The Joy of Teaching

Sharing creative ideas and lessons to help children learn

April 22, 2024
by Heather Foudy
0 comments

Better than a Spelling Bee: The Ultimate Resource to Build Spelling Skills

Do you struggle to find fun spelling activities that motivate students to master their spelling lists? Even with the invention of spellcheckers, beginning spelling skills still serve as a cornerstone for early reading foundations and contribute significantly to the development of vocabulary and reading comprehension. Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox printables provide engaging and fun spelling activities and weekly tests, including weekly units from Evan-Moor’s Building Spelling Skills books. The easy-to-use spelling units for grades 1–6 are easy to preview on a screen or print. Quickly find spelling word lists, word searches, puzzles, games, and center activities to help students learn the most important words in each grade level.

Spelling worksheets are at your fingertips with TeacherFileBox, Evan-Moor’s digital and printable lesson library. Browse these engaging spelling activities:

Weekly Spelling Lists and Activities

Grade 1

Focus: short “a” words

Skills: memorizing, contextualizing, rhyming, and studying word meaning

Find the activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 2

Focus: digraphs “oo” and “wh”

Skills: memorizing, visualizing, and studying word meaning

Find the activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 3

Focus: digraphs “ch,” “sh,” “th,” “wh,” and the syllable “sh”

Skills: memorizing, visualizing, and studying word meaning

Find the activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 4

Focus: words with easily confused spellings

Skills: contextualizing, studying word meaning, correcting misspellings

Find the activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 5

Focus: final “l” sound, multisyllabic words, and schwa sound

Skills: contextualizing, studying word meaning, correcting misspellings, and syllable matching

Find the activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 6

Focus: plural forms of words

Skills: studying word meaning, dictating, and correcting misspellings

Find the activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Colorful and Creative Spelling Activities

Grade 1

This printable focuses on spelling, reading, and grammar, all while focusing on words with the “oo.” Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 2

Students work to form compound words in this printable matching-picture game here. Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 3–4

In this activity, have students use a letter bank to create words surrounding the letters “in”. Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Play the “Word-a-Thon” game to form as many words as possible with the grid of letters provided. Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Grade 4

This story and the accompanying crossword, word search, and poetry activities work students through r-controlled vowels (er, or, ear) and the vowel “o”. Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

For additional spelling activities flip through this curated book of spelling games for fourth graders.

Grade 5

This spelling unit includes words with digraphs “ch,” “th,” and “wh” and includes a word search, creative writing challenges, punctuation activities, and more. Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Ten–Minute Spelling Games For Grades 1-3

Grammar Using “I”

With this first-letter shapes game, have kids rewrite a spelling word over and over again in the shape of the word’s first letter. Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Goose-Spot Game

In this pattern identification game, have students identify “goose spots,” or words with double letters. Find this activity on TeacherFileBox here.

Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox printables make lesson planning a snap. The diverse spelling activities and games provide engaging learning experiences for kids. With over 80,000 lesson units available for grades PreK–6, TeacherFileBox makes it easy to build your spelling curriculum. In addition to spelling lessons, TeacherFileBox also includes lesson units across the curriculum for grades PreK–6 in math, language, writing, science, geography, social studies, STEM/STEAM, SEL, and more! Save your favorite printables in your personal account—and print lessons, project them onto a screen, or share them in your Google Classroom!

Try TeacherFileBox for free for 14 days and browse spelling printables and activity ideas.

Natalie Robinson is a recent Communication Studies graduate from LMU. She has a strong passion for writing and loves children. Having grown up in a Montessori school and later transitioning to public school, Natalie values early childhood education and believes that social and emotional learning should be a core tenet within all homes and classrooms. In writing for Evan-Moor, Natalie hopes to build a career in copywriting and copyediting.

April 1, 2024
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

Five Ways to Boost Your Child’s Thinking Skills with Brain Games

In today’s digital age, where screens seem to dominate every aspect of our lives, it’s more important than ever to carve out space for screen-free activities, especially for your children. While technology undoubtedly offers incredible learning opportunities, there’s a special magic in the simplicity of unplugged, hands-on activities. Enter brain games—a captivating and enriching way to engage young minds while promoting screen-free learning at home.

Check out the free printables from Brain Games and Activities below.

Five Benefits of Brain Games and Activities

Brain games, challenges, and brain teasers offer a myriad of benefits for children of all ages.

Cognitive Development: Brain games stimulate various cognitive functions such as memory, attention, problem solving, and logical reasoning. By engaging in these activities, your kids can exercise their mental muscles, leading to enhanced cognitive development.
Critical Thinking: Brain games encourage children to think critically, analyze information, and make decisions. Through activities that involve logic, reasoning, and creative thinking, your child can develop essential problem-solving skills that are invaluable in both academic and real-life situations.
Language Development: Many brain games involve language-based activities such as word searches, puzzles, and riddles, which can help improve vocabulary, spelling, and language comprehension skills.
Social Interaction: Some brain games can be done collaboratively, fostering teamwork, communication, and social interaction among children. These activities provide opportunities for kids to learn from one another and develop important social skills.
Screen-Free Fun: In a world saturated with screens, providing kids with opportunities for screen-free fun is crucial for promoting balance and healthy development. Brain games offer a refreshing alternative to digital entertainment, allowing your children to engage in enriching activities without the distractions of screens.

Ways to Include Brain Games in Your Child’s Routine

Incorporating brain games and activities into your child’s routine is easy and fun. Here are some tips for home:

Set Aside Dedicated Time: Designate a specific time each day or week for brain games and activities. Whether it’s after school, before bedtime, or on weekends, having a consistent routine will help ensure that brain games become a regular part of your child’s schedule. Researchers recommend just 15 minutes of time devoted to simple and challenging brain exercises.
Make It a Family Affair: Get the whole family involved in brain games and activities. Whether it’s working on puzzles together or competing in a friendly word search challenge, involving the whole family can make screen-free learning even more enjoyable.
Encourage Creativity: Brain games and activities provide opportunities for children to express their creativity and imagination. Encourage your child to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions to challenges.
Celebrate Achievements: Celebrate your child’s accomplishments and progress in brain games activities. Whether it’s completing a challenging puzzle or finding all the hidden words in a word search, acknowledging your child’s efforts will help boost their confidence and motivation.
Have a book like Brain Games and Activities: Keeping a colorful activity book on hand for car trips and school breaks is a great way to keep kids screen free and provide instant boredom busters.

Evan-Moor’s Brain Games and Activities book is a treasure trove of screen-free fun for children ages 4–11. Packed with entertaining and educational activities, including puzzles, word searches, mazes, and more, this activity book provides hours of engaging entertainment while promoting cognitive development and critical thinking skills. Try these free activities below.

Free Brain Games and Activities Worksheets

Brain Games and Activities Ages 4-5

Get the free “Fun with Numbers” printable here.

Brain Games and Activities Ages 6-7

Get the free “Castle Project” printable here.

Brain Games and Activities Ages 8-9

Get the free “Crack the Code” printable here.

Brain Games and Activities Ages 10-11

Get the free “Find the Word” printable here.

By incorporating Brain Games and Activities into your child’s routine and promoting screen-free learning at home, you’re not only providing them with valuable educational opportunities, but also fostering a love for learning that will last a lifetime.

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.

February 8, 2024
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

6 Steps to Teach Students How to Write a Biography

Biographies are a key genre in storytelling. We wouldn’t know as much about Albert Einstein, Maya Angelou, Abraham Lincoln, or Mother Teresa if it weren’t for biographies! Even in our day-to-day lives, we share biographies when talking about other people, famous or not. A biography gives important information about a person’s life and describes major events in the order in which they happened.

Informational Writing and Biographies

Reading biographies is a critical part of learning in all school subjects; however, learning how to write biographies is just as imperative. Biographies are a type of informational writing or writing that aims to explain a topic to a reader. An informational text is not always about a person like a biography; an informational text might be about animals, science experiments, or historical events. Learning how to do informational writing is special, as kids can then effectively communicate what they learn to others. When studying informational writing, children learn skills such as research, note-taking, and organizing facts. More specifically, writing biographies teaches children how to recount history, think chronologically, identify major events, synthesize information, and retell stories creatively.

Steps to Teaching Biographies

Introduce a biography and read it together.

The first step in teaching how to write a biography is explaining what a biography is by providing an example of one.

This free Evan-Moor “Writing A Biography” lesson from Nonfiction Writing grade two includes guided instruction and practice activities to help students understand the important elements in a biography.

Download this “Writing a Biography” unit here.

While reading the biography that you selected to share with the children, ask questions such as:

What is the purpose of the biography?
Why is this a good biography?
Does the first sentence say who it is about and why they are important?
Does the biography provide interesting facts about the person’s life?
Are the events told in the order in which they occurred?

Integrate biographies into students reading and have them read biographies to classmates to get familiar with the genre.

Find important information.

Remind your students that a biography gives important information about someone. To practice identifying important information, read a biography and ask the questions:

Who is the biography about?
When and where was this person born?
What is this person known for?

Reading Comprehension: Nonfiction includes in-depth reading units that help students learn how to analyze different nonfiction text structures such as biographies and science and social studies articles. Learn more about this series for grades 1-6 here.

This nonfiction reading unit from Reading Comprehension: Nonfiction tells the story of Benjamin Banneker and how his scientific accomplishments helped to change attitudes about African Americans. It includes close reading activities to guide students in identifying important information.

Download these free printables here.

Choose good details.

Not all information about a person is needed in a biography. Some facts are more important than others, which is why children should learn to choose only the necessary details. One way to teach children how to choose good details is to check in with them when reading a biography and ask:

Are these details important?
Which details are not important?

Write a good beginning.

A good beginning of a biography includes who the biography is about and why the person is important. This should appear in the very first sentence of the biography. Have students practice writing first sentences of biographies with two pieces of information: a name and why the person is important.

Organize a biography.

Biographies are organized chronologically. For the children to practice identifying events in the order in which they happened, have the kids numerically order a list of events and then turn the events into full sentences. You can even encourage the children to draw out a timeline.

Review and edit a biography.

The final step in teaching children to write a biography is to have them review a biography, pinpointing what was done well or what could be improved. After reading a biography together, review it by asking the questions:

Who is the biography about?
Why is the person important?
Does the very first sentence tell us who the person is and why they are important?
Are the details in chronological order?
What details are not important in the biography and can be excluded?

Introduce young minds to a wide range of remarkable people who have shaped our world. This close reading and research process not only helps young learners discover the lives of historical figures but also nurtures their reading, research, and critical thinking skills.

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Natalie Robinson is a recent Communication Studies graduate from LMU. She has a strong passion for writing and loves children. Having grown up in a Montessori school and later transitioning to public school, Natalie values early childhood education and believes that social and emotional learning should be a core tenet within all homes and classrooms. In writing for Evan-Moor, Natalie hopes to build a career in copywriting and copyediting.

January 30, 2024
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

Free Reading Printables for Black History Month

February marks Black History Month, alternatively known as African American History Month, dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of African Americans. This significant designation aims to shed light on and pay tribute to the accomplishments of Black Americans in United States history.

Outlined below are activities and books that spotlight the noteworthy successes of Black Americans who have made a significant impact on the world. By exploring the lives of these remarkable individuals, students can gain an understanding of the shared character traits that have empowered these figures to make a lasting impact on the world.

Introduce students to real people making a difference in the world right now with these free culturally responsive reading activities.

Download Free Activities

I Can Help Other People (Moziah Bridges’s Story) Grade 1

This reading unit explores the theme of children making a positive impact and emphasizes that one is never too young to lend a helping hand. The featured story introduces Moziah Bridges, a young boy who initiated his own business designing and selling bow ties, using the proceeds to support his community. Students might relate to their own experiences of assisting others, or they could discover how even young children can bring about significant change in the world. As you lead students through these discussions, take into account their diverse perspectives, encouraging them to share their experiences and relate the stories to their own lives.

Misty Copeland’s Story Grade 5

This reading unit centers on the idea of embracing one’s individuality and distinctiveness. Misty Copeland’s uniqueness stems from her late start in ballet, eventually becoming the first female African American principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. Misty’s story may resonate with students if they’ve felt different from others, offering them an opportunity to either connect with her experiences or discover new ways to take pride in their own uniqueness. As you lead students through these discussions, be mindful of their diverse perspectives, encouraging them to share their experiences and draw connections to their own lives.

Additional Units for Black History Month

These suggested reading units are from Evan-Moor’s Culturally Responsive Lessons and Activities teaching resource.

You Are Never Too Young to Help: Sidney Keys III’s Story Grade 2

This reading unit explores the idea that age is not a barrier to contributing and making a positive impact in your community. It emphasizes the concept of initiating the change you wish to see in the world. Illustrated through the story of Sidney Keys III, a ten-year-old boy with a stutter who had a passion for reading, the unit highlights how he identified the underrepresentation of black culture and African American literature in his book choices. Motivated to connect with other boys in the Black community, Sidney went on to establish Books N Bros, becoming its founder and CEO at a young age. The overarching theme of this unit is to acknowledge that individuals, regardless of their age, have the power to make a meaningful difference and give back to their community.

You Don’t Have to Wait for Permission: Mae Jemison’s Story Grade 4

This reading unit focuses on qualities such as persistence, bravery, and the proactive pursuit of one’s aspirations. Mae Jemison discovered that she didn’t need external permission to pursue her dreams and achieve her goals; instead, she took the initiative to forge her own path.

Celebrate the richness of Black history and these inspiring stories that continue to shape our world.

For more free lessons and activities check out Celebrating Black History Month.

Browse the entire book here and discover culturally responsive reading activities that include inspirational stories, hands-on activities, creative writing and drawing, and interactive games.

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.

100+ Printables to Teach Cursive

January 26, 2024
by Heather Foudy
0 comments

100+ Printables to Teach Cursive

Cursive might seem like a thing of the past, but it still remains an important skill that all children should learn. Learning cursive writing can provide various benefits for children’s cognitive and motor skill development. Cursive handwriting requires a different set of fine motor skills compared to printing, helping children refine their hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity. The continuous, flowing nature of cursive writing also encourages better hand control and rhythm. Additionally, the unique letter formations in cursive can enhance memory retention and recognition, as the interconnected letters form a distinct visual pattern. Research suggests that the act of physically writing in cursive can stimulate different areas of the brain, potentially aiding in overall cognitive development and learning.

Evan-Moor’s digital lesson library, TeacherFileBox, provides hundreds of cursive writing activities to help children learn and practice. From beginning to advanced cursive, TeacherFileBox printables include engaging activities that make learning fun. Many of our curated cursive activities are units from Evan-Moor’s Daily Handwriting Practice books for grades 1–6.

Download free sample activities from Daily Handwriting Practice here.

Practice makes perfect! Use these printables (for grades 2–6) to playfully engage children in practicing the basics of cursive letters:

View this TeacherFileBox printable here. With this activity, practice writing the letters A, B, C, D, and E. Repeat writing both uppercase and lowercase letters, then move to full sentences. This printable has a daily practice activity for each day of the week, rounding out the week by practicing lowercase letters with an e.e. cummings poem.

Work on cursive capital letters and the days of the week:

View this TeacherFileBox Printable here. Use this printable to practice the days of the week and alliterative sentences. Finish out the activity by copying a story in cursive.

Learn geography and cardinal directions while also learning cursive:

View this TeacherFileBox printable here. This daily practice activity works on capital letters and geographic vocabulary in cursive.

For younger kids (grades 2–3), try these creative activities:

View this Cursive: Alligator TeacherFileBox printable here.

This activity works on the capital and lowercase “A.” Students finish the activity by writing an original sentence about an alligator.

View this Cursive: Whale TeacherFileBox here.

This activity works on the capital and lowercase “W.” Students finish the activity by writing an original sentence about a whale.

View this TeacherFileBox Cursive: Dot-to-Dot printable here.

Create a hot air balloon picture with this connect-the-dot activity. Students connect dots of the A–Z cursive alphabet.

Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox printables are a great tool to help children learn cursive handwriting. The diverse cursive handwriting activities and games provide engaging learning experiences for kids. With over 80,000 lesson units available across PreK–6 grades, TeacherFileBox makes it easy to build your cursive handwriting curriculum. In addition to cursive handwriting lessons, TeacherFileBox also includes lesson units across the curriculum for grades PreK–6 in math, language, writing, science, geography, social studies, STEM/STEAM, SEL, and more! Save your favorite printables in your personal account—and print lessons, project them onto a screen, or share them in your Google Classroom! Try TeacherFileBox for free for 14 days and browse reading printables and activity ideas.

For more tips on teaching cursive, browse How to Teach My Child Cursive: Complete Instructions here.

Natalie Robinson is a recent Communication Studies graduate from LMU. She has a strong passion for writing and loves children. Having grown up in a Montessori school and later transitioning to public school, Natalie values early childhood education and believes that social and emotional learning should be a core tenet within all homes and classrooms. In writing for Evan-Moor, Natalie hopes to build a career in copywriting and copyediting.

November 6, 2023
by Heather Foudy
0 comments

Free 100th Day of School Printables and Activity Ideas

The 100th day of school is a major milestone during the school year and a great excuse to celebrate with special activities. We have some suggestions on how to make the 100th day of school just as exciting as the first day! Kick off the 100th day in the K–1 classroom with these ideas:

Evan-Moor’s printable activities:

Kindergarten

Practice listening and speaking skills, drawing, comprehension, and making inferences with the provided story about the 100th day of school. Find this printable here.

Grades K–1

This ocean-themed math reader and counting maze are a fun way to get children counting to 100. Find this printable unit here.

Counting by 5s Printable

This printable sticks to the “100 theme” and guides students through various activities to count by 5s until reaching 100. Find this printable here.

Grade 1

100 Days of School Thinking Skills Printable

This printable guides students through counting, recognizing patterns, identifying consonants versus vowels, and developing critical thinking skills. Find this printable here.

Brown Bag Math Book Printable

This is a directional and template printable that explains an activity designed to help students grasp big numbers. Students in groups create sets of ten “things” on a page, ultimately coming together to create a math book with sets of 10 or 100. Find this printable here.

Hands-on Art and Building Projects

When I am 100 Activity: Have students create self-portraits of what they will look like when they are 100 years old. They can draw their portraits or create portraits with construction paper for wrinkled skin and cotton balls for white hair. To take this activity further, students can look into the future and answer prompts such as:

“When I am 100 years old, my friends and I will. . .”
“When I am 100 years old, I will eat lots of. . .”
“When I am 100 years old, I will spend time. . .”
“When I am 100 years old, I will look. . .”

Create a photobooth: Have students decorate a “100-themed” background for a 100th day of school photoshoot with their friends. I remember doing this activity in kindergarten, and I still have the photograph with my best friend to this day!

Make cheerio necklaces: Give each student a piece of yarn and 100 Cheerios. Have students string the 100 Cheerios onto their yarn to create a big necklace. It’s fun to eat, too!

Build structures with 100 objects: Have students build structures or buildings with 100 Legos, 100 plastic cups, or 100 popsicle sticks and glue.

Go outside for this 100 Seconds Challenge. Find this printable here.

Arm circles
10 jumping jacks
Twist
Squats
Hop on one foot
Bounce a ball

List 100 things you’ve done or learned in the classroom:

Come together as a class and take turns listing 100 things that the students have done or learned in the classroom. Write these 100 things on a poster so students can proudly reflect on their learning and progress.

“100-themed” challenges:

Challenge students to read 100 books leading up to the 100th day of school.
Challenge students to take 100 steps each day.
Challenge students to log 100 acts of kindness during the school year.

Make it a dress-up day:

For the 100th day of school, have students come to class dressed up as if they were 100 years old.

Dice-roll game: Have students roll a die 100 times. Have them tally or keep track of how many times they roll a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. To take this activity to the next level, have the students graph their results.

Coin-flip game: Similarly to the dice-roll game, have students flip a coin 100 times and have them log how many times they flip a head or a tail. Students can also graph these results.

Add-to-100 game: Write a number on the board and have students call out what number would be added to equal 100. For example, if you wrote the number 82 on the board, students would call out the number 18.

Equation puzzle: For more advanced math, give students numbers and arithmetic operations. See if they can make an equation that equals 100 with the numbers provided using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate the 100th day of school with projects and games centered around art, math, physical exercise, and critical thinking skills. It is important to commemorate this day in the classroom because it encourages students to love learning and take pride in their accomplishments. Mark the 100th day of school on your calendars and don’t forget to incorporate our activities into your classroom this year!

For more 100 days of school ideas and printables across the PreK-6 curriculum, check out Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox. Get a free trial and print 50 pages of activities to use with your students!

Natalie Robinson is a recent Communication Studies graduate from LMU. She has a strong passion for writing and loves children. Having grown up in a Montessori school and later transitioning to public school, Natalie values early childhood education and believes that social and emotional learning should be a core tenet within all homes and classrooms. In writing for Evan-Moor, Natalie hopes to build a career in copywriting and copyediting.

October 3, 2023
by Heather Foudy
0 comments

World Kindness Day Activities

Every day is the perfect day to spread joy and compassion; however, there’s no better day to learn about and encourage kindness than on World Kindness Day. This day of awareness began in 1998 when world kindness organizations from 28 nations came together to launch the first ever World Kindness Day. Now, on November 13th, adults and children around the globe annually pledge themselves to committing acts of kindness in honor of World Kindness Day. When we demonstrate and learn about empathy at a young age, it brings us closer to achieving the world kindness organizations’ collective goal of creating a kinder world. As educators, it is imperative that we promote kindness both inside and outside the classroom through social and emotional learning (SEL).

Below are some of our favorite social and emotional learning activities, along with some ideas for kindness projects, to celebrate World Kindness Day.

Commit yourself to kindness.

In the spirit of World Kindness Day, start by committing to be more kind. Sign a pledge or take an oath with the children. You can even challenge them to do one act of kindness each day.

Share stories about when someone treated you kindly and how it made you feel.

Have children take turns recounting times when they felt compassion from someone else.

Make a list of various acts of kindness to complete.

An “acts of kindness list” provides good examples and holds the kids accountable. The children can even get creative and brainstorm these acts of kindness on their own.

Read a story centered around kindness.

Not only will children practice reading comprehension, they will also come to understand kindness better through the story.

Top 15 books that teach empathy and kindness to children! This book list provides lots of ideas for grades PreK-6!

Track acts of kindness and spread love with kindness cards

Keeping track of acts of kindness inspires kids to continue being kind in the future. Create a wall with student names and a paper folder or bucket underneath each name. Assign each student a partner and have them write something kind about the other person and put it in their bucket or folder. Work with students each week to share notes of encouragement and kindness with other students in the classroom.

By writing and delivering positive messages, the children can recognize the kindness in others while also doing something kind for others. These kindness hearts and messages from Social and Emotional Learning Activities for grades 1-2 provide great examples of how to show kindness to others.

Kindness Hearts Activity

Download these free SEL activities from Social and Emotional Learning Activities here.

Teach kindness to oneself.

You can’t forget to be kind to yourself while also being kind to others. Have children write out their personal goals and coping strategies, as this allows kids to be more patient with themselves and navigate what to do in times when they are not treated with kindness. Download this free kindness activity for grades 3-4 from Social and Emotional Learning Activities here.

World Kindness Day is a fantastic reminder that children should start observing, learning, and practicing kindness at a young age. Not only are these activities beneficial to the children, they are also beneficial to the teacher or parent, as they encourage positive behavior development; this allows for better classroom management and even creates a more inclusive classroom.

Are you looking for more SEL activities? Check out these free sample printables from Social and Emotional Learning Activities here.

For additional lesson ideas on kindness and more, browse Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox printables for grades PreK–6. Try it for free for 14 days. School discounts are available. Learn more here.

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Natalie Robinson is a recent Communication Studies graduate from LMU. She has a strong passion for writing and loves children. Having grown up in a Montessori school and later transitioning to public school, Natalie values early childhood education and believes that social and emotional learning should be a core tenet within all homes and classrooms. In writing for Evan-Moor, Natalie hopes to build a career in copywriting and copyediting.

September 26, 2023
by Heather Foudy
0 comments

31 Halloween Activities and Free Printables for October

When we think of Halloween, we think of pumpkins, bats, witches, and, of course, the memorable classroom Halloween parties. These spooky chemistry experiments, creepy art projects, pumpkin writing, and free Halloween printables are a great addition to any classroom party or classroom activity.

Free Halloween Printables for Grades PreK–6

These fun and free Halloween-themed worksheets from Evan-Moor include hidden pictures, word searches, coloring pages, Halloween writing prompts, thinking skills, drawing, patterning, and more! The free Halloween printables will keep students’ minds engaged in learning, amidst the spirited fun of the day. (32 printable activity pages for grades PreK–6)

Get Free Halloween Printables

Halloween Arts, Crafts, and Activities

Make and Hang Paper Spiders

Dangling paper spiders are simple to make and can become instant classroom décor or inspire spider-themed lessons and activities. Get the step-by-step instructions here.

Create Paper Skeletons

With simple art supplies and a skeleton pattern, your students can make paper skeletons. Browse this article for free skeleton printables and related activity ideas here.

Draw a Haunted House

All you need is a blank piece of paper and a writing journal for each student to have students draw a house and write a spooky story about it. Students can share their stories and illustrations with the class.

Decorate a Pumpkin

As a kid, this was always my favorite activity at my local Halloween fair. Bring in mini pumpkins for the students or have them bring in their own. Use markers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and glitter glue for them to decorate their pumpkins. It is the most adorable way to get everyone in the spirit and decorate the students’ desks around Halloween.

Host a Parade

Encourage students to dress up in their Halloween costumes. Then, have the students show off their creative costumes with a classroom parade.

Put Together a Spooky Mystery “Touch and Feel” Bag

In a paper bag, put items such as cotton balls for cobwebs, corn flakes for toenails, nuts and bolts for Frankenstein parts, raisins for witches’ warts, and gauze for mummy skin. Without looking in the bag, have students touch the objects in the bag and, on a piece of paper, write down adjectives to describe different textures that they can feel in the bag. After they describe the objects and guess what’s inside, reveal all of the secret objects.

Spooky Science Experiments

Spooky Slime Chemistry Experiment

Create some spooky slime with these simple ingredients and answer the question, “is slime a solid or liquid?” (The answer may surprise you.) Slime is a wonderful example of how two different substances can combine to form a new substance, which is created after the chemical reaction between the two main ingredients: polyvinyl alcohol and borate ion.

Ingredients and supplies:

Water
Glue
Food coloring
Laundry detergent
Bags or jars

Directions:

Measure ½ cup of water and pour it into a bowl.
Mix in ½ cup of glue.
Squeeze in a few drops of orange, purple, or green food coloring.
Stir in about ¼ cup of liquid laundry detergent.
Knead the slime with both hands until it’s firm.

Divide the slime and store in bags or jars.

Witches’ Brew Chemistry Experiment

This bubbling concoction is a fun way to demonstrate chemical reactions. The reaction between the hydrogen peroxide and the yeast is called an exothermic reaction. You will feel warmth on the outside of the container because energy is being released. The yeast helps to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide, creating tons of tiny bubbles that make all that cool foam. Experiment with various sizes of containers and watch how the mixture foams differently. And there you have your witches’ brew!

Ingredients and supplies:

Dish soap
Yeast
Newspaper
Hydrogen peroxide
Green food coloring
Dish soap
Different sizes of containers or small plastic cauldrons

Directions:

Put out newspaper; this could get a bit messy!
Pour ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide into a container.
Add about 10 drops of green food coloring for the witches’ brew effect.
Mix in 1 tablespoon of dish soap.
In a separate cup, mix a packet of yeast into warm water and stir for 30 seconds.
When ready for the foaming chemical reaction to make the witches’ brew, add the yeast and water mixture to the beaker.

Halloween is a fun time of year for both teachers and students. Be sure to enjoy the holiday with all of these fang-tastic activities that everyone will love!

For more Halloween activities, browse 20 October and Halloween-Themed Writing Prompts.

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Natalie Robinson is a recent Communication Studies graduate from LMU. She has a strong passion for writing and loves children. Having grown up in a Montessori school and later transitioning to public school, Natalie values early childhood education and believes that social and emotional learning should be a core tenet within all homes and classrooms. In writing for Evan-Moor, Natalie hopes to build a career in copywriting and copyediting.

September 18, 2023
by Heather Foudy
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Hands-On Reading Games and Activities for Kids

Engaging children in literacy games is an excellent way to make learning fun and interactive. These hands-on reading games, art projects, reading centers and active reading activities from TeacherFileBox printables are great for kinesthetic learners and make reading interactive and enjoyable!

Hands-On Alphabet Letter Activities

Create an “S” poster, a recipe for spaghetti, spider and skunk activities, and more with this fun alphabet unit.

The Letter “S”

These alphabet puppet activities and picture cards create fun sound/letter matching games for beginning readers.

Alphabet Puppets

Word Building with Manipulatives

Provide students with manipulatives like magnetic letters, letter tiles, or foam letters to build words. Encourage them to manipulate the letters, blend sounds, and create new words. This hands-on approach strengthens phonics skills, word recognition, and spelling abilities. For a fun classroom center activity, provide students with their weekly spelling list and have them build the words with letter tiles before writing them.

This first grade spelling list from TeacherFileBox is a great way to introduce new words.

Building Spelling Skills Short “i” Grade 1.

Word-Family Games

Learning word families can be fun with these center activity games for up to six players! Improve word recognition skills and reading fluency with these activities.

These vocabulary centers presents a word game similar to bingo in which students listen for word families!

Four-in-a-row Game (“ig” and “un”)

Four-in-a-Row (“-ound” and “-ead”)

Hands-On Sequencing Activities

These short story sequencing activities from TeacherFileBox printables are a fun way to have children show the order of events in a story.

Sequencing Birds

Sequencing In the Sea

Book-Based Art Projects:

Extend the reading experience by incorporating art activities inspired by books. Encourage students to create illustrations, dioramas, or crafts related to the stories they’ve read. This not only reinforces comprehension but also encourages creativity and self-expression. These activities from TeacherFileBox printables include fun, hands-on book reports!

Create and decorate a book cover for your favorite reading book! Book Cover

Brainstorm selling points for a reading book and create an advertisement. Advertisement for a Book.

This fun activity unit includes The Tortoise and the Hare fable along with hands-on headband art to help young children retell the story with pictures. Tales with Headbands: The Tortoise and the Hare.

Reading Center Activities

Phonics Games Syllable Count Game for 6 Players: This colorful and fun game is a great way to have children practice syllable counting.

Take It to Your Seat Literacy Centers Get to the Root of It: Practice identifying root words with this colorful reading center activity.

Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox printables are a great tool to help children learn to read. The diverse reading activities and games provide engaging reading experiences for kids. With thousands of reading activities, parents and teachers can create a reading curriculum around every child’s abilities and interests.

With over 80,000 lesson units available across PreK–6 grades, TeacherFileBox makes it easy to build your reading curriculum. In addition to reading lessons, TeacherFileBox also includes lesson units across the curriculum for grades PreK–6 in math, language, writing, science, geography, social studies, STEM/STEAM, SEL, and more! Save your favorite printables in your personal account—and print lessons, project them onto a screen, or share them in your Google Classroom!

Try TeacherFileBox for free for 14 days and browse reading printables and activity ideas.

For more reading lessons from Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox printables, see Helping Children Learn to Read with Phonics, Sight Words, Reading Comprehension and More!

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.

September 15, 2023
by Heather Foudy
0 comments

National Bullying Prevention Month Activities for Elementary Students

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and the timing couldn’t be better to remind students how to have a bully-free school year and create a positive classroom culture.

National Bullying Prevention Month unites communities nationwide to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention, and while the focus is during October, the life lessons for a kinder, safer community can be carried throughout the year.

How to Create a Safe Zone in Your Classroom
Involving students in establishing bullying prevention rules helps them to recognize what bullying is, how it affects people, and what students can do to stop it or to ask for help. Making your classroom a “safe zone” positively affects your classroom culture and reinforces behaviors and attitudes that students take onto the playground, onto the school bus, and to after-school activities.

Free Posters: Use these posters to help establish your safe-zone messaging in your classroom.

Download 6 posters here (11 x 17 tabloid size)

Download 6 posters here (8.5 x 11 paper size)

Printing note: You may need to adjust your printer for 11×17 paper. Go to “Page Set Up” in your printer settings and change the paper size to “Tabloid (11 x 17 inches).”

Five Anti-Bullying Activities for Elementary School Students

1. Talk About What Bullying Is

Before you guide students in a discussion about what bullying is, you may want to take some time to review the different types of bullying that can occur. The website stopbulling.gov is a great resource and a quick read. website what is bullying.gov

Depending on students’ ages and grade levels, the nature of their understanding of bullying will vary. Have students share what they know about bullying. Use the questions below to get the discussion started. Guide students in understanding what bullying behaviors are.

What does “bullying” mean to you?
Why do you think people bully?
Have you ever felt scared to go to school because you were afraid of bullying?
Have you left other kids out on purpose? Do you think that was bullying?

2. Talk About How to Prevent Bullying

Parents, teachers, and other school staff play an important role in preventing bullying. Help students understand their role in preventing bullying. Again, stopbullying.gov provides valuable guidance on this topic. website stop bullying.gov

Guide students in a discussion about how to stand up for themselves safely and how to get help. Make sure students understand what policies your school has in place to help stop bullying.

3. Explain What a Safe Zone Is

Now that students understand what bullying is and how to prevent it or respond to it, explain to students that a “safe zone” is a place where all students feel safe and are free from bullying. Point out how your classroom rules reinforce physical and emotional safety. Then invite students to brainstorm things that make them feel safe, such as the following:

Being around people who are nice
Being able to ask questions without being laughed at
Feeling like it is okay if they don’t understand something
Being able to say how they feel
Being able to take a time out to calm down or cope with their feelings

4. Post Visual Reminders

In addition to bullying prevention posters you display, have students get into small groups and work together to make bullying prevention and safe-zone posters. Model how to include positive messages that remind and inspire students to keep their classroom a safe zone. Post words for them to use, such as communication, kindness, respect, and patience.

5. Respond to Bullying Right Away

Students who are bullied and students who are bullying both need help.

Students who are hurting and don’t know how to deal with their anger, sadness, and frustration often lash out and become bullies. They need to know that behavior that harms another student or creates a hostile environment is not okay, and they also need to know that they can make different choices and receive help for their own feelings of hurt, anger, and sadness.

Students who are being bullied may feel too scared and confused to report it. It is important that they understand that there are adults who can help them and there are things they can do to safely help themselves and stop the bullying. The website stopbulling.gov provides important guidance about how to stop bullying on the spot. website how to prevent bullying.gov

Additional resources

Classroom resources that provide lessons and activities about social and emotional learning and culturally responsive classroom environments can help create a culture of safety and belonging in your classroom.

Try these free Evan-Moor sample lessons with your students:

Social and Emotional Learning Activities Sampler

Culturally Responsive Lessons and Activities Sampler

Learn more about these resources that support positive classroom cultures:

Social and Emotional Learning Activities, grades PreK–6 (print and e-book formats)
Culturally Responsive Lessons and Activities, grades 1–6 (print and e-book formats)

Learn more about National Bullying Prevention Month here.

Lisa Vitarisi Mathews serves as Publisher of Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. She has over 20 years’ experience in PreK–8 education, and has worked closely with teachers across the United States through Evan-Moor product training and workshops.