The national science standards mandate a set of topics for all studies of organisms: Their morphology — that is, their form, body parts, and other physical characteristics. Their lifecycles. Their habitats. Their relationships with humans. What are the relationships among insects and humans? When you think of insect interactions… Continue reading
The honeybee is our state insect, but it’s a great theme even if you don’t have that connection. A bee theme lets you be Busy Bees or The Bee’s Knees, to ask What’s the Buzz? or to Bee All you Can Bee, and to have Bee-Attitudes. You can get your room… Continue reading
“There was an old lady who swallowed a fly…” goes the traditional song. “I don’t know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she’ll die.” The old woman goes on cheerfully enough to swallow a spider “that wriggled and jiggled and ticked inside her” and then a bird, a cat, a… Continue reading
Seven at One Blow or The Brave Little Tailor is a Grimm’s fairy tale about a tailor who swats seven flies at once, and is so proud of himself that he boasts to everyone that he has killed “seven at one blow.” When his listeners think he means that he… Continue reading
Teachers can tell when that kindergartener needs to be rushed into the bathroom, and we can also tell when that older student is texting under the table. There are some expressions you get to know. But in many classrooms across the country, cell phones are no longer confiscated. Instead,… Continue reading
I find myself in a lot of conversations on 21st Century skills — the things our students will need to know to compete in the global marketplace in the 21st century. The thing that strikes me about these conversations is how few of the people in them actually compete in… Continue reading
Many teachers have a favorite Back to School Lesson Plan to kick off the new school year. Heather McDonnell from Walter Turnbow Elementary suggested an unusual one. She studies skylines. Heather’s mission, she says, is “to bring the world to my classroom.” So she uses the Dr. Seuss bookOh,… Continue reading
Rock & roll makes a fun classroom theme, with some surprisingly serious lesson opportunities. It’s one of the easiest things to pull together, too. There’s a Rock the School mini bulletin board set. There are also cute electric guitar cutouts. What’s more, there are few subjects for which it’s so… Continue reading
One of my pet peeves with educational technology is the fact that so much teacher tech training is just about how to use one little thing — PowerPoint, maybe, or one website. It’s as though there were a workshop on art for the classroom, and you spent the whole time… Continue reading
A turtle theme for your classroom brings in multicultural folktales, biology, and shapes. Start with a bulletin board. There aren’t any large ready-made turtle bulletin boards right now, though there are some turtles in the Sea Buddies set. Carson-Dellosa has turtle note pals, novel notes, and colorful cutouts. These are… Continue reading
