DVC Teachers who love Disney

[Brancaneve]

Are there any teachers out there who love Disney and incorporate it into their classroom? My job share partner and I have fun ways of incorporating some Disney magic but I have a few questions.

1) What are some fun "Disney" ideas that you have? How do you use it to enhance your behavior plan, lessons, etc.?
2) Do you ever worry about getting sued for using anything Disney? For example, I don't have time to show feature length movies, but am wary of showing Disney movies. I once heard an urban legend about a teacher who was sued by Disney(her student's dad was a Dis attorney). Ouch!
3) Have you ever had a problem with parents who did not support your Dis magic? So far, the parents complain about their children begging to go to DL!

I look forward to sharing ideas with all the DT(Disney Teachers )out there.

 

[Debi]

I, too, am a teacher and would love to hear other's imput! Any ideas?

 

[msteddom]

I have a collection of about 25 Disney pens. They are the ones where the top is bent into the shape of one of the characters. My students (high schoolers) love hearing the story behind each one of them. I will ocassionally let someone borrow one for the period.

I also always work the "doulbe fingered point" into one of my sociology lessons.

Melissa

 

[6264EVER]

I have used "Mickey Mouse Money" for my students. "Money" was given out for returned homework assignments, working independently, following directions. At the end of the week, students could "shop" from my store or bank it for next week. In the store was candy, school supplies, etc. Made the dollars on the computer with a picture of the mouse and my name. It worked really well.

Also have a maps of the theme parks and I rotate them on my door. When students line up, they read the map. I have a laminated picture of myself that I move around the park and the students have to find and read where I am.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

This is a really great thread!

I did use Disney - parks & resorts in Orlando, Florida as one of the companies that my students could choose to write a 5 page final exam paper for economics class. The students had to determine the market structure, list major competitors, pricing strategy, barriers to entry into the market, advertising strategy and how it relates back to the market structure, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats for the organization, and made recommendations for how they would position the company in the future.

(The whole company was inappropriate because the students would have had to talk about ESPN, Studios, Pixar, etc.)

OK, I bet this wasn't what OP was thinking.

Oh and I always talk about Disney when I talk about exchange rates too! (I say that when the dollar is down you see a lot of people from outside the U.S. at WDW!)

 

[lockedoutlogic]

If you are looking for teachers who are obsessed with Disney.....

try New Jersey....

 

[daisyduck123]

Hi! I teach 1st grade & LOVE Disney!!

I don't really incorporate Disney into my job at all. My job is stressful & I don't really want to associate Disney with it at all.

I work 7-4 & don't think of Disney much while at work, but I know that I can come home each afternoon, surf the DIS, & forget about my troubles at school!

It's interesting though, to read here what the other DIS teachers do though.

 

[chatchdvc]

Nothing formal, but I usually end up using Disney movie references.
I teach high school math, and there's nothing like a pirate battle to illustrate quadratics and parabolas.
And we use trigonometry to determine how far out in the harbor Captain Jack is...

 

[Nikisha421]

i talk about disney all the time...my kids know that I am a disney fanactic...ps this is an excellent thread...

 

[inloveindisney]

well, mine is a little different, as I am a teacher of teachers (a technology specialist at my school and a college teacher). I use the disney website to test the sound on computers. It always makes people take notice when the music comes on! I also use the disboards as an example when i'm teaching people about discussion forums. Just last week I used Deb's site as an example on how to evaluate an effective website.
Needless to say, everyone knows I'm a fanatic because I use disney as an example whenever I can. The great thing about it is that whenever I mention Disney, most people get a smile on their face. It's fantastic!

 

[jpeka65844]

I like this thread too! For the past 6 years, I'd been teaching in a low income school where very few of the children ever went to Disneyworld. And the few families that did go sometimes had their priorities backwards, in my opinion. Like the family that goes to Disneyworld but can't afford underwear for their 1st grader or the family that looked for handouts at Christmas but spent a week in February at the Wilderness Lodge. But I digress....

Beginning this year, I moved to a more affluent school and many many of the kids have been, multiple times even. One student is there this week, the lucky duck and another is going to miss our 4th grade musical November b/c he'll be in the World. Oh, and one student's mom works for Radio Disney! But I digress....

I teach music so I'm able to sneak some in here and there. In 2005 and 2007 when we did March trips, I did a Disney revue with my Special Chorus for their spring concerts. We did "Supercali", "Candle on the Water", "Go the Distance" and of course, stuff from High School Musical!

I also take the week before spring break and do "Disney" week in the classroom. Little guys learn "Let's Go Fly a Kite", "Heigh Ho" and "It's a Small World" while the older ones learn to play "Mickey Mouse March" and "You've Got a Friend in Me" on the recorder.

We also use segments from the Fantasia films when we discuss Bach, Beethoven, and Gershwin (or when I need some filler for my squirmy kindergarteners)!! Also, on one of the videos is a short documentary from the late 50's? early 60's? about the instrument families called "Toot Whistle Plunk Boom" We watch that in 2nd and 3rd grade to conclude our orchestra unit.

And anytime we need background music, I like to use the Bibbidi Bobbidi Bach and Heigh Ho Mozart CD's.

So, yes, I guess I do! The kids always comment on my Mickey Mouse watch and my permanent Mickey Mouse earrings. And hanging on my wall over my desk is my photo collage calendar of past trips made on Shutterfly. So yeah, it's out there that I'm nuts about Disney!!!!!

 

[disneymom8589]

I have Disney things and pictures displayed in parts of my classroom...including a picture of Walt Disney standing by his 2nd grade desk. I do a map activity using laminated maps of the 4 WDW theme parks. I play instrumental Disney music as background music for quiet work time. Co-workers know me as the "Disney expert" and come to me for travel advice.

 

[dudelydude]

This is great...I didn't know that we could post non-DVC related stuff on this board. Thanks for the awesome thread.

 

[Brave teacher]

My incorporation of all things Disney comes into my teaching daily. I warn my students on the first day, but they never believe how much I truly love it. I teach high school Free Enterprise, so it is a fantastic example to bring into the discussion.

 

[disynut]

I'm the librarian in our middle school, but I teach classes too, so I think that qualifies me . I do a Powerpoint at the beginning of each class to tell them about me. They are all always suprised to hear that I got married in Disney World and I tell them how we love it. I have designed my own lesson planner/scheduling book for the library and a mini-Mickey is on each page----anything to make my day a little brighter! I also have pictures around of our trips(anytime I go to my desk---which is actually a rare thing ----I smile when I see the picture from my daughter's first trip at 8 mos.).

Don't know if anyone is familiar with young adult lit or not, but I was reading The Lightning Thief with a group the other day and we were discussing a trident and I was making a poor attempt at drawing one when a student pointed out that Ariel's father in the Little Mermaid had one. Then they all were saying "Oh yeah" and they knew exactly what it was then!

 

[TSNCS]

I am not in DVC yet=I am a wannabe!!! Anyway, I teach science, so I always use mickey when teaching the shape of a water molecule--it looks just like a mickey mouse head! I have students that still come back to me and remember that !!

 

[minnieandmickey]

Not a Teacher but a school Secretary is that ok? I do have a teacher that has disney stuff all over her room, not sure if she can insert any disney into her curriculum though. I do have one thing though that my daughter who I have instilled my love for Disney and who happens to be a special education student, she recently found out at a disbility awareness field trip she went on that Walt Disney had a learning disability. It made her feel not so different in a world that can make her feel that way everyday.

 

[kikiq]

I teach 3rd grade and we will be writing a "friendly" letter to Mickey Mouse next week. This is my first year at this grade level and was really excited when the team told me that was the plan The students each write a letter to Mickey and Disneyland sends back a letter to each classroom from Mickey.

My class knows I love Disney. I use to wear some kind of Mickey Mouse jewelry every day and they had to figure out what/where it was. Good way to start the day, you have their attention from the start.

I use Mr. Potato Head(MPH) for my class behavior points. The class gets class points for responding positively to the wind chimes (stop, look and listen), lining up quietly, following directions quietly and most importantly helping their classmates. For every point, one student gets to put a part on Mr. Potato Head. Right now, MPH is wearing Mickey's sorcerer's hat and carrying a Mickey balloon. He has no ears yet but he's got his Mickey balloon My DH fills the parts box every week and is planning to put the pirate parts in for next week

When I taught in the library/media center, we awarded the Mickey award to classes that were "quiet as a mouse". When a class had 3 weeks of being "quiet as a mouse", their teacher received a Mickey pin and they had their picture taken with the HUGE stuffed Mickey I won at an auction. One year a first grade teacher wanted that Mickey pin so bad, that she started putting her fists on her head to look like Mickey and her class would come into the library with their hands on their heads looking like 20 Mickeys and then sit with their hands folded. She told them that if they were quiet as mice, I wouldn't be able to hear them come in. And I would play along and pretend I didn't see them come it and be surprised when I came out of the stacks.



Just a note on MPH: One reason I love SSR is how close we are to DTD. The toy store has the best selection of MPH parts. Even though I live only 30 minutes from DLR, WDW DTD has a better selection.

 

[disneymom8589]

Like kikiq, my 2nd graders write birthday letters to Mickey Mouse. I send them to Disneyland and the kids love geting the "thank you" postcards, letter, and picture from Mickey!

 

[rutgers1]

Last year, our phys ed teacher did a run/walk initiative where the kids had to walk to Disney World. Of course, they didn't have to actually go to Disney, but he added up all of the miles run/walked until it equaled that distance. It was fun.

Other than that, my personalized Mickey Mouse ears tend to go with me outside the classroom from time to time. The kids think is is hilarious.