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You can teach anything with children's picture books: Science. History. Writing. Math. Cooking. And Art. Especially art. Because picture books are an artform. I'll be writing a Five Day Series this week about connecting children's literature to art. Monday through Thursday I will be sharing four art project ideas inspired by children's picture books. On Friday I have …
Kindergarten Literature Unit Printables to go along with the book, A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni
Literature circles are a great way for students to read books of their choice at their level. See how I used them in my high school Spanish immersion class.
Cut and paste the supplies that Frederick brings into the wall...
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
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Read about eleven different ways to meaningfully incorporate art in ELA class. Keep the focus on students' learning, not their artistic abilities.
In this engaging activity, students make inferences and draw conclusions by analyzing a variety of text message conversations. Students are required to cite evidence for each answer. Digital & Printable Options: This product now includes a Google Slides option as well as a printable PDF. This product also includes a page that has two blank […]
Teaching English with songs is a great way to boost student engagement. Check out these 17 ideas for activities using music and songs!
Teach math with art!
Using music in the secondary classroom is a great way to engage students, so here are some songs to use in ELA, and some ways to use them. (Blog post)
In our classroom last week we were busy learning about our names and our character trait “acceptance. We read “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes to launch a discussion on both of the…
Reading Response Activities for Wonder
Pinterest is an explosion of wonderful ideas, and at times can be overwhelming. I decided to wade through my "For School" board and pick the...
Something that has become kind of a buzz word around my school lately is Literature Circles . I think it's common this time of year for teachers to start to feel a little 'over' their standard guided reading routines. I know I always feel a little antsy in the spring, and look for ways to jazz t
Have you ever heard a word that sounds like the sound it describes? That’s called onomatopoeia. It’s a literary device that is used to describe a sound by imitating it with a word. For example, the word “buzz” imitates the sound of a bee. Onomatopoeia is used in literature, poetry, and even in everyday language. ... Read more
You and your students will absolutely love these journalism lessons! The beginning of a new school year can be hectic for journalism teachers who are tasked with simultaneously teaching new journalism students who don’t have any journalism experience while also planning and publishing content for the school newspaper.
Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car Activities for K-3, Five in a Row Literature Unit. Learning about the watercycle
Although Jenga is a fun game and unites a group of people together through play, there are many benefits to the game that you may not be aware of. Jenga encourages patience, cognitive development, and hand-eye coordination. Putting a spin on the game, we've compiled 20 unique ways to play and listed them below for your gaming pleasure! From discussing emotions, working some exercise into your day, and even reviewing work previously taught- we've got all the best ideas!
These STEM picture books are the perfect way to introduce the concept of STEM to toddlers and preschoolers!
Mr. Men is a series that contains 48 children's books created by the author, Roger Hargreaves that started in 1971. Out of all of them only two were not published in English. This unique book series includes characters with names lijke Mr. Tickle...
The Gruffalo book activities unit with literacy printables, reading companion worksheets, lesson ideas for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade
Check out these teaching ideas for the novel Wonder by RJ Palacio and grab free Wonder Novel Study samples and discussion questions.
Spanish interpersonal speaking activities to practice Spanish conversation. Differentiated Spanish interpersonal speaking practice
Since that very faulty "lesson", I've found some MUCH more effective resources. Objective: I can explain why we have seasons.
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Use different sentence frames to increase text connections. Help students connect the text to themselves, other texts, and the world using a graphic organizer and sentence frames. Increase reading comprehension with text connections.
We love connecting projects to books, and we're always inspired by the amazing group of bloggers who participate in the Virtual Book Club for Kids (you can also check the club out on Facebook) as the group comes up with some great extension activities each month. This month's author was Leo Lionni. We chose to read and do a project using a book we've really been enjoying lately, A Color of His Own. This is the sweet tale of a little chameleon who is looking for one color to stay all the time, but keeps running into that challenge that chameleons change color. In the end, he winds up finding a friend to always be with so they can at least always be the same color together. I've used this book in the past as a primary teacher. It's a great way to talk about friendship and also about what makes us each unique. My boys have been loving the simple tale and the colorful illustrations this spring. For our activity extension we decided to use cray-pas and watercolors. I love how colorful this art technique can be. I sketched several chameleon outlines onto white drawing paper using permanent marker. (I'm including a printable copy here in case you just want to print one out, or use the printable to trace onto thicker paper.) Afterwards the boys and I each colored in a chameleon using the cray-pas. Big Brother and I thought about ways to create different patterns. Little Brother focused on just coloring his in, using mostly one color. After we were done coloring, we watercolored on top of the cray-pas. The watercolor doesn't stick to the cray-pas, and fills all the white spaces around it. We all had different strategies for painting. When they were done I cut the three chameleons out and we hung them in our play room. I love how they are a set but each one unique. That's part of what can also make this project a great classroom activity, especially for the start of a school year. Or turn it into a fun family project, with each family member creating a chameleon to represent themselves. What Leo Lionni books does your family enjoy? Have you read this one yet? This post may also have been shared at some of these terrific link parties.
Use these great ideas as a project after reading novels. "These ideas will have your students think more complexly about the characters, themes, nuances, and connections of the books."
Whether you're teaching in a classroom or a busy homeschool mom, it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Whether you have a question about how to support learners with behavior needs, where to find the best games to practice math facts, or just need some great book recommendations, I've got you covered.
This blog post will introduce you to six simple, fun, and enriching project-based learning ideas for your English Language Arts classroom.
Welcome! The following is the 12th in a series of 24 lesson plans, Learning the ABC’s through Literature, the 1st year. It was written especially for classroom use within a homeschool co-op, and was designed to teach the alphabet, over the course of a school year, using classic …
