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Thanksgiving Activities, Lessons, and Printables

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Resources @ A to Z

A to Z’s Thanksgiving Printables

Thanksgiving Teaching Ideas – Little Giraffes
Several pages of photos and activities for a Thanksgiving theme.  These ideas mainly deal with turkeys:

Thanksgiving Friends
Why we are thankful for what we have and what makes us thankful. Grade Level(s): K

Thanksgiving Quilt
Students create their own quilt square showing what they are thankful for and assemble into a class quilt.

Thanksgiving : The Mayflower
Students will be able to identify what a pilgrim is and what it was like to travel on The Mayflower.  Grades: 1-2

Group Turkey Wreath
Students help make a classroom Thanksgiving decoration using fine motor skills–cutting & rolling–to create paper curls. Grade: Preschool

Resources @ Other Sites

Thanksgiving Printables
A collection of printable coloring pages and worksheets.

  Thanksgiving Writing Craftivity  Create a Cute Turkey with a “Thankful Pilgrim Hat” to go with one of two  writing prompts.

Thanksgiving Turkey Crafts
Learning turkeys, paper plate turkeys, turkey wreath, fingerprint turkeys, handprint turkeys, and more.

Thanksgiving Theme Unit
Lessons: Thanksgiving KWL, Thankful Thoughts, Native American Culture; A Closer Look, Who Were the “Pilgrims?,” Thanksgiving Day 1621; What Really Happened? – also contains other activities & literature selections. Grade Level(s): 3-5

Hedgie Makes a Thanksgiving Apple Pie
Coloring Page by Jan Brett

Thanksgiving Word Puzzle
Word puzzle for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving @ Pinterest

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Food and Nutrition Lesson Plans, Activities, Printables, and Teaching Ideas

Lesson Plans and Theme Resources

Nutrition Unit (Preschool, K)
February is Nutrition Month. Several activities for learning about foods and nutrition.

Food & Nutrition @ Little Giraffes Teaching Ideas  (Preschool, K)
Photos and ideas for teaching a theme about food.

Food and Nutrition Theme (Preschool-K)
Printable activities, resources, crafts, and lessons for young children.

Eat Right! (1-4)
A nutritional art activity.

Leafy Greens Lesson Plans (3-5)
Students are led through activities across the core curriculum by a team of five dinosaur characters dressed in baseball uniforms who are the “Cruciferous Crusaders” All-Star Cancer Fighting Baseball Team.

MyPyramid for Kids (All ages)
Printable resources and classroom materials from the USDA.

Nutrition Lesson Plans – Fun Hands-on Activities  (3-5)
Students learn about the four food groups by cutting pictures of food out of newspapers to make projects.

Nutrition Education Resources
Lesson Plan Collection: Ten lesson plan activities for K-2, 5 activities for grades 3-5, and 16 more lessons for preschool through secondary.

Resources

Ten Tips Nutrition Education Series
Easy-to-follow tips in PDF format. These are a great resource for learning how to eat healthy and correctly teach students.

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Fire Safety & Fire Prevention Week Activities, Teaching Ideas, Lessons

Fire Prevention Week is observed during the week in which October 9th falls.

 Teaching Ideas

Fire Safety Teaching Ideas (Preschool-1)
Photos and activity ideas, snacks, crafts, and songs.

Free Fire Safety Booklet Fire Safety Week and Free Printable Booklet

by Teaching Mama

 

 

 

 

Fire Prevention Week Printable Activities (Preschool-1)
Coloring pages, crafts, party hats, and more.

Fire Safety Ideas (Preschool)
Songs and fingerplays, center ideas, and more.

Fire Safety Crafts (Preschool-1)
A handful of projects to complete: fire trucks, 911 collage, fires

Fire Safety Snacks (Preschool-1)
Fire-themed snacks: cookies, milkshake, and more.

Escape Planning Lesson (Preschool-2)
Identify what to do in case of a fire and develop an escape plan.  Includes a printable escape maze, escape plan diagram, and other printable pages.

Home Fire Safety Lesson (Preschool-2)
Identify fire hazards in the home and the importance of correcting them.

Smoke Alarms Lesson (Preschool-2)
Identify purpose of smoke alarms, where they should be installed, and why they should be kept in working order.

Downloadable Graphics and Coloring Book for Fire Prevention Week
Graphics, Jr. Fire Marshall Certificate, and coloring book.

Fire Safety Songs (Preschool-1)
A whole page full of songs and poems

Sparky the Fire Dog
An interactive website with downloadable pages and activities for kids to view a story about Sparky, explore a fire truck, view a fire truck gallery,  and more.

Sesame Street Fire Safety Station
This kit must be ordered.  Free for preschool classrooms.  This activity book and the accompanying CD of songs and stories helps educators reach preschoolers with simple, memorable fire safety messages.

 Fire Safety @ Pinterest


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Columbus Day Activities, Lesson Plans, Songs, and Teaching Ideas

Columbus Day is commemorated on the 2nd Monday in October.

Columbus Day Teaching Ideas

Columbus Day Activities (K-5)
Arts and crafts, language activities, poetry, songs and fingerplays.

Columbus Day Printables and Crafts (Preschool-1)
Coloring pages, ship, telescope, sailor hats, and more.

Columbus Day Printables (K-5)
A handful of free Columbus Day printables.

Columbus Day Arts & Crafts (Preschool-K)
Art and craft projects for Columbus Day including a boat in a bottle, a telescope and more.

Columbus Day Songs (Preschool-2)
Columbus Day songs sung to familiar tunes.

Columbus Day Vocabulary Word List (3-6)
Activity Idea:  Choose words to create your own word search here at A to Z.

Columbus Fill-in-the-Blank Activity (3-6)
Words can be filled in online, or the activity can be printed for use in your classroom.

Columbus Day History (All grades)
A brief history of Columbus Day and articles pertaining to Columbus Day and exploration.

Explorers Lesson Plans 3-5

Other Resources:

Free Christopher Columbus Unit Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd grade Free Christopher Columbus Unit

 

 

 

Columbus Day Crafts & Activities
(Note: This site used to be free, but now requires a membership.) Some background information, along with printables and crafts for Columbus Day.

Follow A to Z’s board teaching: columbus day on Pinterest.

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Pumpkins Lesson Plans, Activities, Printables, and Teaching Ideas

Resources @ A to Z

Printables

Pumpkin Card Game – Pumpkin cards with numbers 1 to 10 plus scarecrow wild cards for playing games of your choice.

Pumpkin Number Puzzles – Each half of the pumpkin is labeled with either a number or dots. Match the numbers to the correct number of dots.

Pumpkin Ordinal Numbers – Match the ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth…) to the correct numeral.

Pumpkin Pumpkin Sequencing Activity – Printable and Lesson Plan
This printable has a full lesson plan for the book Pumpkin, Pumpkin and a printable sequencing page that can be used for learning about the pumpkin life cycle alone or along with the book.

    Pumpkin Life Cycle Sequencing Cards – These printable pages have stages of the pumpkin life cycle pictured so you can cut them out and use them for learning centers, pocket charts, group activities, books, etc.

Printable Pumpkin Clocks – Grades 1-2.  Pumpkin Write-On Clocks (draw the hands on the clock) and Pumpkin Clocks (match with the correct time.)

Pumpkin Lacing Card /Patterns – Blank Pumpkin Pattern and Pumpkin Lacing Card that can be copied onto tagboard to use as a lacing card.

     Pumpkin Compound Words – Match the halves of the pumpkins to create compound   words.

Pumpkin Lowercase and Uppercase Cards – Create a memory game or match uppercase letters to lowercase letters.

Pumpkin Lowercase and Uppercase Tracing  – Assemble into a ring book or leave on sheets for tracing.

Place Value I Have… Who Has? Game (Tens and Ones)

Pumpkins: Counting by 2s – Pumpkin themed cards counting by 2s to 100.

Pumpkin Missing Numbers – Fill in the missing numbers on the pumpkin number line.  Goes from 1 to 36.

Pumpkin Color by Number A color-by-number style worksheet.

Pumpkin Seed EstimationGrades K-1.  Students estimate how many seeds were laid on their pumpkin.

    Pumpkin Counting Book – Preschool-K. Each

page has pumpkins to count.

Pumpkin Shape Matching – Print 2 copies and match the shapes on the pumpkin cards.

Writing Pages – These pumpkin-themed pages can be used for pumpkin topics or a general fall / harvest theme.

Lesson Plans and Activities

Pumpkins Teaching Ideas @ Little Giraffes – Several pages of classroom photos and ideas:  Literacy – MathScienceArt, Recipes & GamesBulletin Boards

A Pumpkin Patch
A fun art activity that ties into a pumpkin theme. It would be a great follow up to a trip to the pumpkin patch!

Pass the Pumpkin Game
Children practice naming colors as they pass a pumpkin full of crayons.

Pumpkin Investigation 
Make a book describing the inside and outside of a pumpkin using the five senses and observation skills.

Pumpkin Circuit Learning Centers
Set up pumpkin activities in a circuit. Cooperative groups rotate from station to station.

Yummy Pumpkin Treats Snack Activity
Uses the book Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington – enhances math with counting and following directions.

Resources @ Other Sites

Pumpkin themed  Preschool Pack from OrganizedHomeOrganizedSchool, when you subscribe (for FREE) to their Free Printables Page~ Easy!

 

 

 

Pumpkin Carving for K-2 Students
Designed for ESL learners, this lesson suggests several activities for the classroom, and includes 2 printables.

Pumpkin Investigations
Several questions for students to investigate

Pumpkin Science 
ESL Grades 2-6 – Gives English language learners a background in how plants grow. It also provides them with practice in estimating and in predicting outcomes.

Pumpkin Unit
Grade 1 – Uses KidWorks2 and KidPix Deluxe – Includes a language arts lesson that uses Pumpkin, Pumpkin, and a math lesson.

Amazing Pumpkins
Children will learn that a pumpkin is a vegetable and identify pumpkins as a good source of vitamin A.

Creative Writing: Halloween Theme
Students create their own stories on pumpkins

     Pumpkin Unit Pre-K through 2nd grade

Estimating With Pumpkin Seeds
Estimate, then count the number of seeds in the pumpkin

Kindergarten Kapers Pumpkin Unit
Grade K – Books, poems and songs, activities, and a recipe.

Pumpkin Exploration
In this activity students in cooperative groups search, suggest, question, predict, and estimate the number of seeds in a set of pumpkins. They will combine mathematical procedures and scientific observation to learn more about this seasonal delight.

Pumpkin Integrated Unit
9 complete lesson plans for a unit on pumpkins

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Ideas by Judy Christiansen
Ideas for place value counting, estimation, measurement, and enjoying the seeds.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Making Words
Based on book by Jeanne Titherington. Great lesson plan for making words/turns into literacy center. Focuses on the -ump chunk.

Pumpkin Mosaic
Art lesson – use those pumpkin seeds to make a masterpiece!

Harvest/pumpkin poems and songs
“For those of you who don’t celebrate Halloween anymore and are looking for harvest poems and songs….Here you go!! Enjoy!”

Five Little Pumpkins Printables
A printable book, felt board characters, and poem for the 5 Little Pumpkins traditional song.

Printable Pumpkin Poem
One day I found two pumpkin seeds. I planted one and pulled the weeds… Both color and black and white versions available for printing.

Printable Pumpkin Theme Unit
A collection of pumpkin-themed printable pages.  Some are free and others available with a membership.

Don’t Miss:  Pumpkin Printables

Pumpkins @ Pinterest


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Apples Lesson Plans, Activities, Printables, and Teaching Ideas

Free Printables @ A to Z

 apple2ndgradedolchtracing 

Apple Opposites Mini File Folder Game
Match the words on the apples on the mat with the correct opposite apple cards.

Second Grade Dolch Sight Words Tracing Flashcards

Printable Apple Writing Practice
Printable apple writing practice page with handwriting lines.

Printable Apple Pattern
You can choose from two versions of this apple pattern: Apple Pattern With Lines Apple Pattern Without Lines

Apples Lowercase Alphabet
Printable apple lowercase alphabet. 8 per page with blanks included. Choose from color or black and white.

Apple Desk Tags / Nameplates
Printable apple nameplates in color or black and white.

Apple Faces & Feelings Printable Book

 Lesson Plans, Activities & Ideas

An Apple a Day (K-3)
Students learn about apples, then help create a bulletin board for the classroom.

Apple Unit 
This Apple Unit includes a variety of activities across subjects including literacy, math, research, cooking, and graphing.

Apple Exploration! (K-2)
Find several center station activities for a theme on apples and Johnny Appleseed

Apples and Seasons (K-2) 
Use the apple tree, and The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons to teach seasonal changes.

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (K-2) 
Reinforces map skills, counting, and following directions. Students will love this book and activity.

Johnny Appleseed for Little Ones Theme Unit (PreK-K)
Three day theme unit featuring activities and ideas for all areas of the curriculum.

Apples @ Pinterest

Follow A to Z Teacher Stuff’s board teaching: apples on Pinterest.

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Bananas Lesson Plans, Activities, Printables, and Teaching Ideas

Bananas Printables @ A to Z

Lesson Plans @ A to Z

Songs

  • Banana Name Game Song
    Here’s a fun one to learn names and phonemic awareness.
  • Bananaphone by Raffi – MP3
  • Banana Song  – YouTube video with a variation of this song:
    Bananas unite!
    Peel Bananas, peel peel bananas
    Slice Bananas, slice slice bananas
    Mush Bananas, mush mush bananas
    Eat Bananas, eat eat bananas
    Go bananas, go go bananas
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Family Lesson Plans, Activities, Printables and Ideas

 Lesson Plans, Printables, and Activities

My Family & Me Printable Book Activity (Prek-K) | Printable
Children complete a book about their family.

And the Winner Is… (1-2) | Lesson Plan
Children will use their artistic skills to create an award for a fabulous family member. eduplace.com

Family Crest (K-5) | Lesson Plan
Children can begin to think about their family histories and their own lives by making a family crest. eduplace.com

Family Pictures (K-2) | Lesson Plan
Children will exercise their graphing skills by creating, reading, and comparing picture graphs using the total number of people in their families. eduplace.com

Family Tree (3-5) | Lesson Plan
Students will examine their family history in order to create a family tree. canteach.ca

Me, My Family and Friends Theme (Preschool) | Lesson Plan Theme Unit
This preschool education theme encourages self-awareness and enhances learning about family.  preschoolrainbow.org

Where We Came From (K-5) | Lesson Plan
Students will explore their family heritage. eduplace.com

Who Helps? (1-2) | Lesson Plan
Children develop their understanding of how their families function and renew their appreciation for various family members. eduplace.com

My Family Crafts & Activities (Preschool-3)
Toilet paper roll crafts, mini-books, family puppets, family tree, and more. dltk-kids.com

Songs & Poems

Family Songs & Poems (Preschool-5)

Poems & Rhymes for Self and Family Themes (Preschool-K)
Preschool action poems, fingerplays, nursery rhymes and songs that reinforce preschool children’s sense of: identity, family, and self-esteem.

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Constitution Day & Constitution Week Activities, Printables, Lesson Plans, and Resources

The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787.  A federal law requires public schools to teach Constitution lessons the week of September 17.

const_day

Lesson Plans and Printables

Constitutional Rights Foundation Lesson Plans (K-12) | Lesson Plan Collection
A collection of lesson plans for all grade levels.  crf-usa.org

Lessons for Constitution Day (K-12) | Lesson Plan Collection
Has lesson plans for all grade levels. civiced.org

Teaching the Constitution (K-12) | Lesson Plan Collection
Has lesson and activity ideas for all grade levels – organized by subject and grade level. Also includes resource information. usconstitution.net

Constitution Day Preamble Lesson (K-1) | Lesson Plan
Uses the book, We the Kids, to present the preamble in a visual form.

Constitution Day Writing Printables (K-6) | Printables
Lined and blank journal writing pages with Constitution graphics.

Constitution Day Printables (K-5) | Printables
KWL, Preamble, word game, and more.

Constitution Day Worksheets and Printables (1-5) | Printables
Word puzzles, cloze worksheets, word jumbles, and more.

The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union? (3-5) | Lesson Plan
A 3-lesson unit in which students will learn the purposes of the U.S. Constitution and the fundamental values and principles as they are expressed in the Preamble.

Why Celebrate Constitution Day? (9-12) | Lesson Plan
This lesson includes an editorial commemorating Constitution Day. The reading examines two competing schools of constitutional interpretation and explains the philosophical basis of the Constitution. Discussion questions follow the reading. pbs.org

Resource and Information Sites

Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution (3-12) | Resource
Chart compares some of the provisions of the Articles of Confederation with those in the Constitution. earthlink.net

Congress for Kids – The Constitution (3-8) | Resource
This section covers the history of the Constitution of the United States. It includes information about the writing the Constitution, the Great Compromise, the Constitution’s signers, the Bill of Rights, the Amendments to the Constitution and what they mean to Americans, and much more.  congressforkids.net

Constitution Day Wiki (K-12) | Resource
A listing of links to lessons and activities for Constitution Day. Wiki started by wig, a member @ the A to Z Teacher Stuff Forums.

ConstitutionFacts.com | Resource
Resource site includes lots of information for learning about the Constitution. constitutionfacts.com

Roadmap to the Constitution (3-8) | Resource
This site is dedicated to providing students of all kinds with knowledge of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. library.thinkquest.org

Teaching With Documents: Observing Constitution Day (3-12) | Resource
The National Archives and Records Administration celebrates this important day in our nation’s history by providing activities, lesson plans, and information.  archives.gov

The United States Constitution (K-12) | Resource
The entire text of the Constitution. house.gov

The Making of the Constitution (K-12)| Resource
This resource examines the causes, difficulties, and results of the Constitutional Convention, the Bill of Rights, and more. socialstudiesforkids.com

WhiteHouse.gov for Kids – The Constitution (K-5) | Resource
Facts, games, and resources for learning about the Constitution. georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov

Books

We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States

by David Catrow

 

 

A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution

by Betsy Maestro

 

 

 Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution

by Jean Fritz

 

 

Pinterest

Follow A to Z’s board teaching: constitution day on Pinterest.

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9/11 (September 11) Teaching Ideas, Activities, Lessons, and Resources

September 11 is Patriot Day.  It was established to honor the individuals who lost their lives as a result of terrorist attacks on 9-11-01.

Lesson Plans & Resources

September 11th Ideas
Ideas originally posted at the Discussion Forums lessons.atoz

9/11 As History
Features curricula, resources and tips, to help adults and youths of all ages to reflect on and be intentional in their response to the anniversary. 911ashistory.org

Reading Rainbow, Netflix Season 1, Episode 11 – The Tin Forest
LeVar talks to students in New York City about September 11, and Jeff Bridges reads about a man driven by sadness to create a metal forest.

Good Citizens in a Time of Emergency
How did ordinary people respond to the attacks of September 11, 2001? This lesson looks at how ordinary people acted in extraordinary ways and explores ways to practice good citizenship every day as well as in times of emergency or disaster. crfc.org

In Remembrance: Teaching September 11
A collection of resources for September 11th. teachinghistory.org

9-11 and the Constitution
A four-lesson unit relating the 9/11 attacks to topics in civic education. civiced.org

911 Remembrance Crafts
Several ideas from makingfriends.com

PBS: America Responds
Created to help educators teach students about peace, tolerance, war, patriotism, geography, and other related issues. pbs.org

Scholastic’s 9/11/01: The Day That Changed America
A variety of resources for September 11 scholastic.com

USA Unit
Lots of printable pages on patriotism, U.S. symbols, crosswords, word search, writing, and more. abcteach.com

Memorials

National September 11 Memorial & Museum
The Teach + Learn section has teaching guides, lesson plans, and a wealth of resources.

Flight 93 National Memorial
Includes a section for Teachers and Kids

The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial
Teaching resources and information including the 9/11 timeline,  links to lesson plans, and more.

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