links below will take you to the second and third posts in this series.
A Private Universe - Second in a Series
Teaching Science Through Inquiry - Last in the Series
  

Teachers Pay Teachers (But some give it away!)

Teachers Pay Teachers bills itself as "an open marketplace for educators, where teachers buy, sell, and share original resources." There are literally hundreds of thousands of items on the site, all created by teachers. It's a great idea - much better than buying books of worksheets, classroom organization ideas, and lesson plans from publishers - for a couple of reasons. One, proven ideas from real teachers in real schools are just worth more, and two, creative teachers can make a little money from their hard work!

But here's the thing: in addition to all of the items for sale (from under $1 and up), there are more than 40,000 items that are FREE! Many are simple - a spelling test template, for example. But check out the second page of the template below. I love the reflection piece! 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Spelling-Test-Template

Others are much more complex, such as a complete literature and grammar unit for Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl. It's 60 pages long, with activities, etc., for every chapter of the book. Remember - this is FREE!

You can browse TPT by grade level, subject, price, and type. Wondering exactly what is meant by "type"? Well, there are 90+ types listed, from Activboard Activities to Windows Software.

So. Click right over to 

and see what other real teachers have shared with you. And please, send a thank-you email to those whose freebies you use, for their time and generosity!  

GOOD NEWS: YouTube For Schools

I LOVE good news, and I have some for you, in case you haven't already heard!

I was frustrated near the end of my classroom career, because I knew that great resources were available on YouTube, but teachers couldn't access it at school. This was, of course, due to inappropriate content on the huge video site.

For a year or two, I would download at home videos such as Eric Carle himself reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, take my laptop back to school, and share it with my kiddos. Then my school system subscribed to Gaggle, which gave us access to filtered YouTube. We were thrilled, and used it well.

Some teachers, however, were still left out because their systems didn't subscribe to Gaggle. But YouTube came through, launching a new portal in December called YouTube for Schools, and it's FREE!

If your school hasn't already set up a Google account to allow you access to this great resource, you can do it here. Your students will be able to watch only content from YouTube EDU or videos added by your school. And you? YouTube Teachers has playlists ready for you to access by grade band and subject area, and many are already aligned to the Common Core State Standards!

You are SO welcome for this good news flash! Hope you enjoy this great resource, and that your kiddos do, too!

BioBlitz - Your Next Adventure!

When I was a TN science workshop trainer, we often asked participants to sketch a scientist. The most common drawings were those of mad professors in lab coats, but the best ones showed children at work, being scientists. My favorite depicted a little girl in hip-waders taking water samples in a pond.

If you, like the teacher who drew that little girl, want your students to DO science, here is a great idea for your class: a bioblitz biological inventory!

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/media/photos/000/124/cache/identifying-species-at-bioblitz_12437_160x120.jpg

National Geographic Education defines bioblitz as "an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time." The National Park Service is partnering with the National Geographic Society for the 10 years leading up to the 100th birthday of the NPS in 2016 to conduct 24-hour biological inventories in various parks. This year's bioblitz is next weekend, August 24-25, in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

As much as I would love to visit the Rockies again, I won't be there next weekend, and I doubt you will either. But you and your students can participate vicariously!

Take them to this year's site, BioBlitz 2012: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to introduce them to the concept. Check back after the event closes for an update on the findings.

Go to sites for previous events for photos, videos, and organism counts:
BioBlitz 2011: Saguaro National Park, Arizona
BioBlitz 2010: Biscayne National Park, Florida (the first ever marine bioblitz)
BioBlitz 2009: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan
BioBlitz 2008: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California
BioBlitz 2007: Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.

Once your students have seen what a big bioblitz is like, they'll be ready to participate in their own local one. And National Geographic being National Geographic, they've provided a complete Neighborhood BioBlitz Activity Guide for you to do just that - with directions, objectives, preparation, and background & vocabulary! The kiddos will return from the field to do research to identify the organisms they observed, and team up to make a biodiversity map. There are discussion questions and a writing assignment for you to use as an informal assessment. Oh, my.

I can't imagine a science activity that would conform more closely to the Common Core goals of rigor and relevance, or one that would have students more engaged and invested in their learning. Have a wonderful adventure, and please let me know how YOUR bioblitz goes!

TED-Ed Lessons Worth Sharing

So. TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth sharing." (Wikipedia) I've watched a few TED Talks when recommended by my son and another person or two. I was impressed with the knowledge and skill of the speakers. And that was about it. Until today.

Actually having time to look for great resources for my own learning and to share with you is one of the best things about having retired from the classroom! Today, I discovered TED-Ed, which was just launched in April. And it's too cool for school!

How would you science teachers like a 5 minute animated video called, "Just How Small Is an Atom?" with lesson suggestions?

Or, math teachers, how about 7 minutes of "How Big is Infinity? (The Most Important Unsolved Problem in Mathematics)"? This one has lesson suggestions, and even links to a site by Dennis Wildfogel, where he has posted videos called "Making Sense of Calculus". Seriously?

My teacher-daughter will love "The Case Against Good and Bad" which urges the use of vivid words instead of worn-out ones. (A couple of years ago, she and her middle-school students created a graveyard for overused words in the hallway outside her classroom.)

 TED-Ed even allows you to "flip" these lessons or ANY YouTube video, creating a customized lesson for yourself and your students. I am simply amazed, and I'm going to let you read this post on the website Cool Hunting.com to get the details. CH's explanation is much clearer than mine would be!

So. I'm learning something new every day, and I'm glad today brought me (and you) TED-Ed!

The SIFT Method for Literature Analysis

I've written about Teaching Channel before, and I'll be writing from time to time about a particular great idea I've found there. If you haven't already joined, remember that it's FREE, and signing up takes less than a minute!

One of the many great Tch video clips shows middle school teacher Meagan Berkowitz teaching a poetry lesson using the SIFT Method - Symbol, Imagery, Figurative Language, and Tone or Theme. It's less than 5 minutes long, and well worth watching to see her interaction with her students, and the focus they have on the poems they are reading while using bookmark cue cards. Close analytic reading is an important feature of the Common Core; here's a tool for you to try out to see if it fits your needs!

Besides the bookmark, you are given the lesson plan, a copy of  the two poems used, and a transcript of the lesson. If you're a language arts teacher, you're all set to try this lesson yourself, or to adapt it to your grade level! And don't forget to "pin" the lesson  by clicking "Save this in my Lesson Planner."

(A note: there is a typo on the SIFT bookmark that you'll want to change before printing - "attitude and author" should be "attitude an author." I changed it in the image above. Since it's an open Word document, it's no problem!)

Teaching Channel - Pinterest for Teachers, But Better

Back in the day (say the late 1980s), there were filmstrips and old reel-to-reel films, but teaching videos? Not so much. Flash forward to the early 2000s, and my librarian best friends had amassed hundreds of VHS tapes and indexed them for our faculty. We were rich!

Now here we are in 2012, with YouTube, TeacherTube, and Gaggle, oh, my! Gaggle even has a "my videos" button, but sadly, not every school system has a Gaggle subscription for its teachers. 

Enter Teaching Channel, which features videos of lesson ideas in addition to exemplary lessons and strategies:

• "Teaching Channel is a video showcase -- on the Internet and TV -- of innovative and effective teaching practices in America's schools."
• "Videos labeled 'Lesson Idea Common Core' are Common Core aligned."
•  It's my favorite price - free!

All good, right? Well, I saved THE (absolute) BEST for last. Once you register for your free Tch account, click on the Workspace tab, and choose Lesson Planner from the My Workspace menu, you can

The Button enables you to "pin" not only videos and ideas from the Teaching Channel website, but also those you find anywhere on the web! I just pinned this great 2-minute video from Tch :
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/classroom-silent-communication-signals?fd=1 
AND
this one from YouTube, an animation of one of my favorite children's books, Swimmy by Leo Lionni: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=442ie2qFANQ

Simply amazing!!!