Why is gratitude important? Fun gratitude activities for kids Learning to be a grateful person isn't just a case of saying "please" and "thank you" in all the right places. Genuine gratitude has the power to make us and those around us happier and healthier. It has been associated with higher levels
drama activities and games for elementary students
Need some fun, active learning activities for teaching prepositions in Kindergarten, first grade, or second grade? This post has 5 ideas to get you started!
Learn how to change a child's inflexible thinking with this collection of tips, books, and activities to develop a growth mindset for kids!
Say what?! You read the title correctly! It is important to set your classroom up so that it can run well even when you are not in the room. Recently, I had the opportunity to observe a program that is similar to mine. We both have self-contained elementary classrooms, we have similar training and we ... Read More about Set Up Your Room As If You Won’t Be There!
Help students embrace challenges and learn how to persevere through struggles.
S.T.E.M. and Growth Mindset concepts complement and reinforce each other perfectly, so teaching them together is a perfect match! Here's how I combine them.
80 sponge activities you can do in your elementary classroom to make every minute count.
Morning Meeting Activities will help students fall in love with school! Help students become life longer learners by implementing morning meeting!
Today is day five of my hands-on math games and activities series and today's post is a new favorite for my kids. We played a game that I named the Graphing Race. How To Play
Teach kids to tackle challenges and build vital thinking skills with these fun problem-solving activities and games for preschoolers.
A NO PREP art/language activity teachers can use any time. All you need is paper!
We need to help our students work together by teaching collaboration & cooperation! Here's how to practice this in the primary classroom.
This post is all about selective mutism activities you can do with your child at home, in therapy, or at school.
Explore 16 insightful videos and activities to teach children theory of mind and perspective taking skills. Help kids enhance their empathy and understanding.
Teach kids empathy and compassion through mindful, fun lessons, discussions, and activities that build social awareness and community.
Although "practice makes perfect," it doesn't have to be boring. Find 6 ways to make lessons more engaging with movement in the classroom.
Slow your roll for a healthier balance.
The 30 Day Happy Teacher Challenge will help you connect with students, build staff rapport, organize your school life, and keep you healthy!
All about scientists, free download, attributes of scientists, scientific method, interactive activities to learn about science.
Explore 16 insightful videos and activities to teach children theory of mind and perspective taking skills. Help kids enhance their empathy and understanding.
March is just around the corner! I know many of you are thinking Spring Break, but I’m thinking of National Brain Awareness Week! You might think it’s jumping the gun to blog about something that is celebrated in March on the first day of February. Why aren’t you talking about Black History Month or ... Read more
A middle school teacher's blog: English, History, PBL, GBL, mindfulness, and student engagement.
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
Test prep season is upon us, and with it comes the dreaded question, how do teachers prepare their students? Working in a classroom during test prep can be stressful for both the teacher and the students. The classroom can feel tense and nervous, which can make it difficult for student to retain in
This post originally appeared on the blog The Teacher Next Door. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve taught, how beautifully you made your lesson plans, or how well you have crafted a fabulous learning
Teach kids empathy and compassion through mindful, fun lessons, discussions, and activities that build social awareness and community.
12 Educational Technology Concepts Every Teacher Should Know: Incorporating technology into the elementary and middle school classroom
These easy-prep activities for teaching atoms will engage your students and make learning about atoms fun!
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Help the learning process with these simple strategies for making studennt thinking visible. Perfect for middle and high school English classes.
Escape room activities are a fun and interactive way to work on the skills kids need. My favorite part about escape room activities is that they really encourage cooperation and critical thinking skills. Kids work together and use their collective brain power to solve a variety of puzzles and challe
The Draw My Picture Game is a fun way to get children to practice their speaking and listening skills.
Assessment can be difficult for both teachers and students, depending on how it’s done. Here’s a super simple little trick for assessment that I call Hop Across the Pond. It can be used for a lot of different things, but I use it mostly for assessment of students’ sight word knowledge. I used to ask […]
This product has everything you need to teach 4th grade science. All activities and presentations are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for 4th Grade. Included in this product are 6 hands on units that teach all of the NGSS standards for 4th grade, as well as PowerPoints to support each of the hands-on units. To see a detailed description of what's included, you can click on each of the individual products included in this bundle to see the previews or read on to see what's included. The 4th Grade Activities Unit is my best-selling product. I recently developed PowerPoints to compliment the activities in this bundle since I have learned that many teachers don't have any textbooks to support their science instruction. I also now have a digital version of this product made for use with Google Classroom.™ Check that out here for a complete paperless option. If you would like options, you may want my Printable and Digital Bundle that includes this product as well as the Digital Version for Google Classroom™. Check that out here. Here's a list of what's included: Earth's Crust and Processes: Part 1: Weathering and Erosion: •Activity 1: There She Blows: Students investigate wind erosion using a straw and sand. •Activity 2: Sticks and Stones: Students investigate water erosion with a mudslide simulation. •Activity 3: Sugar Cube Shake: Students investigate mechanical weathering with a sugar cube experiment. •Activity 4: Water and Weathering: Students investigate the impact of chemical weathering using temperature as a variable. •Activity 5: Chemical Weathering: Students investigate the impacts of chemicals on weathering using chalk and vinegar. •Activity 6: Informational Reading on Acid Rain •Activity 7: Weathering or Erosion? Students read scenarios and identify which parts are the weathering and which are erosion. •Activity 8: Weathering and Erosion Bingo: Students wrap up the unit by playing Weathering and Erosion Bingo. This serves as a great review of vocabulary. A supplemental thermometer reading practice is also included. •Activity 9: Word Wall Cards and Games •Post tests (2 options) Part 2: Earth's Crust and the Rock Cycle: •Activity 1: Classifying Rocks Students classify rocks into 3 groups using observations. •Activity 2: Rock On!: Students simulate the rock cycle using gum and pop rocks. •Activity 3: Pangaea and Plate Tectonics •Activity 4: Ring of Fire: Students plot locations of volcano and notice that volcano locations are where tectonic plates meet. •Activity 5: Shake it Up: Students create structures out of toothpicks and mini marshmallows and then test their strength in an earthquake simulation. •Activity 6: Stress Me Out!: Students use a miniature candy bar to simulate the 3 different types of stresses on the Earth’s crust. •Activity 7: Earth’s Changing Surface Informational reading and questions •Activity 8: Word Wall cards and Activity Ideas •An optional post test and grading rubric are also included. For the presentation on Weathering and Erosion, different types of weathering and erosion are included in this presentation along with a student notes page. that could also be used as an assessment. The last part of the presentation presents students with pictures where they will attempt to decide if the picture shows weathering or erosion. Notes are also included for the teacher on most of the slides. The presentation on Earth's Crust and the Rock Cycle, begins with the classification of rocks and the rock cycle. This is followed by slides on plate tectonics, including the Theory of Pangaea, the Ring of Fire, volcanoes and earthquakes. There are links to videos and interactive web sites embedded in the slides. Notes are also included for the teacher on most of the slides. Finally, a printable page for students to record notes is included. Energy: •Activity 1 Energy Sort: Students sort a variety of images into different types of energy. •Activity 2 Heatin’ Up: Students experiment with the concept of heat transfer by comparing how different materials heat up from the sun’s energy. •Activity 3 Marble Mania: Students experiment with marbles to see how varying speeds of an object can change the amount of energy that is transferred from one object to another. •Activity 4: Energy Change in a Car Crash: Students read about how energy is dispersed in a car crash and then answer a few questions about what they read. •Activity 5: Melt My Ice: Students investigate the transfer of heat energy as they try to melt an ice cube the fastest. •Activity 6 Light It Up: Students investigate different ways to make a light bulb light. •Activity 7: Electricity in My Everyday Life: Students brainstorm all the ways they use electricity in an average day. •Activity 8: Electromagnets: Students make a simple electromagnet to see how energy can be converted from one form to another. •Activity 9: Potential and Kinetic Energy Informational reading passage with comprehension questions. •Activity 10 Launch It: Students experiment with a catapult to further explore potential and kinetic energy. •Activity 11: The Law of Conservation of Energy Activity •Word Wall Cards and Games •Post Test The presentation begins with defining energy, then gives examples of each of the different forms of energy. Several slides address the difference between potential and kinetic energy, with one slide showing pictures and students are to identify whether the energy shown is potential or kinetic. The next few slides focus on the transfer of energy, and one slide has the Law of Conservation of Energy. To address one of the standards, one slide details how energy is transferred in a car crash. The PowerPoint closes with a fun video that summarizes the concepts. Plant and Animal Structures: Activities Included in Part 1 on Plant Structures: •Activity 1: Plant Parts Introduction Students label the structures of plants and think about their functions. If you are in person, have students discuss what they think the different functions of each structure are. •Activity 2: Sprouting Seeds Students will sprout a seed in a Ziploc bag with cotton balls. They will observe and record the growth. • Activity 3: It All Starts With A Seed Students will examine different seeds and compare information from seed packets. •Activity 4: Plant Life Cycle Students will put pictures of different stages of a plant’s life cycle in order. •Activity 5: Honeybee Informational Reading Students will read about how honeybees pollinate flowers. •Activity 6: Inside A Flower: Students will dissect a flower and observe the reproductive parts. •Activity 7: Suck it Up!: Students will observe how stems suck water up into the leaves and flowers of plants. •Activity 8: Putting Down Roots: Students will observe different types of roots and make conclusions as to their function. •Activity 9: Leave it to the Leaves: Students will read about the process of photosynthesis and answer questions. •Activity 10: Word wall cards and activities •Post Test and Grading Rubric are also included. Activities included for Part 2 on Animal Structures: Activity 1: My Beak is Better Than Yours: Students focus on the beak structure of birds and how this specific structure helps them get food. Activity 2: Salmon Swim Home: This engaging activity gives students the opportunity to become salmon and use their sense of smell to navigate home. Activity 3: What is Biomimicry? Reading and questions. Activity 4: Biomimicry Challenge: Students use animal or plant structures to inspire an invention. Activity 5: Poster Reports: These reports focus on structures of animals and how they help with nutrition, self-defense, reproduction, and communication. A grading rubric is included. Activity 6: Word Wall Cards and Activities Activity 7: Post Assessment and Key The presentation is broken up into 2 sections; the first is plant structures and functions, and the second part is animal structures and functions. Detailed slides on each of the specific plant parts and their functions include a video on germination and photosynthesis. In the animals structures and functions section, real photos of a variety of animals helps students think about specific structures and how animals benefit from them. A great video on a camouflaged octopus is a highlight of this section. Finally, a printable page for students to record notes is included (or fillable for Google Slides Version). This page could also be used as an assessment. I have included notes for the teacher on just about every slide as well. Waves: Light and Sound •Word Wall Cards and Activities: Word cards, definitions and suggested activities to reinforce key vocabulary from the unit. •Good Vibrations: Students make a simple straw oboe to investigate vibrations and sound •Waves: Students read about waves, study a diagram, and answer questions. •Making Waves: Student use a jump rope to create waves with specific amplitudes and frequencies. •What’s That Sound: Students make a simple kazoo and experiment with sound. •Pan Pipes: Students make Pan Pipes out of straws. •How Do Our Ears Hear? This informational reading passage, diagram, and questions is designed to explain how our ears process sound. •Mirror Mirror on the Wall: Students investigate reflection of light using a mirror. •How Does Light Travel? Students discover which materials are opaque, translucent, and transparent. •Light Moves: Students investigate how light appears to bend as it enters different mediums such as water. •Visible Spectrum: Students see “rainbows” on a CD and learn about the visible spectrum. •How Do Eyes See? This informational reading passage, diagram, and questions is designed to explain how our eyes process light. •Post Test and Grading Rubric The presentation is broken into two parts; Part 1 begins with sound and details how sound is formed from waves. Key vocabulary words are introduced in an interactive way, so that the PowerPoint can be more student-centered. One slide shows pictures o
Teach kids empathy and compassion through mindful, fun lessons, discussions, and activities that build social awareness and community.
If you need new ideas for group work to use in your high school classroom then this blog post is for you. It includes 3 fantastic ideas and a free download!
Friend April 1986 Try to figure out what the riddle is about (missionaries). Read the rebus clues. From the list choose the word that best describes the picture and draw a line from it to the pictu…
Team-Building in a Student-Led Classroom
Perfect anger management strategy activity to teach students strategies while keeping it fun! They'll remember this quick activity all year long!
Fun and engaging ESL activities, games and worksheets in printable PDF format with full teacher's notes and answers for English teachers to use in class.
Five back to school science icebreaker activities to promote social emotional health of your grade 4 5 6 students on the first day of school.
This critical thinking activity is all about getting your students to think deeper and to synthesize in your elementary classrooms via forced relationships!
It's back to school time! Be successful and avoid the first year mistakes with these ideas about classroom management, organization, personal growth, and much more I wish I knew!
Can you work your way around the puzzle, solving the clues and changing one letter each time until you come back to the beginning?
