Teacher Resources

Create a Word Graveyard to Teach Synonyms October 25 2010, 0 Comments

This spooky Halloween activity will help your students banish overused words from your classroom while learning how to use a thesaurus.

Freaky Friday Giveaway: Halloween Riddles! October 22 2010, 15 Comments

Using riddles in the classroom is fun for everyone. Enter your answer to this special Halloween riddle and be entered to win!

Monday Minute - Chocolate November 02 2009, 1 Comment

In the two days since Halloween, I've probably eaten more chocolate than I have since...okay, the truth is, I don't really eat more during this time of year than others. But I have found a lovely quote that connects eating chocolate with great intelligence.

Pumpkin Patrol: Trick-or-Treat Candy Graph October 29 2009, 0 Comments

What will you do with your students after the trick-or-treating is all done? Here's a math lesson that uses their Halloween candy stash to practice graphing.

Pumpkin Patrol: Celebrating "The Great Pumpkin" October 28 2009, 1 Comment

Have you ever taken a few moments to reflect on the educational insights and activities provided by Snoopy and The Peanuts gang? I've included the first set to use with The Great Pumpkin, a must for your classroom for this time of year!

Pumpkin Patrol - History of Halloween October 27 2009, 0 Comments

The rich history of Halloween lends itself to interesting discussions, questions and explorations. Included is a brief history to get your kids started, along with some tips and suggestions to help them process and expand on this high-interest subject matter.

Pumpkin Patrol - Jack-O-Lantern History October 26 2009, 0 Comments

Carving pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns is a fun Halloween tradition, but how did this practice get started? Explore the origins of the jack-o-lantern with your students using age-appropriate lessons, then help them create their own reasons for carving pumpkins!

Pumpkin Games & Lessons for Halloween Week! October 23 2009, 0 Comments

Here's a reference list for quick and easy lesson plan ideas this week!

Take a peak under each heading for free lesson plans and printable templates.

Language Arts & Writers' Workshop:

Student Books - Free printable template with free overhead transparencies for a Writers' Workshop lesson.
Ad-libs, similes and metaphors - Scroll down to the links for the worksheets to print.
Word Search - This is a great filler activity for the week of Halloween. When I taught 2nd grade, I used Puzzle Maker for our spelling words and science words.

Math:

Scarecrow Math - Free printable. All elementary grades can enjoy this lesson. Teaches addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Pumpkin Patrol Math - You'll need a pumpkin for this one.

Science:

Bat Echolocation - Lesson & Craft
Pumpkin Patrol Science

Crafts:

Poems & Songs

Online Games for the Computer Lab:

Apples 4 the Teacher - Scroll way down to see the list.
American Girls - Pumpkin Bounce
Sesame Street - Zoe's Halloween, Dress Elmo for Fall, Make a Monster
Pumpkin Patrol Technology - Scroll down to "Pumpkin Places" and you'll see a list of games.

More Surprises This Week:

We add more each week, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back soon.

Pumpkin Writing - Free Book October 23 2009, 0 Comments

Here's a free template to use for student created books.

Instructions:

Print out the free book template.
If you would like to have lines on both sides, copy on both sides. If you would like to have one page for illustrations, only copy the lined pages on one side.
Fold the pages in half inside the cover.
Staple the lined pages inside the cover.
Teacher uses the free story web, writing process and parts of a story to review the writing process.
Students complete the story web.
Students write the stories on draft paper/scratch paper.
Students proofread their stories.
Students write the stories in the books.
Students share the stories with each other.

Extension Activities:

Technology- Students use Kid Pix to create a sideshow of their stories!
Math- Use this free template for a math lesson and create books telling the math stories.

Story Ideas:

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch
The Scarecrow
Halloween Night
Trick-or-Treating
My Halloween Costume
My Halloween Party
Scarecrow Math - Write a book about the math problems. (e.g. Subtraction math problem. Student writes a story about how there were 6 pumkins, but a crow ate 2. How many are there now? Why wasn't the scarecrow able to protect the pumkins from the crow? What happened?)

Each student can use a story web before writing the story.

Free "Scarecrow Math" Lesson Plan! October 23 2009, 0 Comments

You get to choose what type of problem you want your students to solve. Each "Scarecrow Math" problem solves an addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problem!

This lesson is easy to differentiate depending upon the assessed math skills of the child.

Appropriate for Grades K-3

Each child can create any of the following types of word problems:

Addition - Add all the scarecrows on the page. Add all the pumpkins on the page.

Subtraction - Draw a crow eating the pumpkins to subtract pumpkins.

Division- Dividing the pumpkins being protected from the crows by a scarecrow of their own solves the the division problem.

Multiplication - Multiplying the pumpkins around each scarecrow solves the multiplication problem.

The student writes the word problem on the paper.

Materials:

Free "Scarecrow Math" template
Scissors
Green or yellow construction paper
Crayons
Glue
Orange glitter

Directions for the Multiplication and Division Problems:

Decide what the numbers will be. (e.g. 3 x 2 = 6 and 6 ÷ 2 = 3).
Color & cut out the pumpkins and scarecrows to make the problem.
Glue the pumpkins around the scarecrows to create the problem.
(e.g. 2 scarecrows, 6 pumpkins, 3 pumpkins being protected by each scarecrow.)
Write the numbers showing the problems underneath the picture showing the problems.
(e.g. 3 x 2 = 6 and 6 ÷ 2 = 3).