Most of the classroom and faculty webpages we saw as we randomly wandered school websites really didn’t have any layout at all. With some excellent exceptions, faculty pages tend to have a box or two randomly placed on the page: In these examples, the school provides a frame that keeps… Continue reading
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
FreshPlans was launched on April 18th, 2010, so it’s our first birthday today. In our first year, we’ve had more than 136,000 visitors from 174 countries and territories. Thank you so much for helping to make our first year great! Continue reading
Easter in the classroom is a lot like Christmas in the classroom: there is an unavoidable religious element, but it is also a holiday celebrated as a secular day of fun in the United States, and there are a lot of enjoyable things you can do in your classroom if… Continue reading
April is National Poetry Month. Most of us teach poetry at some time, for some reason. Whether it’s nursery rhymes for essential pre-reading skills for the littlest students or sonnets for the AP exam, rhymes to help remember math facts or opportunities to express emotion in acceptable forms, most… Continue reading
What is an earthquake? An earthquake is movement of the earth that causes shaking and rolling of the earth. This is generally the result of movement of the tectonic plates of the earth, though some recent quakes where I live have, some say, been caused by unsafe methods of… Continue reading
Learn about Greek mythology and the earth science explanation of the seasons by studying the story of Persephone, the goddess of spring. In Greek mythology, Demeter was the goddess of the harvest. She had a daughter, Persephone, whom she loved dearly. As Persephone grew up, she became so lovely that… Continue reading
Bring Mardi Gras fun into your classroom with three easy lesson plans combining art, social studies, critical thinking, and physical education. Mardi Gras is a largely secular celebration with a religious history . If you want to explain the background of the day, you’ll need to begin with Lent. Lent… Continue reading
Weather folklore is the source of many cool sayings. This one tells us that, though March begins with rough weather, it will be mild and pleasant by the end of the month. This seems like an encouraging reminder that spring is on the way. Some reverse the saying, though, to mean that if March… Continue reading
Meet standards for art, social studies, and physical education all at the same time with a study of Irish dance. Irish step dancing has been practiced widely in Irish-American communities throughout the U.S. for many years, but it only came to the notice of the general public when Riverdance became… Continue reading
