Teaching Tips Archives - Page 30 of 38

First Man: Apollo 11 Lessons for Kids

October 11, 2018 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

3… 2… 1… BLAST OFF! Apollo 11 was the first manned space flight to the moon where the first man walked on the moon. It is the moment the whole world watched with wonder. What was it like to walk on the moon? What was it made of? Would they be able to return back to Earth? NASA has just started to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo’s Space Program which landed a dozen Americans on the moon. So, I think now is a great time to teach your students about the Apollo 11 mission. The movie First Man also comes out October 12th, 2018.

Lunar Module STEM Activity

To really get students to engage in your amazing moon landing lesson, let them do a STEM activ ity. The astronauts used a lunar module during Apollo 11 called the Eagle to land on the moon.

Give students supplies and have them create their own lunar lander. Some supplies to give the students can be plates, cups, packing tape, rubber bands, paper clips, tin foil, card stock and marshmallows.

The marshmallows could be used as shock absorbers or astronauts in the space craft. They would have to create a module to safely get their astronauts home. The space craft would have to have 4 shock absorbers, and two astronauts. To test their craft, they would drop it from 4 feet. If it didn’t land upright, they have to re-design and re-test their space craft.

Free SPACEMAN for Writing

Read a book about Apollo 11. Have students summarize it during writing. For young students you can use these FREE “Space” man word spacers. Just attach a Popsicle stick or pencil to the back of the spaceman. Students can place it as a spacer between words, if they struggle with spacing skills. Students can share their summaries with each other.

I am a huge supporter of guest speakers in the classroom, so why not ask a someone from NASA to Skype with your class. They can do a little presentation about their job. Then, students can ask questions. Incorporate writing skills by having your students write good old fashion thank you cards.

Our solar system is so amazing. The fact that we landed on the moon 50 years ago revolutionized our thinking about Earth, and it’s peers. Bring the excitement into your classroom this year by teaching about Apollo 11. Who knows what the lesson may lead your students to discover!

Related Teaching Resource:

MOON LANDING APOLLO 11 K-2 Unit

Celebrate International Peace Day in the Classroom

September 21, 2018 teachersbrain Teaching Tips

Peace can and SHOULD be celebrated all year! Today is International Peace Day, so I want to help bring an awareness to peace and kindness by telling you some things I do to celebrate peace in the classroom and offer you a teaching resource you can use in your own classroom or school. Hopefully you celebrate peace daily, but maybe you aren’t aware you are even doing it. Here are some simple things you can do for International Peace Day. Use the hashtag #DoitforPEACE and post something you have done that is similar to these examples.

Hugs (Yes, it is an easy one! Go hug someone today!)
Teach peace
March for peace
Buy someone food who is in the car line behind you
Play peaceful music
Meditate
Make a new friend
Share examples of peace with your students or staff members
Write a nice note to someone
Write about peace

So what have you done today? What will you do tomorrow? Small bits of kindness can grow a tree of peace. Start today!

Here is a great lesson you can do in your classroom or even have your whole school participate with these cool painted rocks.

Hawaii Heaven Classroom Decor

July 2, 2018 teachersbrain Classroom Decor, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips, Word Wall

I haven’t posted lately because I was on my dream vacation in Hawaii! It was everything I imagined and more. The pictures don’t do it justice at all. Although Waikiki and Honolulu were a bit more commercialized than I expected, I found one island just amazing! My favorite island was Maui. If you love tropical vacations, like I do, it is an experience of a life time. I live in Florida, so I’m use to the beach life. The Road to Hana, hidden waterfalls, legends, Poke Bowls, caves, rain forest, volcano, spectacular snorkel spots, and friendly locals made a magical trip for my family. The trip hit the wallet a little harder than I expected even with all the research I did prior to the trip, but it was well worth it. Now, I have so many ideas for a new classroom decor!

Every corner I found inspiration for new #TpT products. I took a lot of pictures to create a tropical classroom decor pack that I can’t wait to see come to life. So far I have made a Hawaiian themed Color Word Posters and a Word Wall Banner Set. These will become part of a Hawaiian Theme Classroom Decor BUNDLE… COMING SOON. Go check them out though, if you are thinking about a beach classroom theme for your classroom. One of our favorite hidden lunch places that we just happened to stumble upon is called The Garden Terrace at Kula Lodge! Eat outside while enjoying the spectacular entire west side of Maui view. They have an outdoor wood-burning pizza oven that my kids still talk about today! Mama’s Fish House Restaurant was our favorite place on the island for catching a view of Maui’s amazing sunsets. The food is absolute terrific! You can find some of the sunset pictures in the new calendar pack I’m in the process of making that will be part of the set. I rarely post pictures of my family on my blog, but here is one showing the beautiful sunset.

Check back in the future for blogs on the new Hawaii Themed Decor Sets that I will have up in my Teacher’s Brain store soon. As they say in Hawaii… Mahalo!!!!

I realize some of you are not on summer vacation yet. You may want to check out the blog post about End of the School Year Activities.

End of the School Year Themed Days in the Classroom

May 3, 2018 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Hopefully, you have all that testing behind you now and are freed up to do some educational activities that are engaging for your students! I always have a theme-based end-of-the-year celebration with my students. I also have an end-of-the-year celebration where the parents are invited to share some special moments with their children before the summer heats up! Here are some theme ideas that I usually let my students choose from:

Hawaiian
Spy Day
Beach or Ocean Day
Pirate Day
Circus
Mad Scientist Day
Craft Day
Super Hero Day

We do activities with items I purchase from Oriental Trading Co. usually. I also ask parents to donate items for the day. We make a t-shirt to go with the theme. All the activities are educational, but they are theme-based. This is a day just for kids, but I do have a couple volunteers helping me with activities.

When I invite the parents to the room, we have a slideshow showing pictures taken throughout the school year. Each year, (20 so far) I’ve made individual photo albums for all my students and present them to the parents as a parting gift. Even though these cost me a lot, they proved to be priceless! Many students return years later with that album in hand. They tell me how meaningful the albums are to them. One even said, “When I’m down, I can look at it, and it always cheers me up.” I’m glad I invested in them. Then, I have parents bring in a dish to share. They can also bring in footballs to play outside with the kids after we all eat. It’s a great day! To make it really special, I also give every child a candy certificate as a keepsake.

The end of the year is a busy time for teachers, but it is also the best time to make memories that will last a lifetime with your students. You can build connections with the community, and celebrate the time you shared together as a class!