Our backyard bird feeder attracts a lot of feathered and furry friends. And last night, I had a new guest, that pretty mama deer in the photo left! This was surprising because we live in a city but also exciting. We often visit our "deer friends" in their habitat by the lake and it was nice that they came to see us in ours! And being a teacher, what's my first thought? To make any cool experience into lesson plans! This summer, I've been writing a series on story party ideas based on favorite kids books. Today I'll share a deer themed book party and lesson planner, in honor of our deer friend (whom I've named Fauna) and our newest grandson Ezra whose spirit animal is a deer. I'll include cross-curricular lesson plans, book party crafts, games, snacks, free printable deer coloring pages, plus famous literary deer such as Bambi, Sven from Frozen and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!
free printable lesson plans on alphabet to zoology and everything in between
Free printable deer themed unit lesson plans, coloring pages: Frozen, Bambi, Rudolph story party ideas
Our backyard bird feeder attracts a lot of feathered and furry friends. And last night, I had a new guest, that pretty mama deer in the photo left! This was surprising because we live in a city but also exciting. We often visit our "deer friends" in their habitat by the lake and it was nice that they came to see us in ours! And being a teacher, what's my first thought? To make any cool experience into lesson plans! This summer, I've been writing a series on story party ideas based on favorite kids books. Today I'll share a deer themed book party and lesson planner, in honor of our deer friend (whom I've named Fauna) and our newest grandson Ezra whose spirit animal is a deer. I'll include cross-curricular lesson plans, book party crafts, games, snacks, free printable deer coloring pages, plus famous literary deer such as Bambi, Sven from Frozen and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!
Free printable Peter Rabbit bunny crafts for Beatrix Potter story party or Easter party
In keeping with my story party theme, here are bunny book party ideas and rabbit themed lesson plans. I've included free printables, bunny crafts, rabbit themed snacks and games based on Beatrix Potter stories and other books about rabbits. You could use them for a Beatrix Potter or Peter Rabbit story party, Easter party or as preschool-early elementary activities. I've included cross-curricular activities for lesson plans. Homeschool parents, I know you need ways to engage all age students. So have older kids read "Watership Down." Then they can have an excuse to do these rabbit crafts! And as always, olders should help the little ones for extra learning cred!
Preschool reading activities: Have children collect all their rabbit stuffed animals and toys. Don't forget Rabbit from Winnie-the-Pooh or Thumper from Bambi. Bring animals friends to the story party! Remember to make the pillow pile I mentioned in an earlier post. Children will listen better if they can snuggle up with their cuddle toys. For very lil uns, read stories just before bed.
Preschool dress up activities: Printable
animal masks from
Classroom Jr. Everything is more fun when you're in costume. So let's start by
making a printable bunny mask. Here are more animal
printables from First
Palette. Print on plain paper and transfer to recycled cereal box cardboard to
make the mask more durable.
Rabbit crafts: Vintage
Easter Bunny crafts Now that kids are properly attired for the story party, let's make some Easter baskets and greeting cards. You don't have to wait for Easter to make Easter crafts and they lend themselves well to Peter Rabbit and Peter Cottontail stories. The Toymaker (link above) has free printable egg baskets, bunny cards and an
Rabbit games: Play the egg roll game (like they play on the White House lawn) included on the Toymaker link. (Grandson Moses, I foresee a lot of fun playing this with you!)
Volunteer and Community activities: Make greeting cards from the Toymaker link. Fill baskets with rabbit themed treats (listed below) and share with a neighbor, senior, someone who is sick or disabled. Wear your bunny mask, of course! It doesn't have to be Easter to bring some bunny luv!
Dramatic play and fine motor activities: Make these cut and paste 3D
Paper Bunny Crafts and then use them to act out stories after reading them. Pass out baby carrots for theater snacks! Homeschool parents, engage the baby by making her the audience and theatre critic!
Art lesson plans: Paper
Bunny Toy Mania DL-TK,
those wonderfully crafty folk, have a blowout of Easter bunny coloring pages,
masks, paper ears, stand-up toys, pop up crafts and much more. I love how easy
these are to make. Perfect for preschool, toddlers, babies and special needs children who need
no-fail activities. (Grandson Ezra, I look forward to seeing you in rabbit ears, sir!)
Math and literature activities: Peter Rabbit and The Velveteen
Rabbit (Margery Williams) has
a page on Making Friends. It's part of a complete page of free printable bunny-based
coloring pages, games, puzzles, dot-to-dot, count by number and other activities. Grandsons Milo and Lucian (the twos) you'll like the felt board games and felt board pattern printables. First School has
an educational
Peter Rabbit unit with
learning games, literature activities, writing prompts and stories.
Writing Activities: Use free printable Peter Rabbit coloring pages to create a booklet and then tell the story in their own words. Or they might use generic rabbit coloring pages to make up their own bunny book! Best idea of all is to assign children to design their own rabbit, give her a name and make up adventures for her! (Silas, I know you'll like this one!)
Bunny treats AKA snack craft (Granddaughter Lola, just for you, girlfriend!)
You'll need:
--Hostess Twinkies or Sno Balls (coconut covered marshmallow cakes) or Dolly Madison Zingers or
unfrosted cupcakes
--Handi-Snacks Oreos Dunk'Ems or white frosting
--oval cookies (Nutter Butter) or ladyfingers or graham cracker sticks, or pretzels.
--pink frosting
--red jellybeans
--coconut
--square gum pellets like Chiklets or Trident cut in half
--miniature marshmallows
To make bunny teats,
1) open Handi-Snacks and use cookies to frost cupcake or Twinkie. Or use knife or popsicle stick and plain frosting. If using pre-frosted Zingers or Sno Balls, skip to step three.
2) Sprinkle frosted cake immediately with shredded coconut.
3) Spread pink frosting on cookies or crackers for ears. If using pretzels, dip in pink frosting. Insert cookie "ears" in cake.
4) Insert two jellybeans for eyes and two gum pellets for teeth. Attach marshmallows with frosting for tail.
Science snack craft: Discuss where rabbits live (in warrens under the ground) and what they eat (herbivores eat plants, leaves, vegetables). Review Peter Rabbit and what he liked in Mr. Macgregor's garden--lettuces, French beans (green string beans), radishes and then parsley for his sick tummy. The other bunnies ate blackberries.
Collect various kinds of garden vegetables: carrots, broccoli, lettuce, beans, pea pods, cauliflower, peppers, cucumbers and celery. Include some less familiar ones: parsnips, scallions, endive, mustard greens. Set out a tray of herbs for sensory exploration. Let children herbs and vegetables. Have them touch, smell and taste and describe them. Then let them prep them for a veggie tray to enjoy. Or they might make vegetable soup.
Free printable Scrabble games and homemade Scrabble and Boggle word games
Looking for hands-on spelling lesson plans? Here's a fun, easy DIY language arts game to make using homemade Scrabble or Boggle dice. Use manipulatives with preschool through high school, in reading, writing and spelling activities. Here are free printable Scrabble games plus instructions for a homemade word game I call Babble (Scrabble plus Boggle). The site gives free printable Scrabble tiles if you want to play the traditional game too!
I love the word games Boggle and Scrabble in which players make words from random letters. Both Scrabble and Boggle are superb word games for spelling and reading practice. So I invented a game called Babble, that combines the scoring of Scrabble with the letter mix-up of Boggle. Use with the free printable games I've linked to, in reading lesson plans, spelling games and writing activities. Here's how to make and play Babble.
You will need
12 dice: Recycle die from old games like Kismet or Yahtzee.
Dice can be purchased at almost any store for under $2).
Permanent markers
Blank stickers (round or square white stickers are best)
Note pad
small pencils
watch or timer
small box
To make Babble: (Scrabble plus Boggle)
Affix a sticker to each of the six sides of the die.
Label each die side with a different letter. With 12 dice times six sides you will have room for 72 letters. Since some letters are more popular, label dice this way. It makes no difference where on the dice you put which letters, Just be sure to get this many letters in.
-four times each, letters: A, E, I, O, U, R, S, T, L, N
-three times each letters: B, C, D, F, G, H, M, P
-one time each, letters: J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y, Z
-dictionary to check spelling
To play Scraggle:
Distribute pencils and pads. Players take turns shaking box with letter dice, to rearrange.
Player open box and make sure all dice are flat and showing letters.
Time players for three to five minutes, to see how many words they can make with letters showing.
Scoring is as follows:
-3 letter words = 5 points
-4 letter words = 10 points
-5 letter words = 20 points
-6 letter words = 50 points
-7 letter words = 100 points
-8 letter words = 200 points
Players should check each others words for accuracy.
Use the free printable spelling worksheets plus this game for learning on the go! Do spelling lesson plans in the car, at the store, on a place, while waiting in line; anywhere you go it goes.
Free printable May Day labor union history lesson plans
Spring is a poignant time in labor history. March 25, 1911 remembers 146 workers, mostly women, lost in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. April 16 mourns Ireland's Easter Rising of slain Feinians. April 28 marks Workers' Memorial Day, on which the organized labor movement pays tribute to the fallen in workplace accidents or in organized labor struggles. May 1 is May Day, honoring International Workers' Day. May 4 commemorates casualties at Chicago's Haymarket riot at a 1886 labor rally. May 19, 1920 is a day when the organized labor movement grieves the Matewan and Mingo County massacre of coal miners. On May 26, 1937 those who would from unions were assaulted at Ford's River Rouge plant "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.
Organized
labor history is taught as part of American history, but there is no American
(or world) history without labor history. Unions, collective bargaining--the
fight for workers' rights impact every industry, occupation and person.
Teachers and homeschoolers, you can educate students about unions with these
free printable May Day and labor history lesson plans. These links include
websites, activities, worksheets, movies and books on the organized labor
movement.
The
American Labor Studies Center offers a gamut of free printable organized labor movement lesson
plans. It covers history,
events, strikes, lockouts, workplace injuries, child labor, working conditions,
collective bargaining, 8-hour workday, sweatshops, slavery, organizing,
indentured servitude, socialism and labor, women's rights, African American
labor issues, minority discrimination concerns, ULP (unfair labor practices).
Lessons cover the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire (the worst workplace accident in history), West
Virginia labor, Pullman Strike (1894), Lawrence Textile Strike (1913), Lowell
Strike, Paterson Silk Strike, agriculture strikes and other events. Get free printable
union labor worksheets, fill-ins, puzzles and study guides. There are links to
films
Explore
famous labor leaders: Noam Chomsky, Joe Hill, "Big Bill" Haywood,
Pete Seeger, Jimmy Hoffa, Caesar Chavez, the Wisconsin 14 and others from
the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), AFL-CIO, Teamsters and more. This site has
biographies of women labor leaders including Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Mary
Harris "Mother"
Jones and more. To use
in lessons, print the list of names on one side and short bios on the other
side (mixed up). Students match person with details. Print photos and pin to a
map at places they are associated with. Or make a time line along the wall.
Plot images in history.
The
National Endowment for the Humanities offers two companion lessons in its
series The Industrial Age in America. "Sweatshops, Steel Mills
and Factories" and "Robber Barons and
Captains of Industry"
define the problems faced by workers in labor history and the reasons for the
organized labor movement. Use the worksheets and activities with middle school
and high school students.
The
Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs at Wayne State University
in Detroit maintains the largest organized labor history archive in the U.S. It
has an impressive collection of images in physical exhibits and digital
archives on The Labor Movement and Organizations. Walther Reuther who was one of several injured
at Ford's Rouge factory "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.
The United Farm Workers is the union begun by Cesar Chavez that tends to itinerant
and agricultural labor issues. Along with labor movement, the UFW educates
people about food safety, immigration, deportation, earth and green
initiatives, pesticides and more. An important piece is the youth activism
page. UFW seeks to take union and agricultural awareness beyond the classroom
walls and into real life.
In
honor of May Day, here's a quote from the Albert Shanker Institute. "Imagine opening a high school U.S.
history textbook and finding no mention of-or at most a passing sentence
about-Valley Forge, the Missouri Compromise...Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and
Clark. Imagine if these key events and people just disappeared as if they'd
never existed...That is what has happened in history textbooks when it comes to
labor's part in the American story." Use these lesson plans to keep the
May Day stories and message alive.
Free printable Anzac Day lesson plans on WWI, Australia, New Zealand, Gallipoli military history
April 25 commemorates Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand. It's akin to Veteran's Day, or as it was originally called Armistice Day in that it honors WWI Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). However Anzac Day falls on April 25, to recognize the landing at Gallipoli, in 1915. As with Veterans Day, the holiday has been expanded to honor all who served, suffered or died, in any conflict, war or peace-keeping operation.
Here are free printable history lesson plans from New Zealand History, to help students understand the significance of Anzac forces in World War I, not just to Australia and New Zealand but to the entire world. This site has activities and information on the Maori Battalion. 28th Maori Battalion has more on the Maori and their role in WWI and WWII.
For Teachers For Students has complete units of Anzac Day lesson plans including history worksheets, puzzles, word search activities, poems and math activities to explore Gallipoli and WWI by the numbers.
Teach Starter is a blog with all kinds of Anzac Day lesson plans, including free printable word search activities, arts and crafts to honor veterans, such as wreaths and poppies. The poppy is the symbol for remembrance of the fallen in World War I (WWI). There are also recipes for Anzac biscuits, a type of hardtack made for the WWI troops at Gallipoli and other engagements. Here's another site with free printable Anzac Day activities to remember this auspicious holiday.
Free printable penguin coloring pages and Antarctica lesson plans
This Pinterest board has links for dozens of free printable penguin themed lesson plans. Edupics has free printable coloring pages of penguins. Coloring.ws has penguin printables including coloring pages, puzzles, connect the dot and more.
First Palette has penguin lesson plans to print free, with cute printable Antarctica habitat diorama activities for earth science crafts
. There are also other polar printables. Super Coloring has cartoon penguin printables that look like the Webkinz penguins, perfect for preschool.
Enchanted Learning offers a unit of free printable penguin lesson plans. There are polar biome and habitat diorama activities for science lessons, Antarctica map activities for social studies lesson plans. Use these in your Earth Month lessons.
There puzzles, games, penguin crafts, word search and connect the dot to teach math and reading. I love the printable mini books at the site too, perfect for emergent readers and preschool kids. Use these activities in homeschool too! There's something for even the youngest learners! May your Earth Month be bright!
Earth Day recycled trash bird feeders: science lesson plans, printables and trash crafts!
Just in time for Earth Day, here are recycled trash crafts for kids, to repurpose and reuse recycled milk jugs as homemade bird feeders. These bird feeders are great for National Bird Day (March 14) also. Make bird feeders in your preschool science learning centers or as part of ecology lesson plans. These recycled trash crafts are cheap, easy to make and fun for all ages.
First, if you're doing these lesson plans as part of homeschool, and you've got some little ones who are bit too young to be interested (grandsons Milo, Lucian and Ezra, Omi is smiling at you here!) you'll want activities to keep them involved. So how about assigning them the task of chief bird researcher (be sure to use the word "chief." The youngest ones love to be the boss sometimes!) Here are free printable bird coloring pages to for them to explore. As much as possible, find ways for youngers to be part of lesson plans.
Next, teach children that reusing recycled milk jugs help the environment in three ways: when you repurpose and reuse recycled milk jugs you reduce the number that go into landfills. Homemade bird feeders support wildlife and the ecosystem. Making bird seed recipes from recycled kitchen scraps cuts waste.
To make homemade bird feeders, wash, rinse and dry recycled milk jugs. Next, draw a window on the front of the milk jug on the opposite side from the handle. The window should be about two and one half inches from the bottom and about four inches on all sides. Using everyday scissors cut out the window. The plastic cuts pretty easily, but can be scratchy. You can assist those with physical limitations. After cutting the window, poke 5 small holes in the bottom to drain and air the birdseed and keep it dry. Decorate Earth Day crafts with permanent markers, stickers or fabric paint. Make festive nature patterns.
Now for the bird feeder fodder: here's a great time to explore bird species, habitats and nutritional requirements in your science lesson plans. To attract a variety of critters, fill the feeder up to about 1 and 1/2 inches with various bird seed recipes. You can buy generic bird seed in bulk inexpensively. This will attract chickadees, cardinals, house finch, dark-eyed juncos, sparrows, starlings, blue jays and lots of hungry squirrels. For special bird seed treats, save citrus rinds, apple peelings, fruit seeds, stale popcorn, bread, crackers and nuts. Blend with peanut butter and bird seed and place homemade bird feeder. If you carve a pumpkin, save the seeds. Squirrels will canvas the back yard at Halloween after pumpkin carving to get prized seeds.
Hang the bird feeder crafts in a tree, from poles or just about anything except utility wires. Hang with bird feeders with bright red yarn or ribbon. Many birds love bright red. You can place the feeder on a porch rail if necessary. Put a nail through the bottom to hold it in place. The youngest can be in charge of monitoring bird feeders and helping to refill them.
Stay tuned for more Earth Day lesson plans, printables and activities!
Homemade hats for kids: Earth Day recycled trash crafts with free printable paper hat patterns
Got kids Covid quarantined kids with stuck-at-home-itis? Got rainy-day, can't go out to play bored kids? Or, maybe you're looking for recycled trash crafts for Earth Day on April 22? If so, here's my teacher-mama first aid kit. Homeschool parents and teachers, your recycle bin is your best bud for hands-on eco-friendly, eco-nomical lesson plans. Repurpose and reuse household stuff in nifty, thrifty crafts, games and activities. Today's recycled trash crafts feature homemade hats for kids with hours of preschool dress up fun! Here's a guide plus links to free printable paper hats (this link goes to Enchanted Learning, another bestie for homeschool teacher-mamas and papas!)
The first prototype for these homemade hats was developed by our oldest daughter at 20 months old. We kept her blocks and toys sorted in recycled 5 pound peanut butter pails. One day, Little Miss emptied one, plopped it on her head, tucked handle under chin and voila—an instant helmet. Then she proceeded to saddle up and ride baby brother like her noble steed! After I removed the bucket handle for her safety and her from brother for his, I realized what really cool hats for kids can be made with a little repurpose and reuse ingenuity!
Weed through your recycle bin for plastic ice cream buckets, butter tubs, coffee canisters you can repurpose and reuse. Size them so they fit child's head without any leftover. You don't want hats to completely envelop the child's face. You can repurpose and reuse milk jugs as awesome knight's helmets. Remove handle and use hole from the handle as a helmet visor. Cut a piece of plastic and attach with brads to make a visor flap.
Let children paint color, cover and decorate homemade hats however they wish. Wrap in aluminum foil for an armored helmet. Or have young inventors make hats, helmets and headpieces for robots, soldiers, aliens, animals, astronauts. Make homemade crowns for kings and queens and princesses (cut both ends out to make cylinder shape and decorate. Make cone-shaped medieval lady hats by rolling a square of paper in a funnel shape. Trim edge even. Staple recycled crepe paper streamers to hat. Cut decorations from recycle bin stuff. Repurpose and reuse old headgear in cute homemade hats for kids costumes. Repurpose and reuse silk flowers, fabric scraps, ribbons, yarn, buttons, appliques, and faux gems as decorations for your recycled crafts. Kids might wear their hats in an Earth Day parade!
SS42 has lots of free printable paper hats for kids in several styles--baseball hats, hats with monster heads (zombies, vampire, spider web and pumpkin). There are free printable paper animal hats with noses and bills to go with animal costumes and a paper bucket hat to design and color yourself for Hat Day. Here are free printable paper hat patterns like the pointy party paper hats that attaches with a rubber band.
My grampa was a newspaper printer. He always made newspaper hats for me and my kids (probably where my little hat maker got her inspiration). In "Curious George Rides a Bike" George shows an easy way to make paper hat patterns or paper boats from newspaper. Here's his free printable paper hat pattern you can incorporate into reading lesson plans or activities for Earth Day. I think I'll make one in Grampa's memory!
Giant Panda Bear printables, Kung Fu Panda lesson plans, activities coloring pages for Earth Day
Did you know that the Giant Panda is the Earth Day mascot? This will greatly please my grandson Lucian whose best friend is a panda bear named "B"! Here are free printable panda bear lesson plans, activities and coloring pages for us all to celebrate!
First-School is an awesome website for educational printables and the subject of free printable panda bear activities is no exception. There are games, science lesson plans, literature based printables, worksheets, word search, coloring pages and more. Making Learning Fun has cute panda bear printables too.
Living Montessori Now has links to Giant Panda printables with games, crafts and preschool activities. Lesson Planet has a plethora of free printable zoo lesson plans, including many Giant Panda activities. Enchanted Learning has dozens of free printable lesson plans on pandas. There are worksheets, crossword puzzles, maps, endangered species activities, science lesson plans and more. What could be more perfect for Earth Day?
How about doing a unit on Eric Carle's "Panda Bear, Panda Bear What do you See?" for Earth Day, April 22? Here are Eric Carle printables including some from that best-loved book. And what would a unit on pandas be without some activities involving Po, the Kung Fu Panda? Most of these have printables on other types of bears too.
Free printable Dr. Seuss Lorax science lesson plans for Earth Day
Dr. Seuss’s book "The Lorax" is the perfect book to read for Earth Day as it explores corporate waste, pollution and lack of environmentally friendly practices. Here are environmental science activities from The Lorax. Use these literature-based Lorax lesson plans for Earth Day lesson plans and crafts. Start with free printable Lorax activities and Dr. Seuss lesson plans.
Text
to Life Dr Seuss lesson plans. The Lorax is a
parable or allegory. Characters represent ideas or people. As you read the Lorax
ask students to decide who these characters represent: The Once-ler
(corporations, society, people), The Boy (children, the future generation), The
Lorax (God, Mother Nature, a Supreme Being).
Lorax
story maps. After reading The Lorax, students should design environmental
science diagrams to show food web and pollution impacts charts. Show in
sequence how each species relies on the Trufulla trees. These could be drawn in
cartoon format or as flowcharts. Now show backwards, how the Once-ler's factory
takes out not only too the Trufulla trees away, but pollutes the air and water
and harms the animals and plants. Here are endangered species printables to show what that looks like in real life.
Explore
environmental science vocabulary from the Lorax--sustainable, ecology,
symbiotic relationship, biodegradable, environment, pollution, interdependence,
interconnected, food web, food chain, carbon footprint, carbon cycle, Make 3D
graphic organizers by folding paper into 6 parts. for sequenced cartoon strip.
Make a sequence book by accordion folding a wide strip of paper. On each page
or frame, students write a word or sentence explaining what damage the factory
created and how it affects each animal group. Or make a circle chart to show how
nature is interconnected, by folding paper circles in six parts. Here are free printable habitat
dioramas.
Environmental
science experiments. Plant seeds. Here's an excellent text to life connection.
Do as the Lorax and Once-ler advised and plant trees. Sprout seeds in simple
terrariums by placing dried beans and wet paper towel in Ziploc bags. Or put
carrot tops in water. Show how seeds need clean air and sun to grow. Place one
seedling in a dark, dusty room such as a broom closet and others in the sun.
Water some but not others. Compare results.
Writer's
Workshop Dr. Seuss lesson plans. April is National Poetry Month. Write poems for
Earth Day, telling what will happen "unless" people stop polluting
and start caring for the earth. Or write an Earth Day song about why it is
important to keep our world green. Draw shape poems, writing each line or
sentence in the shape of the sun, trees, fish, birds, etc. The Lorax says he
"speaks for the trees for the trees have no voice." Have children
make posters, poems and songs to advocate for the trees.
Environmental
science field trips and experiments. Go on a litter hunt. Take before and after
pictures of the playground, woods or roadside. Give each student a recycled
plastic bag and latex or plastic gloves. Count, weigh and measure how much
trash was collected in 15 minutes. Chart and graph different kinds of litter
and show what kinds of trash is most commonly thrown out. Start a recycling
club. Take a field trip to visit a wildlife refuge, native tribal council, DNR
station, nature center, fish hatchery or nature preserve. Wherever you live in
this wide wonderful world, there are places to explore the wildlife in your
area and folks committed to sharing their love of nature with students.
Environmental
science skits. Students should write skits on reducing pollution and litter. Or
retell The Lorax story. Explore the internet for new ways to reuse trash. For
example, communities in Michigan create green eco-friendly park benches to made
entirely from recycled plastic milk jugs.
Design
a bird feeder, watering station and bird house. Use recycled materials like
milk jugs. Compost food scraps. Or make bird seed cakes. Explore local
songbirds in your area. Here are George Washington Carver printables with recycling ideas from the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle
King himself!
Free printable ecology lesson plans from George Washington Carver
Earth Day is April 22 and all month long we celebrate earth awareness. I can't think of a better person to introduce children to in honor of Earth Month, than Dr. George Washington Carver. This African American scientist came from humble roots to literally
reinvent agriculture. Use this free printable George Washington Carver science activity booklet to learn more about this famous African American--and Nobel Prize winner--for Black History Month.
In
this free printable activity booklet, learn how George Washington Carver was
born into slavery and orphaned as an infant. Despite unspeakable poverty and
oppression, this courageous young African American got an education and went on
lead the nation in agricultural research. Service to mankind was Dr. Carver's
mission. Raised in slavery, George Washington Carver learned to be resourceful
and creative. Slaves were forced to make do with very little. They learned to
improvise. George Washington Carver developed hundreds of new uses for many
local products that had heretofore been considered junk. He invented countless
uses for the peanut and sweet potato, which up to this point were used only as
animal fodder. Dr. Carver referred to his simple laboratory as "God's
Little Workshop."
The
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has created a free printable
activity booklet based on the life and work of Dr. George Washington Carver.
This activity booklet has coloring pages, word search, puzzles, science charts
and diagrams, science experiments and biology lesson plans to help students
explore Dr. George Washington Carver. This activity booklet includes several
free printable charts that show the many products that Dr. Carver created based
on native plants like the peanut and sweet potato. He developed textiles,
building supplies, cosmetics as well as food products.
This
hardworking African American is the prefect focus for Black History Month
lesson plans bur also for any science unit. Dr. Carver revolutionized antiquated,
hurtful farming practices. He taught farmers to practice crop rotation and to
plant nitrogen-producing plants which George Washington Carver was instrumental
in improving not only agricultural methods, but also the economy of the rural
south. By teaching farmers new ways to use native crops, Dr. Carver built up
commerce and trade after the Civil War, in impoverished southern states.
Explore this famous African American using free printable resources on Earth
Day or during Earth Month in April.
Free printable endangered species coloring pages and lesson plans for Earth Day
Earth Day, which replaces the original holiday Arbor Day is celebrated in the United States on April 22. Here's a free printable environmental science booklet, Save our Species, with information, activities and coloring pages exploring endangered species in the US. The purpose of Earth Day is to celebrate the earth, educate people and explore ways to protect natural resources. Protecting our earth include supporting our animals, plants and habitats. Earth Day reminds people that they rely on the earth for sustenance and the earth relies on them for care and safety. Exploring and understanding endangered and threatened species helps us to learn better ways to care for our environment as a whole.
The EPA has developed a free
printable 28 page environmental science activity and coloring booklet entitled
Save Our Species. This free printable endangered species resource book is
perfect for Earth Day. It has been developed for and provided to the public as
an educational information guide. On Earth Day, and all Earth Month, students
can explore endangered and threatened species in the United States, by coloring
the animals, plants and habitats. This free printable environmental science
activity book can be used as a field guide or zoo field trip planner. This
booklet includes free printable coloring pages of endangered species and
threatened species (species whose habitats are being encroached upon and
destroyed). It explores 16 species of endangered animals in the United States
and five threatened species.
Save our Species is available to
download and print online or may be ordered free of charge as a bound booklet.
Further environmental science and endangered species lesson plans are available at EPA. This free printable
environmental science resources makes an excellent Earth Day tool for
classroom, homeschool, scouting, 4H and any organizations dedicated to the
preservation of natural resources. The website includes a free printable Save
Our Species poster and lesson plans for teachers and homeschoolers. Decorate
the school hallway for Earth Day by assigning each student to color a certain
number of endangered species images. Place a large map on the wall and arrange
endangered and threatened species pictures around the map with arrows pointing
out areas to which the endangered species is native.
Free printable spring science crafts, Earth Day recycled trash crafts, weather unit activities
First, visit DL-TK for a rainbow of printable weather science craft projects. Make windsocks, windchimes, suncatchers, picture frame crafts and more from recycled trash. Use recycled paper to make free printables.
To welcome spring, Earth Day, Easter, a new baby, how about making a giant greeting card on front walk? Bust out the sidewalk chalk and get busy decorating! No sidewalks? Use the patio or unfurl a roll of paper outside! Here's an easy, super cheap recipe for sidewalk chalk.
Next, make pet baby tornados! Here's a Montessori activity for practical life learning centers. Have children wash glass jars and lids, to teach life skills of dishwashing. Next, children will fill glass jars almost to top with water and add a drop of dish soap. To create the baby tornado, shake jar with swirling motion. A funnel shape or vortex will appear. Use these science activities to demonstrate a vortex, tornado, funnel and even the sink drain works. You could discuss clouds, precipitation, wind.
To extend these hands-on science activities to language arts and creative writing, have kids think up names and make up stories for their pet tornado. Next, extend into math lesson plans making books from cereal box cardboard. Teach geometry, measurement, scissor skills cutting recycled paper to cover books. Next alternate writing and blank paper. Have children write on the lined paper and illustrate on the blank pages.
Sing weather songs in circle time. Enjoy spring themed snacks (stay tuned for recipes to follow). For quiet time, read weather and spring science books like "The Year at Maple Tree Farm" "The Little House", "Ox-Cart Man", "The Carrot Seed" "The Lorax" "The Tiny Seed" and "Frog and Toad are Friends."
Free printable boats, ships, maritime, pirates, navy and navigation lesson plans
Ahoy matey! Are you looking for activities to explore boats, ships, maritime lore, navigation, lighthouse history, shipwrecks or pirates? Then look no further. Here are free printable model boats and ships, navigation activities, maritime lesson plans, coloring pages, crafts, games and toys. (There's even a section on pirates because I love Pirates of the Caribbean and Capt. Barbosa. Shhh don't tell Jack Sparrow or Her Majesty's navy)
Boat-Links is subtitled "The Mother of All Maritime
Links," and it's rightly named. The site is a comprehensive collection of
hundreds of free printable maritime and lighthouse activities, resources about nautical
science, navigation, sailing, maritime history, merchant marine, the U.S. Navy,
naval history in other countries, naval warfare, maritime museums around the
world, nautical music and boat images.
Celestial Navigation offers free printable vintage maritime
activities. Before modern navigation, pirates and sailors relied on the sky
to guide voyages. Ancient instruments such as the sextant, astrolabe,
cross-staff, quadrant, kamal (latitude hook) and nocturnal were indispensable.
This site shows how to make old navigational tools.
US Lighthouse Society has free printable lighthouse lesson plans, crafts, coloring pages, worksheets and educational materials. You
must create a user Id to access. Boats, Ships and Subs has dozens of links for free printable paper boat models. There are sailing
vessels from all periods in history, including clipper ships, Chinese junks,
Roman warships, Coast Guard boats, viking long boats, pirate ships and models
of the Titanic and Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki.
Disney Experience has free printable nautical toys and crafts from maritime-themed Disney movies. There's a Spanish
galleon, Capt. Nemo's Nautilus, Jack Sparrow's compass, dead man's chest,
Cortez's treasure chest, a Mark Twain riverboat and several other models. The
Toymaker has a free printable puppet theater in which children can act out the adventures
of Florimel the Magnificent. Florimel is a rabbit sailor who has adventures on
the high seas in a boat that looks very like Sir Francis Drake's "Golden
Hind."
Yes, Coloring has has dozens of realistic free printable coloring pages of
boats,
ships and submarines for many periods in history. There are also coloring pages of pirate ships.
Free printable Greek mythology coloring pages
Mythology is an important subject to teach in school. But ancient mythological systems like Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, Egyptian, Teutonic are often misunderstood, especially by fundamentalist Christians. Ancient civilizations and cultures are how we frame our own modern world. The children's literature book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters made teachers give Greek and Roman mythology a modern twist. Percy (Perseus) Jackson has many adventure with the gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon. Explore Greek mythology, gods goddesses of Mt. Olympus and mythological creatures and monsters symbols with these free printable Greek mythology activities
FantasyJr. has twelve free printable Greco-Roman coloring pages of the Olympians. Karen's Whimsey has dozens of free printable mythology and Ancient Greece coloring pages. Color the Olympians, gods and goddesses, heroes, mythological monsters, beasts and creatures. Color free printable famous works of art featuring the Greek pantheon, Satyrs, Circe, the Sirens, Odysseus and many more characters from Greek mythology. Print coloring pages from ancient Rome, as well gods in Roman mythology.
Coloring.ws
has a complete free printable Greek
mythology coloring pages on the Olympians of Ancient Greece. This site
also contains free printable maps of Greece. The link provided takes you to the
twelve Olympians, the Immortals, each with biographical data and coloring pages
both of the god or goddess and his or her symbol. The Olympians are arranged as
a family tree. The Twelve Olympians include: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera,
Hestia, Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis and Hermes. It is
important to note that the Olympian deities have the same personality in Roman
mythology, however they go by different names. Here are the Greek Immortals
with their Roman names, which the planets are named for. Constellations and
star signs also take their names from mythology.
Zeus=
Jupiter
Poseidon=Neptune
Hades=Pluto
Hera=Juno
Hestia=Vesta
Aphrodite=Venus
Athena=Minerva
Ares=Mars
Hephaestus=Vulcan
Apollo=same
Artemis=Diana
Hermes=Mercury
Cronos=Saturn
If
you continue scrolling and pressing next you will find coloring pages for
lesser god, goddesses, heroes and creatures of the Greek world. This list
includes; Herakles (Hercules), King Midas, Pan, Demeter (Ceres), Eos, Eros
(Cupid), Hebe, Iris, Persephone, Nike and more. Free printable Greek mythology
monsters and creatures include: centaur, Charon (River Styx ferry boat
captain), Cerberus, Cyclops, giants (sons of Titan Uranus), griffin, harpy,
Medusa, Minotaur, (battled Perseus), Phoenix (bird that rose from the ashes of
fire), Sirens (lured Odysseus to his doom), Trojan Horse (employed by Greeks
for entering Troy), Pegasus and unicorn coloring pages
Free printables ESL and Spanish lesson plans, language activities, worksheets
Here are
free printable Spanish lesson plans, ESL activities and Spanish-English translation. Print ESL worksheets, games, flashcards,
matching games, puzzles, crossword, word games, projects--in short interactive
activities! Here's a neat concept website in English as a Second Language printables--a user-supported site where teachers have to
upload and share their ESL worksheets in order to download and print others.
Spanish
Sponge has dozens of free printable Spanish to English flashcards and flashcards for English to
Spanish lessons. Print foreign language flashcards for vocabulary, verbs,
conversation and other language and translation activities. Use the flashcards
to play games involving the entire class. This helps to reinforce
pronunciation, diction, dialog and fluency in a learning a foreign language.
ABC
Teach is a pay site for educators, but has many free printable ESL worksheets and foreign language lessons to sample.
They print in full page pdf printables and have many Spanish lessons geared
toward younger students and those who are new the Spanish or English language.
This links you directly to the languages pages so that you can choose whether
to use the English as a Second Language materials or the Spanish activities for
speakers of English. visit EL Civics for ESL worksheets, workbooks and learning games to print
free.