Free Printable May Day, Haymarket, Workers Memorial Day, Labor Union Lesson Plans

We celebrate Labor Day in the U.S., in September. But May Day (May 1) is world Labor Day. Socialists, anarchists and unions recognize commemorate achievements and contributions of organized labor. On Workers Memorial Day, April 28, we honor  workers lost in workplace accidents or in the labor struggle. The UAW began this holiday in memory of disasters and incidents like Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and Chicago Haymarket massacre May 4, 1886.  7 people were killed and scores of others injured after a police officer was killed by a bomb at a labor demonstration.
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. 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. For Catholics, May 1 or May Day is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. 

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. Here are links and websites with free printable lesson plans and activities on Labor Day and May Day. 

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 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 and books.

Modern Heroes of the American Labor Movement explores 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. Here's another list ofbiographies of union organizers. 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. Students might watch "Suffragette" to acquaint them with women's struggles, including the right to vote which was linked to workplace abuses as well. 

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. It also maintains a labor history document base. The library is named for the leaders of UAW (United Auto Workers) and CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) unions Walter 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.

The Wobblies is a documentary about the IWW (the Industrial Workers of the World). The IWW is a world-wide union that seeks to organize all workers regardless of occupation. This authoritative video is engaging and covers a broad labor perspective. It helps students understand the differences between business, trade and collective unions. The IWW honors May Day as the real Labor Day.

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.

Printable Jewish Holocaust Memorial Worksheets, Yom HaShoah Lessons

Remember, remember the 17th day of Shevat. This day, which is January 27 on western calendar is one of days of yom hashoah or "days of remembrance." It isn't a holiday, but it is a holy day and commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day, said International Business Times on Jan. 27. Jews observe Yom Hashoah, Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day, on the 27th of Nissan (April to May in the Western calendar). January 27 is the day the world remembers (or should) when it stood by while millions died--Pole, Slav, Catholic, Russian, red, disabled, dissident, gypsy, gay, and many, many Jewish--in the World War II Nazi genocide. The theme for International Holocaust Memorial Day 2016 is "Don't Stand By" and it comes from a confession of Pastor Martin Niemoller.

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me."

"Don't Stand By" if you see injustice, persecution, bullying or marginalization. Speak out, whether you identify with those you are speaking out for or not. Don't stand by because an injury to one is an injury to all, says the union slogan. On Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day and all year long, fight against acts of anti-semitism, anti-life, anti-humanity. Don't stand by and let a great injury be repeated. Talk about it and educate yourself. Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has a free activity pack for educators and individuals, to remember.

Don't stand by--share the love. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers ways to share stories online and in person. Oral tradition is a time-honored way of preserving memories. Don't stand by and let the flame die. On Yom Hashoah, let the the voices of the dead speak. Most everything that remained of those horrible days are gone. Many holocaust survivors have passed on. But memory is enduring voice, if it's not shushed. Let Holocaust Remembrance Day be a song that keeps on playing your head, long after the music has died. Look at the Holocaust Remembrance Day poster from 2012. It shows, in shadow, the loved ones lost. It's evocative and eerie. It makes you wonder who these shadows were. Don't stand by and let them be forgotten.

Don't stand by--watch movies and read books for Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. "Sarah's Key" is a translation of "Elle S'appellait Sarah" by Tatiana de Rosenay. It tells of a little girl taken in the Jewish Vel' D'hiv roundup in France and the journalist who uncovers her story. Read or watch "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"--that will put a face on Holocaust for you. Or how about "The Book Thief?" Children can watch this one and empathize. Don't stand by--teach your children that untold numbers of other children perished in the Nazi holocaust and stories like this are their voice. For a non-fiction Yom Hashoah read, try "Night" by Elie Weisel. But be prepared to be haunted for the rest of your life. Read Viktor Frankel's "Man's Search for Meaning"for a Holocaust Remembrance Day you'll never forget.

You can't bring back the deceased, but you can give them their voice. You can ask, "who are you? what were you like?" Because if no one talks about them, they are truly buried. When we speak for them, it's like they never died. Don't stand by this Jewish Yom HaShoah.

Free Printable Worksheets on Caves, Paleontology, Bats, Fossils, Deserts

Archaeology is one of the most fascinating branches of science and caves are one of nature's most alluring geological landforms to explore. Caves are a separate biome all their own. They've been used as habitats by animals and people. Bats are cave dwellers and dinosaurs dwelt in caves. Mystics have sought divine enlightenment living as hermits in caves. Ancient people left hieroglyphics on walls of caves, like those at Lascaux, France. Caves yield up a treasure trove of fossils and teach valuable lessons in archaeology and paleontology. Teachers and homeschool families, if you're planning a unit on caves (and you really should) here are free printable lesson plans on cave-related subjects of fossils, bats, archaeology, paleontology, habitats, geology, spelunking and earth science.

The National Parks Service has free printable lessons on the U.S. national park at Carlsbad Cavernsin New Mexico. There's curriculum for elementary school in the free printable booklet About Bats, Caves and Deserts. For middle school students, the NPS Carlsbad Caverns website features free printable archaeology lessons on Caves, Canyons, Cactus and Critters. High school students explore geology, spelunking, Global Positioning Systems and orienteering in the Chihuahuan Desert Lab school. Materials are designed to be used with interpretive visits but some may be used as stand-alone lessons in class. Check out the cool activities on fossils, bats, paleontology and other cave phenomena.

Also from the NPS, are free printable materials on Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. There are free coloring pages, word games, puzzles and lesson plans in the Junior Ranger section. Kids will love the printable Trog Tour booklet (trog is short for super cool fossils called troglodytes) The Making Connections series from Mammoth Cave National Park features books for grades K-3, 4-5 and 6-8. There are 83 pages of free printable paleontology lesson plans for teachers and homeschool parents. And be sure not to let young archaeology students miss the free printable Fossil Identification Guide with coloring pages of fossils to label.

Lascaux Culture has interactive lesson plans on Lascaux cave drawings. Explore paleontology and archaeology with the prehistoric paintings, There are cave maps, images, videos and timelines. The website has interpretive information detailing the images, their purpose and their significance. You can access the site in several languages including English, but the educational "resources" link is available only in French.

Easy Fun School has free cave diorama lesson plan. The diorama is easy to make and uses cheap, household materials.has free printable animal habitat coloring pages. Students can research which animals live or hibernate in caves. This site has other free printable habitats dioramas. Crayola offers a free craft template to show interior cave rock formations.

Cave stalactites grow downward from the ceiling. The word comes from the Greek "to drip" (stalactites resemble icicles). Stalagmites grow up from the cave floor and look like upside down icicles. In Greek, the word means "trickling." Use these activities to demonstrate how stalactites and stalagmites grow. Crystal Cave in Wisconsin offers tours and family activities to explore this famous cave. Here are free printable geology lesson plans on archaeology, paleontology, bats, and fossils.

Free Printable Presidents Day Worksheets

Presidents Day is celebrated the third Monday in February. Contrary to popular advertising, Presidents Day is not a day for big sales. The holiday commemorates the lives to two great American Commanders-in-Chief (one of the titles of the President of the United States): George Washingtonand Abraham Lincoln. The day connects the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on Feb.12 and the birth of George Washington Feb. 22. Teaching a unit U.S. presidents or looking for Presidents Day activities? Here are free printable Presidents Day worksheets, lesson plans, crafts, games and coloring pages.

Apples for the Teacher provides printables on both presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, and on the Presidents Day holiday itself. There are biographical facts sheets and activities. There are free printable worksheets with cloze, fill in the blank, writing prompts, vocabulary, time lines, word games, biographical data, coloring pages and alphabetizing activities. Worksheets include general American history lessons and patriotic crafts and activities. There's a recommended reading list for homework, followup reports and book reports.

To celebrate the holiday in homeschool or public school, Mr Donn has created free printable Presidents Day worksheets, Powerpoint lesson plans, games, word searches, writing prompts, social studies connections and interactive history activities. Many activities link to others sites like Scholastic where you'll find even more extensions and connections. For teachers and homeschoolers, there are worksheets on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, holiday Powerpoints and free clipart.

Visit Scholastic printables home for lesson plans and worksheets. Then stop by the Freebies Corner. Each month there are new contests, giveways, and free printable holiday activities themed to the month. You'll get lesson plans with content connections, games, crafts and book-themed worksheets, keyed to Presidents Day or any holiday.

A to Z Teachers Stuff has several pages of free printable worksheets, puzzles and word games for Presidents Day. There are crafts, art projects and coloring pages of presidential silhouettes and busts on coins and bills. Kids can color pictures of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. You could use these to have students carve their own Mt. Rushmore models. Hit Enchanted Learning for Presidents Day printables, too.

The Presidents Day holiday was originally celebrated as Washington's Birthday. The amalgam with Lincoln was added in 1968, but called Washington's Birthday until the 1980s. Teachers may remember the transition to the more inclusive general name. The office of U.S. president is also referred to as POTUS, for short.

Free Printable Mayan, Aztec, Incan Lesson Plans

The Mayan calendar predicted the world would end December 21, 2012 (12-21-12). It didn't, but it does raise interesting questions on how time calculated. And it drew attention to the fascinating Maya civilization and other ancient pre-Columbian Mesoamerica native cultures like Inca, Aztec, Toltec and Olmec. Here are free printable Mayan calendars, lesson plans on time measurement and Mesoamerica culture study activities, hieroglyphics and lifestyle lessons Aztec, Inca and Maya civilization.

Printable Colouring Pages has six free printable images of Mayan calendars, referred to as Tzolkin or Haab, in the ancient tongue of the Maya civilization. Click here for another set of free printable Mesoamerica coloring pages. Be sure to teach students that Mesoamerica refers to a geographical region--around Mexico, Central America including Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador--and to the pre-Columbian historical time period when the ancient Aztec, Zapotec, Teotihuacano, Olmec, Mixtec, Toltec and Maya civilization flourished. The ancient Inca civilization grew up around Peru in South America.

How-to-Draw has free printable Mayan calendars. Words for each symbol listed near Mayan calendars. Here's a free printable decoder tools for Mayan calendars. Click here for free printable Maya civilization coloring pages. Here are more math lessons based on the Mayan calendar. Here are lesson plans on the 20 day cycle of the Tzolkin or Mayan calendars, with inscriptions and codec hieroglyphics (picture symbols) used in the Tzolkin calendar, plus names and translations from modern Yucatec, classic Maya and English. Here are free printable math lessons, calendar converters and hieroglyphics from the solar Haab Mayan calendars.

Edupics has free printable coloring pages from the pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Aztec, Inca and Maya civilization. Look for pictures of famous pre-Columbian works of art, hieroglyphics and ancient religious sites of Machu Picchu, Tenochtitlan and Chichen Itza or the Temple of Kukulkan (now listed in the new revised wonders of the world). Check out these links for free printable paper models of Chichen Itza and Machu Picchu and Tenochtitlan.

Here are lesson plans on the monolithic Olmec heads and Toltec statues. Here's a free printable 161-page booklet of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica lesson plans on the Maya civilization. J.Q.Jacobs gives a detailed descriptions of the Haab and Tzolkin Mayan calendar along with images of their codices and instructions for use.

Free Printable Apple Lesson Plans for Fall Preschool Activities

Apples are a popular theme for preschool fall lesson plans. Looking for apple activities? Have I got a great "sweet" treat for you--a plethora of free printable apple-themed fun. This booklet includes apple math activities, science puzzles, social studies lessons and history extensions. There are printable creative writing prompts, word games and more. Read more

Free Printable Days of Awe Lesson Plans

L'shana Tovah Tikatev V'etahetem (May You Be Inscribed and Sealed for a Good Year!) That's a Yiddish Rosh Hashanah greeting. Jewish people celebrate Rosh Hashanah, new year, around mid September to early October in the western calendar. On the Hebrew calendar, Rosh HaShanah begins the month of Tishri. It's begins the period called the "Days of Awe" and is the first of two Jewish high holy days. Rosh Hashanah falls on the approximate date when Moses led the Hebrews out of bondage from Egypt. It precedes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (the holiest day of all for Jews). Yom Kippur will be celebrated on Sept. 26 in 2012. Apples and honey are symbols of Rosh Hashanah. Teachers and homeschool families, why not serve apples and honey to kids as a multicultural immersion activity? For classroom activities, here are 

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, takes place in the month of Tishrei on the Hebrew calendar, ten days after Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. Here are free printable Yom Kippur activities for kids. Yom Kippur is part of the Days of Awe. It's the highest of the high holy days.

Torah Tots. Jewish families should definitely bookmark Torah Tots as it is loaded with free printable Jewish activities for kids, games, lessons, crafts, recipes, coloring pages, cut and paste, puzzles and online activities for kids. This link takes you to the free printable Yom Kippur activities for kids pages. And don't let the name Torah "tots" throw you. Older kids will be better able to use the site because many of the activities require reading skills. Please be sure to visit all the holiday and holy day activities for kids on Torah Tots. Explore Jewish holidays, traditions, symbols and general knowledge of the Torah.

You can find a weekly Parsha activities for kids. The Parsha is a scripture text from the Torah, explained for kids. There is a link to the Midrash Maven (Midrash is a commentary on parts of the Torah). Parsha is similar to a Christian sermon or homily. Chabad has a gajillion free printable Hebrew activities for kids, including games, coloring pages, puzzles and lessons plans for holy days like the Day of Atonement. Help kids explore the Jewish Day of Atonement. These activities are geared for children over seven or eight.

A Kids' Heart has fifteen free printable Day of Atonement activities for kids, geared for younger children. There are free printable Yom Kippur coloring pages, word search, fill-in-the-blank and some cut and paste diorama activities. This site is useful for Jewish and non-Jewish people who wish to learn more about the Hebrew faith.

Teacher Vision is a subscriber site. You can access some free printable activities for kids without a subscription. This link will take you to a lesson page about Yom Kippur. This activity is geared toward non-Jews, to help them understand the Hebrew faith. Jewish Homeschool Resources has tons offree printable Hebrew holy day activities for kids, including Yom Kippur. First School Resources has more free printable Yom Kippur and Day of Atonement activities for kids.

For more information on Judaism, Jewish holidays, the Jewish calendar and all things Hebrew, visit Jew FAQ otherwise known as Judaism 101. For more world holiday activities visit Free Printable Holiday and Free Printable Lesson Plans. Gmar Hatima Tova.

Free Printable Pirate Activities, Maritime Lessons, Talk Like a Pirate Day, September 19

If your children ask to wear a peg leg and carry a bottle of rum to school, don't be alarmed. It's just International Talk Like a Pirate Day. But wait that's not till September 19! Why would kids be celebrating now? Well, it could be they're getting ready for the Michigan Pirate Festival in August. Or it could just be that with school ending, they're looking for fun, pirate style. So why wait till August or September for some pirate fun? Here are free printable pirate crafts, pirate ship models, paper boats and pirate activities to kick off summer.

So if you were wondering there really is a Talk Like a Pirate Day. It was started in 1995 by Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers and John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baur. Personally, this author thinks it was just an excuse for two grown men to play dress up and entice women to sport corsets.
At any rate, schools and many businesses get in on the fun. You can, too with free printable pirate crafts, games and toys. And side-stepping the less savory aspects of pirate lore, this article includes lesson plans on navigation, maritime and marine and nautical lesson plans, too. That way teachers and home-school parents can indulge their inner pirate and call it educational.

* Start with free printable Disney "Pirates of the Caribbean" coloring pages from Coloring Book Info. No Talk Like a Pirate Day is complete without a nod to POTC pirate crafts Not since "Treasure Island" have pirates been so in vogue. Johnny Depp gave a memorable and oft-imitated Capt. Jack Sparrow, but the best of all pirates is Geoff Rush as Barbossa. Check out these free printable Jake and the Never Land Pirates coloring pages too. And hey, girls can be pirates too. Here are free printable Pirate Fairy coloring pages.

* 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 nautical 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 paper boats.

* Celestial Navigation. 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 ancient and medieval navigational tools.

* Boats, Ships and Subs has dozens of links for free printable paper boats and ship models. There are sailing vessels from all periods in history, including clipper ships, Chinese junks, Roman warships, Coast Guard boats, viking long boats, pirate ship models and models of the Titanic and Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki.

* Disney Experience has free printable nautical toys and pirate crafts from maritime-themed 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. Raven's Blight has an awesome array of creepy free printable pirate ship models, ghost pirate ship models, paper boats and more. Perfect for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

* 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 his "Golden Hind" inspired sailing ship. The youngest children can enjoy this for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

* Lee Hansen has free printable pirate crafts, party activities and pirate crafts. DL-TK has free printable pirate crafts and party activities too. Coloring Pages for Boys has dozens of realistic free printable coloring pages of paper boats, ships and submarines for many periods in history. There are also coloring pages of pirate ship models and dreadnought class paper boats.

Free Printable Orthodox Catholic Coloring Activities

Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas on Jan. 8, two days after the feast of Epiphany. Copts, Eastern, Greek, Ukrainian, Russian and other orthodox Christians follow a different calendar--the older Julian one--not the western Gregorian calendar. They celebrate the same holy days, just on different dates. Here are free printable Orthodox Christian coloring pages to help children in that religion learn their faith. Use these, too, if you're of a different Christian denomination, to learn more about this ancient branch of faith. in home school, religious education,

Orthodox Education, a homeschool blog, has links for a free printable Greek Orthodox Icon coloring book. Click the link to be taken to the Scribd website with the coloring pages. You'll find beautiful old images from a Greek Bible/missal, made into coloring pages. There are Bible scenes from the Christmas Octave, the Baptism of Jesus, Epiphany (coming of the Magi, also called Three Kings Day) and more. There are images of the mysteries of the rosary: joyful, sorrowful and glorious.

Now visit this site, written in Greek, for more Orthodox Christian printouts for kids. There are Gothic and medieval pictures from stained glass windows and paintings and religious icons. There are Greek crosses, crucifixes, saints, rosary and Bible pictures. There are images of the Holy Family, the Infant Jesus, the wisemen, angels and more.

No matter what sect of Christianity you follow, if you are a Christian, you'll want to print these lovely images. Use for home school, religious education, Sunday school, parochial school or just for home use. They're perfect for feast days and holy days.

Free Printable Labor Day Coloring Pages and Lesson Plans

Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday in September in the US. It remembers the social and economic contributions of organized labor, unions and workers. Here are free printable Labor Day coloring pages of workers, jobs, occupations, careers and community helpers. Use these coloring activities for preschool lesson plans or Labor Day parties. Teachers and homeschoolers, start your school year off with a social studies unit on career awareness that explores community helpers, workers, occupations. Teach the history and importance of Labor Day.

Apples 4 the Teacher has free printable occupations coloring pages. Click the link on the right side of the page for more occupations coloring pages. Variety includes disc jockey nurse, road worker, surgeon, gardener, painter, photographer, plumber, cobbler, policeman and tailor. I like how pictures reflect variety of blue collar and white collar workers, service, business, artisans and tradespeople.

First-School offers free printable careers coloring pages featuring occupations of police officer, mail carrier, janitor, teacher, fire fighter, chef and many more. Edupics has almost 400 free printable professions coloring pages. Super Coloring Pages has many more occupations and workers coloring pages to print in different categories: education, politics, service, helping professions and more. Hello Kids has a nice collection of educational jobs coloring pages featuring realistic, detailed pictures of people in their jobs.

Use these links to create a booklet of Labor Day activities for school, homeschool, church, day care, scouts or 4H groups. Help students become good citizens and community helpers themselves with these activities.

Free Printable Olympics Lesson Plans, Activities

The Rio 2016 Summer Olympics opens August 5 and the closing ceremonies are August 21. Teachers and homeschool parents, here are free printable lesson plans on Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics for the XXXI Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Use these free printable Olympics lesson plans to help students learn more about this historic international event. Incorporate Summer Olympics into sports math, history, social studies and science to give kids a deeper understanding the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Teacher Planet has an Olympic-sized database of free printable worksheets on the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympic Games. Worksheets cover reading, creative writing, research, health, history, geography, social studies, science and math activities. Of particular interest to physical education teachers are the Olympic Games simulation activities. Instead of being mere spectators, kids can recreate the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics at home or at school.

The Lesson Lady on Teachers Pay Teachers offers a 10-page set of free printable Olympic Games worksheets, including coloring pages, a reading game, sports word scramble puzzle, a Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics word search, Sudoku puzzle, word bank trivia and several Olympics creative drawing pages. Teacher Vision has an entire collection of free printable Summer Olympics worksheets and activities as well as lesson plans on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where the XXXI Olympic Games will be held. Users may print up to five activities for free and then must pay for a subscription. ABC Teach has loads more free printable Olympics lesson plans across the curricula in math, science, writing, reading, phonics, science, social studies, history, geography and more.

Then visit Activity Village for a host of free printable Olympic Games for kids activities. There's also an page on Brazil for Kids with free printable coloring pages, worksheets, world flags, country flags, maps and Brazilian landmarks and crafts. Kids will love the free printable post cards from Brazil. There's a page for many countries of the world represented in the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics. There maps. flags, landmarks and more. Use these lesson plans as anticipatory sets to prepare kids for the Olympic Games experience. They might also be used as extensions after viewing events.

Free Printable 2012 Summer Olympics Coloring Pages and Activities

The Rio 2016 Summer Olympics opens August 5 and the closing ceremonies are August 21. Teachers and homeschool parents, here are free printable lesson plans on Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics for the XXXI Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Use these free printable Olympics lesson plans to help students learn more about this historic international event. Incorporate Summer Olympics into sports math, history, social studies and science to give kids a deeper understanding the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Teacher Planet has an Olympic-sized database of free printable worksheets on the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympic Games. Worksheets cover reading, creative writing, research, health, history, geography, social studies, science and math activities. Of particular interest to physical education teachers are the Olympic Games simulation activities. Instead of being mere spectators, kids can recreate the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics at home or at school.

The Lesson Lady on Teachers Pay Teachers offers a 10-page set of free printable Olympic Games worksheets, including coloring pages, a reading game, sports word scramble puzzle, a Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics word search, Sudoku puzzle, word bank trivia and several Olympics creative drawing pages. Teacher Vision has an entire collection of free printable Summer Olympics worksheets and activities as well as lesson plans on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where the XXXI Olympic Games will be held. Users may print up to five activities for free and then must pay for a subscription. ABC Teach has loads more free printable Olympics lesson plans across the curricula in math, science, writing, reading, phonics, science, social studies, history, geography and more.

Then visit Activity Village for a host of activities. There's also an page on Brazil for Kids with worksheets, world flags, country flags, maps and Brazilian landmarks and crafts. Kids will love the free printable post cards from Brazil. There's a page for many countries of the world represented in the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics. There maps. flags, landmarks and more. Use these lesson plans as anticipatory sets to prepare kids for the Olympic Games experience. They might also be used as extensions after viewing events. free printable Olympic Games for kids free printable coloring pages 

Free Printable Medieval Crafts, Coloring Pages

Cut and paste activities make ideal educational tools. 3D models and dioramas are excellent book activities for reading response lessons. How about some free printable paper castles and 3D castle models for kids? This article includes free printable coat of arms patterns and designs for heraldry crafts to decorate moHistory teachers and homeschool parents will love these hands-on history crafts.

Scribd a great resource for free printable crafts. Gamemaker has created a 13 page free printable castles models, perfect for dioramas, medieval world history, social studies and rainy day fun. When this author homeschooled her kids, the eldest daughter made 3D models of buildings in a medieval abbey from waffle boxes and these free printable castle models would have been a perfect addition to social studies lessons. The castle model is labeled accurately with keep, towers, bailey, gate house, merlons and flags. Castle is neatly drawn to scale, includes user-friendly instructions that are perfect for all ages. Not too wordy but complete. I think even I, art challenged as I am, could master this cool castle! Thank you gamemaker.

Gamemaker has also made free printable cut and paste paper crafts of castle models of Neuschwanstein Castle in the Clouds. This German Cinderella castle is the poster child for fairytale castles. Neuschwanstein is one of the late Medieval castles in baroque renaissance style. Gamemaker has made it easy for those who find cut and paste paper crafts challenging. This author's husband had a hand steady enough to paint the pinprick yellow dot in the center of the US Army Air Corps insignia on WWII model planes. While his wife got nervous with anything "hands-on" and longed for worksheets! For more cool medieval castles and knights stuff, you can visit the Gamemaker at his website Storm the Castle.

Use these free printable castle models for dioramas, history lessons, engineering and design history lessons. Make these free printable castles part of a social studies unit on medieval times. It's always good in any unit to incorporate as many different subject areas. Cutting and assembling paper crafts adds science and math components to units. Students may want to design and color medieval castles before construction. Visit About History for heraldry designs for medieval castles, coat of arms patterns and castle graphics. Add battlements, merlons, flags, mullioned windows and other details to your castles.

Now how about some free printable medieval castles, paper crafts and coloring pages? Visit--if only virtually--Skipton Castle in Yorkshire, England. Built in the 12th century Skipton Castle is beautifully preserved. The website includes free printable castle models paper crafts, knights, activities on kitchens of medieval castles, Elizabethan lord and lady and more free printable heraldry activities. DL-TK has a bunch more free printable medieval fantasy crafts.

What's heraldry, you ask? Heraldry refers to the crest or emblem associated with royal and noble families. Here are free printable coat of arms coloring pages. And here are free make your own coat of arms activities. These ancient symbols, also called family crests or coat of arms were used as ornamentation and communication, on battlements, flags, armor and weapons. A coat of arms, worn on shields, signified who led the army. Flags adorned battlements to show which noble or royal family was in residence. Different cultures have used family crests. With clans in England, Scotland, France and Germany, heraldry was very important. Each family's coat of arms was unique and symbolic. The words used to describe coat of arms heraldry are primarily French or Middle English (a combination of Saxon, Norman French and German).

Partitions are patterned lines that divide the shield into sections. Partitions might be "dovetailed" (grooved), "nebuly" (loopy) or some other design. Layouts vary by partition configuration. "Fess" refers to horizontal partition lines or bands. "Bend" means diagonal lines. "Sinister bend" means left-side slant (the word "left" means sinister; medievals thought left-handed people were tricky and untrustworthy). "Pale" means vertical lines, while "cross" or "quadrant" refers to plus-shaped lines. A "chevron" is an inverted V-shaped line. There are also symbols used within the sections of the coat of arms. "Bordure" means border.

Symbols like keys, trees, plants, stars or animals are commonly used. England's royal shield features a lion. France shows the "Fleur-de-lys". Combining the partition design with the layout and symbols creates the endless variety in heraldry. Use this free printable 16-page DIY booklet of symbols and designs to create a coat of arms. Younger students may wish to trace or color the designs. Older students exploring medieval history, European history or genealogy, might use these to create a personal or family coat of arms.