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Memorial Day Activities For Kids

April 30, 2022 teachersbrain Teaching Tips

Memorial Day 2022 is quickly approaching. For many people, this is a way to kick off the summer season. But it is important to teach students that on this holiday we honor those who have lost their lives fighting for our country.

If you are here to find some Memorial Day activities for elementary students, you’re in the right place. First, let’s dive into why we celebrate it and how to teach it.

Memorial Day Activities for kids pin image

Why is it important to celebrate Memorial Day?

This isn’t just a day with cookouts and get-togethers. For many, it is a day to honor lost family members and celebrate their memory. Celebrating shows your appreciation for their service to our country and helps us remember the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

How do you teach Memorial Day?

To teach students about this important day, there are some great Memorial Day activities that you can add to your lesson plans. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Read books about Memorial Day. Books are always a great way to help students understand subjects like this. Head over to your school library to see what books are available on the topic or shop around like this one here.
Write a letter to a hero. If your students have any friends or family members that served they can write a letter to them. For other students, you can have them write a letter to a hero you select for them. This is a great way to give students perspective and a chance to express their gratitude.
Watch some Memorial Day videos on YouTube like this one here.
Do some patriotic crafts. You can have students create American Flags and decorate the classroom or hall with them, or you can create other crafts that are red, white, and blue.
Get some colored chalk and decorate the blacktop or sidewalks outside your school with patriotic decorations.
Encourage students to wear their favorite patriotic clothes.
Watch a Memorial Day Parade on YouTube like this one here.

If you are looking for more Memorial Day education activities, check out my Memorial Day resource here.

Memorial Day Activities for Elementary: Writing Unit Preview

Perfect for students in first through fifth grade, you’ll get a variety of writing activities that will teach students about this important holiday.

Included with this resource, you’ll get

an informational sheet about the holiday
acrostic poems with self-rating systems
Home of the Free Because of the Brave printable
Informational writing planning page
Informational writing page
Thank you, Hero Letter
Thank You Letter
Posters for students to fill out
Poster about informative writing
Transitional words and phrases list
Word wall words
Rubric

Since they are writing activities, they can be adapted to be Memorial Day virtual activities if needed, just explain the assignment to students and have them use their paper at home!

Looking for more information for teaching Memorial Day? Check out my post here.

How do you teach about Memorial Day?

How To Catch The Easter Bunny: A Fun and Engaging Easter Activity!

March 18, 2022 teachersbrain education, Teaching Tips

Easter is right around the corner and that means it’s time to whip out all of the fun pastel and egg-shaped decor and stock up on Easter candy to hand out to your students. It’s also time to start brainstorming Easter activities to do in the classroom to celebrate.

There is always the traditional Easter egg hunt or coloring eggs, but when I was in the classroom I tried to think outside the box so I could get my students truly engaged and give them a unique Easter classroom experience.

I came up with an Easter activity that would give students the opportunity to create an Easter Bunny trap!

I created a digital resource that would make this activity a simple, no-prep, no-mess option!

The interactive and editable Google Slides allow students to copy and paste movable parts to design their own Easter Bunny trap. This gets students thinking creatively and critically to come up with their own unique trap.

Then, they will write a narrative, persuasive, or opinion paper about how they plan to catch the bunny. This activity is perfect for engaging students in creative thinking and planning.

Make it even more fun by adding all the student’s work to a new slide show with the music provided while in present mode to have a bunny trap design contest. You can also print and display them in your room or make a slideshow with the student’s finished products to view virtually. Music is provided!

Included with this Easter activity you’ll get:

12 background slides for students to choose from to begin designing
4 slides with movable parts for students to use to design their own bunny trap (You can edit some images, remove or add images)
6 slides for students to brainstorm, organize thoughts, and write a story about their trap
Black and white slides for students to digitally or handwrite stories. (narrative, persuasive, or opinion writing included)
A Google Form to have a Favorite Trap Design Contest

If you love this activity but can’t do it virtually with your students, you can also print it out and complete it that way! This resource can easily be adapted to do in person, digitally, or sent home to complete with the child’s parents.

Check out the video tutorial!

Looking for more spring and Easter activities for the classroom? Check out my post here!

How will you be celebrating Easter with your students? Let me know in the comments?

The Best Winter Writing Activities For Elementary

November 26, 2021 teachersbrain Winter, Writing

Around the holidays, I usually like to try and come up with some really unique holiday or winter writing activities that will be different from the stuff that students have become used to. Adding in a variety of lessons, crafts, and activities never fails to get students excited and engaged in our writing practice.

With many teachers and students still learning virtually this year, I have been thinking about winter writing activities that students can get really engaged with whether they are learning in person or online.

This Trapped In A Snow Globe writing activity has to be my favorite this year!

Students will get to create a photo of them trapped in a snow globe and write about it. It comes with 14 background slides to choose from and 4 slides of movable parts to add. Just choose a background, palace a picture of your student “trapped”, and then add your accessories!

After that, there are 6 slides for students to brainstorm, organize thoughts, and write a story about their snow globe. What I love about this is that it is designed for distance learning so you can easily add gifs in place of photos.

You’ll also get black and white slides for students to digitally or handwrite their stories. You can choose from narrative, persuasive, or opinion writing. You’ll get 4 writing prompts to choose from or 2 pages that are left blank so you can create your own prompt.

There is also a Google Form so you can do a “Favorite Design Contest” with your students!

Step 1. Choose a background

Step 2. Add your photo or gif

Step 3. Add your accessories

Step 4. Write about it!

Afterward, you can create a slideshow with music that includes all of your students’ creations!

Another fun twist to this activity is that students can all trap the teacher! Add your photo to each of their designs and they can write about how you got trapped.

Check out the video here

What are your favorite winter writing activities? Let me know in the comments!

Must Do HALLOWEEN Lessons

October 1, 2021 teachersbrain Fall & Halloween

October is here and that means it is time to bring out the Halloween lessons and activities! This time of year is fun for both teachers and students.

Pumpkins, candy, and all things spooky.

What’s not to love?!

In honor of Halloween season beginning, I am sharing some of my absolute favorite lessons for this time of year. These lessons are especially perfect this year because they can easily be used for online or distance learning or in the classroom.

Here are my three favorite Halloween activities for elementary

Whether you are in person or virtual learning, letting students design a Haunted House for sale is a huge HIT! You can print these out or let students use the virtual Google Slides shapes to design their very own haunted house!

After their design is perfectly spooky, now it is time to sell it! Let their imaginations run wild as they write a story and explain why their house is for sale.

This resource is versatile enough to be used for any grade in elementary. It is so much fun to see what they design and the creative stories they come up with when they write about it!

Here’s a review of this Halloween activity

“This is a wonderful resource for many reasons. My kids were able to pick their backgrounds and design their own haunted house. Then they got to review and work on a variety of writing prompts. My students loved designing their houses on Google Slides. This activity makes students believe they are not working.”

Check it out here!

The next activity I want to share is another one that is always a hit with students, no matter what.

It’s my Halloween Mystery Escape Room!

This activity is ideal for K-2 students and is a great way to get them engaged and thinking critically as they solve the mystery. With a little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock!

The best part? It’s simple to set up! Just add a pumpkin for students to find.

Here’s a review for this Halloween escape room:

“I used this during our Halloween party and the kids had such a blast figuring out the clues to escape the classroom! Will definitely be doing this activity again next year.”

Check it out here!

Are you looking for something that is perfect for this time of year but is not actually “Halloween” themed? This virtual Bats Escape Room is perfect!

During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues in order to escape the bizarre bats buzzing around their building.

It is super simple and never fails to get kiddos excited.

Here’s a review for this bat themed escape room

“During our virtual meeting the next day, student could not wait to share with me what they learned about bats. I love that they used critical thinking skills to solve problems while learning. Excellent resource!”

Check it out here!

Bonus! Looking for free activities? Check out this Halloween Sticker Story resource!

Let each student pick a Halloween Sticker out, add a spooky background and write a story using these fun printables. Sticker stories are a great way to get kids motivated to write creatively!

These activities are perfect for Halloween parties, individual work, or group activities. They are guaranteed to get student engagement!