“The Princess on the Glass Hill“ is one of the more obscure fairy tales, but the image of the suitors trying to get up the glass hill to the princess is familiar to most of us. Since our state frameworks mandate the use of of folk and fairy tales up… Continue reading
“Stone Soup” is a fun story to read and to act out, and it presents a classic message. In the story, three soldiers traveling through a town ask for food, but in vain. The villagers feel too poor to share, and they decide together to hide their food and refuse… Continue reading
The story of Paul Bunyan is an American folktale. It may be more proper to say that the stories of Paul Bunyan are American folktales, because there are quite a few of them, sometimes gathered together into a single long story, but sometimes not. Paul Bunyan is a folk hero among… Continue reading
When you study the United States and its three branches of government, you’ll find that the judicial branch includes lots of courts. But one of those courts is particularly important: the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court currently has 9 members. Online resources StreetLaw has an interesting collection of resources for… Continue reading
Mesopotamia, meaning “between the rivers,” was the cradle of civilization. Explore the people who lived here thousands of years ago with a couple of our favorite Mesopotamia lesson plans. These two lessons are designed to give a sense of time and place for ancient Mesopotamia, while integrating critical thinking, math,… Continue reading
Fractals are fun — and they team up perfectly with a study of snow. To do this activity with your students, you first need to explain what a fractal is: A fractal is a a curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as… Continue reading
Cherokee is one of the few Native American languages with its own writing system. Perhaps in part because of this, Cherokee is also one of the few Native American languages which has a growing — not a shrinking — number of speakers. Studying about the Cherokee writing system can not… Continue reading
Are your students clear about the difference between Pilgrims and Puritans? Understanding the differences between the two is important because they form the foundations of New England—without the differences between Pilgrims and Puritans, today’s northeastern states wouldn’t look the way they do. In fact, county lines in Massachusetts are… Continue reading
One of the things that changed when the Old World of Europe and Asia met the New World of the Americas was what the people ate. Peppers, corn (though the English used the word for something else before importing our corn to their country), potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, peanuts, pineapple, cranberries,… Continue reading
Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without a turkey on the table for most families. This gives us a great opportunity to teach our students about turkeys, both domestic and wild, and to have some fun while we’re at it. This activity is great for younger children. Thanksgiving Hand Turkey Art Lesson… Continue reading
