Chronicles of Momia Free Homeschool Curriculum, especially for Homeschool Co-ops. Great for use with Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade . Everything included!
Try these middle school drama lessons and ideas.
Writing lesson plans shouldn't be painful or overly time consuming. These elementary lesson plan templates save you time!
How can you build effective lessons and feel in control of the class? Lesson plans are essential to planning and ultimately giving great ESL lessons. But isn’t making lesson plans long and arduous?
I wanted to stop by today and share some a few of my “go-to” activities during the first week of school to build our classroom community and set expectations for […]
The first 10 days of school are exhausting for both teachers and students! So many routines to teach and so many little learners to get to know!
Planning for the first week of school can be overwhelming! Here are my first week of school lesson plans and resources.
Desert yoga ideas to get the little ones moving!
DISCLAIMER: I am offering these lessons, handouts and videos to you for free. PLEASE do not take my lessons and sell them. Because that would be super crappy of you (yes, someone is doing this. Yes, they are super crappy). Thank you. Going to NAEA in Boston next week? Need some sub plans? Y'all, I got you COVERED! Today I'm sharing my favorite VIDEO sub plans and my tips and tricks to planning for being out. There's nothing like the amount of WORK you gotta do just to take some time off. I'm here to make your life a little easier, I hope. So, without further ado, my Top Ten Sub Plans! Let me just start by saying that the sub plans I am sharing were created for my kindergarten through fourth grade kids. I ALWAYS make a lesson that's age appropriate for all my classes. This makes my prep life so much easier and the life of the sub all the better. For more tips and tricks, check out this video! Lessons like this require a lotta prep. Yeah, I will be keeping it much easier this time. More about how I prep for a sub can be found in this blog post. 1. James Rizzi Cities! This sub plan was a huge hit with all of my kiddos. They started it while I was away and I was able to easily slide back in to a low-mess/low-stress project for them to continue. Lesson, handouts and video can be found here! 2. Loud Mouth Collages! My kids thought these were the most fun ever...while I thought they were the most funniest ever. Complete video lesson and plans here! 3. A Colorful Village! Again this is another lesson that the kids work on while I'm away and we finish up with oil pastel and watercolor when I return. Easy, fun and super colorful. Video and lesson here! 4. Chris Uphues Inspired Hearts! Who doesn't love Chris Uphues and his happy artwork?! My kids love learning about him. I've not only got a video lesson but I have a short clip of an interview I did with Chris and his wife Jen. More here! 5. I am a Super Star! This lessons is so fun...it really incorporates so much, from mixed media to literacy to a good ole boost to the self esteem! I DID ask the sub to make the stars for the kindergarten before they arrived because I'm not that crazy. Lesson here! 6. Collage Monsters! Another fun lesson that the kids really enjoyed. This one required more prep than most, just an FYI. Complete details and video here! 7. Kerri Ambrosino-Inspired Still Life! Need a pop of colorful happy for spring? Try this sub plan on for size. So fun and we busted out the PUFFY PAINT! Lesson here. 8. Wings Mural! I know, you've seen it a thousand times...but the lesson originated here! The feathers were created while I was out on jury duty, I believe...and then we assembled it when I returned. Lesson and video here. 9. Britto-Inspired Collaborative! I love having the kids work on collaboratives when I'm out. It means we have a big beautiful work of art to hang when I return! Lesson video and details all right here! 10. Monochromatic Self Portraits! Lastly, here's a lesson that's always a hit: monochromatic self portraits. We love hanging these in rainbow order for a beautiful display. Have your kiddos follow along with me in this video! There are PLENTY more lessons and videos on my YouTube channel so be sure and give those a glance if none of these strike your fancy. And be sure to subscribe, I upload videos and content all the time. If you are gonna be in Boston, see you there!
With academic activities embedded in fun and hands-on learning, these construction theme preschool lesson plans will keep little ones learning!
This post is also featured on the TPT Blog.
Introduction In today’s post, technology and performance combine in a lesson plan based on one of the most simple (yet […]
It is time for our transportation unit in kindergarten! What are different ways of going places? We started our investigation by asking this question. We made a really basic KWL chart to record what we already knew about transportation and what questions we have. Our questions were great! How are cars made? Why do people ride buses? What is the thing called that people fly on that has a parachute and a fan? (I had to look that one up!) and Why do people use horses for travel? I will use those questions to guide what we are learning about over the next couple of weeks. Here is an a example of what our chart looks like. Our next big activity will be sorting types of transportation into land travel, water travel, and air travel. We started by handing each student a card with a picture of a form of transportation on it. The students sorted themselves into groups that go together. It took them some time to figure out that they had objects that traveled on land, water, or in the air but once they started getting it the groups came together quickly. We did this as our activity piece during morning meeting. Then we put them on an anchor chart to use later in the day. The cards can be used later in a center as an additional sorting or writing activity too. I love having real pictures for students to use instead of just clip art. The book that we are using from our reading series this week (Reading Street) is Max Takes the Train by Rosemary Wells. I love Max and Ruby! They take me back to when my kids were little and they loved the TV show so this is one of my favorite stories to read to my kindergarten students. We discuss all the different ways that Max travels throughout the book and if his choice of travel really makes sense. Would you take a plane to the ice cream parlor? I made a fun activity for this one too. Each student gets a travel card with a clothes pin attached. Name a place in the world (near or far) and they answer with the card how they will get there. With this one I focus on: travel on my own (walk), travel by non-motorized vehicle (bike or skateboard), travel by land (car, train, or bus), travel by air (plane or helicopter), and travel by water (boat or ship). Modes of transport are the key here. After we did this activity together the students went to Writer's Workshop with a prompt (we don't usually do prompts, but this was special) We posed the question, "If I was going to ________, I would take a _________" Their responses were really cute! If I was going to my grandma's I would take a car. I provided the students with the sentence stems, but you can see that they didn't all use them. I prefer the inventive spelling that this student used. He is totally independent when it comes to writing! If I was going to my friends I would take a scooter. On the flip side, this student did use the sentence stems and it supported him enough that he completed the assignment. This is huge for him! If left to his own devices he will sit and destroy the paper rather than writing anything so I was super impressed when he wrote this all on his own! If I was going to the library I would take a motorcycle. This student is a high flyer but doesn't always elaborate when writing. He is happy to write 3 words for a sentence and get moving on to the next thing. He took a lot of time today and even used bigger words like library and motorcycle. All in all this activity was a good fit for any level of student! Another fun book to read about getting places is How Will We Get to the Beach by Brigitte Luciani. In the book Roxanne tries to go to the beach in many different forms of transportation but they are never quite right. I created some retell cards for this one so we can retell the story afterwards. After we do the retell together we will do a cut and glue retell page all together. My students really enjoy those. To add in a little STEM fun I bought the book If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen. The illustrations are fantastic and I think students will really love this activity! After reading the book students will plan out a car and then draw it. I have a page ready for a final copy so they can just draw their car but I am thinking I want to let them create the car out of old junk. Am I crazy? I'm thinking yes but I'm still going to give it a try! The last idea I have to share today I'm probably the most excited about! We have turned our classroom window into a transportation display. Students are creating different vehicles at our Fun Friday craft station and they decide where they go on the board. They are so fun! To see the whole unit click HERE to preview it in my TPT store. I created some templates for vehicles to get you started but to be honest I just set out some old crafting paper and let them create on their own. You can get the templates FREE here. Transportation will be our theme for the next 6 weeks as we work through Reading Street Unit 5. I will be using their questions to guide that instruction as we move through this unit. Here are a list of books we plan on using during this time. They are all great jumping off points for more questions and inquiries! These are Amazon affiliate links which means if you buy through this link I receive a small amount. Thanks for supporting my blog! To top off our unit I also created some literacy stations that have a transportation theme too to replace my Valentine themed stuff that is still hanging out there. February is a weird month because the first 2 weeks are all pink and red and hearts and then the last half is just "Please help me get to spring break" mode. These will help fill the gap. I focused on digraphs and blends, sights words (40 words introduced in Reading Street for Kindergarten), alphabet recognition, word families and nonsense word fluency. I will add in some hot wheel cars, letter magnets, and other manipulatives to make these as hands on as possible. You can click HERE to see them in my store. Wow! That was a lot! We have plenty of activities to use the next 6 weeks or so! Thanks for stopping by today! What to save this post for later?
This week we discussed Lydia. I used bolts of different purple cloth for the visual, which the kids really liked. They took home purple cl...
In this post, I will share with you some Europe activities for kids! Take a look at the fun and awesome geography Europe lesson plans that I threw together!
Have you ever wanted to see EXACTLY what other teachers do for the very first day of school? This is an in depth look at the first day of school lesson plans! This blog post shares ideas for getting to know your students, establishing procedures, and making it through that VERY first day without going crazy!
How is school already around the corner? Summer has seriously flown by. I love having the kids at home, having no type of schedule and hanging out at the water park all week. However, I'm ready for a little more consistency in our life. I think my kids are ready for it as well. I
Looking for Fortnite lesson plans, printables or info? Here's a huge list of resources by subject. Each is labeled free or for purchase.
Philip and the Ethiopian activity to accompany the story in Acts 8, full instructions and downloadable templates. Part of a whole lesson onsite.
This week, 1st grade is learning how to weave, and reviewing the order of the rainbow! We were inspired by the awesome art teacher, Olivia Gay, and wanted to try it out for ourselves! You can check out all the cool stuff she does on her art teacher instagram account! Here's how we made them! Materials: 9x12" 60 lb paper scissors 18" strips of Tru-Ray construction paper Roy G. Biv video Day 1: We talk about weaving, and the colors of the rainbow. We watch a quick clip of the "They Might Be Giants, Roy G. Biv" video, and then I start demonstrating! Here are some folks tracing their clouds. (I tried to get them to draw their bumpy lines, but their clouds turned out to be too small to weave with) So, I made them some cloud tracers to trace! I show them how to trace, fold, and cut their paper to make their cloud loom. Make sure they cut on the folded line! Then I demonstrate how to weave! Just go over & under, and over & under! Make sure on the next color, you do the opposite of what the previous line did. Quite a few of them finished in one 45 minute class. This is also a great lesson for us art on a cart people too! The kids were challenged, but happy with the results! Here are some beautiful rainbows! DISCLOSURE: LINKS TO PRODUCTS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS I GET A SMALL COMPENSATION FOR SALES. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR BLOG!
Develop students’ courage skills with this free character education and social emotional learning activity focused on empowering students to summon their inner strength and respond to difficult situations in a courageous manner. This free courage activity to show students how to make your courage mu
Are you looking for a lesson plan template that can help you write your math lesson plans? This template is fully editable and includes all the important components for a successful lesson plan.
Your students can create beautiful toucan works of art using this Henri Rousseau Power Point. The Power Point has everything you need. It is scripted with step by step instructions and lots of examples. Download and GO! Classroom tested for grades five through eight. This Henri Rousseau Power Point includes: Introduction to the life and art of Henri Rousseau Opportunities to talk about his work (guided critique) Examples of Henri Rousseau's art Closure/Review questions Links to other resources Music suggestions Step by step project instructions for a toucan oil crayon/watercolor artwork Supply List Reproducible Rubric Reproducible picture files of toucans and leaves Step by step instructions on how to draw a toucan Links to other toucan drawing instructions Interesting facts about toucans Examples of completed student work Reproducible Word Search with answer key Reproducible end of project reflection sheet Blank template slides to add your own text ************************************************************************* WANT TPT STORE CREDIT TO GET MORE AMAZING RESOURCES? Here's HOW! Go to the “My Purchases” page. Use the provide feedback icon under any item you downloaded. Click it and you will be able to leave a short comment and rating. Each time you provide feedback, TPT gives you credits that you may use to lower the cost of any future purchases. It’s that easy! I would love and appreciate your feedback! ****************************************************************** Follow Mamasaki on FACEBOOK for updates on FREE Prodcuts! Follow Mamasaki's Website: https://mamasakiteacher.com/
One of the most effecitve parts of a lesson plan is the anticipatory set. It can set the mood for interest, enagement, and wonder. But how?
Allow your students to explore a variety of different self portrait techniques with this completely done for you unit plan and activity bundle. Bring visual arts to life as the unit plan walks you through everything you need to thoroughly cover all elements of the Australian Year 2 Visual Arts curriculum (version 9.0). Fun for students, easy for you to implement and an irresistible way for students to learn and apply visual arts skills.
Practice 2D shapes with this cactus-themed matching game! Simply download, print, & laminate the shape matching game, & you're ready for some hands-on learning.
The beginning of the year is always a whirlwind with the first few days of school and Open House/Visitation. Whether you have your Open House/Visitation before school starts, or once the year is already in full swing, it’s still a huge undertaking! Today I’m sharing with you my 5 favorite tips for your Open House ... Read More about Kindergarten Visitation!
Analyzing writing curriculums, planning writing workshop and teaching writing lessons can be overwhelming. You might think, how am I going to fit everything in and produce successful writers? Where d
The Invisible Boy activities. Reading comprehension lesson plans with student response activities. Vocabulary, grammar, sentence study, and a craft, too!
Art Class Awards – Creative Ideas & Unique DIY Awards based on famous artists and art styles
I’ve posted before about my teacher binder. As an organizationally-challenged person, I had to find that one thing that would hold me together as a teacher… and my binder is it. I love this thing. It’s within an arm’s reach at any given moment (home or school) and keeps me sane. And honestly? Creating it was simple. Unfortunately, my teacher binder had seen better days, so it was time to perform a little overhaul. While I’m working on my own, I thought I’d share 5 steps to creating your own teaching binder! 1. Plan first. For me, the easiest way to do this was to gather all the papers I thought I wanted in my binder, and split them into piles. This will help you know how many dividers and what size of binder to buy. Don’t forget that you can use the space in front of and behind the dividers! 2. Get the supplies. Pick a binder you LOVE (for me, color is huge) and splurge for the heavy duty one. Believe me- you’ll be using this thing a lot. I also picked dividers that had pockets and were easy to write on (and erase, if I change my mind later). A friend gave me Vera Bradley binder clips, and I use this one to pin my lesson plans to the cover so that the 2-page spread opens instantly when I open the binder. This binder clip also adds just enough “cute” to make me smile whenever I look at my binder! It sounds silly (seriously who has designer binder clips) but I probably see it 20 times each day. Worth it. 3. Think about the covers. What are the things you constantly need to reference? For me, a cute cover with my name on it would be okay- but really, I need my class list, my current Post-It list, and the weekly newsletter (with spelling & vocab. words, academic focuses, etc.). Normally, this would have a class list, which I didn’t show for obvious reasons, and there’s usually a Post-It list or two. Still… I like how clean and neat my binder looks on my desk! (Plus, the color stands out if it does find its way into a pile.) 4. Think about order. What papers do you need access to the most often? My lesson plan pages go in the front because I reference them throughout every day, and my calendar goes next. (I love Google Calendar, but a written one works best for me. I printed this one for free from The Twinery Blog.) I put any lists for quick reference (computer logins, school schedules, curriculum maps, policies, etc.) in the reference tab. My Student Info tab holds my data (so useful when I plan my small groups at home!), but also copies of anything like IEP’s, ILP’s, RTI plans, and documentation. The back includes things I might need to look up once a week while planning, but not daily, like my standards lists and my archive of planning pages/ meeting notes. Once you’ve decided, write on the dividers. (I used a skinny Sharpie- on most surfaces, nail polish remover will take it right off if I ever change my mind!) 4. Hole punch everything and try it out! This is the perfect time of year to give this baby a trial run and give you plenty of time to tweak it for next year! I found out that having a “meeting notes” section was just not enough for me, so I added some extra subsections. You’ll find what works for you! I plan my teacher binder as something that I will take to every meeting, take home every night, and use constantly throughout my day. It means that whether I’m at home, in my classroom, or somewhere in the school, I have everything I need to stay organized and up-to-date! There are plenty of other guides out there to making a teacher binder, but it’s my hope that this can help you make the one that’s right for you. Yes, it takes a bit of time… but I put mine together in about an hour (minus shopping) and it has saved me so much more than that!
The Invisible Boy activities. Reading comprehension lesson plans with student response activities. Vocabulary, grammar, sentence study, and a craft, too!
The first two weeks in a special ed classroom are more than academics. Ideas on what to teach, what to practice, and what you should be doing.
In this drawing activity students of Grade 8th worked on design and the function of object. We designed a sneaker starting using a template you can buy here below in order to create a personal and …
Surprise!!! This entire series has recieved a total overhaul in 2023! I've added craft templates and free worksheets in hopes of making your life easier! You're a busy Mama. To be honest I'm impressed that
Are you looking for activities for an insect or firefly life cycle unit? If so, then here's a blog post for you! This "How to Survive as a Firefly" FREE book companion activity is a fun way for students to gather and organize facts that they learn about fireflies. It's a great way to incorporate science and non-fiction into your lesson plans.
Over 100 Ideas for yoru Community Helpers Theme including crafts, science activities, math, and more for kids of all ages.
