Writing well involves choosing the right words — exactly the right words — to say what you want to say. This is easier if you know more words. For that reason, as well as the benefit for a reader or test taker of having a large vocabulary, it’s worth studying… Continue reading
Integrating writing into math lessons, and vice versa, can be challenging. After all, the main point of equations is to avoid having to put complex things into words. On the other hand, for many people, one of the great things about words is that they allow you to avoid… Continue reading
Things have changed so much in teaching, and they change so frequently, that it might be reassuring to reflect that the teaching of writing has changed almost not at all since Ancient Greece. There have been some changes, essentially in three areas: Technology, from an increasing emphasis on written instead… Continue reading
Snow is a terrific classroom theme, but you can step it up and study with snowmen, too. Enjoy some snowman books: The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll The Snowman by Raymond Briggs; the wordless DVD has wonderful music and animation. A Snowman Named Just Bob isn’t great poetry,… Continue reading
David Allen’s organizational system Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (those in the know call it “GTD”) promises stress-free productivity. Doesn’t that sound good right about now? GTD is different from classic time management in a couple of ways: First, instead of working from the top down (…where you want to… Continue reading
Study animals in winter for a satisfying science lesson. Continue reading
Germany is the home of Christmas trees and gingerbread, two aspects of the German celebration that have become well entrenched in American tradition. Click on the links to find plenty of classroom activities for both those topics. Don’t stop there! German Christmas traditions involve lots of handmade decorations. One that… Continue reading
Christmas is celebrated in many parts of the world, and the traditions for celebrating it vary from one country and region to another. This makes it a great way to study geography, and we also have ideas for art, math, English, and science under specific countries. Basic plans: Map it! Travel… Continue reading
Here are some of our favorite ideas for Christmas Around the World lessons for England. The Jolly Christmas Postman is the holiday version of Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s famous The Jolly Postman. As in the first book, we follow the postman as he delivers the mail on his bicycle. And… Continue reading
Is Christmas actually celebrated at the North Pole? We think so. Examining this question lets you look at both actual and fictional geography. The North Pole is not on land, actually, but on ice in international waters. The countries nearby include Canada, the United States (Alaska, specifically), Russia, Greenland, Iceland,… Continue reading
