I came across this game from one of my peers and think it’s really awesome. In fact I have been using this regularly this year as a fun and creative way to review before a test. So far I have used it prior to my grade 10 chemistry and biology test using the practice questions […]

Ever since I was a child, I have loved watching the Olympics. It’s my dream to one day attend an event in person, but for now, I’ll settle with getting…

Wooo Hooo! Did you know that Wal-Mart carries tie dye duct tape??? I love this stuff! This week I used it for our "Swat the Staff" game. Seventh and Eighth Graders played this game to review treble clef pitches. Choosing from a wide array of flyswatters, students paired up to speedily swat the correct note.

January is rolling along and my kids (both my school and actual kids) are finally readjusted to our routine after winter break. While in real life, I find January-March the three most difficult months to

I wanted to share this great activity I have been doing for years at the very beginning of each year. It is a Self-Portrait activity where students get to draw themselves, compare themselves with another student, and present to the class. I love to tell students they are drawing “Selfies” because it makes it more […]

How to Create Audio QR Kids using Seesaw

Hi teacher friends, Ancient Civilizations has to be my favorite curriculum to teach. I find the ancient world fascinating, with all the different traditions, inventions, rituals, building structures, gods and goddesses. I could probably spend the whole year just focusing on Egypt alone, with its pyramids, their social hierarchy with pharaohs, and interesting

Here's a list of fun activities you can do with preschool and kindergarten using rhythm sticks!

Learning to read is such a fun and special time: it's a valuable skill, and sparking an early love of reading can make it become a lifelong passion. In order

Okay. I know that movies about teachers rarely tell the whole story. You know the ones I’m talking about – movies like: Stand and Deliver Freedom Writers Dangerous Minds Mr. HollandR…

The end of the year is always such a whirlwind! Here’s a little rewind of some of the things we did in my classroom during those last weeks of school…. We talked a lot about the goals we set at the beginning of the year and reflected on our accomplishments! As we looked back over the […]

The professional world is full of catchy metaphors for career growth. Check out this comic strip–what’s your path to career success!

We had fun with this experiment. It was very cool to watch the colours change! I used food coloring and cabbage leaves to show the kids how plants …

I LOVE saving figurative language until June - it's such a fun language unit ... and perfect for our "dreaming of summer brains". We finished up our EQAO testing mid week, and this onomatopoeia activity was the perfect break from testing. How fun is that??? Students chose two contrasting colours - one for the background and one for the word and border "bursting out of the page". They also needed newspaper (cut just a fraction smaller that the "bursting out of the page border" and glued the newspaper on top. They glued their word on top of that (we had brainstormed a lot of onomatopoeia words, but for some reason most of them chose SPLAT for their word). I also had them do a little shading under their letters for that little extra POP (see, I know some onomatopoeia words, too). ;) I had seen this awesome idea on Pinterest and followed it back to Artisan des Arts. Her examples are FANTASTIC!! We also wrote simile poems this week. I found a little template HERE for the students to use for their rough copies. When students were finished their templates, I had them write out their good copies, and illustrate a few lines with a small image. I hung these up, too ... LOVING our bulletin board switch up ... even this late in the school year!!! (I have two of these "smART class" bulletin boards side by side in the classroom. 15 more school days left ... I think I can ... I think I can ... Happy Friday!!!

UPDATE: The 30 Days of Twist & Pin Hairstyles is here and it’s a bestseller! Day 29 – Classic Twist & Pin This is the style that started it all for me so I left it to the penultimate day of this hairstyle challenge. I can’t believe the last day is tomorrow! I’ve loved creating...Read More »

I love learning about arrays because they are so visual which allows for a lot of really fun rectangular arrays activities and practice! I l...

Integrating art and content in the ELA classroom. Tips and resources.

It seems like every day there is an endless stream of students reporting behaviors or incidents that happen in the classroom. On one hand, we want to help our students feel heard and validated so they know we are a safe person for them to talk to. On the other hand, we certainly don't want to feed into the tattle machine. It's a fine line to walk. So how do we handle tattling in our classrooms?

Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...

Free, no-prep, editable spelling activities perfect for any word work center! #wordwork #sightwordactivities #daily5 #teachingreading #mrswintersbliss

HOUSEHOLD CHORES!! You just cringed didn’t you? Admit it, chores hang over your head like the sword of Damocles. The multiplying piles of laundry on the dining room table. Your fireplace mantle covered with children’s crafts, dust and baking soda from the science experiment that got completely out of hand. The casserole pan that’s been...

If you will make it, they will play it and they will learn it! Sometimes you just need some easy, low prep activities, but ones the students will enjoy and be engaged in so learning

My husband, being born and raised in Wisconsin, loves bratwurst sausages. So I tweaked this strudel recipe to include some of his favorite filling ingredients and it was an instant hit. Serve with extra mustard for dipping. —Cleo Gonske, Redding, California

Read through our favorite classroom management hacks and then hop over and become a Plato Pack member for even more teaching tools, strategies and support.

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous mothers out there! I wrote this post early and scheduled it to go out today because I'm celebrating with my family today. We're starting with a fabulous brunch (my own family, my sister and her family, and my mom and dad), then all the girls in the family are going to see the Cirque du Soleil, and then I get to return to a fantastic supper cooked by my wonderful husband (and hopefully cleaned up by my girls). Can't think of a better way to spend the day! OK ... on with the post. I only have one math journal entry to share with you today. I had planned to do another one on Friday, but a coworker of mine brought quite a few of my journals with her to our board's "share fair" on Friday. No journals = no journal entry for the day ... that's all right though, it gave us more time to finish up our Mother's Day activity. We're still in our 2D geometry unit - just need to finish up transformational geometry before we move on to fractions. This journal entry was all about symmetry. Symmetry isn't a new concept for my students, but rotational symmetry is new for my grade 5 students. This is the right-side of our journal entry - the one I model (I use my document camera to project it over the smartboard while I work on it) for the students to copy. We started out with our learning goal, then made a T-chart to compare Lines of Symmetry and Rotational Symmetry. We gave a definition for both, the cut out a trapezoid, square, and parallelogram for each side. For the lines of symmetry, we folded the shapes to check for symmetry, then drew the lines on the shape. We glued the shape down so that it could still be folded to check for symmetry (tricky with the square - we could put glue on 1/8 of the shape so that it could still fold). We discussed the "big idea" that regular polygons had the same number of lines of symmetry as sides on the shape. For the rotational symmetry side, we attached the shapes to the page using brass fasteners, and then traced the shape on the page. We could then rotate the shapes to check for rotational symmetry. Students also completed their "left-side thinking" - learning goal in student-friendly terms, what I know, what I learned, proof, and a reflection. They work on this side independently. I really like how this student completed another example of rotational symmetry, using a different shape then we used on the right side. At the beginning of class the next day, one student reviews the lesson by sharing his or her "left-side thinking". They put their journals under the document camera, and talk us through their thinking. Ever since we have started the left-side thinking, at least one of my students asks me if they can be chosen to share the next day ... now that screams success and engagement to me! What more can I ask for??? Well, that's about it ... Happy Sunday, and Happy Mother's Day! Hope all you mommies get lovingly spoiled today! Interactive Math Journal Interactive Math Journal 2 Building Better Math Responses Math Concept Posters InLinkz.com

This grammar activity, Punctuation Stickers, is a fun way to practice adding the correct punctuation to the end of a sentence.

Creating a strong parent-child bond is something that will carry with your kids to adulthood. Here are over 100 fun and easy family bonding activities...

A time where Bill Nye was the coolest celebrity around and where Tamagotchi's were more coveted than cell phones.

Alcove beds are naturally fun for kids. Although they could be very practical in contemporary living spaces so they are good for adults too. Such beds are

My kids love to play this fun game! The game of SKUNK, that is!

I love using class call backs and attention grabbers! These are so fun! My class loves them! This freebie is a classroom staple!

Every English language arts teacher needs a variety of successful, student led discussion strategies that will provide opportunities for student learning.

Have a chatty class? Do your talkative students get louder and louder during small groups until it feels like chaos? Do they talk when you'r...