Sea shanties are a part of the great genre of work songs. Sailors used the rhythm of the songs to keep together when rowing, hauling up sails, and doing other cooperative work. They also enjoyed music during their downtime. Pirate musicians, according to documents preserved from pirate ships, only had… Continue reading
“The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” is one of Aesop’s fables. It is also found in the fables of La Fontaine. The basic story is this: a town mouse visits a country mouse and is scornful of the country mouse’s simple life. The country mouse goes to town to… Continue reading
“The Three Billy Goats Gruff” is a Norwegian folk tale. Three goats want to visit a distant field to get some enticing green grass, but must cross over a bridge with a troll living under it. They go one at a time, from the youngest to the oldest. The troll… Continue reading
“The Little Mermaid” is a story by Hans Christian Andersen. Since it was made into an animated film by Disney, it is well-known and popular, but there may also be confusion in younger students’ minds between the two versions. If you like the Disney version, you can make short work of… Continue reading
“Chicken Little” is a very good story for young students, with its high level of repetition and simple, cumulative story. But I also like it as a lead-in to disaster preparedness issues for the older ones. “Chicken Little” is also sometimes called “Chicken Licken.” It is even sometimes called “Henny… Continue reading
From preschoolers who love to play with toy trucks to high school students discovering all the jobs involved in logistics and freight transport, everyone can learn something from a good lesson about trucks. Scroll down to find lessons at different grade levels. Preschool and Kindergarten Read books about trucks: My… Continue reading
The Gingerbread Boy is a popular folktale, and makes a great classroom theme at this time of year. In the story, a Gingerbread Boy (or a Gingerbread Man) is baked and runs away. As he is running off, he meets various animals or people, all of whom try to catch… Continue reading
I’m getting ready for summer school. You may be finishing out your year or looking forward to beginning a new school year in August. We all need classroom themes that capture the fun and sun of summer. Here are some of our favorite classroom theme ideas for summer classrooms: Jungle… Continue reading
What would spring and summer be without bugs? This is a theme with lots of ready-made options for decorating the classroom. Buggy for Bugs Behavior bulletin board makes behavior management quick and easy, TCR’s We’ve Got the Writing Bug Mini Bulletin Board Set features the writing process, and Carson Dellosa’s Buggy… Continue reading
Movies, stars, popcorn — bring it all together for a fun classroom theme that lends itself to art, social studies, and technology lessons. Use big paper stars and put everyone’s name up in lights for a fun bulletin board. Slogans: We’re stars Starring us Red Carpet Treatment Celebrity Learning Oscar… Continue reading
