Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa with illustrations by Mike Reed is a terrific book for Halloween lessons. It works on a lot of levels. First, it’s a very fun rhythmic read aloud, with a refrain young kids can join in on: Come on, Li’l Red, won’t you dance… Continue reading
Do you observe Hallowe’en in your classroom? Some do, with parties and costume parades and all, and some don’t. Maybe you (or your district, parents, community leaders, administration…) disapprove of Halloween and would rather not bring it into the classroom at all, but you feel like you spend the whole… Continue reading
Get your class excited about math and aware of the season by using Halloween candy for math manipulatives. Here are some ideas: You can use them for counting. Have students simply count them, or set them into groups using easily recognizable patterns like the dots on dice to help… Continue reading
It’s Fall, Y’all — or it soon will be. Check out our lengthy list of fall lesson plans. Continue reading
Edgar Allen Poe was an American author and poet, and a master of the scary tale. Around Halloween, Poe’s stories are a great way to introduce older students to writing techniques like tone, perspective, and setting. Keep in mind that many of Poe’s stories might be too scary for younger… Continue reading
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a picture book written by Charles M. Shultz, based on the comic strip Peanuts. You can read the book with your class or watch the video and be sure that you’ll have a fine seasonal experience without any scary moments. Here are three lesson… Continue reading
Haunted houses are part of mythology and urban legends in many places and times. They make a good topic for lessons with art, social studies, and writing. Depending on your population, you can put them together with ghost stories for a great genre lesson, use them for Halloween or architecture… Continue reading
If you do Halloween in your classroom, Halloween is a great bulletin board theme for October. CTP has a mini set for Halloween. We like the cheerful retro look. Eureka has a Halloween bulletin board set with the Peanuts characters: If Halloween isn’t a good choice for your classroom, there… Continue reading
We’re amazed by some of the books for kids and young adults which have been often banned and challenged. S-Collection has another list of challenged and banned kids’ books. A definitive list isn’t possible, simply because there isn’t a central banning and challenging agency or process. Some books may… Continue reading
Autumn is filled with wonderful celebrations! September is classical music month; celebrate with lesson plans on Handel, Stravinsky, or Peter and the Wolf. The first Monday in September is Labor Day. September 7 is Google Commemoration Day. September 8 is National Literacy Day. September 13 is Programmers Day. It’s… Continue reading
