Patrick Johnson

As a curriculum specialist in my district, I have created this Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco lesson to give critical Health information to young students without the usual, "Drugs are bad" sales pitch. The focus on activity and connecting concepts to the child's personal experience makes the lesson meaningful and interesting for kids. Contents include the teacher's guide, 2 student activity sheets, a summative assessment tool, and the assessment answer key. You may also be interested in one

(Reflection questions included) Kids have difficulty identifying and properly labeling figurative language. But we've had a lot of fun in class with this Figures of Speech activity in a dialogue format. Kids get to write and perform their dialogue through role play; a fun technique for all, but an especially useful tool for tactile learners and hyperactive children. I've found a two page dialogue sufficient to teach the concept. Feel free to have students do this writing/thinking activity m

(Great for all students, particularly for low motivated, low skilled, or TAG!) Teacher directions: Each student is free to choose one item from each column to begin writing his/her story. Every teacher knows the frustration of trying to help a student think of writing ideas on the spot. Coming up with your own ideas for them usually brings a response like, "That's boring". Besides, the teacher is doing all the thinking. I have used this writing prompt with great success. I don't have to th

Kids love this activity! It's great for classroom management or an ice breaker as it gives kids an opportunity for movement and interaction. Students pair up with a partner of the same gender, and need a yardstick. They stand 3 feet apart, toe-to-toe and record their comfort level using a 1-5 scoring rubric. They repeat this procedure moving closer in 1 inch increments. They stop when they get to their "1" comfort level. The guys posture and laugh, and the girls giggle. Everyone has fun!

Kids consider textbooks as borrowed property and often feel no ownership. The result is that many families get hit with steep repair/replacement costs. Students were leaving books lying around in our classrooms, expecting us to hold onto their books for them. The "I Lost My Textbook" form drastically reduced the number of lost textbooks! We had enough! Now if we find a book lying around, students are required to read and fill out this form. I have them sign the form, I sign it, and then