Teacher’s Brain

Tag: TPT

Ideas for Teaching about Johnny Appleseed

Fall & Halloween, Teacher's Pay Teachers


What is Johnny Appleseed famous for? 

Johnny Appleseed has become a classic story in elementary classrooms across the country. If you don’t know the Johnny Appleseed story, it goes that he went around and planted apple seeds for people across the country. 

Johnny Appleseed

What is the lesson of the story of Johnny Appleseed? 

The general moral of the story is to give generously to others. We use this story to teach students the power of generosity and kindness, which is so important in those early years of learning. 

When should I teach Johnny Appleseed? 

Traditionally, people teach about this story during fall or Autumn. So right when you head back to the classroom and start incorporating fall lessons, apples are all around!  This makes it the perfect time to incorporate this important story. 

Add some more apple fun by serving some applesauce, or doing some apple crafts. 

Looking for some fun Johnny Appleseed Crafts? I have you covered! 

My Hat Craft is perfect for elementary students as they read and learn about Johnny. It also includes a journal for students to write down the data that they get as they work through their lesson. 

Johnny Appleseed Craft

This resource is a quick and easy way to celebrate apples and the hard work of Johnny Appleseed. 

​​What is in this download?

Pg. 1 Cover

Pg. 2 Resources

Pg. 3 Pot Printable

Pg. 4 Headband Printable

Pg. 5-8 Journal 1/2 pages (primary and intermediate lined)

Pg. 9 Credits

For even more Johnny Appleseed fun, check out my digital escape! 

Johnny Appleseed Digital Escape Room

Digital Escapes™ are a fun way to get students to learn without even realizing it. NO printing and no prep needed for this digital escape! Super EASY for distance learning.

Students will click a video for a short story and directions to help with their first clue. 

During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues in order to save Johnny from a hole. There is a pdf included in this download with directions, the link to the site, an answer key, and an optional note-taking worksheet for students. This activity takes about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

Students will:

  • Listen to short audio directions and a YouTube video
  • Solve 5 Comprehension Questions 
  • Solve a Jigsaw Puzzle
  • Sort apples by color
  • Work on problem-solving as a group or individually

What are your favorite activities for teaching about this story? Let me know in the comments! 
For more fall activities, check out these free printables!

Fun Alphabet Practice Activities For Kids

kindergarten survival, Reading, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Alphabet writing practice is one of the most important parts of preschool or kindergarten instruction. Getting familiar and comfortable recognizing, writing, and using the alphabet is a foundational skill that students will use for the rest of their lives! That’s why it’s so important to make it as fun as possible! 

The more fun kids have, the more engaged in learning they will be! 

How can I make learning the alphabet fun? 

The sky is the limit when it comes to learning the alphabet. Here are some of my favorite alphabet activities for kids. 

  1. Stamp pads. Get some alphabet stamping supplies and let students have fun practicing letters with stamps
  2. Finger paint. Let students get their hands dirty and finger-paint the letters. 
  3. Sand tables. This one is great if you have the supplies. Simply have students write their letters in the sand. 
  4. Shaving cream. Simply spray some shaving cream on each desk, spread it out, and let students write letters in it! 
  5. Lego Letters. Get out some Lego blocks and have students build the letters with them.
  6. Pipe Cleaners. Twist pipe cleaners to make letters. 
  7. Dry Erase Boards. Practice writing and erasing letters with dry-erase markers and boards. 
  8. Sidewalk Chalk. Decorate the sidewalk with letters. 
  9. Have a letter scavenger hunt. 
  10. Play I Spy with the alphabet. 

There are so many ways to get creative with learning the alphabet. If you are looking for some traditional alphabet practice sheets or even alphabet tracing worksheets, I have you covered! 

This Alphabet Writing Practice Bundle comes with everything you need!

alphabet writing practice

It comes with alphabet worksheets, alphabet tracing, and alphabet crafts for every letter A-Z! 

These provide hands-on options as well as worksheets to help with busy mornings. Students will learn how to work independently after the first couple of letter sets are used because every unit follows the same pattern. There are plenty of things to choose from for the week if you are doing a letter a week. Students will practice fine motor skills with writing, cutting, and tracing.

alphabet writing practice

What is the download?

  • LETTER A: 16 printables which include 3 crafts, a spinning game, letter identification, forming letters, playdough letters, BINGO daubing, tracing letters (upper and lowercase), letter sounds, and beginning sounds of words.
  • LETTER B: 16 printables which include 3 crafts, a spinning game, letter identification, forming letters, playdough letters, BINGO daubing, tracing letters, letter sounds, and beginning sounds of words. 
  • LETTERS C-Z These will follow the same format as units for letters A & B, but with different crafts.
Alphabet practice
alphabet practice

Want to try it out for FREE? Check out my free Alphabet Worksheets and Crafts resource here! 

Let your students have a blast while they master identifying the upper and lowercase letters, reviewing the sound, writing letters, and creating crafts with these printable practice pages. These make morning work, literacy centers, small groups, or home reviews a breeze!

What’s in the download?

P. 1 Cover

p. 2 More Resources

P. 3 Letter Aa practice

P. 4 Letter B Mini Book

P. 5 Letter C Play-Doh Trace 

P. 6-7 Letter A Alligator Craft

P. 8-9 Letter T Tiger Craft

P. 10 Color by Code Letter L

P. 11 Answer Key

P. 12 CREDITS

What are your favorite alphabet practice activities? Let me know in the comments!

Are Virtual Field Trips Better Than Real Field Trips?

Distance Learning, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

When it comes to field trips, many teachers find that they have a love-hate relationship with them. Are they fun? Of course! Do students love them? You betcha. Are they exhausting? Absolutely! Can they be stressful? Unfortunately, yes. 

We’ve all been there. We spend weeks preparing for a field trip. Plan the activity. Get it approved. Send out notices to parents and get permission forms signed. Collect any money necessary. Arrange transportation. Get parent volunteers. And that’s all before the field trip even starts! 

are virtual field trips better than real field trips?

During the pandemic, we were all forced to embrace digital-well- everything. We found ourselves figuring out online learning, Google Classroom, Boom Cards, distance learning activities, Zoom meetings, etc. It was a learning curve for sure, but it has changed so much about how we are able to teach, and that includes field trips! 

When it comes to field trips, many of us started doing virtual field trips for the first time and realized how much we loved them! 

So that begs the question: Are virtual field trips better than real field trips? 

They both have their pros and cons. In-person field trips are more immersive, but virtual field trips are great because they bring just as much fun and learning with way less stress, planning, and organizing on your part. 

How do you do a virtual field trip? 

Virtual field trips are so easy to do! You can find free virtual field trip tours on museum websites or you can go for a more interactive resource that includes the “tour” along with educational activities. For more on virtual field trips, check out my post on 5 Reasons To Take a Virtual Field Trip! 

What are some good virtual field trips? 

One of my favorite virtual field trips is my Virtual Zoo Trip! 

virtual field trip idea: zoo field trip

Use these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students copy and paste movable parts, learn about Zoo animals, facts, what to bring on a trip, and so much more! 

What is in this download?

28 Google Slides with titles, edit text boxes, directions, movable parts great for virtual or in-person teaching.

  • KWL Chart
  • Packing A Suitcase for the Trip
  • 1 Minute Take OFF Flight Video
  • 10-minute ZOO Field Trip Video (Car Ride to the Zoo, Animal Facts)
  • Sequencing Events, 3 Writing Prompts, Counting Objects (under 10), Labeling Parts, ZOO Counting Song, and Comprehension Questions
  • One extra slide for you to add anything you would like to the lesson. (videos or an assignment)
  • Home Connection Optional Assignment for students to build an animal habitat 
  • Black and white ink-saving Writing Pages and Home Connection Page for in-person teaching
virtual field trip resource preview

Your students will love this hands-on virtual field trip! Looking for more virtual fun? Check out my other virtual field trip resources here. 

What’s your favorite thing about virtual field trips? Let me know in the comments!

Make Learning FUN!

Teacher's Pay Teachers

WHY?

I had someone once try to make me feel bad about having fun while teaching in my kindergarten classroom. They even said I should use the word “engaging” instead of fun. 

Never mistake smiles and laughter in the classroom as not learning. It is the way to build rapport and capture interest. It is a tool to open the door to learning! Don’t ever let anyone make you feel guilty about having fun in your classroom! Open that DOOR! 

Always?

Not every lesson is going to be a Disney experience. We want students to value learning even if it’s not always fun. Plus, teachers would be exhausted planning lessons. That is a great reason to used Teachers Pay Teachers to find “FUN” lessons. Rigorous learning entails deep thought and reflecting on those thoughts. You should also run a very tight ship when giving instructions or it will lead to repeat instructions and misunderstandings.

We are competing with technology now in a new way. Today’s technology is a game changer in education! One great way to ensure engagement is to integrate technology into your lessons. I try to make every educational resource have some kind of fun hook or exciting end of the unit review to capture a moment that students will be inspired to learn. Most of them include technology.

I want children to wake up excited to come to school. FUN lessons are a perfect tool to increase student engagement, to retain information, and to build a rapport with your students. We should strive for creating fun memorable moments with students regularly. Research shows that engaging students in the learning process, including technology, movement, comedy and collaboration increases learning.


?? Share your ways you build rapport with your students.

Quote: I dream of a world where children wake up excited to go to school!