Teaching Resource Center

Rain Stick Craft

Carol Brooke — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:14:07 +0000

Your students will love making rain sticks. This can be used as a simple spring craft or it can supplement a social studies lesson about native South American culture. Appropriate for Grades: 2nd – 12th Rain Stick Craft Materials: paper towel roll toothpicks beans, rice, gravel or small pebbles paint (any colors) paint brushes 2 rubber-bands for each rain stick newspaper or recycled paper paper [...]

Spring Bunny Pencil Holder

Carol Brooke — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:56:55 +0000

This spring craft is quick, easy and useful. Your students will enjoy using recycled materials to create their own Spring Bunny Pencil Holders. Materials: glass jar, tin can or plastic container (yogurt or sour cream) glue wiggly eyes (2 per student) pom poms (2 per student for the nose and tail) brown paper bag wikki stix or chenille stems/pipe cleaners feathers pen pencils glitter (optional) paint brush [...]

Earth Day Egg Carton Garden

Carol Brooke — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:27:22 +0000

Your students will love creating their own egg carton gardens. This easy and fun project is a great way to introduce the plant life cycle. After the seedlings sprout, send the sprouting gardens home or plant your own classroom garden outside! Types of Gardens 1. Herb Garden – basil, chives, mint, parsley, rosemary and sage. Explain how herbs are used to season food. [...]

Spring Cycles

Kelly Wilson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:25:19 +0000

Spring is full of nature's cycles, which makes it an ideal time of year to study them with your students. Here's a variety of lesson plans to help, including reading and writing activities as well as science experiments focused on the water cycle and life cycles!

Free Water Cycle Lesson Plan, Poster and Worksheet

Carol Brooke — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:17:10 +0000

Here’s a free, printable Water Cycle (black and white or color) and Water Cycle science experiment worksheet. Prior Knowledge Assessment: Students are not allowed to use a dictionary, poster or science book for the prior knowledge assessment. When introducing the term, Water Cycle, ask the students to draw a diagram and define every part of the water cycle on [...]

Free Frog Race Life Cycle Game

Carol Brooke — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:09:12 +0000

Your students will love playing this Frog Life Cycle Game. You can either let the students bring home their game or laminate the pieces and keep it for classroom use. This game is intended for four players, but can be played solo or with more players. Students will need to be divided into small groups of 4 or [...]

Spring Into Poetry

Kelly Wilson — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:24:35 +0000

Spring poetry is a fun way to acknowledge the transition of the seasons and to connect reading and writing through studying the form and language of poetry. Spring poems are included in this post, as well as suggestions for helping your students create their own.

Space Saving Sprouting

Kelly Wilson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:01:03 +0000

The sun shines on more of a consistent basis, the air is warming up, rain falls so that plants can grow – it’s Spring! Time to kill grow plants. School and Community Gardens are all the rage, but what if, like me, you have a “black” thumb instead of a “green” one? Or what if [...]

The Plant Race Science Lesson Plan

Kelly Wilson — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:25:14 +0000

In honor of the Spring growth I’m starting to see, here’s an easy science lesson that helps kids discover how organic material helps plants grow. The particular fertilizer used in this elementary science experiment is hundreds of years old, and comes from Squanto, the Native American who helped the Pilgrims. Squanto made it possible for the [...]

Egg Carton Math

Kelly Wilson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:52:17 +0000

Eggs are a symbol of the Spring season, and their convenient cartons make for some fun math activities in the classroom! Get Donations Before you can get started, you’re going to need quite a few of these egg cartons. Put out a call to parents asking for donations – they should be easy to get since most people [...]

A Biography “Egg”stravaganza

Kelly Wilson — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:47:04 +0000

No matter what grade level, students can benefit from this biography project that incorporates reading, note-taking, writing and speaking. Use the included suggestions and graphic organizers for a project that is both comprehensive and fun!

Baby Chick Craft, Math and Writing Lesson

Carol Brooke — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:14:26 +0000

Your students will love creating and writing about their baby chicks. Appropriate for Grades: K-2 Materials: free baby chick beak, feet and box template free My Baby Chick writers’ workshop book (black & white or color) yellow yarn wiggly eyes paper towel or toilet paper roll pen crayons pencils plastic green grass, hay or real grass and leaves Instructions for the Chick’s Body: Write the student’s name on the [...]

Free Spring Poetry Printable Book and Little Bunny Dance Poem

Carol Brooke — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:13:43 +0000

Materials: Free Spring Poetry Printable Book (color or black & white) Pencils Crayons Stapler Poems Here’s the Classic Poem, Little Bunny Foo Foo Little bunny Foo Foo Hopping through the forest Scooping up the field mice And bopping them on the head Down came the Good Fairy, and she said ”Little bunny Foo Foo I don’t want to see you Scooping up the field mice And bopping them on the head.” Little [...]

The Legend of the Easter Bunny

Kelly Wilson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:54:26 +0000

Why does a bunny hide eggs each Easter for us to find? This reading and writing lesson plan will help your kids explore the legend genre as well as create their own possible answers to this question.

All About Bunnies Poetry!

Kelly Wilson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:39:47 +0000

Spring brings to mind images of fluffy bunnies. Included in this post are poems about bunnies along with helpful suggestions for how to use these poems in your classroom!

Inside Wikki Stix

Kelly Wilson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:58:50 +0000

Wikki Stix help kids learn and are a lot of fun - as teachers, could we ask for much more than that? But where did they come from, and why are they named "Wikki Stix?" A recent interview with the Kem Clark, the Owner and President of The Wikki Stix Company, answers these questions and more!

Free Clock Template to Use with Wikki Stix

Carol Brooke — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:34:56 +0000

This telling time activity is ideal for visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. Your student will enjoy telling analog and digital time using wikki stix. Materials: Free What time is it? template Wikki Stix White Board Markers Laminate Instructions: Print one What time is it? template for each child and the teacher. Laminate each one. Choose one color for the hour (e.g. red) and one [...]

Rainforest Lesson Plan and Wikki Stix Animals

Carol Brooke — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:34:36 +0000

Your students will love creating their own rainforest, rainforest animal and rainforest report. This habitat lesson comes with a free rainforest layer printable template. You’ll also find a free, printable rainforest report book. Materials: free rainforest layer template, tree & animal faces template (black & white or color) For the example, the teacher can use the color template. Students [...]

Spotlight On Classroom Blogging

Kelly Wilson — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:18:29 +0000

It's not unusual that in order to keep up with our friends and family members, we can take a look at their blogs. The classroom is no different. Here is one teacher who uses a blog as part of her classroom routine that has proven to be a benefit to both students and parents.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the Classroom

Kelly Wilson — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:40:27 +0000

St. Patrick's Day is March 17th, but with these activities you could be celebrating all week long! Take a look at these fun and easy spelling, reading, writing and math activities with a St. Patrick's twist.

Saint Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Trap

Carol Brooke — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:08:41 +0000

Your students will love making leprechaun traps while they learn about the scientific concepts of push, pull and lever. Leprechauns will visit your classroom looking for gold coins. When your students return to the classroom after lunch they will find sparkling, green footprints and notes from a leprechaun! Here’s the free note and art to decorate the leprechaun traps. Materials: Students are [...]

Fun Classroom Projects for St. Patrick’s Day

Carol Brooke — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:06:43 +0000

See our easy, fun St. Patrick’s Day classroom crafts projects and free shamrock, leprechaun and other St. Patrick’s Day patterns you can use in the classroom.

A Leprechaun Writing Lesson Plan

Kelly Wilson — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:52:19 +0000

Leprechauns are particularly fun characters of legend. Here is a writing lesson plan to help your students plan how they would catch a leprechaun and find the pot of gold!

A St. Patrick’s Day Guessing Game

Kelly Wilson — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:49:37 +0000

Upon reflection, I realized how many St. Patrick's Day symbols that I really didn't know anything about. Instead of reviewing facts, use this fun guessing game to help your kids understand the symbols of this fun holiday.

If You’re Sick of Snow…

Kelly Wilson — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:03:39 +0000

Most of the country is buried in snow, and there's probably a large number of teachers who are sick of it. Here are two strategies to deal with these wintry days, along with a wealth of lesson plans to help kids build or review skills.