All of the things we make are made from materials of one kind or another. Sometimes they’re made from raw materials, and sometimes we have to make the materials first before we can make objects from them. The science of materials at its simplest is suitable for preschool classes,… Continue reading
January 29th is National Puzzle Day! Puzzles of all kinds help maintain the elasticity of the brain, not to mention our visual spatial skills and problem solving abilities. Online resources: Puzzles for the Classroom Puzzlemaker tool generates word searches, math squares, cryptograms, and more. Brain Bashers Smart Kit online… Continue reading
As James Kakalios, the author of The Physics of Superheroes, explains, students never say, “When are we going to use this in real life?” when he uses superheroes to teach. Apparently, he says, all of them have future plans that involve wearing lycra and saving cities. Your students, too,… Continue reading
Do you feel that the guys get left out when you study folk and fairy tales? Here are three lesson plans at different levels of complexity that focus on the heroes of the stories. Let’s hear it for the boys As you read folktales and fairy tales, create character maps… Continue reading
Snow is a terrific classroom theme, but you can step it up and study with snowmen, too. Enjoy some snowman books: The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll The Snowman by Raymond Briggs; the wordless DVD has wonderful music and animation. A Snowman Named Just Bob isn’t great poetry,… Continue reading
What we need at this time of year is a quick lesson that can be presented with little to no preparation — and which the kids haven’t already done too many times before! We have a suggestion: The Peterkins’ Christmas, a fun book which your library will probably have,… Continue reading
Olive, the Other Reindeer, by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh, is a wonderfully fun Christmas book. Olive, a little dog, hears “All of the other reindeer” on the radio and decides she must be a reindeer. She heads for Santa’s workshop, where her adventures naturally include saving Christmas. The… Continue reading
Whether you’re thinking about your classroom wish list, your own holiday shopping for friends and family, or how to liven up (or live through) the last few weeks of school this semester, learning games are your friend. Games are fun, for one thing. This may be an obvious good thing… Continue reading
Monkeys make a fun classroom theme, or a fun element of your jungle, zoo, or wild animal classroom theme. Get your room ready for monkey lessons with a ready-made monkey bulletin board set. For bulletin board headlines, you can use something like this: “Monkeying Around…” with math or whatever the… Continue reading
Logic is important, and can be hard to teach. I spend a lot of time with my writing students trying to get across to them the importance of logical reasoning, support for one’s claims, and providing evidence for things we say, but for many of them, it’s a new idea.… Continue reading
