Improve high-level, critical thinking skills and you're sure to improve reading comprehension, problem solving, writing skills, and more! We’ve gathered five important higher-level thinking skills, defined the skill, and suggested a way for you to help improve that skill. These tips are a terrific way to give your students the tools they need for success in school as well...
Put a twist on your Valentine’s lessons with these heart-themed, science lessons, activities, and free downloads. They go beyond the mushy-gushy romance of V-day...although, we're not against that (see Secret Valentine Exchange)! Plus February is American Heart Month, so you can use these activities all month long to promote heart health awareness.
Getting to Know the Heart
Familiarize students with...
Maybe you want to promote a healthier classroom by getting your students up and moving through an activity, maybe your students are more tactile learners, or maybe you find that if your students are active they are more focused and well-behaved throughout the rest of the day. Whatever your motivation, we've got some "active" math games to get your...
‘Tis the seasons for celebrations and gift giving! It's easy to make this generous season part of your math, writing, science, and thinking lessons with these tips. Plus students will love giving and receiving these gift-themed activities.
Gift Stations ~ Math
Fill several different size boxes with random dollar store gifts and wrap them or use the dollar store gift boxes--no...
There is a lot of buzz about teaching students "grit." The word is gaining excitement and controversy, and no matter where you stand on the debate, it's hard to deny that encouraging students to have grit and perseverance can't be a bad thing. The idea of "grit" is like when if you fall off your bike, you pick yourself...
You and your students will love this unique writing exercise! This activity meets the writing standards and will align with your history lessons about the pilgrims, Native Americans, the Mayflower, and the first Thanksgiving. You can even use this activity to assess students' understanding and knowledge.
Instructions: Imagine you were a passenger on the Mayflower. Now that you are in...
October 30 is Candy Corn Day. Yep, you read that right. Candy corn has a day dedicated to it! Instead of eating the entire jumbo-sized bag of candy corn you just bought to celebrate this new-found “holiday,” try incorporating it into these activities for your students.
Use these candy corn templates <free download> to use with the below activities or...
October is a great time to make this super-fruit the center of your lessons on observation, measurement, problem solving, seeds and growth, and more. For these activities, you will need one to two large pumpkins. Let's start by introducing students to the pumpkin with their senses.
Sensory Boxes
You will need:
Fresh/raw pumpkin seeds
Cooked or store-bought pumpkin seeds
...
We've got a game-plan to win over your students’ attention! Dive headfirst into a sports themed lesson plan with these game-winning ideas!
Geography
Give each student a blank U.S. map <free download>. Have students use an Atlas to locate their favorite team’s home city and state. Have students mark their blank map with a star on the home city. Then each...
Every class will have a student or two who struggles with sitting still, paying attention, or staying on task. How you handle these students can affect that student’s learning as well as the rest of the class’s ability to learn and focus. Kids are kids and they need to have fun and release energy, but they also must learn...
