In this “classic” Calvert project, sixth graders first learned about the history of tessellations (and artist M.C. Escher, who is famous for his unique tessellations like the one pictured here) before creating one of their own. Tessellations, which have been around for thousands of years, are a special kind of pattern/design made from repeating shapes called polygons (closed shapes with three or more sides). In tessellation designs, congruent polygons fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces that repeat again and again- they could go on forever! Students painted their unique tessellation designs using acrylic paint in a warm or cool color scheme of their choice. To create the portrait, on a separate piece of paper, students traced the light and dark areas of their faces using a projected digital photograph. Using the opposite color scheme from their background, they painted their portrait, making sure that the light and dark areas were highly contrasting. Here are the colorful finished pieces!
Getting to know your students' interests is crucial! Learn more on how to build students' interest in this post plus a lot of freebies & downloads!!
Annotation can be a powerful way to improve comprehension and increase engagement, but its effectiveness can vary depending on how it's taught.
Animal Track game is a printable educational game that will teach kids how to match animals with their tracks and where to find them!
Download FREE coloring pages and activity sheets that you can print for children.
One of the great (and probably easiest) ways to gamify your teaching is through the use of game generators. These are tools that enable you to easily create various educational games without the need for any coding knowledge. And if you are wondering which tools to use, I have recommendations for you!
Use these 7 continents worksheet pagges to teach elementary age about CONTINENTS for kids. Grab continents book printable!
We studied Portugal this month in our geography studies, and the kids had fun with the recipes we made.
Asking questions before, during, and after reading comes very naturally to skilled readers, but for struggling readers, this skill can be just the opposite. Asking questions of varying depths is arguably the most important reading
Explore emerging teaching methods for 2024! Find out the future teaching trends that will get students up and moving and spark creativity!
Learn these five elementary time fillers. To know more click & check freebie!!
This build-a-robot printable is SUPER FUN! Plus, it helps kids with shape recognition, cutting skills, spatial ability, and more!
Hands-on learning is incredibly important for kids. There are a million reasons why! Today I am highlighting more than 60 elementary hands-on math teaching ideas that I have featured over the years on my site.
Scissor salad is a fun way to practice how to use scissors and build fine motor scissor cutting skills. Get free labels and worksheets!
This John 3:16 folded puzzle is a fun little origami craft that unfolds to reveal the message of John 3:16. It only requires a one page template printed double sided, and the folding is fairly easy. This puzzle is unique enough, though, that older kids will enjoy it as well. My understanding is that these […]
Teaching theme in fourth grade is not easy, but it is very rewarding to see the students' little light bulbs come on! In my experience, students need many
Newcomer students receive some support from an ELD (English Language Development) teacher in most elementary schools. The majority of their time is spent in their grade level classroom. Here are some strategies for supporting a newcomer student both in their grade level classroom and areas to focus on during targeted language development lessons. Create a
Unlock Reading Magic: Dive into animated shorts and task cards for captivating main idea and details lessons! 📚🎬
I can't believe it's only Tuesday...Seriously? I already feel like I need the weekend for a break. Part of the problem is that it was my ...
Check out some easy DIY classroom mailbox ideas for your students and for you too including ideas that you would not have thought of!
Self-portraits are a fantastic way for children to explore their sense of self and build their self-identity. I love doing self portraits at the beginning of the year with my class when we are…
There’s just something so magical about looking at learning as an adventure, and that’s the exact notion I wanted to highlight in this travel-themed classroom. I worked with the classroom decor that this room already had, so I was able to put together a high school adventure-themed classroom in just one day! When I saw ... Read More about Adventure Themed Classroom: An Eclectic Travel Classroom with Boho Vibes
Use household ingredients to create fireworks in a jar! A fun science experiment for kids of all ages that illustrates liquid density.
We had a lot of fun this week with our 2D shapes! We really focused on 2D shapes that we see in the real world this week. We could not believe how many shapes we see all around us! We did activities from my 2D Shapes Galore pack. Here are some activities that we did […]
We’ve been learning about the continent Australia! One of our parents brought along some wonderful items from Australia to share with us. Boomerangs! Holding a Koala What’s on the Shelf? Here’s our unit studies shelf with materials about Australia Geography of Australia This is our Australia Geography folder full of images from Australia and the Pacific […]
Personal Collages: 4th and 5th Grade We read the book Emily’s Blue Period, which is about a girl whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes. Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. She goes through her own “blue period” of sadness. Her art teacher asks the class to make personal collages about their homes. She doesn’t know what to do because she has two homes now. She ends up … Read more... →
This Annotating Text-Teach, Model, & Apply activity will encourage your students to learn how to annotate properly and efficiently.
If you play the piano, showing others how to as well is a way to earn some income and develop a new skill of your own: teaching. Whether you teach full-time or part-time, go to students' homes or have them come to yours, a piano teaching business is one that you can tailor to your schedule and fit in to your ...
Do you have students in your class who are struggling with double-digit addition with regrouping? If so, don't worry! You're not alone. Teaching this concept can be tricky, but there are several ways to help these students solidify the foundational concepts needed to be successful. In this blog post,
Looking for fun Camping Theme preschool Activities for kids? Check out these 16 Hands-On Forest and camping Learning Activities and Crafts for Preschool or Kindergarten.
FREEBIES
Inspired by my previous post, I have created a series of 6 doodle sheets that are free to download. I have produced them at A5 size (though they could be made smaller or larger if you choose) and they can either be printed off and used as they come, or trimmed and laminated to make re-usable doodle sheets, as illustrated here. If laminated, they should be used with special dry-wipe pens to allow them to be wiped clean. I also punched a hole in the corner of each sheet and tied them together using a keyring so that I could carry them about more easily. You are free to use these however you choose (except commercially of course!) However if you do wish to use them, please consider making a small donation to help support my personal blog. You can do this by clicking on the button below, or by using the Ko-Fi widget in the sidebar. To get your doodle sheets just click on the each image to open up the full size image, then right click to download a copy. Garden-Doodle Masterpiece Doodle View Doodle Knight Doodle Undersea Doodle Space Doodle
Inspiration, tips, and sources for creating a nature themed classroom for your middle school or high school students!
Are you looking for the best group Halloween costumes to wear? Get your friends or family together and make something epic.
Teachers face a challenge at start of school year, wanting to know each student quickly. With big classes, learning about every students interests, strengths, and need areas is tough.
Places To Visit In USA-USA Bucket List 1. Arches National Park 2. New Orleans, Louisiana 3. Telluride, Colorado 4. Yellowstone National Park
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Ready to get more sub jobs and keep your income steady? Follow my substitute teacher tips to be a requested substitute teacher and make teachers LOVE you!
