Classroom subject areas
Things have changed so much in teaching, and they change so frequently, that it might be reassuring to reflect that the teaching of writing has changed almost not at all since Ancient Greece. There have been some changes, essentially in three areas: Technology, from an increasing emphasis on written instead… Continue reading
Snow is a terrific classroom theme, but you can step it up and study with snowmen, too. Enjoy some snowman books: The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll The Snowman by Raymond Briggs; the wordless DVD has wonderful music and animation. A Snowman Named Just Bob isn’t great poetry,… Continue reading
Study animals in winter for a satisfying science lesson. Continue reading
Germany is the home of Christmas trees and gingerbread, two aspects of the German celebration that have become well entrenched in American tradition. Click on the links to find plenty of classroom activities for both those topics. Don’t stop there! German Christmas traditions involve lots of handmade decorations. One that… Continue reading
Christmas is celebrated in many parts of the world, and the traditions for celebrating it vary from one country and region to another. This makes it a great way to study geography, and we also have ideas for art, math, English, and science under specific countries. Basic plans: Map it! Travel… 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
Is Christmas actually celebrated at the North Pole? We think so. Examining this question lets you look at both actual and fictional geography. The North Pole is not on land, actually, but on ice in international waters. The countries nearby include Canada, the United States (Alaska, specifically), Russia, Greenland, Iceland,… Continue reading
As the weather turns colder, we need a chilly theme for the classroom. Mittens are a great one! It’s nice to have a fun theme that doesn’t involve holidays, and this one may even help your students remember to wear their mittens. There are lots of mitten designs in… Continue reading
The poem that many of us know as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” was originally called “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” It was written by Clement C. Moore and first printed in a newspaper in 1823. Hear it read aloud in a video. There are plenty of picture book… Continue reading
As a Google Earth Pangaean, I had the opportunity to try out Google Earth 6 early. Now you can have it too! Go to Google Earth and download the new version. The view is better, the trees are quite realistic, and you can really feel that you are visiting… Continue reading
