Your neighborhood may or may not have a farmers market, but just think how many things you can learn in a lesson about farmers markets: science, social studies, environmental literacy, economics, even art and technology. Here are some of our favorite farmers market lesson plans: Kindergarten Start your kindergarteners off… Continue reading
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
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
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
