Do you observe Hallowe’en in your classroom? Some do, with parties and costume parades and all, and some don’t. Maybe you (or your district, parents, community leaders, administration…) disapprove of Halloween and would rather not bring it into the classroom at all, but you feel like you spend the whole… Continue reading
Get your class excited about math and aware of the season by using Halloween candy for math manipulatives. Here are some ideas: You can use them for counting. Have students simply count them, or set them into groups using easily recognizable patterns like the dots on dice to help… Continue reading
Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa with illustrations by Mike Reed is a terrific book for Halloween lessons. It works on a lot of levels. First, it’s a very fun rhythmic read aloud, with a refrain young kids can join in on: Come on, Li’l Red, won’t you dance… Continue reading
If you do Halloween in your classroom, Halloween is a great bulletin board theme for October. CTP has a mini set for Halloween. We like the cheerful retro look. Eureka has a Halloween bulletin board set with the Peanuts characters: If Halloween isn’t a good choice for your classroom, there… Continue reading
Studying about how we think and learn can make a difference to how we study, and even to how well we learn. Whether it’s part of your biology lesson or an unusual classroom theme, consider a little brain study to smarten up your classroom. The Virtual Body’s brain section has… Continue reading
Haunted houses are part of mythology and urban legends in many places and times. They make a good topic for lessons with art, social studies, and writing. Depending on your population, you can put them together with ghost stories for a great genre lesson, use them for Halloween or architecture… Continue reading
We don’t mourn the days when teachers handed out candy as bribes or rewards. Still, there are some times of year when it makes sense to have candy around, and it can always be an interesting subject of study. We suggest beginning with a book. Depending on the age… Continue reading
Celebrate the Day of the Dead in your classroom this year. The celebration, popular in Mexico and in some parts of the U.S., falls on October 31 and November 1st and 2nd, and is related to our Halloween. The focus of the holiday is the celebration of the lives… Continue reading
Autumn is filled with wonderful celebrations! September is classical music month; celebrate with lesson plans on Handel, Stravinsky, or Peter and the Wolf. The first Monday in September is Labor Day. September 7 is Google Commemoration Day. September 8 is National Literacy Day. September 13 is Programmers Day. It’s… Continue reading
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a picture book written by Charles M. Shultz, based on the comic strip Peanuts. You can read the book with your class or watch the video and be sure that you’ll have a fine seasonal experience without any scary moments. Here are three lesson… Continue reading
