Butterflies are a common symbol of growth and change — a great classroom theme! There are some ready-made items for your bulletin board: Scholastic’s clever 3-D Butterflies! Bulletin Board Mini Bulletin Boards- Butterflies & Moths from North Star You can also make butterflies from circular coffee filters. Have students… Continue reading
“Head, thorax, abdomen, Abdomen! Head, thorax, abdomen, Abdomen! One, two, three, four, five, six legs, Head, thorax, abdomen, Abdomen!” Continue reading
In Aesop’s fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper, the ant works hard all summer while the grasshopper plays. Not only does the grasshopper play, but he actually taunts the hardworking ant. Come winter, the ant has plenty to eat and the grasshopper dies. The moral is clear: work hard… Continue reading
The national science standards mandate a set of topics for all studies of organisms: Their morphology — that is, their form, body parts, and other physical characteristics. Their lifecycles. Their habitats. Their relationships with humans. What are the relationships among insects and humans? When you think of insect interactions… Continue reading
“There was an old lady who swallowed a fly…” goes the traditional song. “I don’t know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she’ll die.” The old woman goes on cheerfully enough to swallow a spider “that wriggled and jiggled and ticked inside her” and then a bird, a cat, a… Continue reading
Many teachers have a favorite Back to School Lesson Plan to kick off the new school year. Heather McDonnell from Walter Turnbow Elementary suggested an unusual one. She studies skylines. Heather’s mission, she says, is “to bring the world to my classroom.” So she uses the Dr. Seuss bookOh,… Continue reading
Rock & roll makes a fun classroom theme, with some surprisingly serious lesson opportunities. It’s one of the easiest things to pull together, too. There’s a Rock the School mini bulletin board set. There are also cute electric guitar cutouts. What’s more, there are few subjects for which it’s so… Continue reading
One of my pet peeves with educational technology is the fact that so much teacher tech training is just about how to use one little thing — PowerPoint, maybe, or one website. It’s as though there were a workshop on art for the classroom, and you spent the whole time… Continue reading
Indonesian shadow puppets are intricately cut and beautifully painted — and then hidden behind a screen. Used to perform traditional folktales or stories from Hindu epics, these puppets are one of the most characteristic art forms of Indonesia. The concept is simple: put a solid shape behind a transparent… Continue reading
Pandas make a great classroom theme. They connect naturally with studies of biology, environmental science, art, and punctuation — and hey, they’re cute! It’s also very easy to find ready-made panda gear to decorate your classroom — at this time of year, that’s a big plus. Panda Pals from Edupress… Continue reading
