Tried and true strategies to re-engage students and keep them engaged in their education for the rest of the school year.
Are you wanting to teach your kids at home but don't know where to start? That's how I felt last year when my oldest was headed into Kindergarten. Then I was told about K12, it's a online school that is FREE and sends you all the materials you need to teach.
Let's dive into some new options to teach vocabulary, for those who have the time and energy to pursue them. In this post and podcast, I'm sharing ten ideas for making the study of vocabulary something students might even look forward to.
While President’s Day is typically associated with Washington and Lincoln, the holiday lends itself well to lessons and projects on all of our country’s Founding Fathers. Pair these presidential activities with Help Teaching’s graphic organizers and printable worksheets for the full presidential […]
It is intimidating for many of us homeschooling parents to teach STEM subjects to our kids, but this free STEM Curriculum for K-12 will help! TeachEngineering covers many STEM subjects, from geome…
$20 for 4 Webinars? Heck Yes! Introducing the Crash Course Webinar Series designed specifically for K-12 teachers: Canvas 101 - The Ultimate Crash Course for K-12 Teachers!Did you miss the live sessions in June? Don't worry! Now you can purchase the recordings of the entire webinar series and gain a...
This engaging and educational resource is thoughtfully designed to introduce toddlers to the wonders of the fall season while promoting early learning and exploration. THIS IS A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, NO PHYSICAL PRODUCT IS SHIPPED! Colors can vary due to how monitors and printers read colors differently. ✿ WHAT WILL YOU RECEIVE ✿ Once you’ve paid, you’ll receive instant access to the purchased PDF file for you to download. All pages are formatted to fit an 8.5" x 11" sized paper. ✿ WHAT'S INCLUDED ✿ - 14 Bilingual Autumn Word Cards (English & Spanish) - 2-Piece Picture Matching Cards - Foldable Apple Lifecycle - 8 Count & Clip Cards - Mushroom Counting (1-10) - Finish the Pattern - Size Sorting (Big vs Small) - Autumn Nature Scavenger Hunt
I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of what ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is. If you are reading this post there is an excellent chance you already know what it is because you are dealing with it in your classroom. I’m also going to go out on a limb and assume that […]
Art Education Blog for K-12 Art Teachers | SchoolArtsRoom
Are you wanting to teach your kids at home but don't know where to start? That's how I felt last year when my oldest was headed into Kindergarten. Then I was told about K12, it's a online school that is FREE and sends you all the materials you need to teach.
Art history can seem daunting to teach, but with the right resources, it can become an engaging and enriching subject for your children. Here are two excellent resources that provide free art histo…
My rule #1 in a series about bringing out the best behavior in middle school students, Helpful tips for managing adolescents effectively.
Day by day details of how my kids learned about the culture and geography of Austria in a week.
Do you want to get started with project based learning, but you’re not sure how? Maybe project based learning sounds too complicated, in-depth, and overwhelming to you? That’s how I felt when I first delved into PBL. But now I know there is nothing to be afraid of! In this post, I will give a quick explanation of project-based learning and then give you some tips and ideas to begin to implement it in your own classroom. What is Project Based Learning? Project based learning, simply stated, is an authentic learning experience
I love teaching a split-grade class. I know this may not be a popular opinion in teaching, but there it is. In reality, many of us teach split-grade
Is K12 homeschooling: K 12 provides a tuition free option with state teachers as an alternative to public school or online public school. If you're searching for free homeschool programs, online homeschool courses, virtual public schools / virtual academy, ways to supplement your homeschool curriculum, or as an option for homeschooling, there are important things you should know about K 12 school, including where to find honest K12 homeschooling reviews...
A theatre teacher's guide to education, theatre, and life.
Art Education Blog for K-12 Art Teachers | SchoolArtsRoom
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
Is K12 homeschooling: K 12 provides a tuition free option with state teachers as an alternative to public school or online public school. If you're searching for free homeschool programs, online homeschool courses, virtual public schools / virtual academy, ways to supplement your homeschool curriculum, or as an option for homeschooling, there are important things you should know about K 12 school, including where to find honest K12 homeschooling reviews...
Mixed media art projects are fun, engaging, and encourage creativity. Check out mixed media art ideas from six veteran art teachers.
Solfège is an exercise used for sight-reading vocal music in which each scale degree is assigned a coordinating syllable. Check out this article to learn more!
The Art II and Advanced Art students created four oil pastel drawings of one creature. The four drawings include a portrait of the anima...
Looking for a fun way to teach children about form? This is one of my favorite lessons! Manipulatives and movement, what could be better?
What is the best way to teach main idea and details in your 1st or 2nd grade classroom? Peruse our collection of engaging ideas!
The 7th grade students learned about optical illusions and the Op Art movement in the 1960's. After viewing the work of Bridget Riley, M.C....
I had 30 minutes with each class to do an intro lesson to school counseling. Here's what I did with each level: K-1: Object Lesson Materials Needed: Rainbow Fish book Finding Nemo ("just keep swimming") Dumbo (great listener) puzzle pieces (help put the pieces together) heart (care about all of the students) Frozen characters ("Let it go!") Star (reach for the stars and achieve goals) angry birds (anger management) happy face (help you be happy to be at school) tissue (dry up tears when you're sad) Bandaid (help when you're hurting) Funny glasses (think about things from a different perspective) eraser (cant change your past mistakes, but I can help you make better decisions next time) lock (I keep your secret, unless the secret will hurt you or someone else) Intro: After going over rules and expectations, I told students I was going to read them one of my favorite books of all time, Rainbow Fish. I asked that when I was reading, think about who in the story helps rainbow fish learn how to be happy (The Wise Octopus). After reading the story, I explained that I am like the Octopus at this school because I help kids when they have problems. Activity: I explained ways in which I can help students by letting each student pull one object from my bag. As a student pulled an object from the bag, I let them explain to the class what the object is, and take a guess about what it could represent about my job as the school counselor. (Originally I was just going to explain to the students what each object meant, but I LOVED to hear their ideas!) After each object was pulled from the bag, I placed the item on the board for the class to see. Conclusion: Once all of the objects were discussed, I gave the students a coloring worksheet that had a summary of the symbols that we talked about around an octopus. We talked about how to get help if they need to talk to me. Before I left, I gave each student a "shiny scale" (a.k.a. metallic star sticker) for them to remember Rainbow Fish. 2-3 Grade: Object Lesson In second and third grade, I adapted the same lesson as K-1 to be slightly more advanced. We did not read Rainbow Fish, but instead spent longer discussing what each of the symbols meant. I let more students guess what the symbols could mean, and for the most part, everything that they said was even more profound than what I had planned to say! As the conclusion to the lesson, I gave the students a matching worksheet where they line up the symbol to what it means. This was a great assessment and review to make sure the students had learned the information that I gave them! Before I left, I gave each student a heart sticky note that said "Your School Counselor cares about you!" and a shiny star sticker to remind them to "reach for the stars". 4-6: Rocks and String Activity Materials: Small and large rocks student volunteer 3-4 foot string for each student Rocks: At the beginning of the class, I asked for one volunteer to be my helper. I had the class brainstorm things that would be considered "small problems" (small rocks) and things that would be considered "big problems" (big rocks). I explained that with many of the small problems, I can teach them ways to handle their own problems responsibly. If it was a BIG problem, I could help them figure out what to do. When discussing the "big problems", I made sure to mention confidentiality, and that I can not keep their secret if it means that someone might get hurt. For each of the problems, big or small, I would place a stone into the hands of the volunteer student. Once the volunteer's hands are completely full, I told the volunteer that I needed him to take a quick test for me, and immediately handed him a test and a pencil. Of course, he could not take the test because he was holding on to so many problems! I explained that although I can't make most of their problems disappear, I can help them with their problems so that they can do their best at school. From here, I explained how to get in touch with me if they need to talk, and where to find me. I told them about small groups, classroom lessons, and other fun programs that I would be having this school year. String: I gave each person a piece of string. I told them that the object was to tie a knot in the middle of the string. The rules are that once they pick up the string, their fingers become "superglued" to the ends of the string- they can't switch fingers. There can NOT already be a knot in the string when picking it up, they can NOT cut the string, and the knot can NOT be on the outside of the string (tying the ends together). I then quickly added that "it's okay to ask for help, BUT it is possible to do. It CAN be done." I let the students struggle with it for a while, repeated the instructions several times, and waited for the first person to ask me for help. Once they asked for help, I motioned for them to follow me to a hidden area of the class, and explained the trick to them. (Cross your arms into a "knot" so that one hand pops up through the hole in your arms. Grab each end of the string while arms are crossed. Uncross arms, and you should have a knot.) Make sure you try this first before doing it with kids so you know how!! I explained to three of the students, before others started to catch on. From this point, I let those I had helped teach others in the class how to do it. 7-12: Advanced Rocks and String Activity Materials: index cards Small, medium, large rocks student volunteer (class nominated to be the strongest) 3-4 foot string for each student Introduction: I handed out index cards to each student, and had them write down their name, grade, what they think I do as their school counselor, and any questions that they might have about me or about school counseling. Rocks: I asked the class to nominate one person in the class who is the strongest, and that person came to the front to help me with the next activity. I asked what it means to be "strong" (Physically, emotionally, academically, and spiritually, etc) I explained that even the strongest people need help sometimes, as I dumped a pile of rocks on a desk in front of the class and smiled at my volunteer. The rocks represent the problems that teens deal with on a normal basis. Some are just small problems or annoyances; others are big problems that consume much of your daily thoughts. I asked everyone to brainstorm what types of problems teens might have to deal with. As they named things, I had each one come to the front, choose a rock to represent the problem, and hand it to the volunteer. I also added a few to keep it going and give them more ideas. Once the volunteer’s hands were at capacity, I gave him a SUPER easy test and a pencil. (I printed off a one digit addition test.), and said he had 10 seconds to finish. After a few seconds, I started “yelling” at him saying things like, ”This should be easy! Why have you not started? You should be done by now!” After the point was made, I asked the volunteer how he felt right then (frustrated/ agitated, etc). I asked the class why he was struggling to take such an easy test, and what would make it easier? I then explained that it’s nearly impossible to do well at school when you are holding onto so many rocks. The school counselor (me!) can help them handle all of their rocks. I told them again that even the strongest people will need help at times. From here, I transitioned to the specific services offered to students (Groups, classroom, individual, school programs, etc), and how to get in touch with me if they did need to talk about something. I also used this time to discuss any questions that we had not already covered from their index cards. String: I gave each person a piece of string. I told them that the object was to tie a knot in the middle of the string. The rules are that once they pick up the string, their fingers become "superglued" to the ends of the string- they can't switch fingers. There can NOT already be a knot in the string when picking it up, they can NOT cut the string, and the knot can NOT be on the outside of the string (tying the ends together). I then quickly added that "it's okay to ask for help, BUT it is possible to do. It CAN be done." I let the students struggle with it for a while, repeated the instructions several times, and waited for the first person to ask me for help. Once they asked for help, I motioned for them to follow me to a hidden area of the class, and explained the trick to them. (Cross your arms into a "knot" so that one hand pops up through the hole in your arms. Grab each end of the string while arms are crossed. Uncross arms, and you should have a knot.) Make sure you try this first before doing it with kids so you know how!! I explained to a handful of the students, before others started to catch on. From this point, I let those I had helped teach others in the class how to do it. I told the class that the point of the exercise is that it's okay to ask for help! Even the strongest people... (will need help at times!) (Purchase the lesson plan and worksheets from my TPT store!)
Scaffold your instruction with these teaching scaffolding strategies to help bridge readiness and mastery for your elementary students!
Make a growing black 'fire snake' in this fun STEM activity.
Create a Syllabus That Your Students Will Actually Want to Read. Free Resource to download to help you create an Art Syllabus for your art students. Want to try your hand at a visual syllabus? We'll give you three helpful hints. This article will take 8 minutes to read.
Starters / Bell Ringers can get your lesson off to a productive start with every student focussing as soon as they walk in the room.
Discover hands-on beginning of the year science activities that will excite your students and build the foundation for future science lessons!
I created this PDF worksheet to help students to think creatively, elaborate, and tell a story. I've used this when I taught in elementary (as young as kindergarten) and used it also in high school. There is no right or wrong answer and it is fun to see all the creative solutions that students come up with. My high school students taking the animation pathway especially liked this worksheet. We always share the results in class to see all the different solutions. I've included a blank sheet that you can have students create their own sheet and then switch with a partner and create a drawing from it. This adds a sense of challenge and game element to it. Further information: • Resources are ready to print and go Connect with me @ Messy Art Teacher Messy Art Teacher Blog Facebook Instagram Pinterest You can follow me by clicking at top of my store page if you would like to receive updates on new art resources and details of my forthcoming sales. Don’t forget to leave feedback on resources - you will earn points towards your next TPT purchases :-) Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this resource. Thanks! Nancy Miller - Messy Art Teacher
The ultimate curriculum platform for K-12 art teachers. FLEX gives art teachers access to a rich library of standards-aligned curriculum materials so they can save time and focus on teaching and student learning.
The ultimate curriculum platform for K-12 art teachers. FLEX gives art teachers access to a rich library of standards-aligned curriculum materials so they can save time and focus on teaching and student learning.
The ultimate curriculum platform for K-12 art teachers. FLEX gives art teachers access to a rich library of standards-aligned curriculum materials so they can save time and focus on teaching and student learning.
