Author: Pernille Schmidt Ripp

Since 2010, I have lived my teaching life outloud, writing, speaking, and sharing the great, the okay, and the sometimes not so great. Starting as a 4th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin, then heading to the middle school for many years, in 2022 I moved back home to Denmark to try teaching primary grades. Because why not? But I also started the Global Read Aloud in 2010, a global literacy project that has connected millions of children across the world. I also write books trying to help others co-create sustainable student-centered learning spaces, and I share my life on Instagram, in both English and Danish.
being a teacher, inspiration, lessons learned, students

Not More Resolutions but Renewals Instead

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

It is indeed a new year, resolutions abound, and people fell eager, excited, rejuvenated, and ready to change their lives.  I am one of these people as well that truly views a new year as a time for transformation, a time to renew vows made to oneself, to reflect, and to reevaluate.

I, too, made a resolution, a small one to save more money for traveling, but that is it.  Professionally, I have quite a few resolutions going on already, as my husband reminds me, such as limiting homework, throwing out grades, student blogging, and my fun new blog for sharing lesson and.  So yes, I have a full load, but a fun one.

So instead of a resolution, I decided to remember the goals I have already made for the year.  We get so busy with piling new ones on, that we can forget about the awesomeness of the old ones.  So the goals I renew to myself are, in no particular order:

– Remember they are all of our children. There is no such thing as just “your” students anymore, make yourself visible to all, and treat them all as if they did indeed belong to you, because they really do.

– Question yourself. Why do you do the things that you do in your classroom? Why do you teach this way?

– Take time to discover your passion. Your passion may be apparent to you but to some people it isn’t, however, if you don’t give yourself the gift of time to really reflect, how will you ever discover that you love zombies, technology, and Neil Gaiman?

– Give the gift of now. Be present wherever you are, whether it be in your classroom, with your family, or in the car. Give that moment in time the honor of being there fully, even though that may be hard, it is worth it in the long run.

– Reach out to others. Whether it be through Twitter, your PLN, or staff members, use them, reflect with them, and praise them. These are the people that will support, encourage, and challenge you on a regular basis, these are the people that will raise you up.

– And finally, don’t survive it – live it!

internet safety, technology

Why the Internet is Like the Mall

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Image from here



Another cross posting from my other blog, this one has taken on a life of its own, with others putting their own spin on it.  When we discuss internet safety, it is vital that we are able to relate it to students’ lives, so that they can understand that being behind a computer does not mean that they are protected.  While I am not in the business of scaring students, there are plenty of other ways that can happen, we can stress the importance of proper behavior.  And thus this lesson came about; linking the internet to going to the mall.


I believe in the importance of honest conversation with the kids, where they supply the answers, rather than me hitting them over the head with it.  I simply started out this lesson by writing the words “Internet Safety” on my whiteboard and turned to the kids.  They volunteered what these words meant to them and then I ventured into the mall analogy; so what would they do to stay safe at the mall if their parents dropped them off?  


Some of the students answers were

  • That they would not talk to strangers
  • Give anyone their information if approached
  • Go only to the place they were supposed to
  • And they wold go straight there, rather than take detours or stop at other places 
  • They wouldn’t give their money to strangers



By having the students provide the safety rules, taken from their own memory of rules drilled into their heads by their formidable parents, they connected real life danger with things that can happen on the internet.  Sometimes students think they are safe on the net, as we all know, and this brought the responsibility home for them.  


So as we continue learning proper safety and etiquette, we will keep referring back to the mall analogy, for example, would you walk up to a friend and tell them their outfit was ugly when talking about how to comment?  Today was one of those moments where I was able to make students understand something they have to learn in this day and age.  A lesson not just meant for 4th graders or 5th graders but hopefully something they will keep in the back of their minds when they go on the internet themselves, or maybe even next time they go to the mall.  Once again today I realized how huge my responsibility is for these kids and how glad I am to be their teacher.  

Related articles
being a teacher, Lesson Planning, New Adventure

A New Adventure Begins

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

With the start of a new brilliant year, I am excited to unveil my new blogging adventure:  Lessons from the Fourth Dimension, a blog dedicated to sharing lesson plans and resources in my classroom.  While I teach 4th grade, these plans are meant for anyone to use and adapt to suit their needs.

I have been inspired by so many people, so this is my way of trying to give something back.  Thank you so much for your support on this blog, I hope you enjoy this new adventure.

choices, Social studies, Student-centered, technology, Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s Early Explorers on Facebook

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
My overarching theme for this year has been student-centered learning, so putting the focus back on students rather than me talking them through the learning.  So as I prepped social studies over the break, I realized that I could not just tell my students about the first explorers in Wisconsin; they had to research it and present.  But how to do this without it being another research project with a report attached?

We have just finished a formidable Native American research unit, discussed here, where students took full control of their own learning.  As said by my students, this proved to be one of the best experiences for them this year, so I knew there had to be control relinquished to them.  I also have very set perimeters for the project because it does have to fit into the information presented in the chapter in social studies book.  So students will be creating two separate projects. 

The first project will be a simple read and share event, in which the students have been placed into teams (no more than 3 kids)  and they will read a sub-section of general information about the Native American tribes in Wisconsin.  This mini-project will take one lesson (45 min) for reading and writing (they are learning to not copy others’ words) and one lesson for presentation.  By ripping half the chapter apart, students will have to take more control of their learning as they engage in active listening during presentations, and practicing their own public speaking skills.

The second project is the actual research of various historical figures prominent in the exploration of Wisconsin.  There are 12 different prominent explorers that the students should learn about.  I will therefore go through the time line of the exploration years to provide them with an overview of the time, and then set them off to research.  I have checked out netbooks for them to do their research on, however, students can choose to use them or not.  Other student choices include:
  • Who their learning partner should be?
  • Who they would like to research (I ask them to pick 3 and then pick sticks and assign)?
  • How are they going to research?
I find the “how” is just as important as the “who”, because in 4th grade, we are just learning how to do actual research.  Students have not had a lot of practice and are so used to the teacher printing out various sources, or creating a livebinder.  By having a classroom discussion on various forms of research, we are once again handing over the responsibility (and thinking) to the students, so you are facilitating rather than leading.

Students will be asked to present all of their information via the fantastic Facebook Template that has been circulating on Twitter.  However, I will be asking them to draw it out by hand rather than on the computer.  The reason is two-fold; we have some very artistic students that need an outlet, and we have limited access to computers.  So in the end, we will have some fantastic Facebook templates adorning our classroom walls.  Timeline will be discussed and determined by the students as well but I foresee about one week’s worth of time is needed.

As for grading, students will be evaluating themselves, and we will discuss what they loved, had difficulty with, and how they would improve upon it.  No formal grade will be assigned, as is my style, but students will be asked to read and comment on each other’s work as well, as part of the learning process.

In progress:  
I have been meeting with my students and some need a little bit more scaffolding, so I created this direction sheet for them to use.  That way they can check off when they find the needed information or if they need to make something up they can.

internet safety, technology

Why the Internet is Like the Mall

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Another cross posting from my other blog, this one has taken on a life of its own, with others putting their own spin on it.  When we discuss internet safety, it is vital that we are able to relate it to students’ lives, so that they can understand that being behind a computer does not mean that they are protected.  While I am not in the business of scaring students, there are plenty of other ways that can happen, we can stress the importance of proper behavior.  And thus this lesson came about; linking the internet to going to the mall.
I believe in the importance of honest conversation with the kids, where they supply the answers, rather than me hitting them over the head with it.  I simply started out this lesson by writing the words “Internet Safety” on my whiteboard and turned to the kids.  They volunteered what these words meant to them and then I ventured into the mall analogy; so what would they do to stay safe at the mall if their parents dropped them off?  

Some of the students answers were
  • That they would not talk to strangers
  • Give anyone their information if approached
  • Go only to the place they were supposed to
  • And they wold go straight there, rather than take detours or stop at other places 
  • They wouldn’t give their money to strangers
By having the students provide the safety rules, taken from their own memory of rules drilled into their heads by their formidable parents, they connected real life danger with things that can happen on the internet.  Sometimes students think they are safe on the net, as we all know, and this brought the responsibility home for them.  

So as we continue learning proper safety and etiquette, we will keep referring back to the mall analogy, for example, would you walk up to a friend and tell them their outfit was ugly when talking about how to comment?  Today was one of those moments where I was able to make students understand something they have to learn in this day and age.  A lesson not just meant for 4th graders or 5th graders but hopefully something they will keep in the back of their minds when they go on the internet themselves, or maybe even next time they go to the mall.  Once again today I realized how huge my responsibility is for these kids and how glad I am to be their teacher.  
blogging, Introduction, kidblog, safety, technology

So You Want to Use Kidblog?

Pernille Schmidt Ripp


While this post is from my other blog, I have found it to be a very useful one, thus the cross posting.  Many of us have started our students blogging but to ensure full parent and student understanding, I created these documents.  We still use these documents, halfway through the year, as we continue to emphasize safe internet usage and responsible behavior.  My students can practically recite the safety plan.


One of our main components will be our Kidblog but since this is the first year anyone has done anything like this in my school, there was some safety business to handle first.  So here are my links to an internet safety plan my students will sign as well as the Kidblog introduction letter I am sending home to parents.  Please feel free to use.