Classroom subject areas
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. In 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024, the people of Puerto Rico voted on whether to become the 51st state in the Union, and the majority of voters said yes. Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. News coverage made… 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
Valentine’s Day is a great classroom holiday; it might have started as a religious observance of St. Valentine’s Day, but by now it really has no religious connotations and no controversies surrounding it that are relevant to the classroom. It is one of the best holidays for school observation,… Continue reading
Eve Bunting’s book The Valentine Bears is a fun readaloud for young students, with lots of good teaching points. In the story, Mr. and Mrs. Bear have never celebrated Valentines Day before, since they are always hibernating at this time of year. This year, though, Mrs. Bear has planned… Continue reading
Horton Hears a Who was written by by Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, in 1954. Cartoon versions were released in 1970 and 2008. You can watch the entire 1970 TV special on this video: In the picture book, Horton hears the sound of someone calling for… Continue reading
Theodor Seuss Geisel was a children’s author and illustrator whose special style makes a great classroom theme! His inspirational books can provide a good starting point for upper grades, and little kids love his goofy easy reading books. It’s easy to set up a Seuss classroom, because there are plenty… Continue reading
Pecos Bill is a great example of a tall tale hero. Bill was raised by coyotes and rejoined human society to become a sort of Western superhero. In a collection of stories, he outdid everyone in tales of derring-do that explain the origins of the Rio Grande and the… Continue reading
Laos is a beautiful country in Southeast Asia. This is the Patuxai or Victory Gate in the capital city, Vientiane. It was built in honor of the warriors who fought for Laos’s independence from France, which owned Laos from 1893 to 1953. Pha That Luang is also in Vientiane. This… Continue reading
For a thousand years, from around the late 800s until the 1880s, Samurai warriors served the noble families and royal courts in Japan. Much like the knights of Europe, the samurai were a special class of fighting men who wore finely made armor and used special weapons. We see them… Continue reading
The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art at the Fenster/Sanditen Cultural Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a lesser-known gem of an art museum in a town with a surprising wealth of art museums. The Sherwin Miller specializes in Jewish art, with a wide range of exhibits. Art works in multiple… Continue reading
