The Joy of Teaching – Page 35 of 46

December 1, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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Festive Fingerprint Art Cards for Holiday Gifts

With a few simple art supplies, your students or children can create beautiful, custom-made holiday cards using their fingers to stamp or print a design. For the finishing touches, use markers, a pencil eraser dipped in paint, and ribbon or yarn.

See this free printable Festive Fingerprint Art Cards for a materials list, step-by-step directions, and sample projects.

Other ideas:

Students can glue their artwork to colored construction paper to create a card for a family member or for a teacher gift.
Punch a hole in the corner of the print and tie with a ribbon to use as a gift tag.
Frame the artwork as a gift.
Create larger designs on white or brown butcher paper and use as wrapping paper for holiday gifts.

These ideas are from Evan-Moor’s Art for All Seasons, which has over 100 creative art projects for every season. The 28 projects for winter include a Santa bag, a reindeer card holder, a little drummer boy, a Hanukkah pop-up card, a kinara for Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year dragon, and a chain of hearts for Valentine’s Day.

Image of Theresa Wooler Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer and homeschool educator, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.

November 20, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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Let’s Talk Turkey (Animal Research for Kids)

Do you have kids who enjoy learning about animals? When kids are interested in a topic, their motivation is golden!

One of my favorite ways to set kids up for success is to use sticky notes. I give each child 3 sticky notes and ask them to find 3 things about the animal they find interesting. Then each child can share his or her findings. Even non-readers can put a sticky note on interesting photos or illustrations they find.

Of course, you can give specific guidelines for the kids to research. Here are some ideas to ask the kids to find:

Where does the animal live?
What type of animal is it? (mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, insert, etc.)
Does this animal live in groups or alone? What is the name of this animal’s group?
What is this animal’s offspring (baby) called?
What does this animal eat?
What is this animal’s size?
What unique features does this animal have?

We have been learning about several forest animals lately, such as squirrels, owls, and turkeys. We connected our research about turkeys with this Evan-Moor activity from U.S. Facts and Fun for grades 1–3. We learned how eagles and turkeys are different. Then we learned more about why the eagle was chosen over the turkey as the U.S. national bird.

Here are 5 kid-friendly websites we use as our “go-to” sources to collect more animal facts:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/zoo-animals
http://discoverykids.com/category/animals/
https://kidskonnect.com/animals/
http://www.kidsbiology.com/

Of course, you will find over 340 activities in Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox focusing on learning about animals. 60 of those activities are specific to researching, too!

BONUS: Here is a FREE printable to use for kids to record research (from Evan-Moor’s Giant Science Resource Book for grades 1–6.)

Do your kids enjoy learning about animals? If so, what animals are their favorites? Let us know in the comments section.

Amy Michaels is a certified teacher with 11 years of elementary classroom experience who is actively homeschooling her own children. Her mission is share the best teaching methods and resources with all homeschoolers. Amy supports parents through her podcasts, webinars, and online training for homeschoolers on her website http://www.thrivehomeschooling.com.

November 19, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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How to Create a Gratitude Jar

It is the time of year when most families take the time to reflect on being grateful. Here is a fun way to get your children engaged in writing while learning gratitude. Sound too good to be true? It really is pretty simple.

To get started, choose a jar or bowl as your Family Gratitude Jar.

Each day, each family member takes a piece of paper and writes down one reason s/he is grateful. The piece of paper is added to the gratitude jar.

Continue each day through the holidays.

Then, starting in the new year, choose one piece of paper from the jar each day. Read it aloud to remember each thing that a family member is grateful for. Breakfast or family meal time is a wonderful time to think about gratitude.

Once you get your family started on thinking about gratitude, you can encourage them to keep adding to the jar all year long. Gratitude can change the attitude, right? Plus, it is a quick and easy way to get your children engaged in purposeful writing!

If you would like to encourage your child to write more about the reason s/he is grateful, Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox.com has a gratitude writing activity to try.

How do you encourage your family to show gratitude? Please share in the comments section!

November 10, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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Holiday Gift Ideas: Educational and Affordable Gifts for Kids

If you like to include mind-stimulating games and books for holiday gifts, take a look at Evan-Moor activity books and flashcards. Affordable and educational, these colorful workbooks entertain while presenting practice of grade-level skills. A win-win!

Here are a few holiday gift ideas and ways to wrap up activity books with related art, writing, or science supplies:

The Never-Bored Kid Books 1 and 2, Ages 4–9

This is my top gift pick for young children for an all-around educational gift that is also entertaining. Each full-color book provides mazes, riddles, hidden pictures, things to cut out, dot-to-dots, and other engaging, age-appropriate activities. 144–160 full-color pages.

Gift idea: Wrap the book up with new art supplies that are useful for the activities in the book, such as scissors, glue stick, colored pencils, or crayons.

Learning Line activity books and Flashcards, Grades PreK–2
Learning Line books: These colorful activity books provide little learners practice of essential reading and math skills with a variety of activities. Each book focuses on a specific skill such as sequencing, reading sight words, counting, and telling time. 32 full-color pages.

Flashcards: Each flashcard set provides sturdy, colorful cards that practice basic reading and math skills, as well as ideas for games to use with the cards. As a bonus, each set provides a unique link to corresponding online timed tests for interactive practice! 56 cards.

Gift idea: Pair an activity book with a corresponding flashcard set, or use as a stocking stuffer! Activity books can be rolled to fit into a stocking.

At-Home Tutor, Grades PreK–2
These books are ideal for providing young children with basic skill practice in fun, engaging activities. Each book covers math or reading/language skills that children learn in the classroom in a colorful and inviting format. 96 full-color pages.

Gift idea: Wrap up math books with a set of math counters or manipulatives—marbles, counting bears, or a traditional wooden abacus. For the reading and language activity books, add a new pen/pencil case with fresh pencils and pens to complete the activities.

Skill Sharpeners: Science, Grades PreK–6
This series provides interesting reading selections on grade-appropriate science topics with follow-up activities and hands-on projects. 144 full-color pages.

Gift idea: You can use a topic covered in the book and provide a related science kit or simple supplies for a hands-on project, such as magnet sets.

Skill Sharpeners: Critical Thinking, Grades PreK–6

The fun activities in this book help children think outside the box. Puzzles, word problems, riddles, drawings, and hands-on activities encourage kids to use critical and creative thinking skills. 144 full-color pages

Gift idea: Wrap up this activity book with a puzzle, craft kit, or building toy that encourages creative and critical thinking.

Skill Sharpeners: Reading and Skill Sharpeners: Spell & Write, Grades PreK–6
Engaging stories and activities and delightful illustrations make these a child-friendly choice! 144 full-color pages.

Gift idea: Wrap up the activity book with a new novel or storybook, a book of poems, a journal, or a game that involves reading or spelling, such as Scrabble Junior, Bananagrams, or Clue.

Skill Sharpeners: Math, Grades PreK–6
Each title covers important grade-level math skills practice and includes test practice in a non-intimidating activity book format. 144 full-color pages.

Gift idea: Add age-appropriate games that involve math skills or counting, such as Uno, Qwirkle, Shut the Box (dice game), Dominoes, or Sudoku.

Other helpful sources:

This blogger provides a comprehensive list of top learning toys for building STEM skills.
Need an idea for a classic book to give a child? See this list of 100 great children’s books compiled by children’s librarians at The New York Public Library.
See all of the Evan-Moor at-home enrichment resources on this Pinterest board: Educational Gifts for Children.

Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer and homeschool educator, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.

November 4, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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Time-Saving Tips for Teachers and Homeschoolers

Do you like saving time? Most of us do! In today’s post, I wanted to share 7 time-saving tips that have made a huge difference in the quality of my children’s learning and in my teaching.

1) Know your intention. In a world in which social media share a bazillion truly great ideas, filtering all this information will save your sanity. Your filter is your intention. Personally, I write down my intention. It brings me back into focus after losing an hour to the picture-perfect online world. If you know WHY you are doing WHAT you are doing, it is much easier to stay the course and reach the finish line.

2) Plan less to learn more. “But WAIT!!” you say, “I already have so much to do, how does planning less increase learning?” It is as simple as the fact that the brain can only focus on and process so much at a time. Learning takes effort and can drain our energy. By planning truly quality lessons (rather than assignments to keep students busy), our children are more likely to stay interested longer and remember the lesson!

3) Combine 2 or more skills in each activity. One of my favorite time-saving tips is to combine skills within one activity. For example, while searching in a book for words with a /ch/ sound (a new skill), my child’s recording chart asked her to sort the words she found by the number of syllables in each word (which is a review for her). So she is actually practicing 2 skills (identifying words with a certain sound, and sorting words by the number of syllables) within the same activity. This allows us to save time and include review of skills while practicing a new skill.

4) Get the kids involved in planning, preparations, and clean-up. Do you ask your children what they want to learn? Kids are so smart and know their areas of strength and weakness. By asking them what interests them, you can choose activities that will help them stay focused and want to learn. This means less time spent trying to motivate and encourage focus.

Also, involving children in preparation for activities both builds anticipation and gives them a sense of ownership of the activity. Likewise, when children clean up after an activity, they are learning to be responsible. I know we all want responsible children!

When we take the time to train kids how to help, they not only save us time, but they take a more active role in their learning.

5) Use the power of the Post-it. Let me confess that I don’t fully understand the power of the Post-it. However, when I give my kids 3 Post-its to write down facts in a book, jot down ideas for a writing activity, or mark words they don’t know in a story, there has never, EVER been a complaint. Also, if you leave a stack within reach, Post-its make a great mini-book! ☺

Why does this save time? Well, I use this strategy to get kids quickly working on something that is less appealing (no pun intended) to them. They focus and are happy to complete the task (and usually ask for more Post-its to keep working!).

6) Keep a timer handy. It is so easy to lose track of time, and using a timer helps keep us all on track. I use a timer to remind us to eat a snack BEFORE the kids get grumpy. I use a timer to allow us plenty of time to clean up and prepare for the next day (see #4), since rushing around doesn’t typically create a joyful day at our house. I use a timer just to keep me aware of where we are in our schedule. However, just because the timer beeps doesn’t mean we stop our science experiment to do math. It just means that I am aware of pacing us to focus on our intentions (see #1).

7) Pick your battles by letting them choose. This strategy is great for THOSE days. You know… the days when everything is a battle. I learned this strategy from the behavior specialists. People, no matter if they are 3 or 83, like to feel they have choices.

You simply ask your child, “Do you want to do math or reading first today?” Both options will get done, but the child feels he or she has a choice. This is a win for you because both need to get done anyway, and it really doesn’t matter which is done first today. You can also use this strategy for snack choices, which outfit to wear, selecting a book to read, and many more.

The key is that all of the options you give them are good options. Then, you secretly keep everyone focused on those intentions and moving along the course. This saves you time (and likely some stress, too).

BONUS TIP: Search for your teaching resources using TeacherFileBox.com.

Have you tried TeacherFileBox? You can quickly search for quality Evan-Moor lesson plans and activities by grade level, subject, skill, and/or state standard! Finding great lessons quickly is an essential time saver!

If you like saving money, as well, TeacherFileBox is your one resource for lessons for grades PreK–8 for $12.99 a month or $99 a year. I bet you are spending more than that on curriculum already. Give it a try for free for 30 days by clicking here.

What are your favorite time-saving tips for teaching? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Amy Michaels is a certified teacher with 11 years of elementary classroom experience who is actively homeschooling her own children. Her mission is share the best teaching methods and resources with all homeschoolers. Amy supports parents through her podcasts, webinars, and online training for homeschoolers on her website http://www.thrivehomeschooling.com.

October 27, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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Feed a Growing Brain: Foods That Shape Up Brain Cells

One of the hallmarks of a healthy cell is a pliable, flexible membrane ready and able to drink in the nutrients critical for peak performance and jettison toxins and metabolic byproducts that may cause harm. A child’s brain cells are no exception and will thrive when nourished by a nutrient-rich diet.

Parents can help prime a child’s brain cells for optimal learning by focusing on nutrients essential for healthy cell membranes not only in the brain, but also throughout the body. One of these nutrients is omega-3 essential fatty acids.

The superstar omega-3
When it comes to brain health, two omega-3 fatty acids—ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)—can lend a helping hand, but the star is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). We must consume ALA in the foods we eat because our bodies can’t make it. But after we consume ALA, our bodies can summon a few enzymes into action to convert it into EPA and finally into DHA.

Why is this conversion so important? Both EPA and DHA influence the physical nature of cell membranes and cellular functions, while DHA plays an important structural role in the eye and brain. Trouble is, the rate of conversion is less than impressive. In fact, some researchers report that the body converts only about 15 percent of the typical ALA intake to EPA and DHA.

Now, we don’t have to rely on the body to convert ALA to DHA if we eat enough DHA-rich foods, but sadly, the typical American diet doesn’t come close to providing an adequate intake. For example, health experts recommend a daily intake of at least 650 milligrams for EPA and DHA combined. Yet, researchers report the typical American diet provides only about one-third of this amount—about 100 to 200 milligrams per day.

Good food sources of omega-3 fatty acids
English walnuts, flaxseed, green leafy vegetables such as purslane and spinach, and certain vegetable oils—canola, soybean, flaxseed, linseed, and olive—are particularly good sources of ALA. The only foods that supply substantial amounts of EPA and DHA are fish—particularly cold-water fish such as salmon, haddock, mackerel, tuna, anchovies, and sardines.

A word of caution
Some types—shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish—tend to concentrate higher amounts of the toxic heavy metal mercury. So, choose fish that are known to be lower in mercury more often. Think shellfish, canned fish, smaller ocean fish, and farm-raised fish. Or, consider supplementing with fish oil, which contains less mercury compared to fish meat. High-quality fish oil supplements meet strict standards to ensure low mercury content.
Kathleen & Lorna
Co-authors of Eating for A’s

Lorna Williams, MPH, RD, and Kathleen Dunn, MPH, RD, are registered dietitians who have been collaborating on health and nutrition projects for over 20 years. Together, they launched EatingFor.com, a fun and educational website focusing on child and teen nutrition, and co-authored Eating for A’s: A month-by-month nutrition and lifestyle guide to help raise smarter kids.

October 22, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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One Teacher’s Story: My Morning Routine

This year I entered a new grade level and wasn’t sure what it was going to bring. I felt just like a student on my first day, that anxious butterfly feeling, not know what the day would hold for me. 32 bright-eyed sixth graders filled my classroom and were just as nervous and excited as I was. I was eager to use many of my new curriculum purchases and ideas that I had stumbled across over the summer.

This year I am using Daily Language Review and Daily Math Practice books to start my mornings off. When the students come in, the first thing they do is unpack, turn in their homework and then proceed to work on the review questions for the day. This entire process takes up the first 10–15 minutes of each morning. It is a great way to kick-start the morning and get that brain power going!

Daily Language Review practice incorporates grammar, vocabulary skills, language skills, and sentence structure that is all aligned to Common Core. What I love about this practice book is that it builds off of itself over the course of the school year. As the students learn skills, they are able to put them into practice each morning while working on the worksheets. After the students have completed the daily practice, I project the worksheet up on my ELMO projector. We correct the five questions together as a class, and I use equity sticks to have students come up to the projector and walk us through the answer that they got. It is a great way to get all of the students involved.

Daily Math Practice is also aligned to Common Core and provides math practice on skills such as multiplication, division, fractions, addition, subtraction, and word problems. It too, builds upon itself as the school year progresses. I follow the same guidelines as with Daily Language Review, but instead of correcting the problems together first thing in the morning, we take the first five minutes after recess to go over the math problems. On Friday, I use the problems that we have reviewed over the course of the week and give the students a quiz. It is a great way for me to check for understanding and make sure that they know the concepts that we are going over. If the students struggled with a particular concept, I supply them with additional worksheets for classwork and homework.

Both of these books have been very beneficial to my classroom routine and learning environment. The students are loving the worksheets and are getting great use out of them! I highly recommend these products to every teacher at any grade level. You certainly will not be disappointed!

Erin Sawyer has been an elementary school teacher for 8 years and currently teaches sixth grade. She has also taught third and fourth grades. Erin enjoys finding resources that will motivate and challenge her students to learn. She also serves as the student council mentor to the upper-grade students.

October 20, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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A Simple Art Activity to “Bring out the Picasso” in Your Students

In celebration of Pablo Picasso’s birthday anniversary on October 25, this post features a free Picasso-inspired art lesson – that can be used anytime of the year. Plus, the simple collage activity also works for students and teachers who may not be artistically inclined!

Download this free Picasso Musician Collage activity from Evan-Moor’s How to Teach Art to Children (grades 1–6).

This lesson introduces students to Pablo Picasso and his painting Three Musicians. Students re-create the feel of cubes in art by creating a collage of a musician from paper scraps using the art elements of color and texture. The activity includes everything you need to get started: directions, biography, materials list, and illustrations.

Other helpful information:

This Picasso site provides an image of Picasso’s Three Musicians, a biography, and quotes.
This Pinterest board provides more Picasso-inspired art ideas for elementary school.

Teacher-recommended books to read:

Picasso (Famous Artists), by Antony Mason

Picasso: Breaking the Rules of Art, by David Spence

Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail, by Laurence Anholt

Picasso’s Trousers, by Nicholas Allan

When Pigasso Met Mootisse, by Nina Laden

Who Was Pablo Picasso? by True Kelly

October 16, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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3 Easy Ways to Compare Fiction and Non-fiction Books

Teaching a child how to compare and contrast fiction and nonfiction can help them understand the differences between stories take them on a wonderous adventure and fact-driven stories, which can also be adventurous.

Comparing fiction and nonfiction books is also a great way to get your child thinking about books in a new way. Paired texts involve using fiction and nonfiction books with similar subject matter. After reading both, your child then moves to the activities part, which stimulates their thinking in new and fun ways.

Here are 3 activities that you can try with your child:

1) When reading fiction and nonfiction books on a similar topic, ask your child to look for things that are the same and different in the book. Record their responses using a Venn Diagram. Click here for a free Venn Diagram printable. Two of my favorite titles for this activity are the fiction book, Pumpkins, Pumpkins by Jeanne Titherington, and the nonfiction title, The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons.

2) When reading 2 nonfiction books, teach your child how to take notes using a T-chart. This will allow them to compare the facts from each book. Here is a free printable for you.

3) While reading books, ask your child to be a detective to look for these clues:

Common Fiction Book Clues	Common Non-fiction Book Clues
Settings characters problem solution	table of contents glossary research facts photos or diagrams with labels index

Did YOU know (and I just learned this!)?
There are some fiction stories in the nonfiction section, such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Shakespeare’s work. Technically, all stories are assigned a Dewey Decimal number. Since there are so many fiction stories in the 800s nonfiction section, most libraries have a separate section for fiction books.

And a BONUS tip:
After reading a fiction book, ask your child if there is something in the story about which your child would like to know more. Then, use nonfiction books to do simple research!

How about a FREE resource? Click here for Evan-Moor’s downloadable sampler from Reading Paired Text for Grades 1-6! Reading Paired Text provides fun ready-made lessons including the stories and articles you need for the lessons and activities.

In this workbook, each study unit is based on 2 stories or articles. Within the units, the students are guided with specific activities to help them understand and compare the two different types of stories. There are also fun extension activities that can be done to include other subject areas as well! How great is that?

Learn more about Reading Paired Text on Evan-Moor’s website, or subscribe to TeacherFilebox.com to access these lessons and every Evan-Moor workbook!

Now we want to hear from you: What are your ideas for comparing fiction and nonfiction books? Please let us know in the comments section!

October 14, 2015
by Evan-Moor
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Halloween Fun: Skeleton Art Project and Science Activities

This simple “Silly Skeleton” art project was one of my favorites to do with my class around Halloween time. It was easy to integrate into a science unit, and it includes a poem for reading fluency practice. Plus, the completed art projects made a festive bulletin board. As a result, when posted altogether, they created the effect of a wall of dancing skeletons!

First, I reproduced a skeleton pattern for each student, and then we completed the skeleton art project together in class. You will need a few art supplies: glue, scissors, hole punch, white paper, black construction paper, and orange construction paper for the frame. (For younger students, you can use colored pencils to draw the eyes instead of using a hole punch.)

Here’s the free downloadable activity: Silly Skeleton from Art for All Seasons.

Then, we would read and discuss the poem as a whole class for fluency practice. The poem can be glued to the front or back of the project. I would also make an extra copy of the poem for students to include in their journals or pronged poem books kept in their desks. This way, they could reread their growing collection of poems whenever they had a few extra minutes.

Next, I would extend the art project into a science unit on the skeleton. Here’s a sample science unit for grades 1–3 where students learn about the parts of a skeleton, name the bones, and complete simple experiments.

Last of all, remember to display the completed skeleton art projects in your classroom!

We’d love to see a photo of your silly skeletons! Please email photos to joyofteaching@evan-moor.com. We will display photos on our Halloween Pinterest board.

For more Halloween ideas, see Evan-Moor’s Art for All Seasons and these blog posts:

Educational Halloween Activities and Fun Classroom Ideas

Easy Hanging Spider Craft for Halloween

For lesson printables and other classroom ideas, subscribe to Evan-Moor’s free e-newsletter!

Marti Beeck enjoyed volunteering in her three children’s classrooms so deeply, that she returned to school to earn her CLAD teaching credential. For the next thirteen years, she worked as a classroom teacher in grades 1-3. Her experience as a primary classroom teacher, as well as adult school and intervention for elementary and high school, was inspired by her background in psychology and interest in brain-based learning. Marti currently works in the field of educational publishing as an editor.