sprinkletoppedteacher

If you are teaching handwriting in elementary school, you probably know that it can be about as pleasant as getting a root canal. You know you are teaching a beneficial skill. But your students often think otherwise. What if you could make teaching handwriting in elementary school fun and something the kids look forward to? What if I told you that this is possible? It is entirely possible to improve student’s writing skills AND have them giggle along the way! They are probably going to ask t[...]

I’m sure you have seen long, drawn-out lesson plans for teaching the scientific method in the elementary grades. It doesn’t really have to be that difficult to teach kids how to work through the steps. What if I told you there was an easy way to introduce the scientific method to your students and help reinforce science-related skills? Well, there is! Maybe I should say I have seven easy ways to teach and reinforce the scientific method to students. I actually came up with 7 Easy Science Expe[...]

Most kids love a good detective story. Many of them watch crime scene investigation shows. They may dream of being a forensic scientist someday. What if you could give them a taste of crime-solving fun and cover critical thinking skills and STEM activities in a single lesson? You can provide them with a science lesson they will not forget and will be talking about for a long time to come. This kids forensic science fingerprint lesson plan is appropriate for students from Kindergarten to 5th grade[...]

Teaching is hard. Writing lesson plans get a little easier with experience. Planning for a substitute doesn’t. You feel like you’ve got to write down every little detail of the day for your sub. This is tedious, boring, and tiring. But what if I told you there was a fool-proof way to create substitute teacher plans? What if I also told you that they could be done in less than an hour? Would you believe me? You should! I get that it is hard to believe. Even the most seasoned teachers who ne[...]

Coming back after the New Year is always so fun! The kids are excited to share about their winter breaks, and I always set up some fun New Years activities for kids in 2021! At the same time, it also takes a lot of work to get our classroom routine back into shape as we start the final stretch of the curriculum. This is the point where I like to have our class stop and evaluate our goals for the rest of the school year! Setting New Year’s Goals With Students I like to make sure that I have a clear[...]

December is one of my favorite months in the classroom because of this reindeer research activity for kids. Students have so much more fun when we take what’s normally a boring ELA standard and turn it into a fun themed project! In winter, we use a reindeer research project to help reinforce research skills. I love mixing it up with books and technology so students can practice using text features to locate information.  Reindeer research is also a great idea for activities that don’t cente[...]

It’s finally that time of year… which usually means teachers are on the hunt for an easy parent gift from students. Oh and bonus points if it’s easy and inexpensive! Students love to give gifts to their parents and loved ones, but I used to struggle with finding a gift that would work for any holiday in the winter!  That’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands and create this super easy DIY snow globe gift! Why I Love This Easy Parent Gift from Students This activity i[...]

Every year, I try to add some holiday fun into our writing units! Adding in a Thanksgiving writing activity is a great way to get kids excited about the holidays and engaged in the writing process! Typically, students are not big fans of writing which means it’s super important to get them excited right away with an engaging prompt.  Thanksgiving Writing Activity Prompt The Thanksgiving writing activity we use starts off with a letter to the students that says…  Thanksgiving is com[...]

A polar bear science experiment with food! Can you think of anything better to get your students engaged?  Gummy bear science is a no brainer when it comes to getting kids excited! In this experiment we used gummy bears to grow our own polar bears and to review the scientific method. Setting Up the Experiment  For this project we worked together as a class. We followed this Scientific Method Experiment Booklet.  I decided to do the experiment in small groups. I set up 4 cups on eac[...]

STEM is becoming a large part of every school’s curriculum and is being taught in every grade level. The Marshmallow STEM Activity is such a great STEM lesson! I think that STEM is not only an important building block for our students’ future, but it can be so fun! That is why I love introducing new STEM projects to my class.  Marshmallow Toothpick Towers is one of the best STEM activities that I have done with my class! I think that great projects are ones that challenge students to problem solve, u[...]