Free Printable Earth Day Lesson Plans, Activities, Crafts

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22. In fact, the entire month of April is devoted to Earth Month. Here are hands-on, interactive, student-directed earth science activities to make lessons come alive. Use free printable earth science booklets, games, word searches, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, coloring pages, science crafts and printable dioramas and 3D models. Topics includes astronomy, solar system, earth's poles, sun, moon and magnetism.

Windows to the Universe a website of the National Earth Science Teachers Association offers loads of free printable earth science worksheets, earth science games, crafts, cut and paste activities and lesson plans. Scroll down the page to the "Coloring Books and Paper Activities" section. Here you'll find a printable seven-page cut-and-paste mobile to color on animals of the arctic. There's another printable science activity on magnetism and the magnetic polar forces.

Print a free scientists coloring booklet. This activity makes a good resource for biography study or living history museums. Students might use to portray famous scientists. Biographies include Tycho Brahe, Ada Byron, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Evelyn Granville, John Glenn and Sally Ride.

Here are free printable solar system coloring books at easier and more challenging reading levels. There's a page for each of the nine planets, the sun, asteroids and comets. Scientists from the University of Michigan have created free printable science flip books to demonstrate different solar phenomena in action. Included is an aurora, aurora oval, several coronal mass ejections (CME) a solar eruption and a solar flare. Students learn how processes occur by drawing and coloring them.

Free Printable Poetry Frames and Poem Templates

April is National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo (an online poetry slam project). Poetry is one of the most satisfying creative writing forms. But writing poems can be daunting for beginners. That's why teaching poetry writing, is such a joy. I love helping students get past fears and unlock that inner poet. Poetry templates can help break the creative ice. Here are free printable poem patterns, poetry frames and writing prompts. Poem patterns are adjustable by age to provide more or less structure. For young emergent writers, a frame poem may resemble a fill-in-the-blank activity. For seasoned readers-writers, the template is just an idea springboard from which to launch poems. Reluctant or special needs students gain writing confidence.

ETTC has 30+ free printable poetry frames and poem templates on all different subjects and themes. Many relate to nature (a common theme in poetry), all about me and emotion and feeling poems. Many of these free printable poem template cover grammar, word usage and other English language arts concepts.

TSL Books has loads of free printable writing prompts, including frame poem templates, poetry prompts and story starters. There are poem templates available for preschool to upper elementary school. Check Students Handouts for more challenging printable poetry writing prompts. Use for personal narrative writing prompts, too.

St. Jean's an assortment of free printable poem templates, poetry frames and graphic organizers: couplets, triplets, quatrain, tanka, sonnet, limerick, cinquain, haiku, persona and many other poetry templates to print.

TNEllen has eight free printable poem templates with different variations on the basic "I am' and "All about me" poem theme. Examples are provided. Creative writing teachers can simply block out the example words and print the poetry frame. Students may refer to the example or fill in their own words like a Mad-Lib fill-in-the-blank activity.

Cape.k12 has about 20 free printable poetry frames grouped by grade level. Each link focuses on different types of poetry writing frames and templates. Free printable haiku, cinquain, acrostic, 5 Ws, alliteration and diamante poetry template plus several other poem activities are available.

For more free printable lesson plans visit my linked blogs.

Free Printable HOP Coloring Pages and Activities

HOP is a fun, funky movie that came out around Easter, 2011. E.B. (voiced by Russel Brand) is the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. Like the 1980s Roger Rabbit and Space Jam, HOP features live actors with animation. Here are free printable crafts and coloring pages from HOP.

Begin your free printable HOP activities quest at On Coloring. Scroll down for several free printable coloring pages featuring E.B. and his skateboard. There are also two free coloring pages of Carlos and E.B.'s dad. There are free printable HOP Easter bunny mazes. Help E.B. collect eggs and Easter treats. Further down the page are free printable HOP codebreaker games and connect the dots activities.

Easter Coloring Pages has gobs of free Easter Bunny themed printables. There are letters from the Easter Bunny, rabbit ears, masks, coloring pages and more. Kooker Kids has loads more free printable Easter Bunny crafts and coloring pages. Mama Dweeb has more printable HOP the movie coloring pages. Here are free printable 3-D Easter Bunny crafts. And here are still more Easter Bunny crafts to print.

Hip and Hop are not from the HOP movie, They are two bunnies from the PBS Driver Dan Story Train television show. Here are free printable cut and paste puppets of Hip and Hop, Driver Dan, Milly, Lilly, Taloulah, Vrooms, Loopy, Precious and Sweetie. Children may like to use these free printables to make friends for E.B.

How To Write a Research Paper

Does your stomach feel nauseous when your instructor or professor assigns a report or research paper? Technical writing can be an intimidating project - especially the longer ones.  And if you have to give a speech on said paper, all the more reason to stress. Well, you can put the antacid away; your first aid for research paper woes is here. This guide will take you step-by-step through the process, give you lots of options and provide helpful sites for revising your paper. read more

Free Printable Dr. Seuss Lorax Coloring Pages

March 2 marks the birthday of American icon Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Suess Geisel. Dr. Seuss wrote pearls of wisdom in silly verse. He illustrated them in candy flavors and neon colors. The Lorax, Horton, the Grinch, The Cat in the Hat are among the world's most beloved children's books. He also wrote educational preschool stories under the scrambled pseudonym Theo LeSieg. March is also National Reading Month, kicked off with Read Across America. Use these activities to celebrate with children in classrooms or homeschool.

Start your activities quest at About.com Here are free printable Dr. Seuss activities. Outer-Limit.net has free printable Grinch coloring pages from Dr. Seuss's holiday classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." The Grinch and the Whos of Whoville are some of Dr. Seuss's best-known and most beloved characters. Homeschool Share has many free printable Dr. Seuss worksheets, coloring pages and activities. Lucy Learns has Cat in the Hat coloring pages. There are also printables of The Sneetches, The Lorax, Sam-I-Am and Green Eggs and Ham.

PBS Kids offers free printable Dr. Seuss character coloring pages and activities. The homepage,The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That has a plethora of Seuss-themed lesson plans, games, crafts and puzzles. Lessons cover math, reading, writing and science. Gerald McBoing-Boing, red and blue fishes, Horton Hears a Who and other Seuss characters help kids learn.

Seussville is the homepage for all things Dr. Seuss. This link takes you to the games and activities page, with lots of free printable Seuss goodies. There are printable Earth Day games based on the Lorax, Cat in the Hat counting games, preschool worksheets, coloring pages and gobs more. But don't stop there. Check the Parents and Educators tabs for other educational Seuss activities.

Happy Birthday 111th, Ted Geisel. Thanks for the memories!

Free Printable Berenstain Bears Coloring Pages and Activities

Children's literature celebrates an important birthday soon--Theodore Geisel or Dr Seuss--on March 2. This auspicious event kicks of National Reading Month in March and Read Across America, the first week of March. To celebrate Dr Seuss, why not explore his books and those he collaborated on. Stan and Jan Berenstain, creators of the Berenstain Bears, worked with Dr Seuss on the Beginner Books reading series in the 1960s and 1970s. The books featured the Berenstain Bears Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Small Bear. Small Bear became Brother Bear with the birth of Sister Bear and later the baby, Honey Bear.

The Berenstain Bears have been loved by children and adults for over five decades! The first book, "The Big Honey Hunt," was published in 1962 after which the Berenstain Bears had many adventures including those with Dr Seuss. If you love the Berenstain Bears books and PBS TV series, you should check out Berenstain Bears Live! in a fun new stage production called Family Matters: The Musical. Menawhile, you should definitely check out these free printable Berenstain Bears coloring pages,worksheets, book activities, games and crafts.

The Berenstain Bears are all about learning, both in childhood and adulthood. Children learn virtues and core democratic values, through the adventures and misadventures of the family. All childhood dilemmas and foibles--and some adult ones--are explored in the books, typically with one topic per book. The Berenstain Bears became a TV cartoon series on PBS in 1985. The free printableBerenstain Bears book activities are very educational, in keeping with the show's learning theme. Print Berenstain Bears coloring pages, book activities and paper dolls coloring pages. Each character comes with eight different outfits.

Random House has free printable Berenstain Bears worksheets, coloring pages and Dr Seuss book activities, games and crafts from Berenstain Bears creators. There are math worksheets, pictures frames, word search, word games, reading worksheets, spelling worksheets and more. Get a free printable Berenstain Bears Honey Hunt board game. Everything you need to print and play the game can be downloaded to your computer and printed on your printer: dice, game pieces, game board and cards. There are free printable Berenstain Bears puzzles, word search, crossword and mazes. PBS Kids has free printable Berenstain Bears cartoon and book activities, crafts, cards and coloring pages. Here's a cute free printable Teddy bear board game just for fun!

Free Printable Lent Lesson Plans, Lenten Calendars

The Catholic church enters the Lenten season of preparation before Easter. For Catholic and Orthodox Christians, Easter is about more than just bunnies and candy. Easter celebrates the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. During Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, Christians ready themselves for Jesus's coming with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The date of Ash Wednesday changes each year as Easter is a "movable feast." In 2015, Ash Wednesday is Feb. 18.Here are free printable stations of the cross, rosary, saints and Easter bible story coloring pages.

Lenten season runs for 46 days up to Easter. Lent "follows" Jesus's during forty days of fasting in the desert when He was tempted by Satan. in preparation for His sacrifice on the cross. During Lent, we try to imitate Jesus. We follow the "Way of the Cross" or Stations of the Cross and pray the rosary.

St. John the Baptist Religious Education has nearly 100 free printable Catholic Lenten coloring pages. Categories include:

20 free printable rosary coloring pages

--Joyful Mysteries from the Bible story of Jesus's life: the annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Jesus, the Presentation and Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple

--Sorrowful Mysteries from the Bible story of Jesus's life: the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging, the Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross and the Crucifixion

--Glorious Mysteries (heavenly events) in Jesus's life include the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption and the Crowning of Mary Queen of Heaven.

--Luminous Mysteries: the Baptism of Jesus, the Wedding at Cana (Jesus's first public miracle), the Proclamation of the Kingdom and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. These are Bible events from the life of Jesus.

There are free printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages, one for each of the 15 stations. SJB has nearly 20 free printable Apostles Creed coloring pages. You can print free saints coloring pages of St. Patrick, Mary Mother of God, St. Joan of Arc, St. Philomena, St. Tarcisius, St. Clare, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Joseph, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Valentine and other saints. There are several of Pope Francis.

Use these free printable Catholic Easter coloring pages for Ash Wednesday, Lent devotions, Holy Week, Palm Sunday and the Easter Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and finally Easter Sunday. Make a Stations of the Cross coloring book for mass and to keep little ones quiet during devotions and to reflect during your stations prayers. The images are beautifully drawn. Many were created from stained glass windows in various churches. These coloring pages make great lent devotional activities to prepare children for Easter. For more free printable Catholic Christian printables, please visit my blogs Catholic Activities and Lent Activities.