Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. In 2017, the people of Puerto Rico voted on whether to become the 51st state in the Union, and the vast majority of voters said yes. Another vote is planned for November, 2020. Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria in… Continue reading
Embrace geek chic with a Doctor Who classroom theme! The Doctor is an alien being in a popular BBC TV show, the last of the Time Lords, who goes traveling through time and space in his Time and Relative Dimension in Space (tardis for short). As you can imagine,… Continue reading
“Lazy Jack,” or “Foolish Jack,” is a “noodlehead tale” found in many different countries. The basic story is of Jack, a foolish and lazy fellow who goes out to find work. He is paid each day in various goods. When he is paid in money, he loses it, and his… Continue reading
The Eiffel Tower, or Tour Eiffel, may be the most recognizable iconic image of Paris. It’s an iron latticework tower standing 300 meters tall. The tower gets its name from Gustave Eiffel, an engineer and the owner of the company that built it. Eiffel was also responsible for the… Continue reading
Japan has an unusual artistic tradition: gyotaku, fish printing. The image above is “Pisces Indecision,” a print by Canadian artist Jeanette Jobson, who extends the technique beyond its traditional boundaries. Traditional Japanese fish art is an exciting art project with cross-curricular opportunities. Gyotaku began as a means for fishermen to… Continue reading
We’re largely made of water, so it should be no surprise that much of human life revolves around water. Explore some of the ways water matters with these lesson plans. Water to drink Human beings cannot live without water, and finding clean, potable (safely drinkable) water is a challenge… Continue reading
“The Ugly Duckling” is not a fairy tale, since there are no magical elements, and it is not a folk tale, since we know that it was written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1844. It is probably best described as a fable– that is, a story that makes a point… Continue reading
If social distancing for coronavirus is a challenge, it might be helpful to know that six feet is the length of the average adult llama. So all you need to do is keep enough room for a llama between you and other people when you’re out and about. There’s another… 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
