For free classroom tools, it is hard to beat Google. We’ve tried lesson ideas with SketchUpand Earth as well as Sky and Sea. Many classrooms are using Google Docs and Google Apps. The Google for Educators discussion group can be a great place to post questions on classroom technology. Picasa and Scholar are… 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
Christmas is celebrated in many parts of the world, and the traditions for celebrating it vary from one country and region to another. This makes it a great way to study geography, and we also have ideas for art, math, English, and science under specific countries. Basic plans: Map it! Travel… Continue reading
As a Google Earth Pangaean, I had the opportunity to try out Google Earth 6 early. Now you can have it too! Go to Google Earth and download the new version. The view is better, the trees are quite realistic, and you can really feel that you are visiting… Continue reading
The Snow Queen is a lesser-known tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It’s a collection of stories, really. The first is about a mirror made by an evil sprite, which shows everything reflected in it at its worst. This mirror is broken, and bits of it fly into people’s eyes… 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
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is the story of a young shepherd. Growing bored with his work, he shouts “Wolf!” to make the townspeople come running. He laughs at them and at their anger when they find he has tricked them. He repeats the joke, so at last when a wolf… Continue reading
Unlike Hallowe’en, Thanksgiving is one of the holidays we are required to study in the classroom. Our state social studies standards mandate the study of Thanksgiving for three years in a row, and the relationship of Native Americans and Pilgrims for five straight years. Since there are some confusions that… Continue reading
