Looking for ways to engage your students while teaching the continents and oceans? I've got you covered with games, songs, vidoes, and more!

A blog about how a failed painting made me rethink the theories of composition in my painting of Donegal, Ireland.

Check out these gorgeous Romero Britto inspired art activities...

If you want to teach your little ones about the concept of opposites you will want to check out these fun opposites worksheets and activities.

Classroom callbacks are a technique that teachers use to get the students’ attention in a quick and fun way. Free resource available.

PRIMARY SCIENCE UNIT 1 - THE HUMAN BODY We are so excited to dig into Unit 1 in our science sequence! We kick off science this year with My Body and My Five Senses . It is the perfect place to start science with our primary kiddos. This year we are going to explore and learn about the

Use this collection of Paul Klee teaching resources and complete Klee Famous Artist Unit lesson plans to teach elementary art class.

These "quiet critters" are amazingly effective!

Pierwszy dzień w szkole spędza sen z powiek nie tylko uczniom. Nauczyciele po pierwsze opłakują ;) powrót do pracy, a po drugie bardzo często zastanawiają się, czym wypełnić pierwsze zajęcia. Przyg…

Hello les profs!Voici un petit puzzle pour se présenter en ce début d'année.Il est inspiré du travail de Laclassedemallory que vous pouvez retrouver ici:Je l'ai réadapté à des plus petits.Si le document te plait, n'hésite pas à laisser un petit coeur. Ça motive à encore plus partager.

The Kindergarten artists and PreKinders also created some artwork inspired by Mondrian. The PreKinders glued down black lines creating squares and rectangles they then colored some of their shapes …

Kids will have fun while learning where do I Live with this printable activity perfect for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.

These 5 fun 3D shapes activities for kindergarten are a great way for students to learn about shape attributes while having a blast.

One of my favorite parts of teaching first grade is I am SO excited how it all came together, and that I can finally share it with y...

Roy Lichtenstein name art, featuring Ben-Day dots

Ready to rock teaching beginning of year writing in first grade? These early days of writing instruction must be targeted and on point. Click to learn more.

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.

We have another fun project for your kids (or you) to do during the hot summer months, this time we are sharing a fun summer agamograph template with you. Making an agamograph is really, really

Here are some great ideas about things to teach your 2 year old. Most skills can be achieved through these learning activities for two year olds

The most common mistake I see is #1 ... this is great advice for people teaching handwriting to kids in preschool and kindergarten. The tip about worksheets is so important. #handwriting #preschool #penmanship #kindergarten

Empower ELL newcomers with essential classroom English phrases using this resource pack designed for beginners. Perfect for mastering survival English skills.

Check out these fun activities from Award Winning Author/Illustrator Jarett Lerner to do at home or in the classsroom. Includes comics, drawing, and more.

Create a solid math foundation with these tips for teaching place value in 1st grade. Use these ideas to avoid place value mistakes!

Learn how to create simple models and maps with early years students with this free geography printable!

These spooky mummy eyes are such a fun Halloween project! I saw a version of this project online and just had to recreate it. The oil pastels are a bit messy but this is a no-paint project that can be completed in one art session.

Earlier this year, my co-worker Jayne found the idea to make a collaborative school-wide paper mural based on the artwork of Thank YouX. The idea for a student mural originally came from Jenell Novello and you can see the lesson plan write-up on Artsonia. She also so generously provided the lesson plan and templates on Google docs. Thank You X got his name by accident. In 2009 Andy Warhol’s spray painted portrait was spotted on a city street in L.A.. … Read more... →

Brain breaks are a great classroom management tool to use regularly in your classroom. Brain breaks are short, 1 to 2 minute, activities that can…

Je reviens aujourd'hui vers vous, pour vous parler d'un petit outil que j'ai utilisé durant ma première année de cycle 2 mais aussi en SEGPA (évidemment pas avec ce design pour les plus grands afin de ne pas faire trop enfantin) : le feu tricolore Durant mon année de SEGPA, j'avais régulièrement des problèmes de "bruit en classe" bien que je ne sois pas une adepte des classe ultra silencieuse. Et je me suis enfaite rendu compte que ce problème venait du fait que les élèves ne savaient tout simpl

Science projects for kids can be fun and exciting. Make hands-on science crafts at home with these easy at home science crafts.

This is - hands down - my most favorite writing project that I've ever done with my firsties. They did such an amazing job and I am so proud of how far they have come this year. We read "The Best Part of Me" by Wendy Ewald and then created our own bubble maps to organize our thoughts. I

Just found out you're teaching second grade! Here's a quick start guide!

Join Elsa, Olaf, and Anna to practice letters, math, and more with Frozen Worksheets! Lots of printable activities for preschool, pre-k, + up

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!

Our art and craft printables have moved and can now be found HERE>>>

Looking for something amazing to do with your toddler or preschoolers? Try this oil and water science experiment from Busy Toddler - so cool!

Back to School Night can be the first time you meet many of the parents in your class. It is important that you communicate all of the information the parents will need to help their child have a successful school year. Here are my top tips for planning an informative and stress free Back to School Night: Have a Sign In SheetHave parents sign in on a sheet as the enter the room. This will allow you to keep track of which student's parents were able to attend. Be sure to send home copies of the