Fun Fresh Ideas

A fun project to help your students gain familiarity with the number of interesting creatures and monsters that populate the world of Greek Mythology. In this project, students choose 8 different "monsters" from Greek Mythology (i.e. Pegasus, Medusa, sirens, mermaids, hydras, etc.). They create a "dictionary" of their chosen creatures, listing their descriptions and a few interesting facts about each creature. They must also create 2 monsters of their own. The download includes: - In-depth T

Searching for a way to show your students the fantastic film based on Louis Sachar's novel, "Holes," while still keeping them on-track and learning? This wonderful resource keeps students focused on learning while still enjoying the movie. The worksheet includes 25 questions: multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer that cover major events, plot points, and characters in the movie from beginning to end. Additionally, this download also includes a venn diagram that asks students t

A fun, unique way to get to know students at the start of the school year. Works especially well in math and/or science classes, although it can be used anywhere. Students are asked to create a self-portrait following specific instructions to use "glyphs" or symbols for different features. For example - "If you loved school last year, give yourself a round head. If you liked school last year, give yourself a square head. If you thought school was just "ok" last year, give yourself a triangle h

An easy, fun activity that fills that time that we all have before or after holiday concerts, assemblies, parties, etc. This activity is available for download individually or as part of an incredible package of unique and fun holiday and winter themed activities. Please search for “Winter Holidays Activity Pack: 20+ Fun Ways to Celebrate the Season” for 23 amazing activities sold at over 50% less than you would pay if you bought each item individually. Enjoy the season! Meghan Mathis

Feel good about showing that movie to your students! A wonderful handout to keep students on-track while viewing the movie "The Polar Express," based on the awesome picture book written by Chris Van Allsburg. The worksheet includes over 30 questions: multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer that cover major events, plot points, and characters in the movie from beginning to end. Additionally, this download also includes a venn diagram that asks students to consider how the movie diffe

A great, quick activity for those moments when students may be finishing at different times and need an activity to remain occupied! This download is available as part of a larger packet of fun autumn-themed activities. Please search for: Fall Activity Pack - 6 Fabulous and Fun Ways to Celebrate the Season Meghan Mathis

A perfect activity for those days when your classes have been shortened because of assemblies, snow days, or when you want to reward your class for their hard work with a little bit of holiday fun. This activity asks students to unscramble a set of common winter and Christmas-themed words. An answer key is included. This activity is available for download individually or as part of an incredible package of unique and fun holiday and winter themed activities. Please search for “Winter Holidays

A fun, inquiry-based experiment that uses apples to help students visualize why our skin is such an important organ! Perfect for units on organs, the human body, or other biology units. What is included in this resource: ---------------------------- • comprehensive teacher's guide • printable student lab sheets (perfect for keeping students on-task and as an easy assessment tool) • detailed experiment instructions What teachers are saying about this resource ---------------------------- • Gre

A wonderful activity for the first days of a new school year OR if you are coming into a classroom that needs to get back on track with behavior management and positive discipline. This activity asks students to consider what teachers AND students must do in order to make their classroom a comfortable place to learn successfully. Students come up with obligations that a teacher must meet and obligations students must meet and use those obligations to create a Classroom Contract. A great way t

A perfect activity to use when discussing classroom rules, procedures, and expectations. An excellent way to bring up the topic of showing respect in your classroom in a fun, engaging way. Students will take turns reading and acting out common gestures and then vote on whether or not they think that gesture is respectful or rude (in our culture and in other cultures). Afterward, students will work in pairs/groups to come up with ways they can show respect for themselves, their teacher, an

A fun, high-interest, low-readability literature unit for Gordon Korman's popular "Island" series. This download includes worksheets, activities, quizzes, and a final test for "Book One: Shipwreck," "Book Two: Survival," and "Book Three: Escape." Activities are hands-on and help raise student interest, especially in unmotivated readers. Reading comprehension questions include a mix of prediction, reaction, questioning, and visualizing techniques to really heighten student comprehension, and q

Feel good about showing that movie to your students! A wonderful handout to keep students on-track while viewing the movie "The Secret of NIMH," based on the awesome novel, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" written by Robert C. O'Brien. The worksheet includes 25 questions: multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer that cover major events, plot points, and characters in the movie from beginning to end. Additionally, this download also includes a venn diagram that asks students to con

A great-looking PowerPoint Presentation that introduces students to various different landforms and bodies of water. Nearly 50 different physical features are covered with color photographs so students can see real-life examples of the landforms and bodies of water they are learning about. This download can also be found in a larger download that includes a student project that goes along with this PowerPoint Presentation. "Geographic Features Project and PowerPoint Presentation." Features i

A fantastic, inquiry-based experiment that has your students using crayons to create their very own metamorphic rock. Perfect for units on rocks and minerals, metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks, geology, and other earth science topics. What is included in this resource: ---------------------------- • comprehensive teacher's guide • printable student lab sheets (perfect for keeping students on-task and as an easy assessment tool) • Ticket-Out-The-Door summarizing tool • detailed stud

A comprehensive and unique assessment to use at the culmination of your novel study of Kate DiCamillo's excellent novel, "Because of Winn-Dixie." This test covers vocabulary, setting, plot, characterization, character motivation, theme, and more. An answer key is provided. This activity can also be downloaded as part of a complete novel study, literature unit which includes over 20 unique activities for this novel. Please look for "Because of Winn-Dixie - Literature Unit" Meghan Mathis

An exceptionally easy-to-use but HIGHLY EFFECTIVE positive behavior plan to support your classroom management plan and reinforce positive classroom citizenship! This plan helps teachers keep their students focused on good behavior rather than disruptive behavior without a lot of time, money, effort, or trouble. No more constantly refilling prize bins, having to keep track of overly-complicated plans that eventually fizzle out because you can't keep up with them, or plans that cause more harm t

A fun, creative science experiment that helps students answer the question "how do plants survive in the desert?" This download includes everything you need to get this experiment up and running in your classroom - creating a lesson your students will NEVER forget! What is included in this resource: ---------------------------- • comprehensive teacher's guide • printable student lab sheets (perfect for keeping students on-task and as an easy assessment tool) • Ticket-out-the-Door summarizing t

A bundle of 15 activities to make the first few weeks of the new school year exciting and memorable. These activities will build classroom morale, allow students to get to know you and each other, learn and review classroom rules and procedures, and in some cases, set-up fun year-long routines that your students will remember for years! Included in this bundle: 1. Answer of the Day Journal - a bell-ringer activity that promotes extended thinking skills and positive classroom management 2. O

A fantastic activity to help students identify and understand the numerous similes, metaphors, and idioms that appear in Kate DiCamillo's fabulous novel, "Because of Winn-Dixie." It can be used as independent work or partner work for students who finish early, as a literacy center, or as a whole classroom activity/game. The download comes with: -Teacher guide -Metaphors, similes, and idioms from "Because of Winn-Dixie" -Student instructions -a student worksheet for assessment purposes This ac

Looking for a science experiment your students will love without a ton of messy ingredients or complicated steps? How about one that uses only a few cans of soda and a clear pitcher or bucket? An easy, fun experiment that will get your students excited about forming hypotheses and designing an experiment to determine if they are correct. Easy to do independently, in groups, or demonstration-style (teacher completes the experiment while students observe). What is included in this resource:------