From his perseverance and overcoming physical obstacles to his range as an artist and innovative spirit, student also, I love teaching young artists about the life and art of Henri Matisse. This ye…
Today I'm excited to have Corrina from From Mrs. Allen's Teaching Files here to share a really fun and exciting activity to use when talking about self control. Self control is such a hard
Choosing songs to teach from in the music room can be tricky business. For one thing, there are an infinite number of songs from which to choose. You can easily put your head down to think of one song to use in a lesson only to look up hours later with stacks of books and binders next to
What are Scrambled Paragraphs? Scrambled paragraphs are sentences taken from a complete paragraph for your students to rearrange. They are like puzzles your students will put back together using what they know about text structure. Teachers
Use these ten kindness games to teach kindness and kindness concepts in a fun, silly, hands-on way that kids will love to play.
Sewing with kids can be just as fun and rewarding as sewing with kids. Get tips on when to start teaching them and what kinds of projects to make.
Hands-on pre-reading activities that encourage your elementary students to access their prior knowledge and make predictions.
I am beyond excited to share 2 amazing things with you today that will bless your families! the first is my friend, Ashley, from the life-giving, creative blog The Littles & Me. Her heart is so pure and bright with the love of Christ – you must follow her. Second, Ashley is sharing an incredible […]
Looking for new and fun ideas to help teach making inferences? I've got 5 engaging mini-lesson ideas for you to try in your elementary classroom!
Five fun and action-filled circle games to practice rhythm, pitch, and more with your elementary music students.
Just found out you're teaching second grade! Here's a quick start guide!
Teaching Art using the Bible and teaching Bible using Art. Bible Art lessons connecting Art with the heART for kids. Bible based Christian art.
A collection of simple Christian songs with timeless Biblical truths. These songs are easy to sing and have excellent actions to get kids moving. Many of these classic kids songs have been songs for generations. Use them at home, or church in the nursery, toddler, preschool, or kindergarten class.
Here’s a few classroom procedures that have worked well for me – and a couple awesome ideas I’ve run across since I’ve stepped out of the classroom...
Our Mondrian Art Project for Kids is perfect to teach art in the classroom. It's easy and free! Kids will love their Mondrian masterpiece & will proudly display their beautiful artwork on glass.
Come listen to this collection of 25 pieces of classical music for kids. Classical music is not just for adults. Kids will love them!
When trying to differentiate instruction for our students, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are 6 Easy Ways to Differentiate Instruction
Growth Mindset: The Power of Yet Recently my 1st grade classroom has morphed into a K/1 combination classroom and then resulted in HUGE gaps (academically, socially, & emotionally) between my s…
How to Teach Kids About Joy - This fun game will teach kids about joy in an active, engaging, and creative way.
Fun ideas for teaching adjectives and descriptive writing that are just right for October and Halloween week in the primary classroom.
Middle School students will love this pop art lesson that focuses on the principle of movement. It also makes a great abstract portrait that is frame-able!
Art projects that are fun for kids and bring in big bucks for your school auction!
Get ready to put a chore chart system in place that will teach your kids responsibility, fight entitlement and allow them to get a taste of how the real world works!
These dot pages for dot markers are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. They are such a fun and easy activity to set up your child.
Got a talkative class? Check out these 5 ways to quiet the chatter!
Teachers, homeschoolers, parents! Visit the Imagination Box blog and bring more fun art and creativity into your kids lives, all year round!
Free reading comprehension passages for grades 2 - 3
Teaching middle school is like no other teaching assignment - like no other task on Earth for that matter. As a teacher, you need to be just the right mix of cool and strict - but most important, calm. You need to have a good relationship with your students overall based on mutual respect. But that's much easier said than done. Here's the thing about middle schoolers in particular: They want to look good in front of their peers. What their peers think of them is of utmost importance to them (whether they are in touch with that reality or not). Therefore, they will "save face" if they think you, the teacher, are criticizing them or making them look bad in any way. (Meanwhile, you meant no harm; you were simply calling them out on a behavior they clearly exhibited). The thing is you can't call them out in front of their peers. I mean you can, but you shouldn't. Whenever possible, call out their less-than-stellar behavior one-on-one, without their peers hearing it. This could mean going to their desk and whispering, or waiting for a good time to call them to your desk ever so calmly. It's easier to call them out from wherever you are, but if you want your class under control and to maintain respect, somehow arrange a private convo instead. The Goal is this, which is my #1 Rule for Teaching Middle School: No Power Struggles Have you ever noticed how some kids act so differently when their peers aren't around? Let's say a kid in your class before lunch was really pushing your buttons and disrupting class, but then he forgets his lunch in your room. He comes back to get it. You two talk. He's really nice and respectful! You have a pleasant conversation. You're wondering if this is the same person or perhaps a twin brother you weren't aware of. What is going on? IT'S BECAUSE HIS PEERS AREN'T THERE! I'm using a boy as an example, but the same thing applies to girls. Do NOT try to address a student's behavior in full view of his or her peers (a.k.a. the audience). You could get yourself into a full-blown power struggle before you know it. At first, by drawing attention to his or her behavior in front of his or her peers, you may inadvertently say something or suggest something that makes the student, from his or her perspective, look bad or uncool or different in some way. If you're not careful, you might find that the child you're disciplining escalates the situation, essentially trying to look good at any cost, even if that means receiving a negative consequence. For some kids, receiving a negative consequence is just more attention (and even negative attention is attention) and the whole situation will most likely make most of the students in the class think you're the bad guy and he or she is the good guy. You don't want that. There should not be a bad guy or a good guy, just you the teacher calmly in control. What you want to do is simply find a way to calmly speak to the student one-on-one. Keep your voice calm, logically explain everything, follow through on a fitting consequence OUT OF VIEW OF THEIR PEERS and most likely you'll avoid the full-blown power struggle. And, whenever possible, DO POINT OUT POSITIVE BEHAVIORS IN FRONT OF THEIR PEERS. Give them the good attention they want deep down inside. Say something like "Hey everyone, I really like how Alex is using his notes to write his essay. Wow, he's almost done." I heard you are supposed to give five praises for every one disciplinary comment. I say I heard that, because I need to work on that lol. GOOD LUCK! Here's another trick I learned. When you provide your students with high-interest learning resources they feel are relevant to them and interesting in some way, they will actually behave better. They will get sucked into whatever you are trying to get them read, write, or do and forget about misbehaving. So, that's why I created these high-interest informational texts and tasks. I went out of my way to make the articles super interesting to middle schoolers by writing about things that interest them. And, guess what? It worked. I keep hearing from teachers how kids get so into these passages. They actually want to answer the questions. They even want to discuss the articles as a group. And teachers keep reporting how much time and hassle I have saved them. I did that by aligning every text and task to a specific Reading Informational Text Standard and did that 10 times to cover all 10 of them individually. Now teachers don't have to go searching for the right articles that bring out the right skills. Try both volumes and use them all year long! Your students are actually going to behave better because they won't be bored! I even made them in both PDF and interactive Google Slides in case you want the easy distance learning option! And don't forget to pin this so you can read it again or share it with a friend. Best wishes to you this year! You got this!
The procedures are taught, the students know your expectations, but you still find yourself repeating directions over and over again. Use Mystery Students!
Teaching Art using the Bible and teaching Bible using Art. Bible Art lessons connecting Art with the heART for kids. Bible based Christian art.
Find short stories difficult to teach? Here are five of my favourites that your students will love to analyze. A free lesson plan will be available, too!
Let's talk about teaching catechism in the household. The What, Why, and How of using catechism for the whole family to get closer to God. First you must choose a catechism to use. After that, it's just a matter of making the time each day/week to practice the questions with your kids.
Teach sight words with these fun sight word activities for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. I love how simple and effective these printables and games are! #sightwords #teachingreading #kindergarten
This is a great object lesson to explain God's love to kids
Checkout these 5 amazing plants for the classroom! Plants bring life and brightness to any space in the classroom and can instantly transform your room!
Paint, draw, sculpt, and learn about famous artists and their art.
Scribble monsters are a favorite in my adapted art class! If you follow me on Instagram you probably know that I am absolutely head over heels in love with teaching adapted art! I love teaching and creating lessons that meet the individual needs of my students in order to provide them with their own authentic, enrichin
Begin each of your classes with bell ringers or warm up activities that your middle or high school English students will love!
From teaching tips and parental strategies, to anti-bullying activities and games, these ideas offer great inspiration to help kids stand up to bullying!
Use these Chrysanthemum name activities, name graph and name crafts to practice and compare names in preschool and kindergarten!
Let the wild rumpus begin!
