|
ET Art, Holiday, & Events Resource Pack
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Welcome to our sample Member Resource Pack!
We hope you enjoy the resources, and of course, we do hope you will also explore all of our resources!
1. DAILY WAKEUP! ACTIVITY
MAGNETIC!
You'll need some magnetic tape for this activity; it's quite inexpensive at craft stores. Cut your tape into two to three inch strips (depending on the age and writing ability of your students), and hand out four strips to each student. Instruct them to write one word, on one strip, that defines them. Use permanent markers (pass one marker per row around if you don't have enough; students can take turns. On the 2nd strip, tell them to write a noun, something, some person, or some place they most identify with. On the next strip, ask them to write down a verb, their choice. And finally, on the last strip, ask them to write an article, a demonstrative adjective, or a conjunction. Now have them work in small groups with a magnetic board (cover clipboards or a cardboard with a piece of flexible metal, if necessary) and pool together all their words, arranging them into poems, slogans, or meaningful and fairly cohesive statements. Share these with the class, then collect all of your words together for a magnetic words bulletin board, always changing, where students are invited to create poems or statements as they come in each morning. Have extra strips nearby for students to add new words to your word collage board.
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
- George Bernard Shaw
DAILY QUOTE JOURNAL WORKSHEET:
Use our quote of the day to get your students thinking... We'll always find something inspiring, and you can use the accompanying worksheets for an accessible, daily student writing exercise.
CLASSROOM QUOTE POSTER:
You can change out your classroom posters weekly (or even daily) with our quotable posters series. Today's printable poster features a quote by playwright George Bernard Shaw.
2. ARTS & CRAFTS
PRIMARILY PREK - 2 . . .
FUN WITH CORN:
Try using a corn cob to paint with, much like a roller, with some wonderfully textured results. Make colored popcorn balls, trace corn cob shapes and add "kernels" inside with colored tissue paper balls to resemble Indian corn, and more.
POPCORN ART:
This open-ended activity is much like lying down on the ground and viewing clouds, pointing out all the shapes and objects one sees. Students will look at their popcorn kernels in this case, and draw lines around what they see, bringing out cats, faces, umbrellas... It's important to tell your students not to eat these kernels; you may wish to pop another bowl for eating once they finish their art project.
APPLE TREE POPCORN ART:
What a cool idea! Popcorn kernels are used on these fall trees, glued on as the apples! The tree is first painted in brown on a blue background, for a bold finished look.
CORN COLLAGES:
[LINK2] [LINK3]
Oh, but the corn tastes mighty sweet this time of year! And just as harvest time is upon us, it's a great time to teach about corn and complete some corn crafts with your early education students. This one's a classic: making a popcorn corn-on-the-cob collage. Use the 2nd link above for the template. For a variation on the theme, try making a cotton ball corn-on-the-cob, using the directions at the 3rd link above.
POPCORN BIRD FEEDER:
[LINK2]
In this great little idea for making a natural, completely edible (for birds, not your students) bird feeder, bread has been cut into a parrot shape, slathered with peanut butter, with popcorn kernels and various seeds shaken on top. You can do the same, but you may wish to use cookie cutters for your shapes to stamp out the bread into different shapes. If you want to work with a stiffer shape, try tracing shapes onto cardboard pieces, cutting them out, punching a hole in the top to hang them, and proceeding in the same manner. A similar idea uses pine cones as the base (see the 2nd URL above), still covering them in peanut butter, then rolling them in corn and other seeds, and hanging them from trees. You could also simply use a dried (or even used and dried) corn of cob, hanging it up for the birds.
POPCORN TAMBOURINES:
Get ready to make some music! Use recycled pie tins and duct tape to make your tambourines, and then fill them with popcorn kernels as directed here to make your own fall musical instruments.
POPCORN RAIN STICKS:
Save your paper towel tubes and have students save their own. You will easily create some wonderful rain sticks with a bit of paint, paper, rubber bands, and popcorn kernels.
Scroll down for directions to create a corn mosaic as well.
CORN WRAPS:
If you're planning a party anytime soon -- Halloween, harvest, Thanksgiving, etc. -- then do keep this wonderful craft in mind. Yellow and green napkins are wrapped around plastic utensils according to the directions here, and tied up with a piece of rough twine, all to look like, you guessed it, a cob of fresh corn.
CANDY SPECKLED POPCORN CAKES:
You will probably want to have the ingredients for this yummy recipe already prepared as you begin your project; students will simply take turns stirring them all together and then shaping their individual popcorn treat balls. For a healthier treat, use raisins instead of chocolate, and dot them on to the popcorn balls last, for an artistic design or pattern.
MORE CORN ART:
Need even more fun art activities with corn? Then try these suggestions, complete with ideas as well to use corn for learning exercises across the early education curriculum.
BUTTONS AND BOTTLE CAPS . . .
BUTTON STAMPING:
You'll want to accrue a large variety of different buttons for this project, where students will use the raised edges and stamp pads to create designs. You may wish to incorporate a patterning or sequencing lesson as well. Students can decorate stationery, create bookmarks, stamp onto lamp shades or hats, the choices are endless.
BOTTLE CAP LADYBUGS:
[LINK2]
You can easily turn these enchanting and elegant creatures into magnets, or even lockets with a drilled hole. Challenge your students to create other insects as well, once they have completed a ladybug bottle cap. Use the 2nd link above for a ladybug that uses a plastic bottle cap, perfect for younger students.
BUTTON BUDDIES:
Very cute! A simple, two-holed button is transformed with a bit of colored embroidery floss into these winsome creatures; your students will want to make several of them!
BOTTLE CAP CREATURES:
Collect some bottle caps, golf tees, ping pong balls, foam balls, craft wire, plastic cutlery, pencils... Imagination reigns for this gleefully creative creature project, where students will invent their own bottle cap and foam creations. Do have a miscellaneous pile of small "junk" for them to draw from. Note: craft knives are recommended for this project, but these should only be used under supervision, and by older students. Use precut pieces instead for younger students.
MORE BUTTON CRITTERS:
Buttons, googly eyes, markers, a few beads, some colorful chenille stems, glue -- and a whole lot of imagination is all you need for these adorable creatures.
BOTTLE CAP ART:
Collect recycled and cleaned bottle caps for this project. You can use smaller plaques than the large one shown here, where bottle caps are used like mosaics to create patterned art projects.
BOTTLE CAP CLINKERS:
These good old-fashioned clinkers can shake up some pretty nice rhythms! Let students decorate and individualize the bottle caps artistically first, then they will be nailing them onto a sanded piece of wood, as directed here.
BRANCH AND BOTTLE CAP TAMBOURINES:
Want to make some more music with bottle caps? Of course you do! Here's an innovative approach that will create some unique sounds. Go for a nature walk to find some strong, "y" shaped branches to bring back to your classroom. Collect feathers too, for decoration, or anything else your students want to string on. You'll need to flatten caps with hammers and drill or punch through them, so this activity is largely geared toward older students.
BOTTLE CAP MAGNETS & THUMB TACKS:
[LINK2] [LINK3]
This offering is from Martha Stewart, so you already know it will be a sophisticated craft. Nevertheless, younger students can adapt their own versions of the magnets. They will need adult help if you are going to finish them with the casting resin, however. Use the 2nd link above for instructions on making Button Magnets as a variation on the theme. The 3rd link above shows another method of creating simpler photo bottle cap magnets, without any resin finish, and thus is better suited to younger students.
VINTAGE PHOTO BOTTLE CAP MAGNETS:
[LINK2]
Here's yet another variation on the bottle cap photo magnet. Students might wish to use their own photos, but rather than cutting up family heirlooms, have them copy the photos first, perhaps using sepia tones. They could also use a modern photo, with sepia and fading effects on their photo software, or once printed, tint the photo carefully with tea. Use tiny seed beads or lace as shown to create the full effect of a vintage photo, especially if using more modern versions. The 2nd link above provides vintage images.
BUTTON BOUQUETS:
I love these whimsical and colorful bouquets! Go to your nearest thrift store and grab a bag of mixed buttons, as well as some recycled vases or bottles. Follow simple directions here to use florist wire, pliers, buttons, and your own creativity to make these delightful bouquets; we bet you'll be making loads of them! Let students paint dots or stripes on their vases as well, for an even more colorful and folksy effect.
BUTTON CLOCKS:
Here's a sophisticated yet funky craft; you will need the clock movements in order to complete these wonderful clocks, but what a great "gift of time" to give to your students to use at the beginning of the school year. We bet you'll want to give these ones out as gifts yourself!
3. TEACHING THE HOLIDAYS & EVENTS
COLUMBUS DAY . . .
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS CLIPART:
Vintage drawings and paintings of Christopher Columbus and his ships are included in this clipart collection. You may wish to print them out for sequencing a story about Columbus and his explorations.
NEWSPAPER SAILOR HATS:
All ages of elementary students will enjoy putting together these hats. Have older students free draw an outline world map on their newspapers with black markers, perhaps even "painting" them with tea bags for a weathered, old world effect.
PAPER MACHE GLOBES:
[LINK2] [LINK3] [LINK4] [LINK5] [LINK6]
Upper elementary and middle school students can create their own paper mache globes for Columbus Day. Have them look at Old World maps (there's an image from a 1482 map at the 2nd link above, with further antique maps at the rest of the links) to draw in the continents as they were then known, and draw in, as well, "x" marks the origin of a Columbus voyage, tracing it across the ocean to the New World.
15TH CENTURY NAVIGATION:
Just how did explorers in the 15th century -- the time of Columbus -- navigate the high seas, and what did they know about the world? Two introductory maps make it dramatically clear, the difference in knowledge pre-latitude use. Learn more about the ships, navigation, ocean currents, calendars, and astronomy used in ancient navigation techniques.
COLUMBUS, THE MAN AND THE MYTH:
Much controversy surrounds Christopher Columbus in modern time. Read all about it in this Library of Congress installment.
UNDERSTANDING LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE:
[LINK2] [LINK3] [LINK4]
Introduce your students to the concepts of latitude and longitude for a Columbus Day activity, with a primer at the 1st link above, a student exercise and answer key at the 2nd link, and further activities at the 3rd and 4th links.
CRACK THE CODE:
In this geography activity, students will have to "crack the code" in order to locate different cities around the globe. Be sure to click on every highlighted or underlined text in order to access the necessary components of the exercise. See the top right hand side bar for further, related geography lessons for each grade level.
FIND YOUR LONGITUDE:
Play online and learn how to operate a chronometer on the high seas in this online learning game about navigation.
SECRETS OF ANCIENT NAVIGATION:
Before you begin making your own compasses, quadrants, and astrolabes, learn how ancient explorers navigated the seas in this online NOVA installation.
MAKE A COMPASS:
[LINK2] [LINK3]
Students will create both a box compass and a water compass to demonstrate alignment with the magnetic fields of the Earth. Use the 1st link for the Teacher's Guide, the 2nd for a printable rose compass, and the 3rd link for the student activity.
MAKE AN ASTROLABE:
[LINK2]
Learn all about old world navigation, and then let your older students create their own working astrolabes, using the template at the 2nd link above. An astrolabe worksheet and answer key are also provided.
MAKE A QUADRANT:
[LINK2]
Want more navigational hands-on fun and learning? Then make your own quadrants, following the patterns and directions outlined here.
LOST AT SEA:
[LINK2]
Students will use a chart in order to help find their way across the glove in this search for checkpoints, given latitudes and longitudes. An answer key is provided at the first link above.
WORLDWIDE QUIZ:
Use the opportunity afforded by Columbus Day to learn more about world geography; here's a fun place to start. Middle and high school students will test their knowledge of world cities in this online and interactive quiz, naming key features before moving on. We've linked you to Amsterdam to start with the "As", but you can select from numerous key cities of the world, each accompanied by related resources for further explorations. Have your students create around the world brochures, also identifying latitude and longitude for each of the key locations, or to create trivia mystery cards for geography. (e.g. This world famous city is located at____degrees latitude and _________longitude, and is known for its ancient agora or marketplace.)
VIEW ABOVE EARTH:
What a long way we've come since Columbus. Plug in your latitude and longitude coordinates, along with an altitude, and zoom into your corner of the Earth with a view from above with this interactive geography tool. Zoom in and out; it's amazing to see the lighted portions of Earth at night.
4. SUBSCRIPTION & CONTACT INFORMATION
This Newsletter is offered only to our members on a subscriber basis. We always appreciate your recommendations to your colleagues.
Our Resource Pack choices include:
MON: Early Education,
TUE: Primary 1-3,
WED: Upper Elementary 3-6,
THU: Middle-High School 6-12,
FRI: Art, Holidays, & Events
To subscribe to these Everyday Teaching Resource Packs, please select your grade and interest level by visiting our Newsletter Page.
|
![[LINK2]](http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/cegif/collage-pat.gif){kind=link}
![[LINK2]](http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/full-images/world.gif){kind=link}