May 4, 2020
by Evan-Moor
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10 Activities That Kids Can Do with a Soccer Ball

Being stuck at home can leave your kids full of energy with nowhere to spend it. Use simple challenges and activities to keep them active, like using a soccer ball to make a mini-workout more fun! Keep reading for 10 simple and fun activities you can do with a soccer ball (or any ball) in your backyard that your kids will love.

This simple circuit can be a daily or weekly “challenge” for kids, and they can chart their progress.

1. Sit-ups with a Soccer Ball

Make sit-ups more fun and a little more challenging by holding a ball in your hands! Lying on the floor with your knees bent, hold a soccer ball between your hands and stretch all the way back, then sit up, bringing your hands and the ball in front of you to your shins and back again!

Start with just 10, but if this is too easy, do as many as you can in a minute!

2. Leg Lifts

Hold a ball between your feet and lie flat on the floor. Without moving your upper body, lift the ball, still between your feet, straight up in the air, and back down again.

Do 10 of these, or as many as you can in a minute.

3. Soccer Juggling

This can be really fun and really challenging! Without using your hands, bounce the ball off your knees, feet, or shoulders and see how many juggles you can do without dropping the ball!

See if you can build up to 5, 10, 15, or even 20 juggles without dropping the ball!

4. Dribbling Relay

Set up cones or markers of some kind about 15 feet away from each other. Then dribble to each cone as fast as you can. Make it more interesting by doing it forwards, backwards, and sideways. To make it more like a relay, make two teams and see who can finish first. Or, put the ball on the opposite cone and run, skip, or jump to the ball and then dribble back. Get creative!

See how many times you can get to each cone in a minute.

5. Bowling

Use your soccer ball as a bowling ball and set up water bottles or cones as pins. Bowl the cones down (kicking the ball instead of rolling it), or, to make it more of a challenge, bowl the cones and then race to pick the cones back up.

See how many cones or targets you can knock down in 10 tries.

6. Soccer Bocce or Target Practice

Using another ball or cone, kick the ball and try to get it as close to the target as possible without hitting it. Other players can hit your ball farther away, too. Whoever gets closer to the pin gets a point.

The first person to reach 5 points wins! (multi-player)

7. Minefield

Set up cones or other objects in your yard, spread out a few feet apart. Try to dribble from one side of the yard to the other without touching any of the objects. Start slow, and then see how fast you can do it! If you touch a cone, you have to start over!

Time yourself to see how fast you can dribble through objects without touching them. Set a goal to reduce your time.

8. Twists

Sitting on the ground with your feet in the air, hold a soccer ball between your hands. Without moving most of your body, twist to one side, touch the ball to the ground, and then twist to the other side, doing the same thing.

Do 10 twists, or however many you can do in a minute!

9. Butterfly Kicks

Lying flat on the floor, hold a ball between your hands, arms outstretched behind you. Without bending your knees, start doing butterfly kicks, kicking up and down, like you’re swimming.

Do butterfly kicks for 20 seconds.

10. Superman

Lying on your stomach with your arms and legs outstretched, hold a soccer ball either in your hands, between your feet, or both if you want to challenge yourself. Raise your arms and legs off the floor as high as you can, then back down.

Do this 10 times or hold it for 20 seconds.

These fun exercises are great for keeping kids active and will be fun even if they don’t play soccer. Get creative and make the challenges and exercises more difficult for your kids depending on their ages. Encourage them to challenge themselves in each exercise and do the best they can.

For more great activity ideas and educational lessons, subscribe to our free e-newsletter here.

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

May 1, 2020
by Evan-Moor
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Teaching Kids Art: Learning About Texture with Paint

Help children learn new avenues of expression and creativity using art. Art is a wonderful activity that helps children to learn the importance of taking risks and solving problems. In the words of Henri Matisse, “Creativity takes courage.” Allowing children to take risks in a safe environment gives them the courage to become critical and creative problem solvers as adults.

Teach children about texture in art with this free texture art activity! This art project from How to Teach Art to Children teaches children about textures in art and how to use things from around the house to make different patterns and textures in your projects! It also teaches about making “prints,” which is the shape or pattern a certain painted object makes when pressed on a canvas.

Download your free texture art activity here!

Supplies Needed:

White construction paper (12 x 18 inches) or canvas
Tempera paint in multiple colors
Sponges, potatoes, cookie cutters,
and other household objects you
want to print
Plates or foam trays for paint

Encourage your children to be creative in how they place their prints and in the objects they use!

Directions:

Set up each child with paper, paints, sponges etc.
Have them fold their construction paper into fourths, so that when you unfold it there are clearly four sections of the paper.
Pour a puddle of paint onto the plate or tray.
Dip one edge of the sponge or other object into the paint.
Press the painted edge on the paper.
Lift the object straight up.
Repeat the printing process, using a different object and color in each section of the paper.
Allow time for the paint to dry and discuss the printed texture
effects each section has.

Repeat this process with different objects, or do it again without sections so your child can mix textures and colors together.

Tips:

When dipping the object in paint, be careful not to do too much. You want a thin, even coat of paint on the object, but not so much that when you print it, there’s excess paint on the sides or around the object’s print.
After you print the texture, it’s important to lift it straight up, without wiggling or moving the object around the paper. That can make fun patterns, too, but it won’t create the desired print effect from this project.

If your child is especially interested in this art technique, share fine art pictures that have distinct textures and discuss how the artist may have achieved that kind of texture. Listed below are examples of art from famous artists that used texture.

Vincent van Gogh used texture in his famous still life “Vase with Twelve Sunflowers.”

Leonardo da Vinci used texture when drawing his inventions such as his “Flying Machine.”

Pablo Picasso used texture in his famous painting of “Three Musicians.”

Have fun experimenting with textures and patterns in your art projects. For more art lessons check out:

Teaching Art to Kids: Collages

How to Teach Pop Art

For more great activity ideas and educational lessons, subscribe to our free e-newsletter here.

April 30, 2020
by Evan-Moor
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Virtual Teacher Appreciation Gifts: 5 Tips to Thank a Teacher

With teachers going above and beyond lately to make the transition to at-home learning as smooth as possible, you may be wondering how to thank them this year. Though Teacher Appreciation Week is unconventional this year, there are still plenty of ways your children can thank their teachers for a great school year. Listed below are five easy ways you can virtually let your teachers know you appreciate them!

Write a thank-you note and mail it. Write a thank-you note, or have your child write one, take a picture of it, and email it to your teacher.
Take a picture or video of your child saying thank you. You can also ask your child to say what he or she likes best about the teacher!
Photo collage: Organize a classroom picture of each student holding a paper heart and email it to your teacher.
Step 1: If you don’t have contact with all the parents in the class, ask your school office for a directory of your child’s class. Let them know it’s for a teacher appreciation project!
Step 2: Send out a group email with your idea to thank your children’s teacher, with detailed instructions on what you want in the photo.
Step 3: Make a digital collage of all the photos! You can use any photo editing program or websites like Canva.com, where you can make one for free.
Step 4: Email it to your teacher!
Send a e-gift card: If you want to purchase a gift, you can always purchase an e-gift card and send it through email. For example: Starbucks, Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble, or Dunkin’ Donuts.
Class video collage: Have students in your child’s class email you a short video of them saying what they love most about their teacher, then compile the videos and send them to your teacher. iMovie is a good program for this, and you can get it for free on Apple computers. It is easy to use and perfect for a project like this.

Even though the year took a surprising turn, children can still show their appreciation for their teachers with small gifts or homemade cards. It’s the thought that counts, and any show of appreciation will go a long way.

April 30, 2020
by Evan-Moor
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Teaching Art to Kids: Collages

Art projects are a great way to entertain your child, and can easily be connected to other subjects or lessons. Create a fun art activity with this free collage project from How to Teach Art to Children. Children will create two animals in a collage. The animals are the same except that one is made from cut paper and the other is made from torn paper.

This art collage project is paired with the short story “Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse,” by Leo Lionni, which can be found online in print, e-book, or read-along versions.

For this project you will need:

Newsprint or other drawing paper
White construction paper 12 x 18 inches
Construction paper scraps in assorted colors
Wrapping paper or paper bags
Crayons, markers, or felt-tip pens
Scissors
White glue
“Alexander the Wind-Up Mouse” by Leo Lionni

Read the story “Alexander the Wind-Up Mouse.” You can expand on the reading portion of this activity by asking your child questions about the story, discussing the plot, etc. For example:

How do you think Alex felt when Willy came into the picture?
Why did Alex want to be the wind-up mouse?
Why did he change his mind?

Directions:

Read the story. The fable serves as an example between cut versus torn-paper art. In the story, the real mouse is the torn-paper version, whereas the mechanical mouse is the cut-paper.
Explain that you will be making a collage and provide your child with the materials. Have him or her pick out an animal for the project, such as a dog, bird, cat, etc.
Have your child draw the animal on the newsprint or drawing paper. Encourage your child to use basic shapes for the animal’s body parts.
Cut out the body parts and trace them onto construction paper. Trace each part twice.
Cut out one of the construction paper bodies and glue it onto the traced shape. Tear the other construction paper body out and glue it to the other traced shape.
Notice the difference between the cut and tear animals.
You can now create a background for your animals; for example: a tree for two birds, a field for two horses, etc. Use construction paper, markers, etc. to create the background!

Download your free project here.

Ask your child to:

Notice the difference between the two animal designs.
Tell you which one looks more realistic.
Tell you which one was easier to make.

Read the story again, if necessary, or act out the story with your two animals.

Encourage your child to create more collages! He or she can make a collage out of photos, small objects, and other scraps of paper and materials.

For more fun art activities and ideas check out:

Teaching Kids Art: Learning About Texture with Paint

How to Teach Art to Children provides 96 art projects that teach the elements of art.

Learn about a famous artist with this Pablo Picasso activity.

For additional activity ideas and educational lessons, subscribe to our free e-newsletter here.

April 30, 2020
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

Handmade Cards for Mother’s Day

This year for Mother’s Day, make your mom a unique handmade card! Listed below are unique and fun cards that will brighten your mom’s day!

Finger Paint Flower Card

This card is a fun and easy spring-themed card!
For this card, you will need:

Finger paint
Pencil
Colored construction paper
Scissors
Tape
9 x 12″ white paper

Directions:

Trace a large flower (rose, tulip, etc.) on the colored construction paper.
Cut it out of the construction paper.
Tape the flower to the center of the white paper.
Using the finger paint, make colored polka-dots all over the white page!
Carefully remove the taped flower to reveal a white flower shape in the middle of your colored page.
Write a note or sign your name in the white flower part.

Mom’s Wish Express – Accordion-Fold Card

This fun train card uses accordion folding to create a Wish Train for Mother’s Day! Children will write what they wish for their mom this Mother’s Day in the provided writing forms and use patterns from the reproducible to create the Wish Train! This simple and fun card comes from Art for All Seasons, an Evan-Moor activity book for year-round art projects.

Download this free accordion-fold card template here.

Butterfly Pop-up Card

This activity guides children through making a beautiful butterfly pop-up card! These types of cards are easy to make, with just a few necessary materials, but produce colorful and fun cards! The activity also provides a reproducible butterfly page for the inside of the card. This activity also comes from Art for All Seasons, for grades 1–4.

Download this free butterfly pop-up card template here.

Mother’s Day Poems for Handmade Cards

Looking for inspiration to write a poem for your Mother’s Day card? Listed below are some free downloads of activities that will help your child write his or her very own personalized poem.

1. Description Poem: This activity will help your child write a five-stanza poem describing his or her mom! This lesson comes from Evan-Moor’s Poetry Patterns and Themes activity book (grades 3–6).
2. Rhyming Couplets: Write rhyming couplets about your mom or what she likes with this activity’s help! This activity is from Writing Poetry with Children (grades 1–6).
3. Acrostic Poems: This activity demonstrates how to write an acrostic poem, where you make a poem by using the letters M-O-T-H-E-R. This lesson comes from Evan-Moor’s Writing Poetry with Children (grades 1–6).

Use these activities and your own creativity to make unique homemade Mother’s Day cards. Mom will love getting a personalized and handmade gift from her favorite people in the world!

For more great activity ideas and educational lessons, subscribe to our free e-newsletter here.

For more Mother’s Day activities and ideas check out Mother’s Day Free Activities for Kids

April 29, 2020
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

Easy Pirate-Themed Scavenger Hunt for kids

Who doesn’t love a good scavenger hunt? The heat of the moment, racing another team to the finish line and the excitement that comes with solving word puzzles. Create the ultimate pirate-themed scavenger hunt for kids with this list!

Keep the kids outdoors with these backyard scavenger hunt items:

Flower
Leaf
Rocks
Stick
See or hear a bird
Something crunchy
See a spider web
Acorn
See a Mailbox
Your favorite outdoor item
Blades of grass

Scavenger Hunt Clues:
Scavenger clues can be hidden around your yard with each clue leading to the next or they can be handed out as each clue is answered.

Arr! My name is Captain Barnes, and I am a pirate ship captain! I need your help finding some treasure in your very own backyard! Will you help me? Great! You’ll even get to keep some of the treasure!

The first thing I need you to get is one of my favorite things. They can be all different colors, they smell nice, and I gather a lot of them for decoration whenever I’m ashore. I haven’t seen many recently, as you can’t find them in the ocean, so I need you to pick one. Do you know what it is?
Great work, crew hand! Onto the next item, then! This next item is usually attached to trees, but during certain times of the year they fall to the ground. They can be green, brown, red, and orange, depending on the season. We don’t have these at sea either. When they fall to the ground they make a crunching sound when you step on them.
Good work again! Maybe you’ll be promoted from crew hand to sailor! The next item comes in all different shapes and sizes. It can be found on the ground, at the beach, in shallow water, and in the mountains. It can be rough, smooth, grey, brown, or other colors. This is a mighty tricky one, crew hand? What do you think?
Great! Congratulations, you’ve been promoted to sailor! Back to work, Sailor, next I need something that can be used to start a fire, as a toy sword, or a walking stick. It’s made of wood, sometimes it falls off of trees. It’s like a small branch.
Arrrr, alright. This next item is different. I don’t need you to collect it, just see or hear it. This is an animal, who lives in trees usually and builds a home out of twigs and feathers and things. They lay their eggs in the home and fly high above us. When we are close to land, we see these animals in the sky and know there’s land nearby.
Keep up this good work and you’ll be well on your way to First Mate! I only need a few more items from you. You have a choice here, because sometimes this item can be hard to find. I’m looking for something else that comes from trees. The first one I’m thinking of has a nice scent and is cone-shaped. The second is a snack for squirrels.
Great work! Only a couple more things. This next item is often used in large sports fields or golf courses, so I’m told by my First Mate. It’s green. It starts with a g…
Last item! This one is perhaps my favorite. This item is your choice! Find something outside that you like; it could be a flower, a rock, a sound… If you can’t collect it, describe it to me in words.

It is my honor to promote you to First Mate! As a sea captain, I don’t get to see the objects you’ve collected very often, so I wanted to make a collection of all my favorite outdoor things. I’ll pick them up from you next time I’m in town. Thanks for the hard work! Who knows, maybe by the next time I see you, you’ll be a Captain of your own!

Answer Key
1) Flower
2) Leaf
3) Rock
4) Stick
5) Bird
6) Pinecone or acorn
7) Grass
8) Anything!

Download this Pirate Themed Scavenger Hunt Activity Download

For more fun Kids Activities, check out:

The Never Bored activity books for ages 4-10

Summer Boredom Busters and Learning Activities for Home

Subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter for free lessons and activities in your inbox every month!

April 20, 2020
by Evan-Moor
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Educational and Fun Activities for Indoors and Outdoors

Looking for activities to keep your children busy at home? Discover new activities and projects that will keep your child occupied and engaged without feeling like extra work for you or them! Check out educational activity ideas like counting money and reading activities, outdoor activities like scavenger hunts, and indoor crafts and projects that keep your child thinking and having fun! Look out for the free activity downloads!

Reading

With libraries closing, keeping children reading can be a challenge. You can always download digital copies of book purchases from Amazon. Have your child read aloud for 20 minutes (grades K-2) or read quietly for 30 minutes (grades 3-8). Check for understanding by asking your children questions about what they reading?

A few questions could be:

What was the author’s purpose?
Why did they write this?
What is the main idea?

Who, What, Why, Where, How are all good questions to start with.

If you have a reluctant reader at home, try using an incentive such as 20 minutes of reading for 20 minutes of tech time or television.

Counting Money and Telling Time Grades K-2

For younger children, this is an essential skill that is easy to practice! Round up your change around the house and some paper and pencils for these easy activities.

Teach your child to identify and name common coins and bills
Starting with coins, have then count and add the amounts of specific coins in their head for mental math. Start with small coin amounts and progress in difficult.
Create word problems and have your child use scratch paper to write the answer. (It is always a good idea to incorporate writing and check for understanding by having them write a sentence or two on how they solved the problem.)
- Ex. Ava has $10 to spend at the store. She picked up milk for $5.78, eggs for 3.25 and a back of chips for $1. 69. How much money will she need? Does she have enough?
Ask your child what time it is throughout the day, making sure you have a classic clock around.
Have your child draw a clock and draw hands for what time it is, or give them a clock drawing and ask them what time the clock says.

Outdoor Activities and Games

For when your children need to burn some energy, get some fresh air, and take a break from educational activities, check out some of these fun ideas!

Obstacle Courses: using objects from around the house (hula hoops, pool noodles, jump ropes, boxes, etc…) create an obstacle course for your kids! They’ll love running through it, and give them a chance to design and test their own obstacle courses.
Balloon Volleyball: divide your yard into two with a rope or jump rope (or use a net if you have one) and play volleyball with a balloon! Don’t let it touch the ground!
Scavenger Hunts: set up a scavenger hunt in your house/yard. Your kids will love hunting down objects or following clues. For extra fun, have them draw a treasure map to find “buried” treasure.
Tag Games: Classic tag, freeze tag, etc. are great games that will leave your kids tired! Try making up your own version of tag!

Cooking Activities and Recipes

Cooking and baking are fun for everyone, and you’re rewarded with a treat at the end! What kids don’t realize is that cooking and baking involve a lot of science and math. Challenge your child with questions about fractions, measurements, and how certain ingredients interact with others! Include your kids in the kitchen while making meals. Here are some fun and easy recipe ideas:

Art, Crafts, and Hands-on Projects

Arts and Crafts are fun but sometimes take a lot of materials. Here are some ideas and activities that require things you probably have around the house!

Paper towel roll marble run: Using leftover toilet paper and paper towel rolls, make a marble run for your kids. Use tape to hold the rolls together, and cut holes in the rolls to create your very own marble run!
Build a tower out of marshmallows and toothpicks: Remember, for stability, build from a wide base, up. Below is a free download about earthquakes with an experiment using mini marshmallows, toothpicks and gelatin (from Evan-Moor’s Skill Sharpeners: Science activity book, Grade 4.)

Download the free science activity pages here.

Finger-paint Geraniums: Have fun with this simple and easy floral art project from Evan-Moor’s Art for All Seasons for grades 1-4!

Download the free art activity here.

Superhero Project: With this superhero unit from Skill Sharpeners Critical Thinking activity books, kids can imagine what it would be like to be a superhero! There are short writing, reading, and math activities, and at the end children will get a chance to create their own superhero comic! The unit includes templates and cut-out super hero outfits for your child’s comic.

Download the free superhero activity here.

Chore Time and Writing

Introduce simple chores your child can complete at home based on their age and have them write “how to” instructions.

Kindergarten and first grade should start with a simple sentence such as “I can help with chores (you will need to spell non sight words such as “chores” or have them practice sounding it out. Kindergarten sample chore list:
- Pick up toys
- Make bed
- Clear table after meal
- Help make lunch (simple sandwich)
- Learn how to fold a shirt
Grades 2-3
Write a paragraph (2nd) and multiple paragraphs (3rd) using transition words such as first, next, then, last and write multiple sentences supporting a main idea. For example: How to organize your bedroom toys.
Chores for this group could include:
- Cleaning a bathroom
- Organizing a closet
- Proper way to load a dishwasher
- How to walk your dog
- Tips for picking weeds (or gardening)
Grades 4-6
Write a multi paragraph essay on what you do well. Children can choose their favorite chore or an activity they are good at to write a detailed description for “how to.” Upper grades can type out their paragraphs in google docs and include fun pictures. This activity could take the place of a weekly writing assignment by having children complete a new step every day. Brainstorming with a graphic organizer is a great way to start to encourage new ideas and organization.

*Have children edit their writing when they are finished. (Up the stakes and offer a small reward for each mistake fixed.)

For more learning at-home ideas check out these additional posts:

If Your School Is Closed: Ideas to Continue Students’ Learning at Home

Have fun with writing and check out:
Picture Writing Prompts for Sequencing for Grades 2–4

Check out these fun ways to practice math facts at home!
Factor Fun! Math Multiplication Games

April 20, 2020
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

Learning at Home with TeacherFileBox

Transitioning from school to home for distance learning can be filled with stress for parents, students, and teachers. How do you start? What resources should you choose? Which subjects should you focus on? For over 30 years, teachers and homeschoolers have used Evan-Moor in their classrooms because their lessons provide clear directions, teaching strategies, and practice pages to give children the best foundation for their studies—and so can you, with TeacherFileBox, Evan-Moor’s digital lesson library. Everything you need is in one place and just a click away.

With over 600 Evan-Moor book titles, TeacherFileBox provides an abundance of learning materials and resources. Listed below are curriculum recommendations to quickly and easily get your at-home learning curriculum up and running.Just use the “Browse by Title” feature to find each suggested titles in TeacherFileBox.

Homeschool Curriculum Guides – Start Here for a Full Curriculum to Teach Your Child at Home

Visit the Homeschool Curriculum Guides Section of TeacherFileBox for suggested books to use and short videos on many of the resources available by subject area.

These curriculum guides were created by an experienced homeschool parent and have been used by thousands of homeschool families to teach children at home.

Curriculum areas include:

REVIEW of Skills – Recommended Resources

Evan-Moor Daily Practice titles work great if you are looking for short review activities to help your child practice and remember what he or she has learned throughout the school year. The Evan-Moor Daily Practice series provide 10- to 15-minute lessons to help students practice skills to retain their learning throughout the school year. Lessons get progressively more difficult throughout the year to reflect what students are learning in the classroom.

There are 15 Daily Practice series available to you in TeacherFileBox. These three titles are great ones to start with to review fundamental skills in reading, math, and grammar and punctuation:

Daily Reading Comprehension (Grades 1–8)
Daily Math Practice (Grades 1–6)
Daily Language Review (Grades 1–8)

You can find additional subject areas under these titles: Daily Word Problems, Daily Science, Daily Geography Practice, Daily 6-Trait Writing, A Word a Day, Daily Academic Vocabulary, and Building Spelling Skills.

FUNDAMENTALS – Recommended Resources

If you are trying to build your own curriculum at home, it is best to start off with just a few subject areas and work into expanding them once you are settled into your routine. These resources provide a fundamental foundation for building an at-home learning curriculum. The units include teaching tips, examples, and practice pages to give you a simple and straightforward teaching approach.

Math Fundamentals (Grades 1–6)
Reading Comprehension Fundamentals (Grades 1–6)
Language Fundamentals (Grades 1–6)
Giant Write Every Day: Daily Writing Prompts (Grades 2–6)

COLORFUL ACTIVITIES – Hands-on Projects and Skill Practice

If you prefer colorful activities and hands-on crafts, these activity books are a great place to start. Keep in mind that these will print in color, but they can be printed in black and white or simply viewed on the screen if you don’t want to print in color.

Skill Sharpeners: Science (Grades PreK–6)
Skill Sharpeners: Critical Thinking (Grades PreK–6)
Skill Sharpeners: Geography (Grades PreK–6)
Never-Bored Activity Books (Ages 4–10)

Hands-on Projects, Arts & Crafts, and Puzzles and Games

Do you have children who love art and hands-on activities? The titles listed below are a great place to start!

How to Teach Art to Children
Crafts for Young Children (PreK-1)
Folded Paper Projects (Grades 1-6)
Folk Art Projects Around the World (Grades 1-6)
How to Make Puppets With Children (Grades 1-6)

If you are a parent trying to put together a learning-at-home curriculum, TeacherFileBox can provide your entire curriculum for as little as $8.33 a month with an annual subscription or $12.99 a month with a month-to-month subscription. Either way, your child will benefit from the fun, educationally sound lessons in TeacherFileBox.

Sign up for a free 30 day trial today!

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.

April 15, 2020
by Evan-Moor
0 comments

How to Teach Grammar and Punctuation: Commas

When it comes to language conventions, it’s important to give students a strong foundation as their writing and reading becomes more complex. Memorizing comma rules seems daunting, but paired with helpful examples and practice, it will soon become second nature to students. Giving students a strong foundation in grammar and punctuation allows them to become their own editors, confident in their ability to spot details within their writing.

Below are some resources and tips for teaching students about commas. These resources are from Language Fundamentals (grade 4).

Using Commas with Words in a Series

They are shopping for clothes, shoes, and school supplies.

Begin your lessons with simple sentences and simple comma rules, like series.
Start by giving your students examples of series, so they can easily identify them in a sentence.
Have students practice adding commas to sentences with series in them.
Have students practice writing serial sentences with correct commas!

Using Commas Before Conjunctions in Sentences

Danilo is trying to eat better, and he wants to get more exercise.

Using Commas in a Complex Sentence

Unless Rachel practices her spelling, she will not improve her spelling skills.

This rule is easier to understand after regular conjunctions and compound sentences have been introduced.
If students are struggling to determine where commas go in a sentence, practice reading sentences aloud and exaggerating pauses.
- For example: Jana listens to music when she makes pottery. vs. Jana listens to music when (long pause) she makes pottery. The first one sounds better, so no comma is needed.
The subordinating conjunctions (e.g., when, although, since) act as separators, so if they’re in the middle of the sentence, there’s no need to add anything else. If they’re at the beginning of a sentence, the sentence needs a comma to separate the thoughts.

Using Commas with Quotation Marks

“Let’s go to the pet store,” I said.

If your class has done a book report recently, ask them to pay attention to the author’s use of commas and quotation marks in dialogue. You can also pull an excerpt from the class’s reading, so that the example provided is familiar to them.
Short story projects are a fun and creative technique to help students practice writing dialogue and using commas and quotation marks fluidly.

Using Commas with Proper Nouns

Nicole, look at this brochure about wellness.

Practice exaggerating pauses when reading these sentences aloud so students recognize the need for a comma when using a proper noun in a sentence.
This can also be applied to short story writing, when characters address each other.

Using Commas in Letter Writing

Dear Aunt Lillian,

Holidays are the perfect time to practice grammar and punctuation skills. For example, if Easter is coming up, have students write a letter to the Easter bunny using appropriate commas. At the end of the school year, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are great occasions to practice letter writing. And of course, students can write Christmas letters to Santa!
Start a pen-pal program at your school. Coordinate with another class at your school, schools across the country, schools around world, or even students within your very own classroom. Students can practice their letter writing skills and receive letters in return!
- Partnering with different grade levels benefits students tremendously. Assign each student a “buddy” for the year. (These buddies also work well to promote anti-bullying on campus by making older students conscious of and empathetic toward younger students.) These grade pairings work well:
  - Kindergarten and third grade
  - First grade and fourth grade
  - Second grade and fifth grade

Using Commas in Addresses

Karen Donovan
29 Crocker Lane
Northampton, MA 01060

Pair this lesson with your letter writing activities to complete students’ knowledge of proper letter writing and punctuation!
Students will be able to write and address letters by themselves and can start up a pen-pal friendship.

Using Commas in Dates

September 26, 2020

This lesson will become especially useful in history class; intertwine your two lessons by making note of how commas are used for important dates like the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Often, letters are dated by the author. When teaching letters and addresses, include writing dates to make students’ letter writing more advanced.

All of these lessons are included in Language Fundamentals (grade 4), an activity book that is available for grades 1–6. Each unit explains the concept and provides examples, practice problems, and review questions.

Additional Resources and Activities

Daily Language Review (grades 1–8):

These 10- to 15-minute exercises cover the fundamentals of language, like punctuation, conjunctions, verb tenses, and word meaning. Each activity book covers 36 weeks of everyday learning!

Schoolhouse Grammar Rock

These short and fun videos cover many different grammar topics, such as prepositions, sentence structure, adjectives, interjections, and more. The lyrics are catchy, and I still recall them 10 years after fourth grade!

Whiteboard Relays

Separate your class into two teams. Write a series of sentences on the board that are either missing a comma or have an incorrect placement of one. Have a few students at a time (one student per sentence) race to the board, correct the sentence with a marker, and then hand off the marker to the next in line. The first team to finish all the sentences correctly wins!

Hot and Cold Comma Placement

Write sentences on the board that need commas. With you or a student at the board, have the class call out “colder” or “warmer” and move your marker accordingly until they decide on the placement of the comma(s).

Comma Rules Jeopardy

This is a fun jeopardy-style template to practice comma placement and rules. Play it with your class, asking them to correct the sentence before you reveal the answers.

Laying these basic foundations of grammar and punctuation for your students will benefit them throughout their academic careers and leave them a step ahead as their writing advances.

For more teaching tips check out: How to Teach Figurative Language: Similes and Metaphors for Grades 3-6

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April 14, 2020
by Evan-Moor
1 Comment

Free Grammar, Math, and STEM Activities for Grades 4–8

These free downloadable learning activities are a great way to connect students’ learning at school with learning at home. Below you’ll find activities that span different curriculum subjects for grammar, math, STEM, and more!

Grammar and Punctuation Activities

Daily Language Review: Grade 4
This grade four at-home unit practices key fundamental skills such as recognizing fragments and run-ons, relating words to their synonyms and antonyms, progressive word tenses, and more! The unit incorporates fun games like playing catch, relay races, and Simon says to make learning fun!

Download this free unit from Evan-Moor here.

Daily Language Review: Grade 5
This unit focuses on fundamental skills like punctuation, using context to determine word meaning, correlative conjunctions, and others! Students will play games like battleship, Guess Who?, and dodgeball, all while learning and practicing vital language skills!

Download this Evan-Moor unit for free here!

Daily Language Review: Grade 6
This upper-level unit focuses on word relationships, multiple-meaning words, degrees in formality in grammar, and other key language skills. The unit uses simple but engaging activities that are hands-on in order to keep students interested in their material while at home! Students will partake in fun activities like word relationship crossword puzzles!

Download this unit for free here.

Daily Language Review: Grade 7
For your junior high students, this unit emphasizes words and phrases as misplaced modifiers, the function of clauses, the use of commas, and other punctuation and grammar concepts. The unit incorporates art activities, writing, card games, relay races, and more to provide a fun and engaging learning experience for your seventh grader!

Download this free unit here.

Daily Language Review: Grade 8
This eighth grade language unit provides practice for skills like passive vs. active voice, interpreting figures of speech, ellipses, and other advanced language skills. This unit includes fun and active games and activities to make the lessons fun for students; students will race to identify word meanings as their partner tries to eat a cookie (placed on their forehead) without using their hands!

Download this free Evan-Moor unit here.

Math and Science Activities

Color by Code Math Activity Grade 4
This grade four math activity practices identifying factors in a fun coloring activity! Students will have to identify the shapes that have numbers that are multiples of 7, and then color those shapes, and not the others, to reveal a secret code!

Download this fun math activity for free here.

Earth Science Unit: The Stars Grade 4
This earth science unit for grade 4 includes concept information pages to educate students, as well as investigation pages, which present students with a scientific question to investigate. Students then partake in a project and learn about the scientific method as they make observations, analyze, and ask more questions. The unit also includes reading and comprehension questions.

Download this free Evan-Moor unit here.

Critical Thinking Activity

Critical Thinking: Dragons Grade 4
This fun grade 4 dragon-themed critical thinking activity challenges students in the way they think about questions. The unit poses interesting questions for students to think about and activities to help them expand on their thoughts. The activities ask questions like
“What would people do if dragons were real?” to get students thinking. It also includes short drawing and writing activities.

Download this unit for free here.

Social Studies Activity

Ancient Egypt Activity: Grades 4–6
In this unit, students will read and partake in activities about ancient Egypt and the Great Pyramids. The unit offers a short reading excerpt about the Great Pyramids in Giza, then provides an activity for students to make their own Great Pyramid replica. The unit includes a template cut-out that includes fun facts on the Great Pyramids for the inside of the students’ pyramid.

Download this free unit here.

Mix and match these downloadable activities, along with other fun games and activities to keep children having fun learning at home or at school!

Subscribe to our e-newsletter for more free activities and teaching ideas!

For more free lessons for grades 1-3 check out: Free Language, Math, and STEM Science Activities for Grades 1–3

Check out Evan-Moor’s Learning at Home with Skill Sharpeners Bundles for grades PreK-6! These easy-to-use activity books provide valuable skill practice at home and include a parent guide with teaching tips and fun learning activities!