Carlo Collodi (pen name of Carlo Lorenzini) wrote his Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883. The book told the story of a wooden puppet who dreamed of being a real boy. American students usually are more familiar with Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film version of Pinocchio. In either version, the… Continue reading
You can’t go wrong with the classics. If that’s not enough of a reason to consider apples for a classroom theme, here are a few more reasons: There is nothing so easy to find as apple decorations. Choose apples and you can get your room put together fast. There are stickers,… Continue reading
Not everyone approves of using pirates in the classroom, but you can’t deny that many students find them appealing and even exciting. There was a time when the line between pirate and explorer was fairly fine (Sir Francis Drake springs to mind), and there certainly is a long literary tradition… Continue reading
The national science standards mandate a set of topics for all studies of organisms: Their morphology — that is, their form, body parts, and other physical characteristics. Their lifecycles. Their habitats. Their relationships with humans. What are the relationships among insects and humans? When you think of insect interactions… Continue reading
Many teachers have a favorite Back to School Lesson Plan to kick off the new school year. Heather McDonnell from Walter Turnbow Elementary suggested an unusual one. She studies skylines. Heather’s mission, she says, is “to bring the world to my classroom.” So she uses the Dr. Seuss bookOh,… Continue reading
Rock & roll makes a fun classroom theme, with some surprisingly serious lesson opportunities. It’s one of the easiest things to pull together, too. There’s a Rock the School mini bulletin board set. There are also cute electric guitar cutouts. What’s more, there are few subjects for which it’s so… Continue reading
While we were in Rome with Google Earth, we saw a pizzeria on every corner. Pizza is perfect for studying fractions. Our friend Debby Picou showed us how to make a fractions center with pizza slice cutouts. Just fit them together into parts like 3/8 or 1/2 and glue them… Continue reading
Indonesian shadow puppets are intricately cut and beautifully painted — and then hidden behind a screen. Used to perform traditional folktales or stories from Hindu epics, these puppets are one of the most characteristic art forms of Indonesia. The concept is simple: put a solid shape behind a transparent… Continue reading
Japan’s lucky cats, or Maneki Neko, have become a popular good luck charm or symbol. The original story tells of a white cat at the Gotoku-ji temple. The temple was poor, and the monks living there struggled with cold and hunger, yet they shared their food with the cat.… Continue reading
The Lambikin is a folk tale from India. It is not very well known in the United States, so it would be a good one to use when you have a class that is tired of all the folktales they already know. In the story, the Lambikin is going to his… Continue reading
