Students explore part-whole relationships while creating unique designs! This math art project was discovered by my mentor teacher. Second and third graders were asked to create art using geometric pattern blocks. The only catch was that their design had to be half yellow, meaning they had to base their artwork around yellow hexagon blocks. Before constructing[…]Continue Reading
With a classroom of twenty to thirty students, it’s sometimes difficult to create intricate projects around the holidays. Below are simple gift ideas that students can make that won’t break your budget. Tape Resist Cork Coasters Students create cool line design coasters! You can buy a set of 4 cork coasters at Ikea for 99 cents.[…]Continue Reading
The Nature Conservancy’s Nature Works Everywhere site has fantastic resources for teachers and students. The site provides educators with free lesson plans and videos that promote higher-level thinking in conjunction with good citizenship. Below are 10 lessons and videos from Nature Works that you can integrate into your curriculum. Plus, there are additional resources included to[…]Continue Reading
Looking for a minimalist tech tool that is easy for elementary students to navigate and promotes the design process and critical thinking skills? Have them create a popplet! Popplet is a digital mind mapping tool. Students play around with colors, box sizes and type hierarchy. They can insert videos from youtube or add a link from[…]Continue Reading
Make math meaningful with these fun projects that allow your students’ creativity to shine! Post-It Note Math Integrate math and art with this collaborative project. Divide students up into groups. First, students map out their design on graph paper, creating a multiplication array. Their design can be square or rectangular. When they’re finished sketching it[…]Continue Reading
Instead of focusing on bats, pumpkins and candy this Halloween, talk to your students about how they can make a difference! Not all children have the luxury of looking forward to collecting candy. Some children worry about having clean water, food, medicine and an education. By Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF, your students can make a huge[…]Continue Reading
Invite students to learn about the four types of sentences by playing a kinesthetic game (four corners) and creating a digital selfie comic strip! Objectives 1. I can identify the four types of sentences: declarative, imperative, interrogative and exclamatory. 2. I can create a digital selfie comic strip with the four types of sentences. 3.[…]Continue Reading
Explore bubble-gum blowing by tying it in with academic subject areas! Graphing Create a graph that shows how many students can blow bubbles vs. how many students cannot. Students who know how to blow bubbles can write a how-to to help peers learn the skill of bubble making. Students who have difficulty can write about[…]Continue Reading
Storypath units promote children as active participants in their own learning. Students learn about topics through cross-curricular connections woven into an imaginative real-world scenario. They role-play and make critical decisions independently and collaboratively. Invite your students on a rock band adventure! This unit integrates Common Core standards with project-based learning. Students discover that what they[…]Continue Reading
If you’re planning your back-to-school lessons, consider inviting students to share how they are experts on a chosen topic. Your students will discover that each of their peers has something unique to contribute to the classroom. They will show off their expertise, learn about their classmates’ special skills, and find out how different traits and[…]Continue Reading
Here are some clever ways to use Styrofoam cups to teach math, English language arts, social studies and science! MATH 1. M, M, M, R: Learn about mean, median, mode and range through a stacking competition—no nesting cups allowed! Teams of two race to stack as many cups as they can in one minute. When[…]Continue Reading
