Strego Nona, or Grandma Witch, is an original story by Tomie de Paola that has the feeling of a folktale. In the story, Strega Nona is a witch who helps the people of her town with things like getting rid of headaches and warts, and she makes love potions “for… Continue reading
The Couch Potato is a picture book by Jory John and Pete Oswald. It’s about a potato. Not a small potato, a sweet potato, or a mashed potato, but a couch potato. “I spend all my free time sitting in this exact spot,” the potato admits. “If the most important… Continue reading
Mysteries are all around us — why not in the classroom? Research and Technology Josepha has been working with young interns, and I’ve been teaching Freshman Comp, so we can tell you that two things are true about the kids who leave our high schools: Employers and college teachers expect… Continue reading
If there’s ever been a year that cried out for inspiration, 2021 is it! We think this is the perfect year for a Great Quotations classroom theme, starting out with inspiring words on the walls. There are plenty of ready-made bulletin board and poster sets. You may have your own… Continue reading
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. In November, 2020, a majority of voters said yes to statehood. Puerto Rico was devastated… 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
