Little Social Studies Thinkers is a complete curriculum specifically for Kindergarten.  It's everything you need to introduce, teach, practice, and assess your kinder friends.  It is cross-referenced and aligned to the main topics of Kindergarten Social Studies Standards.  -------------------GET THE FULL YEAR-LONG CURRICULUM HERE-------------------- Little Social Studies Thinkers FULL YEAR CURRICULUM for KINDERGARTEN UNIT 4: My Community teaches students about different types of communities and people that live and work in them. It contains lessons on these specific topics: Types of Communities (rural, suburban, city) Diverse Families in a Community Important Places in a Community Community Helpers/Jobs Why People Work Wants and Needs Here are the components of the Unit: -A complete Teacher Guide -8 printable/projectable Books for Read-Alouds -Step-by-step, Scripted Lesson Plans (Twelve, 35-minute lesson plans in all) -Essential Question and Learning Target posters -Anchor Charts -Whole group Games and Activities -Craftivities and Culminating Unit Activity -Student Workbook that follows each lesson -Quick Check for every lesson -Kinder-appropriate Assessment and Rubric for scoring -Parent Letter -A COMPLETE unit PowerPoint to guide your teaching during each and every lesson (all books, targets and workbook pages are included in the PowerPoint to help you save paper) Here is an outline of the lessons for UNIT 4: Lesson 1: MY NEIGHBORHOOD- PLACES AND HOMES Lesson 2: MY NEIGHBORHOOD- PEOPLE AND FAMILIES Lesson 3: PLACES IN A COMMUNITY Lesson 4: PLACES IN A COMMUNITY CRAFTIVITY Lesson 5: COMMUNITY HELPERS Lesson 6: MORE COMMUNITY HELPERS Lesson 7: WHY PEOPLE WORK Lesson 8: WANTS AND NEEDS Lesson 9: WANTS AND NEEDS REVIEW & CRAFTIVITY Lesson 10: HOW WE HELP OUR COMMUNITY Lesson 11: UNIT REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT Lesson 12: CULMINATING ACTIVITY *Please download the preview to see all that is included, including samples of everything!* ************************************************************************** Click below to view additional units: UNIT 1: Citizenship UNIT 2: Then and Now UNIT 3: Holidays Around the World UNIT 4: My Community UNIT 5: Our World K-1 MINI-UNITS: MINI UNIT A: Pilgrims and Native Americans MINI UNIT B: America

I wanted to find a new self portrait project for the first week of school this year. I saw some inspiration on pinterest, but there were no directions on how to create it. So I took the best from the pics I saw and tried to recreate it my style. I used my 5 year old to practice this before my 3rd graders start this year. Here's how I did it... Step 1: Take a photo of your student as they stand so you get their Profile shot. Step 2: Airdrop or send the photo to your computer and print it out on a regular black/white printer on plain white paper. Then take a thin tipped black marker or sharpie and trace the outline. Step 3: Fill in the profile with a black marker. I used a black crayola marker, but I'm sure any black marker or crayon will do. You can stop below the neck or go all the way to the bottom of the picture. Step 4: Cut out the black very carefully. Step 5: Glue it onto blank white paper or cardstock . Step 6: Take a black pen or pencil and a ruler and draw straight lines to separate the background into sections. Step 7: Design as you wish. I'm going to have my students choose things all about them. It could be words to describe them, favorite things they enjoy...and filled with pictures and words to show them. I like the idea of the name only being on the back, so when parents come in they can guess which one is their child. So that's it! I plan to back these on black paper and hang in my classroom. Hope they all turn out great. I think this might be my new favorite back to school portrait art project!! If you like it or plan to use it, I'd love to see your pics and comments too!

Our next country we completed for our Around the World studies was Spain! As we are nearing the end of our school year, you will see that we are starting...

A family unit for kindergarten is an important social studies unit to start the year for several reasons. A family unit for kindergarten involves letting

Discover the perfect All About Me preschool activity designed for young kids! Get a free printable worksheet that's simple, engaging, and ideal for emergent readers. Download now!

Well, in my 14 years at Zamo we never had rain to contend with during our Celebration of Art festivities... until last night, that is. I must say, that although unusual for San Diego in July, the rain did not dampen the spirit of the event at all:) Attendance was robust and their were tons of smiles to brighten any gloom that drops from the sky may have brought. Again, our incredible classroom teachers and staff were amazing while leading 10 different activities for our community to participate in. Our PTF rocked ticket and food sales. Our administration hung tough in the wet silent auction area. We were visited by our School Board President, the San Diego County VAPA Coordinator, and this morning our SDUSD Superintendent stopped by too. I am so proud of what our kids accomplish every year. It's so great to be able to share the creative work of our students with our school community and VAPA decision makers at the district level and beyond. Thanks to everyone who lent a hand in making the event another great evening of art making and art appreciation! We couldn't do it without you. our school musicians kicking off the evening. rain! Superintendent Marten with Principal Murchison and Mrs. Liggins:) one proud dude! observing and reflecting by writing fan letters to student artists:) from left to right- Principal Derek Murchison, artist in residence Danielle Guimond, VP Robert Vera, School Board President Marne Foster, art teacher Melony Vance, SD County VAPA coordinator Russ Sperling, artist in residence Kathi Arinduque (and her grandson:), and me A peek at some of the hands on activities that kids could participate in. All of the projects below were done by classroom teachers with their classes. Each student is represented on campus in these class displays. kindergarten owls! 2nd grade scratch art! 2nd grade hot air balloons! 4th grade rotational symmetry! 5th grade self portraits! 3rd grade oil pastels! Here's a little video I put together after the event. I think the music suits the spirit of the night pretty well:)

I am always looking for a way to add some art and creativity into my math class, my class this year LOVES to draw so I knew they would love ...

FREE Washington Unit Study for grades 3-8 -- learn about the "Evergreen State" with books, arts and crafts, recipes, and more!

Hey everyone!!! I hope everyone is having a great start to the NEW YEAR! It's always great to have a fresh start and a clean slate. (Although, is it just me or does your new year always begin in August?) : ) One of the things that I have been working on during my winter break is our lesson plans in science. By the way, we have a brand new standard this year in science!! (AND new standards are always exciting!) Drum roll...our new standard is... LIGHTS AND SHADOWS!! I know...so fun...kind of...except...I have never taught light and shadows, EVER!!! (Confession is good for the soul.) I mean, I have always taught first grade standards, AND light and shadows have never been one of our standards until now. So I definitely had to share what I learned with my first grade friends!! YOU! I have a lot of ideas, freebies, and links that you might be able to use, too. This blog post is part one of two...so hang tight...shadows will be coming next week!! We are going to launch our unit with Oscar and the Moth by Geoff Waring. He has a great collection of easy to understand books on science. This particular book is about light and shadows. Oscar the cat and his new friend the moth set out on a little journey to learn about shadows and light. Isn't Oscar a cutie? Light is energy and it makes objects visible and without it, we cannot see anything! So we are going to first discuss the kinds of light that we find in our world and list them by two categories: natural light and artificial light! We are going to use an anchor chart just like The Lesson Plan Diva's chart. Perfect! (You can check out her anchor chart by clicking on the photo above.) We are also going to be looking at all the different types of lights in real life. Would you include matches or a lighter? I am still debating. Since we don't have a real darkroom we are going to be using the restroom in our classroom. Hysterical! Just the thought of being in the restroom is going to crack my little firsties up! I am going to take them into the darkroom in groups cause my darkroom is tiny! My students who are not in the darkroom group will be working on the activity sheet below. You can find it free here! In the darkroom, I am hanging pictures of objects around the room. I want my students to see them when we shine the flashlight around the darkroom to make them visible because of light. We will discuss how light makes it possible for them to see the objects. And when I turn the flashlight off, the objects are no longer visible. (Yes...I totally expect some shrieks!! Eesh...but in the name of science, right?) In their science journals, they are going to record what they observed by drawing or writing what was visible in the darkroom. If you would like a copy of the pictures that I am going to use in my bathroom darkroom, you can find them here! We are also going to be looking at peep boxes. Have you ever used peep boxes? Kindergarten-Lessons.com is where I learned about peep boxes!! You should totally check out the website because they have some great suggestions and ideas for light and shadows! You can click here! They are not hard to make and you can easily make one for your students to see. Here is an example of one I made: Without light you can't see anything inside... But with light, you can see lots of things on the inside! I can't believe this box already had a peep hole!!!!! My students are going to record what they see inside the peep boxes in their science journals. You can find the scene that I used for my peep box here. It's so fun and exciting to look inside!!! I will be working on another one this week and I will let you know how it goes!! What kind of activities do you do for light and shadows? I am dying to know!! For the second part of our light and shadow unit, we will be talking about shadows and shadows will go along perfectly with Groundhog's Day. Yeah!! So come on back! I can't wait to show you what we are doing with shadows! Hoping you have a great week back!! An InLinkz Link-up

Fun STEM activity for outdoor play and makes a great science lesson! (Includes a printable rocket template).

Includes 6 different posters covering basic developmental theories. Hang these up as part of a bulletin board during your theorist unit, or all year long to help your students remember the theories of development covered in class. Theories include: -John Bowlby's theory of attachment -Erik Erikson's stages of development -Sigmund Freud's psychosexual developmental theory -Lawrence Kohlberg's moral development stages -Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs -Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory Can't find the theory or theorist you're looking for? Try this: Theories of Psychology Posters _ Related Resources Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs Child Development Scope and Sequence _ Product Details - 1 PDF file containing 6 posters (8.5x11) _ Let’s Connect Instagram @kelseybernards_thefcsteacher

I have done this lesson many times, but this year the results are better than ever before. This year, we had more time to do this project, and therefore their drawings had more detail. This lesson focuses on the concept of foreshortening. This is a hard concept for even experienced artists, so to make it simpler, we traced our hands and feet. The other details were drawn in after. I found the idea for this lesson years ago on the blog Oodles of Art. Over the years, I have adapted this lesson, and this year the results are amazing. I just LOVE these!

The Fall Preschool Unit is packed full of hands on math & literacy activities as well as no prep worksheets for easy lesson planning.

I love starting the school year with this activity. It’s easy, parents love it, and it immediately gives the children a little boost of self-esteem by identifying a part of themselves that they like…

You need: drawing paper A3 size tempera paint in green, blue, white, red and yellow two brushes per student two spunges per student paper towels oil pastel crayons schotels Claude Monet (1840-1926) is considered one of the most important painters of Impressionism. Typical for Impressionists: they choose subjects from ordinary life special attention for light and color work in the open air smooth brushstrokes dashes resemble a sketch it's about the impression! Discuss the term impressionism. Show some paintings by Monet and zoom in on a work with water lilies in Arts & Culture. Do students see the characteristics of impressionism in this artwork? Monet had a large garden with a pond and a Japanese bridge in Giverny France. He liked to paint in that garden. His works of water lilies are therefore famous and are the basis of this lesson. Lesson 1 Squeeze some blue, green and white paint onto a saucer. Dipt your sponge into the blue paint. Stamp on the sheet. Do the same with green paint and stamp all over the sheet. Finally do this with white paint. You can use the green side of your sponge, to get a light green color also. Let the work dry. Lesson 2 To paint the water lilies: mix a little bit of red with white paint. Paint ovals spread across the sheet. Not too neat, it's all about impression! Paint a green border at the bottom of the ovals: the leaf. To make it fresher, you can mix some light green paint and use it. You don't have to clean the green brush first. Then paint a heart in your flower with yellow. Let the work dry. Finally draw lines in your lily with a dark red or purple oil pastel: the petals. Artworks made by students of grade 1 and 2.

Make your study come alive with these Ancient Rome unit study activities and ideas that we used with MFW Rome to the Reformation.

From reading fun books to STEM projects, this Viking Unit gave us a vast insight to where exploration began and helped set the stage for the Age of Exploration.

A blog dedicated to help teachers in preschool and kindergarten find quality, hands on educational activities for their homes and classrooms.

Do you teach growth mindset to your students? These new growth mindset picture books by Kobi Yamada are perfect for helping students.

If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.

UPDATED 2021- If you have already purchased you may download again for the updates! I created this project as a fun, interactive way for students to practice and review geometry vocabulary and concepts! This is a great project to use at the end of a geometry unit, review for testing, or end of the year activity. Students will use geometric shapes and follow the directions to create a new town. To help differentiate, I created two different sets of instructions, student checklists, and scoring guides. Included with the activity: - 1 direction set for students with a basic understanding of geometry concepts - 1 direction set for students with a deeper level of understanding of geometry concepts - 2 student checklists for students to review their project - 2 itemized scoring guides based on individual directions of the project - 1 scoring guide that assesses the overall project organization, concept knowledge, and work habits Concepts reviewed on basic level directions: Parallel Lines Perpendicular Lines Intersecting lines Triangles Quadrilaterals Pentagons Rhombuses Rectangles Trapezoid Squares Concepts reviewed on the deeper-level directions: Identifying and drawing: Parallel Lines Perpendicular Lines Intersecting lines Lines Circles Triangles- right, isosceles, acute Quadrilaterals – rhombus, rectangles, squares, parallelogram, trapezoid Pentagons Lines of symmetry Draw and measure: Right angles Acute angles Obtuse angles

Use these 7 continents worksheet pagges to teach elementary age about CONTINENTS for kids. Grab continents book printable!

This post contains the animated short film "Glued." Download the accompanying handout leveled for upper elementary students to teach theme.

Anatomy for Preschoolers and Kindergarten, Anatomy Activities, Awesome Montessori Human Anatomy Activities with Free Printables, Great health and anatomy books for kids, an entire Human Anatomy Unit Study for Kids, Free human Body Printables, Anatomy Printables and Hands on Activities for preschool science

Just a simple sort I made to reinforce respectful actions/gestures. This can easily be added to your Citizenship unit, or beginning of the year activities to set a tone of spreading kindness in the classroom. I have listed 12 scenarios/behaviors, and students must decide is the actions "respectful" or "disrespectful", by gluing the sentence under the correct header. Hope you like and find this resource useful! Be sure to follow me: IG (Beached Bum Teacher) TikTok (Beached Bum Teacher)

Check out this great lesson I found on Cleverbean. Learning Intention: Create an artwork in response to the text ‘Journey’ by Aaron Becker.

Plan wonderful science lessons all about butterflies with this FREE Butterfly Unit: Printables, Activities & More!

Learn about France with this France preschool unit! Activities, crafts, food, songs, etc to give your child a taste of France.

Want a fun way to teach measurement that can be adapted for all students? Let me introduce MEASUREMENT TAG!

In my homeschool, we implement nature study year-round as it helps children engage with the outside world and sets a foundation for other learning. Enjoy learning about sunflowers with this sunflower dissection activity and free summer flower unit study download, plus dozens of activities to continue the fun.

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Slide/Flip/Turn hand projects on hallway bulletin board.

Here are some helpful tips for name practice in Kindergarten. I also created some freebies for your first week of school.

In this Aquarium Perspective Lesson, Middle School students will dive right into learning about the principle of perspective while designing an aquarium.

Looking for a fun and enagaging way to teach linear measurement? Check out these monster themed measurement activities that make learning fun

Looking for a way to pace out and organize each of your units? This Unit Pacing Guide is the perfect way to save yourself time from year to year when your planning out your units. Use this pacing guide template to link slides, videos, activities, assessments and more!

Algebra 1 Unit 1 Interactive Notebook Pages, day by day. Complete unit.