The story of Atlantis, the wonderful kingdom that sank beneath the ocean, captures student imaginations and provides terrific teachable moments for science, literature, and social studies. The only written record of Atlantis, and the origin of the story, is in the Dialogues of the Greek philosopher Plato, where he writes… Continue reading
A dragonfly was flying along through a jungle in the Philippines, and stopped to rest on the branch of a tree. The monkeys who lived in the tree ran over, chattering, and told her to leave. “This is our tree!” they jeered. “You can’t sit here!” “I am so… Continue reading
The Tortoise and the Hare is one of Aesop’s fables, also done by Jean de La Fontaine. You can read it, and admire one of Rackham’s illustrations for it, here. A shorter and easier version is online here. Jerry Pinkney has done a beautiful picture book version. Janet Stevens created a… Continue reading
Sharks are fascinating creatures, very different from us and from fish, and they offer just enough scariness to make an exciting classroom study. Here are two of our favorite approaches to the topic. Basic background: National Geographic has several lesson plans about sharks, including Are Sharks as Dangerous as We… Continue reading
In 1936, Sergei Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf to introduce the instruments of the orchestra to children. There is probably still no better way to do it. The story is simple yet exciting: Peter disobeys his grandfather and goes into the woods, where he sees some animals, all of whom… 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
Christina Rossetti wrote, “Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I,” but understanding the wind is essential to understanding weather. March is a traditional time to study about the wind. With young children, kites and other wind-powered toys are a great way to introduce the topic. Here are some links… 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
Do you feel that the guys get left out when you study folk and fairy tales? Here are three lesson plans at different levels of complexity that focus on the heroes of the stories. Let’s hear it for the boys As you read folktales and fairy tales, create character maps… Continue reading
Here are some of our favorite ideas for Christmas Around the World lessons for England. The Jolly Christmas Postman is the holiday version of Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s famous The Jolly Postman. As in the first book, we follow the postman as he delivers the mail on his bicycle. And… Continue reading
