Classroom subject areas
World War I can be confusing to modern students. Here are some lesson plans that help make sense of the events and the experience. Virtual Field Trip FreshPlans enjoyed a visit to the World War I memorial in Kansas City. Visit the online exhibit of the National World War I… Continue reading
Those of us who teach Shakespeare can easily be overwhelmed by the — literally — millions of online resources on Shakespeare. You don’t have to spend hours clicking around looking for the best ones, because we already did it for you. First, the plays: The Complete Works: all the words… Continue reading
Othello is a tale of love, jealousy, murder, war, and betrayal. It’s a great story, with enough action to motivate students who find the language difficult to struggle through it, and poetry that makes reading the play a pleasure. In the play, Othello, a war hero visiting Venice, falls… Continue reading
Jeff Rivera’s books paint a picture of what happens when things go down the toilet that can make a fun introduction to the idea of wastewater treatment. Here are our favorite lesson plans for Um, Mommy, I Think I Flushed My Brother Down the Toilet and Um, Mommy, I… Continue reading
What’s a rain garden? It’s a lowered garden bed planted with deep-rooted plants which will enjoy being watered by the standing water that pools when it rains hard. They can be planted in areas that already form puddles, or rain that collects on a roof or a paved area can… Continue reading
In studying exploration, we tend to focus on the conquistadors of Spain and the great explorers of Italy: Columbus, Magellan, Da Gama, Vespucchi, and Cortez. When we’re thinking of exploration in North America, though, we should remember the French explorers. There were French explorers during the Great Age of… Continue reading
Enjoy some imaginative learning fun with Trout Fishing in America’s song “Big Trouble,” a song expressing the trepidation a kid feels when he thinks about his parents coming home and finding the mayhem caused when “the monsters came to my house to play.” The monsters may be fantasy and fiction,… Continue reading
The Ozark Folk Center is a state park in Mountain View, Arkansas, where a mountain town has been recreated as living history. Here visitors can get a greater understanding of the life of American pioneers. Certainly, most of the people in a town like this in the 1800s would… Continue reading
Here’s Lefty, one of the lucky sheep living at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Lefty, like all sheep, grows wool. Sheep have been raised for wool, as well as for milk and meat, for centuries. In fact, sheep are among the earliest domestic animals. Studying about sheep can include… Continue reading
Once you have something to say, it’s time to organize the information and get it written down. Use the Pirate Writing Organization Sheet top explore several different ways of organizing information: Chronological order makes sense when you’re telling a story or describing events that happened in time. Smithsonian’s story… Continue reading
