Classroom subject areas
“Cinderella” is one of the best-known and best-loved of all fairy tales, and for good reason. It’s a dramatic story with a strong moral. The story tells of a virtuous, hard-working young girl who is mistreated by her cruel stepmother and stepsisters and forced to sit among the ashes and… Continue reading
“This is Matilda, and this is Matilda’s dad,” begins this fun book by Lizzy Stewart. Matilda and her dad set out to look for treasure one day. It’s an adventure, for sure. Matilda gets frustrated by her dad’s fun-loving but disorganized approach to the treasure hunt…even though he points out… Continue reading
Snails are mollusks, and they are very different from most of the animals we’ve written about here at FreshPlans. For one thing, you can easily bring snails into your classroom. Get some live snails to observe. Snail food will keep your snails in the pink. Create a terrarium for your… 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
Juan Ponce de León (1460-1521) was the first conquistador to visit Florida. He was the first Governor of Florida and of Puerto Rico. But he may be best known for his quest to find the Fountain of Youth. Juan Ponce de Leon was born in Spain and grew up to… Continue reading
South Africa is a diverse country in the Southern Hemisphere, so Christmas falls in the summer. Schools are closed for a month, businesses often close for a month as well, and many people go camping. Just as in Australia, Christmas in South Africa is often spent on the beach. Christmas… Continue reading
One of my favorite Thanksgiving books is Eileen Spinelli’s The Perfect Thanksgiving. JoAnn Adinolfi illustrated it with bright colors and primitive drawings with mixed media collage. It is the story of two different Thanksgiving celebrations: the perfect holiday of Abigail Archer, and the imperfect one of the narrator. “Abigail Archer’s father… Continue reading
Whales are the biggest things your students can readily imagine. They’ll certainly be welcome in your classroom. We like to start a study of whales with a research project covering the basics: Begin by getting to know the physical characteristics of whales. One of the most important physical characteristics of… Continue reading
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. In 2017, the people of Puerto Rico voted on whether to become the 51st state in the Union, and the vast majority of voters said yes. In November, 2020, a majority of voters said yes to statehood. Puerto Rico was devastated… Continue reading
Many cultures have trickster tales: stories about a clever person or animal who plots to play tricks on others. Sometimes the tricksters have an undercurrent of danger, sometimes they’re mean, sometimes they’re foolish, and sometimes they’re just funny. Anansi the Spider, Jack of stories like “Jack the Giant-Killer,” and Coyote… Continue reading
