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Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts

Book BAGS: Moon and stars night sky lesson plans for summer story party planner


Book BAGS is a unit lesson plans "meme" I've developed which stands for stands for Book based activities, games and snacks...in short, it's my preschool story party planner with a fancshy new name. Today's Book BAGS theme is moon and stars and night sky. And I can't think of a better book series to use than Frank Asch "Moon Bear." 

Happy Birthday, Moon

Moonbear's Skyfire

Moongame

MoonDance

Mooncake

And other moon-themed stories. Here's the Moonbear list from Thriftbooks. In these stories, Moonbear has lovely adventures with the moon who he thinks of as his best friend. The moon is just doing what moons do (cast shadows, go behind clouds, etc). But Moonbear believes that they're happening just for him. And who knows? Maybe they are. I would like to have the moon as a friend, wouldn't you? 

At any rate, these are perfect summer story party materials. So here's the Book BAGS party planner for Moonbear. These were written especially for my son Jakob who first introduced us to Moonbear (before he was Moonbear in his earlier book "Milk and Cookies." Jakob used, as a tot, to "find the moon" every night with Daddy. They are also for our adult children and grandchildren who keep the ritual alive and who have found that we all see the moon, whether in Louisiana, Michigan, Texas or Cleveland! 

First, select one of the Moonbear books. You could do a different one each night for a fortnight of moon themed lesson plans. If possible, wait till near dark and read the story aloud. Then, activity one, find the moon. Older children can enjoy learning the moon phases while preschool will love pretending on new moon nights, that he's playing hide-n-seek (see Moongame). 

Other craft activities might include drawing the moon on black construction paper with neon or glow-in-the-dark crayons or markers. Provide some fluffy cotton ball clouds for moon to hide behind. Add metallic star stickers. Don't forget to draw yourself and/or Moonbear, outside playing. Older kids might make a moon phases flip book. Use free printable moon coloring pages (Best Coloring Pages for Kids) or these free printable moon activities from Coloring Home. You can get free printable moon lesson plans from NASA, too. 

Have a campout under the stars. Or leave the curtains open so moon can shine in.  Hide the moon (large yellow ball) and find it. Sing "I see the moon and the moon sees me." (Youtube has many song options. Read Moondance and make up your own dances! 

Science activities include discussing the various concepts introduced in the books: light and shadow, moon phases, hibernation, clouds and rain, precipitation. 

For the snack part of the Book BAGS story party, cut circles of white or yellow cheese. Make them into various moon phases waxing/waning crescent or waxing/waning gibbous. Serve with moon crackers (Ritz). Make moon popcorn balls (popcorn and melted marshmallows, like Rice Krispie treats). Lemonade is moon juice. Make Mooncake (snow cones). 

Stay tuned for more Book BAGS! (Picture is me playing Hide and Seek with you!) 







Animal costume patterns for craft projects, dress up, learning centers


Dress up is a crucial part of learning play in preschool classrooms and Montessori learning centers. If you homeschool, dress up should be part of your practical life, dramatic play and even science learning centers. The more hands-on and interactive the lesson plans, the better children learn. 

My most recent post gave ideas for a children's literature book party. One book party activity is for children to dress up as characters from books. Here are ideas to make simple, no-sew DIY animal costumes, using your recycle bin and some basic household scraps. These are perfect for preschool science learning centers, kids plays, story party activities and children's theater. Get more Montessori bang by having children create costumes themselves. Click here for free printable animal costume patterns. 

For basic animal costumes, you will need. 

* blanket sleeper (zippered pajamas with covered feet). Use an old one or pick one up second hand. Choose sleeper color based on the type of animals it will be used for:

--green: frog, dinosaur, gecko, snake, lizard, dragon, caterpillar, parrot

--yellow or tan: baby chick, tiger, leopard, lion

--red: ladybug, bird, fox

--pink: pig, shrimp, flamingo

--black, brown, white or gray: cat, dog, donkey, horse, cow, squirrel, raccoon, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, penguin, spider, groundhog, woodchuck, chipmunk

--orange, blue or purple: bird, fish, butterfly

* knit hat in matching color

* five old socks in matching colors

* recycled cardboard from cereal boxes or packaging

* glue dots or self-stick Vel-cro

* sharp scissors

* assorted fabric scraps, pom-poms, feathers, faux gems, ribbon, sequins (optional)

Now

* Draw design details with permanent marker on sleeper: lines, circles, stripes, spots wings etc.

* Use glue dots or Vel-cro to add embellishments to sleeper: sequins or faux gems are great for fish scales or birds. Glue faux feathers on for bird wings. Glue ribbon on for stripes. Pom-poms can be fish scales or hair on curly-haired puppies.

* On two socks (or old old knit gloves) draw black lines on toe ends simulate paws or claws. Draw circles on the palm to look like paw pads (socks make great improvised mittens).

* Stuff one sock with recycled rags for a tail. Sew it to the back of the sleep or hot glue it on. You can also glue a large pom pom on the back for a fuzzy tail.

* Make ears using the remaining two socks and the knit hat. Stuff the socks halfway full of scrap fabric. Cut two small holes in the hat for ears. Push open ends of socks through holes and tie knots in ends so socks won't slip through hole.

Montessori says lesson plans should allow children maximum creativity in open-ended, hands-on, interactive activities. Encourage them to make up their own designs for animal costumes. You could make these in collage or art learning centers also. Once children have made costumes they might write their own scripts for plays about their characters. They might also act out preschool children's literature selections based on animals. 

Here are free printable animal masks to complete costumes. Engage the youngest learners making masks, to keep them productively involved and make them feel part of the activity. 

Story party ideas for children's literature based lesson plans: snacks, games, crafts


Psst, homeschool parents, want wow-worthy lesson plans for all ages? How about book-based story parties! A story or book party is suuuper easy to organize and costs next to nothing, compliments of your recycle bin, library bookshelf, snack cupboard, free printables and child ingenuity! Kids can do almost all the planning themselves, thereby getting some extra learning cred! Or you can throw an impromptu book party anytime the spirit moves! Here's how to do a story party (with children's literature crafts, snacks, games and cross-curricular connections)--for ages pre-K to middle school, any occasion--and why you should! 

For the impromptu kind, simply announce a book party. Is the weather wet or too cold or hot? Got a sick kid or three? Or maybe everyone's just a leetle crabby. Perfect story party time! Take an hour or two off and read to kids. Turn off the phone, computer, music and television. 

For the planned kind, like for a children's birthday party, choose a literature-based theme--adventure, mystery, vehicles, nature, animals-- and let each child choose several of their favorite books, if pre-K to first grade, or one for older kids. Or keep it open-ended. Or follow the unit theme for the week. You'll be amazed at how students can draw literature based connections between books. Themes might be nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fantasy (even older kids will love this).

Decorate the house. Put energetic kids to work making storybook based decorations of scenes from kids stories. You can get really crazy and decorate the entire house on your book theme.  My now-grown son did this with his college roommates for a Dr. Seuss themed going-away party. They decorated rooms in different biomes: mountains, desert, rainforest. Click this link for for free printable kids book crafts from DL-TK. 

Make costumes and let kids dress up (it is a party after all!). Just use your dress up bin. No need for anything fancy. The point is for kids to use their imagination and create their own. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on easy, DIY, no sew costumes. Here are links for free printable masks (perfect for the youngest learners!)

Make a pillow pile (crucial step). Pile the couch and floor with pillows and blankets. Invite stuffed animal friends. Kids enjoy getting snuggly, especially if they're not feeling well. My children and now grandchildren LOOOVVEE Omi's pillow pile story parties! They've developed a somewhat gestalt cult following LOL! 

Make book-based crafts. Don't buy anything. Don't even plan ahead. This is where your children's fabulously inventive minds get to cut loose. Task kids with planning craft projects based on the books you read. For printable crafts and craft project ideas, have them Google the name of the book plus crafts (for example "Harry Potter crafts"). Set out the recycle bin, crafts supplies and decorative collage items. 

Act out the story. Have kids write a script based on the book and then create costumes, props and scenery. This could take several days to a week. Provide dress-up clothes, bedding, towels, boxes, camping furniture and craft supplies. Just use what you have. The old blanket over chairs works great! Your recycle bin is a good resource for scenery. 

Make up interactive games to play at the book party. The best book-based game formats are scavenger or treasure hunts (with child-drawn treasure maps), LARP (live-action role play) and choose-your-own adventure. You can also make life-size board games based on books you read. Trouble, Monopoly, Clue or Chutes and Ladders work well as formats. For example, if reading The Hardy Boys, make up a Clue game on the book. 

Make snacks. Ask kids to think up snack and story pairings to. Make foods listed in kids stories, such as Little House in the Big Woods (cornbread) or The Boxcar Children (vegetable soup). Some, like American Girls, have accompanying cookbooks or recipes listed in the back. We once had a vintage Winnie-the-Pooh party with haycorn (pecan) pie, succotash (squash) and honey cake. But again, don't buy anything special. Half the fun is seeing the creative literature connections they come up with. Let them experiment. Oh and you must serve "coffee" (chocolate milk) or "tea" (juice) in fancy teacups like grownups do at their book clubs. Kids love pretending to be adults. 

Keep kids engaged.  Preschoolers and special needs children might illustrate kids stories they hear. Let kids draw and color while they listen. This keeps fidgety ones busy. Also mix up reading with activity. If they're getting bored, do something else. Fit the party to the child, not the child to the party. Don't make is too schoolish. Keep the focus on fun. Children who like writing might write a journal entry about the storybook.

Here are my children's and grandchildren's book recommendations. Harry Potter (thank you, Molly), "The Chronicles of Narnia" (a personal favorite), Arthur from PBS (Emma's fave), "Aesop's Fables" and "Grimm's Fairy Tales" (Jake's suggestion), "Mike Mulligan" (husband's suggestion) "The Hobbit" (Albert's contribution), Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss, Bible stories, superhero stories (grandsons Moses and Silas, this one's for you!) Disney princess stories (granddaughter Lola, lookin' at you here), Eric Carle books (Lucian, this one's yours!), Thomas the Tank Engine (for you, Milo) and baby Ezra's Pooh Bear But that's only the beginning! 


Free online English homework help, ELA tutoring, English composition help


Have you ever sat staring blankly at what is supposed to your English paper? Blank is the right adverb. You feel empty and your sheet of blank paper, waiting. Your English homework is due tomorrow and you haven't got a clue what to write or how to write it or both. Here are websites with free online tutoring in English, ELA (English Language Arts), literature homework and writing homework help. Use the school tech lab if you need wifi. And remember to go over writing homework papers with spellcheck and grammar check. Ask an adult or older sibling to proofread before turning in English homework. These websites offer not-for-profit writing homework help and free online tutoring from colleges, universities and school.

Ref Desk offers vetted links for free online tutoring and homework help for subjects and for grades elementary to college. Ref Desk offers research helps, "Ask the expert" free online tutoring, reference materials, writing homework guidelines, and a personalized page for you to add notes and materials.

This site has writing homework help on essays. You'll write essays on many different topics in many different classes. The essay is one of the most common writing assignments. This site would be a good one to bookmark. The Internet Library System is now closed so free online tutoring isn't available but you can still access writing homework help information.

Fact Monster has English, literature homework and writing homework help geared for 6th to 8th grade. Get free online tutoring in writing papers, literature homework and ELA assignments. Brain Mass is a free online tutoring community in which you can post a question on English homework or comment and get feedback from other students. You can also submit an essay for a professional to read, remark on and give advice. That's a really useful feature. Infoplease works similarly to Brain Mass without the interactive homework help component.

Spark Notes and CliffsNotes websites offer tons of reading and literature homework help. Cliffnotes is probably a little more dry and cerebral while Spark Notes is funkier and edgier. Spark Notes does a nice job balancing book and movie versions of literature. Kids often relate to movie versions of classics maybe better than books. Pink Monkey offers book study guides and literature homework help

Winter party planner with snow games, free printable snowflakes and coloring pages

Raise your hand if you’ve had it with winter. Between Covid 19 pandemic and quarantine and winter conditions of Biblical proportions, I'm with you! Parents and teachers must be especially tired of dealing with bored kids stuck inside. So what do we creative homeschooler teachers do when we're bored? Throw a party!

Here’s a winter blues buster snowtastic party. Host your own Winter Olympics and extend the fun with improvised playground game variations. Plus, I've included educational extensions, literature based activities and for grades K-8! Here are safe, easy snow activities requiring no fancy equipment. 

Boot skating:  Sweep off an icy patch of pavement, or hose it down to make an ice rink. Demonstrate how to speed or figure “skate” by sliding in boots. Watch figure skating videos and then try some of the simpler posed. I remember in second grade, teachers letting us “skate” down the halls after we watched a figure skating documentary. I really thought I was Janet Lynn. Bundle kids so if they fall they won’t get hurt. 

Broom Hockey Use boot skating and play with old brooms or shovels. Use any old playground (basketball, 4-square, volley) balls for a puck. Tennis balls work well too! Allow no fighting. No need to imitate pro hockey that closely. 

Shovel Races: See who can shovel snow the fastest or make the neatest, clearest walks. Use snow shovels like shuffle board. Push playground ball toward a goal. Kids get a good workout and you get cleared walks! 

Snow Golf: Use old brooms as in hockey. You can also do a snow frisbee golf. Dig holes in the snow and sweep tennis ball toward holes. Make literature connections to books you are reading in class. For example: for Lord of the Rings, label golf holes with "Shire" and "Mordor." 

Snowball Skeeball: Kids love to make and throw snowballs, but getting hit can really hurt. So have kids aim at a target instead of each other. Paint water color initials on snowballs so kids know whose ball landed where. Mark four concentric rings in the snow, like Skeeball. Have kids aim for the center.  Award more points depending on which ring it lands in nearest target. Or just play for fun. 

Snow Sculpture Walk: Allow kids create 3D snow sculptures along a sidewalk or pathway. Have them design placards with the titles. Allow them to spray with food colored water if desired. Encourage visitors to view the art walk, comment on the pieces. No need for competition. This gives less athletic kids a niche at which to shine.  Do text-to-life literature tie-ins, using Children’s Books as a theme.

Cardboard sleds : Dump the recycle bin in the middle of the room and let kids design sleds from recycled cardboard boxes and goodies. Just add markers, scissors, box cutters and duct tape. Provide paraffin (sealing wax). Show kids how to apply wax to waterproof and make the sled go faster.

Literature Tie-In Have students design sleds after famous vehicles from literature. Wikipedia lists fictional vehicles and sailing vessels with images. Edupics has free printable vehicle coloring pages to use as models. Do a library treasure hunt. List vehicles/vessels and have kids research what book each comes from. Here are examples: Dawn Treader, Trojan Horse, Nautilus, Pequod, HMS Pinafore, Millennium Falcon, Polar Express, TARDIS, African Queen. 

Sled run: Simulate a luge or bobsled run. Pile up snow and make a hill or use an existing tree-free hill.  Rate kids on style, landing, distance, speed. Assign group sledding to help kids learn to work as a team. Or just freestyle. 

Snow-robics: Have children pretend to be different animals. Make butterflies (snow angels), snow snakes, snow alligators, snow fish, snow dolphins.  Have them make footprints trails and “track” each other by identifying individual print. Have them “walk” letters in the snow to write their names. Let the imagination run. This will occupy the youngest children for a long time. 

Make a coloring book of vehicles represented, using these free printable coloring pages. Younger children can be in charge of coloring the booklet. This can be your memory book. You might also link to science making snowflakes. Here are free printable snowflake patterns.  Serve cocoa and snacks at the afterglow party! Read snow stories (stay tuned for a list of winter themed books). 


Free printable WordWorld lesson plans, preschool reading activities

PBS Kids offers superb, educational television show that kids love! For early childhood learners, WordWorld is an emergent reading cartoon for preschool children ages toddler to six. Every animal, character and object in WordWorld is made of that word. Children learn simple preschool words like dog, barn, bridge, house, fence, sun, tree and flower on WordWorld.
Parents of preschool children, if you haven't explored the cartoon WordWorld or if you are already familiar with the reading activities on this show, here are some free printable WordWorld lesson plans to follow up with WordWorld episodes. There are free printable preschool WordWorld coloring pages featuring the characters from WordWorld: duck, pig, frog, dog, bear and sheep. Visit PBS Kids for the free printable WordWorld activities for early childhood on the homepage. You will find an interactive map of WordWorld with lots of reading activities and word picture fun. There are free online WordWorld games as well as build a word adventures. Fill your word box with WordWorld words that you find on the website.
WordWorld is an excellent website for preschool and early childhood lesson plans. Use these reading activities in early childhood special education, elementary school, day care, homeschool and reading activities for tutoring. Since WordWorld comes from PBS, you know it's a school-approved website that's as safe, fun and educational. For more free safe early childhood online gaming, visit Free Safe Kids Games.

Free Printable Reading Response Journal Activities and Rubric for ELA (English Language Arts)

Kids get tired of doing the same ho-hum book reports and worksheets. The best way to teach any subject is with hands-on activities. Teach reading and literature study with interactive, personalized reading response journals. Get students interact with books, to take stories apart and live them, to explore characters, themes, symbols. Here are 50 printable activities to do that. They're multi-sensory, and employ HOTS (higher order thinking skills). I've included a template for a student activity calendar to organize response activities. Note. One of the activities is to create Facebook social profiles for characters. Optional Activities for an ELA (English Language Arts) Response Journal Rubric

Use Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries to Teach History, Free Printables

I became hopeless addicted to Phryne Fisher, the saucy, sensitive, savvy Jazz Age Aussie lady detective of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. She's part tart, part humanitarian, part intelligentsia, all tough cookie. She's a motherly vamp, if that makes sense. And can she hold her Mother-of-Pearl revolver...and gin! Tres elegante! And this show would make superb lesson plans for history.  Anticipating Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries Season 2

Free Printable Summer Reading Activities, Book Crafts, Literature Games


March is National Reading Month, kicked off by "Read Across America." Schools abound with reading opportunities. But what about those long summer months? Here are summer reading enrichmentactivities to keep kids' noses in books year-round! Included are interactive reading response activities, ELA (English language arts) lessons, book-based crafts and literature response lessons. Use these multi-sensory, cross-curricular Montessori-based lessons for Readers Workshop, special education students, reluctant readers and divergent learners too.
Entrepreneurial reading. Research, plan and organize summer money-making or nonprofit fundraising ventures: yard sale, babysitting, lawn and pet services, knitting and craft sales, housecleaning. Host a lemonade stand. Lemonade Day shows how.
Book-based crafts. Scholastic has free printable book crafts, games and literature response activities. Access Scholastic publishers' vast data base of children's literature. Get games, crafts and printables from favorite kids' books.
DIY summer reading camp. Have kids start their own summer reading club. Education.com has free printable reading activities. Utilize materials and your local library. Host book club activities in your backyard! Discuss favorite books, make crafts, play games, act out stories and enjoy book-themed snacks!
Book recipes. Make foods described in books. Look for companion cookbooks to favorite books: American Girls, Little House on the Prairie, Haunted America, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs have cookbooks with recipes from the stories. Invent recipes based on books. We made Winnie-the-Pooh "haycorn" (pecan) pie and honey cookies.
Readers theater or puppet show. Make book character puppets. Have kids retell story. Or let them write their own stories using homemade puppets. My kids wrote a puppet show using puppets from Mercer Mayer's "There's a Nightmare in my Closet", Mike Mulligan's steam shovel (from Virginia Lee Burton's book) and "Word Bird" (Jane Belk Moncure).
Reading response journal. Have kids track reading and complete activities. Check my blog Free Lesson Plans 4U and Free Printable Lesson Plans and Kidz Literature for tips to make literature response journals and activity suggestions. Here's a free printable reading calendar from PBS.
Rewards and incentives. Participate with Pizza Hut Book-It program. The first week of March is the "Let's all Read" program, partnered with One More Story. Kids read and get pizza, plus they donate to RIF by reading! Double good! Incent reading with books. Join Scholastic--get free books for ordering. Give as prizes for completed reading.





Hands-On Homemade Reading Crafts, Book Activities, Literature Games


March is National Reading Month, starting with the NEA's "Read Across America." Looking for ideas to inspire a life-long love of books? Here are reading response activities, interactive ELA (English language arts) lessons, book-based crafts and literature response lessons. Book activities are hands-on, multi-sensory, cross-curricular Montessori-style. Use for interactive Readers Workshop, special education students, reluctant readers, divergent learners and summer reading enrichment.

Reading response journal. Have kids create personalized reading logs, respond to literature and complete book-based activities. Check my blog Free Lesson Plans 4U and Free Printable Lesson Plans for tips to make literature response journals and activity suggestions. Here are free printable reading activities and calendar tracker from PBS.

Homemade books. Cut book covers from cereal box. Cover with scrap wrapping paper or wallpaper. Cover with magazine picture collage. Decoupage by painting pictures with watered-down school glue, front and back. Cut lined paper pages (for text) and blank paper (for illustrations). Or use scrap paper and draw in text lines.

Book-based promotional materials. Have kids play marketer for their favorite book or author. Make posters, book covers advertising literature. Create 3-D sculptures, models or dioramas based on books. Make book-based merchandise: toys, snacks, food, games. In homeschooling, my 6th grade son designed a "Hobbit Holes" cereal box designed on his favorite J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

Book diorama. Create scenes from books using recycled products. Arrange scene in shoe box. Use small dolls (Lego, Fisher-Price, Little Tikes, Polly Pockets) as characters.
Story-reading audio/video presentations. Make audio recordings of kids reading books. Covert to mp3 files for iPod. Videotape students reading and story-telling. Upload videos to Youtube.

Story-telling. Students read aloud to younger students. Students act out children's books and present to younger or special needs classes. In high school, our oldest daughter acted out a Shel Silverstein's poem "Noise Day" for special education kids. They loved when she skateboarded across the stage!

Book-music connections. Create music playlists based on books. Select metaphorical songs. Kids will love choosing modern songs to represent story themes. Our family saw a production of "Macbeth." The play was set to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," "The Decemberists "This is Why We Fight" and "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant. It really resonated with students and helped them understand and relate to Shakespeare.For more reading response activities, visit my blog Kidz Literature.

Free Printable Brown Bear, Brown Bear Lesson Plans, Crafts, Worksheets


"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" Thus begins a charming, eponymous children's literature classic by author Bill Martin. Via illustrator Eric Carle's pictures, preschoolers learn about colors, animals. patterns, math and also friendship. Here are free printable games, coloring pages, crafts, worksheets and learning activities from the children's literature classic, along with the companion Martin/Carle book "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" Use these activities to celebrate Children's Book Week 2015--May 4-10.

DLTK-Teach has free printable activities from Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? There are pictures of book characters: brown bear, red bird, yellow duck, blue horse, green frog, purple cat, white dog, black sheep, goldfish, mother (teacher), and children (students). Print in color and use for worksheets, reading booklets and lessons. Or, extend learning activities by printing in black and white and using as coloring pages. Have kids cut out animals to practice eye-hand coordination. Children learn color, pattern, rhyme, fine motor skills, spelling and writing in multisensory ways. Teachers and homeschoolers, use animals templates as felt board patterns. Trace image on appropriate felt color. Add each animal to board as you read the story. There are printable activities for Brown Bear in Spanish, too.

DLTK-Teach also has free printables from "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear?" Polar Bear, Polar Bear was written 25 years after Martin and Carle's Brown Bear came out in 1967. I remember how tickled our eldest was to find that her beloved Brown Bear had a friend. Images from this story include zoo animals: polar bear, lion, hippopotamus, flamingo, zebra, boa constrictor, elephant, leopard, peacock, walrus, zookeeper and children.

1+1+1=1 is a homeschool blog with mom-created a free printable Brown Bear, Brown Bear activitiespacket which includes reading and math games: matching, graphing, spelling, writing, 3-part cards, 1-10 counting puzzle, tracing and color by word.
This blog has other free printable kindergarten learning games and preschool activity packages. Themes include: ballerinas, princess, rainbow, ocean, pond life, love, Christmas, winter, spring, bugs, cats, baby animals, birds, construction trucks and machines, monsters, farm and more. There are printable reading packs on children's literature favorites: Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Noah's Ark, Veggie Tales, Word World, Nemo, Hermie, Tarzan, Word World, Doc McStuffins, Dora the Explorer, Octonauts, Little Einsteins, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom, Five Little Monkeys, Dinosaur Train and Thomas the Train.


We homeschooled our four children from 1992-2005. Home education was pretty new and computer resources nil. Our kids now 28,26, 24 and 18, loved the Martin-Carle books in preschool. Our twin grandsons love these books thanks to their mama (she who loved Brown Bear so as a tot). The boys already have Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear on their bookshelves! It's good to pass these classics on to another generation!

Read Around the World with Nobel Prize for Literature Laureates

March is National Reading Month. March 21 is World Poetry Day (it's also a very special girl's birthday--our youngest daughter Emma Grace). Why not explore poetry and literature with lessons plans from the creme de la creme--the Nobel Prize laureates? Here are lesson plans for reading "around the world" with Nobel Prize for Literature Laureates. In middle school and especially in high school, use these lessons for literature, social studies, history, world religions and cultures classes. My one objection is that multicultural as the prizes are, there have only been 12 women literature laureates in the 112-year history of the Nobel Prize. Those are odds we ladies need to even. Here are famous women laureates and poets: Nellie Sachs, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emma Lazarus to name a few.

Since President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Americans have become focused on the Nobel prizes. Here are lesson plans for reading 'around the world' with Nobel Prize for Literature Laureates. In middle school and especially in high school, use these lessons for world literature, history, world religions and world cultures classes.

I've made a list of some former winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature. I have included Nobel Prize winners from around the world of all cultures. I recommend that students be assigned to choose a Nobel Prize winning author and read one or more of her works. If each students selects a different author, you can theoretically read your way around the globe as a class. Keep a large wall map with small Sticky Note arrows to point out the different places that the various Nobel Prize authors were born, lived and worked. I've arranged these authors in order from the present back to the inception of the Nobel Prize in 1903. As far as possible, I've tried to list volumes or works of literature for which these authors are best known.

2006:Turkey, Orhan Pamuk "The Black Book"
2004:Austria, Elfriede Jelnik "Lust"
2001:Trinidad, Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul; "A House for Mr. Biswas"
  2000:China - Gao Xingjian
; Soul Mountain

  1998:Portugal -Jose Saramago; Balthasar and Blimunda


  1997: Italy - Dario Fo; The Pope and the Witch


  1995: Ireland - Seamus Heaney; Bog Poems
 

  1990:
Mexico - Octavio Paz; The Other Mexico

  1989: Spain - Camilo Jose Cela, The Family of Pascual Duarte


  1988: Egypt - Naguib Maufauz; Sugar Street


  1986: Nigeria - Wole Soyinka, The Lion and the Jewel


  1984: Jaroslav Siefert - Czechoslavakia: A Wreath of Poems


  1982:Colombia - Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Leaf Storm and Other Stories


  1979:Greece - Odysseus Elytis; The Sovereign Sun: Selected Poems


  1971:Chile - Pablo Neruda; Twenty Poems


  1968: Japan - YasunarI Kawabata; House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories


  1967: Guatemala - Miguel Angel Asturias; The Bejewelled Boy


  1965: USSR (Russia and now sovereign states) - Mikhail Sholokov; Tales from the Don


  1961:Yugoslavia - Ivo Andric; The Woman from Sarajevo


  1957: France - Albert Camus; The Stranger


  1955: Iceland - Halldor Laxness; Salka Valka


  1944:Denmark - Johannes Jensen; Myths


  1939: Finland - Hans Emil Silanpaa; The Maid Silja


  1951: Sweden - Par Fabian Lagerkvist ; The Dwarf


  1913: India - Rabindranath Tagore; Red Oleanders


  1911:Belgium - Maurice Maeterlinck; The Life of the Bee
Use these lessons in your world literature class.


Free Printable Doctor Who Coloring Pages, Crafts, Games, Activities

BBC's sci-fi show "Doctor Who" celebrates its 50th birthday in 2013. My youngest daughter discovered Doctor Who in 2005 when she was seven. The current Time Lord was the Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. The current Eleventh Doctor is Matt Smith. If you love galaxy hopping in the TARDIS and battling Cybermen and Daleks here are free printable Doctor Who coloring pages to extend your adventures.
BBC has eight free printable Doctor Who coloring pages of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor Who characters, as portrayed by David Tennant. There are coloring pages of Martha (one of the doctors' assistants). There areonline Doctor Who games featuring Mickey, Rose, Sarah Jane, Martha and other characters. There are printable coloring pages of Doctor Who monsters and villains--Daleks (they're aliens that resemble salt shakers). Some of these characters are in the Doctor Who spin-off "Torchwood" and "The Sarah Jane Chronicles."

BBC One has free printable Eleventh Doctor Who activities, too. Oh and don't miss the super creepyfree printable Doctor Who masks. Cut and paste masks of the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Doctor Who villains--Ood, Silurian, Smiler, the Master, Silence, the doppelgangers, the Weeping Angels and a Peg Doll who makes Chucky look like Chuck. E. Cheesecake! These would be perfect for Doctor Who Halloween costumes. But beware of the Weeping Angels--don't blink--they're Doctor Who's scariest, wiliest opponents of all.

Free Printable Murder Mystery Games, for Mystery Genre Lesson Plans

Teaching a unit on mystery in ELA? Then I've got a treat for you. Just in time for Halloween, free printable murder mystery games. English language arts teachers and homeschoolers, feast your eyes on this plethora of free murder mystery games and murder mystery play writing prompts.  Print murder mystery party games and use as a companion American or English literature lesson plans. These activities would nicely supplement lesson plans on Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, Cornell Woolrich or other classic crime fiction. There's on that dates back to Elizabethan England to Shakespeare's time. Perfect for Readers Workshop, Writers Workshop or whole-class activities. From a vintage literati-mysterati, happy sleuthing!  "The Raven" (2012-John Cusack) is rated R, but could be a good connection movie in appropriate high school settings. Read on Read on

Free Printable World Literature Activities--Tolkien, Beatrix Potter, Pippi Longstocking


In honor of Roald Dahl Day (a U.K. observance) on September 13, here are links to free printable lesson plans based his books. Do you love Roald Dahl books? A better question might be which are your favorites? If you said The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) then give three cheers because Disney brings out The BFG movie (with uber talented Mark Rylance) July, 2016! To celebrate, here are free printable BFG coloring pages and also free printable coloring pages from other Roald Dahl books to movies. Many Roald Dahl books have made it big as movies: Danny the Champion of the World, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox and, of course, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, twice over! Did you like Johnny Depp or Gene Wilder better as Willie Wonka?
Activity Village has several free printable activities from the Fantastic Mr. Fox book and movie. First, create the a free printable fox mask template for the sartorial gent. Print two fox masks so that you can design one for Fantastic Mr Fox and the other for his fantastic wife, Mrs. Fox to act out scenes. There's also and origami fox that looks just like the book version of Fantastic Mr Fox when folded. Print two foxes and use as hand puppets. There are Willie Wonka coloring pages too.
Scholastic has several free printable Fantastic Mr Fox lesson plans for Roald Dahl Day. Here arefree printable Fantastic Mr Fox worksheets. The get some free printable Fantastic Mr Fox coloring pages, puzzles and games from Twinkl. These are samples for paid printables. The best lesson plans come from the Roald Dahl website. Get free printable Roald Dahl books lesson plans based on The BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Willie Wonka, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Esio Trot, Boy, The Twits, The Vicar of Nibbleswick (funniest ever) and more. Print games, worksheets, puzzles, literature homework help, crafts and more.
Here are free printable BFG and Roald Dahl books coloring pages. Fans of the books will be glad to know that most of the Roald Dahl coloring pages are from book illustrator Quentin Blake. Here areMatilida coloring pages. Here's an assorted collection of Quentin Blake illustrations to color including the enigmatic Willie Wonka and other characters.

Roald Dahl has the distinction of giving children some of the best-loved characters, like Willie Wonka, the BFG, Fantastic Mr Fox and others, but also of writing books that grownups frequently ban and challenge! How fun! James and the Giant Peach frequently comes in for a pasting as does The Witches. The Witches is laugh out loud and adults mayn't like so much hilarity, or noise. Or maybe their shoes are on too tight. At any rate, here are activities to keep you busy till the BFG movie and Roald Dahl Day arrive!

He is one of the 15 best-selling kids' book authors in the world. In order (sales wise) top 10 best are: Enid Blyton (Noddy), (tied for second) Dr.Seuss and Gilbert Patten (of dime novel boys' adventure Frank Merriwell fame), JK Rowling (note with only 8 Harry Potter books), R.L.Stine (Goosebumps), Stan and Jan Berenstain and JRR Tolkien (Hobbit). Tied for 7th place are Ann M.Martin (Babysitters Club), Richard Scarry and Beatrix Potter. Next are Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking) and Stephanie Meyer (Twilight), Norman Bridewell (Clifford) and in 15th place, Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, BFG, Twits, Matilda). 

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.

Free Printable American Girl Activities for Memorial Day


To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pleasant Company American Girl dolls, several will be getting their own live action shows on Amazon Prime. Mattel (owner of Pleasant Company) and Amazon are collaborating on two films featuring the American Girl BeForever historical dolls and others featuring the contemporary American Girl of the Year dolls. American Girl dolls Kit Kittredge and MaryEllen Larkin had their own shows, now others join in the fun. To celebrate the birthday and the new films, here are free printable American Girl activities. Print American Girl dolls coloring pages.craft activities, skits, literature-based lesson plans, writing prompts, games, puzzles and lesson plans.
American Girl doll characters each represent a different part of the country, time period and ethnic background. Each girl has her own series of books. American Girl has created these free printable craft activities activities for the BeForever historical dolls American Girl characters Addy, Caroline, Josefina, Julie, Kaya, Kit, Maryellen, Melody, Rebecca and Samantha. Each of the American Gril dolls has six corresponding books covering seasons, birthdays and holidays. They feature in historical mysteries, too. Here are free printable American Girl readers guides for parents and teachers. There was a play kit, party kit, craft activities book and recipe book for each doll, too. Here are free printable American Girl teachers guides for with craft activities and lesson plans on historical dolls. Here's a collection of all the free printable American Girl activities. Check out the super cute craft activities, games, puzzles, coloring pages and part supplies. Tip Junkie offers free printable American Girl games and free printable paper dolls and doll clothes. Some American Girl dolls are included.
The original five historical dolls from American Girl were Felicity (1774, colonial), Kirsten (1854, Minnesota territory settler), Addy (African-American, Civil War), Samantha (1904, city dweller) and Molly (1944, World War II). Of those, Felicity, Kirsten and Molly have been retired. The Pleasant Company added Josefina (1824, New Mexico), Kaya (1764 Native American Nez Perce), Julie (1970s, San Francisco), Kit (Great Depression), Rebecca (1914, Jewish), Marie-Grace and Cecilie (black and white friends in 1853 New Orleans), MaryEllen (1950s) and Melody (African American, 1964 during Civil Right era). Printables 4 Kids offers free printable craft activities that have been archived. Some are based on American Girl pets Coconut and Licorice and the AG Bitty Babies dolls. Here areAmerican Girl online games and activities. Here are printable activities from Doll Diaries. And here are lesson plans on diversity from Marie-Grace and Cecilie.

I first discovered the American Girl stories in 1992 with the book "Happy Birthday, Molly." Having a 4-year-old "Molly"of my own, I was always looking for books that used her name. We never really got into the dolls, but we loved the craft and theater kits, cookbooks and stories. As a 10-year homeschooling veteran, these American Girls activities were very useful for social studies (including history, geography and culture) lesson plans. We started an American Girl club where we made the crafts, cooked the foods, used the theater kits to put on dramatic presentations. These activities gave our kids (of both genders) hands-on historical exploration. These activities would make excellent classroom curriculum for upper elementary ages, too.

Free Printable Lesson Plans from The Hunger Games Books


It's an understatement to say that "The Hunger Games" book trilogy, by Suzanne Collins, has taken the world by storm. "The Hunger Games" movie blasted to top spot when it came out in book and then movie. The saga continued in "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay" which don't stay long on book shelves. All four movies The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2, were wildly popular. If you're planning to teach a unit on The Hunger Games books or movies, here are free printable Hunger Games lesson plans and activities for several different content areas. As for age level, the movie is acceptable for kids over eight but the books are a bit graphic. Read The Hunger Games books series with kids over 12.
This education blog has links for free printable Hunger Games lesson plans that you can download and use in class. No sign-up is necessary, so homeschool parents can access Hunger Games printables for personal use too. There are writing activities, graphic organizers, comparison-contrast charts, story sequencing activities, Hunger Games simulations, problem-solving lessons, survival skill games and more. Here's a list of free printable Hunger Games book activities from Fabulous Classroom
This is a 20 page packet of free printable Hunger Games activities based on core curriculum objectives. Hunger Games lesson plans fall primarily in literature and reading, but there are some science, social studies and marketing lessons, too. The Hunger Games book activities could provide a good allegory for labor struggles, economic revolutions and political theory. Here are many more free printable Hunger Games lesson plans, movie and book activities based on Mockingjay and Catching Fire as well as Hunger Games. Here's a really cool game based on Panem the Capitol.

The Hunger Games movie fan page has games you can play or use for lesson plans, based on Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Here are free printable Hunger Games coloring pages. There are some nice ones of the Mockingjay and from Catching Fire. These books appealed first to middle school and high school students but lots of adults are getting hooked on the Mockingjay too! Readers who favor utopian/dystopian novels put "The Hunger Games" right up there with "Brave New World," by Aldous Huxley, Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and "1984" (George Orwell). My husband reads mostly arcane books of history and technology. Rarely does he pick up a work of fiction. He'd not heard much about "The Hunger Games" until we took our teen and young adult kids to see it. I thought he'd find it juvenile, but he loved it and is reading the books. Happy Hunger Games! And "may the odds ever be in your favor."