Thanks Penny for another great week of lesson plans.

Welcome to another edition of the Lesson Theme of the Week. This
week's lesson theme is all about Birds and I hope you enjoy this
theme and pass it on to other homeschool families so they also may
use it to teach their children.

General Information
All About Birds
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/
American Birding Association
http://www.americanbirding.org
Anatomy, Behavior & Diseases of Caged Birds
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=15
Audubon: Birds & Science
http://www.audubon.org/bird/
Bird Flash Cards
http://www.renaesroom.com/Hotflashes/BirdFlash/BirdFlash.html
The Life of Birds
http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/

Lesson Plans
Bird Biology Lesson Plan
http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/schlagle/lessons/Birds1.htm
Birds
http://web.utk.edu/~ctmelear/ossabaw/Collins/birds.html
Birds and their bird sounds
http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/education/intel/Projects/joan_hunn2.
htm
Birdwatching 101
http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/LessonPlans/Wildlife/BirdsNest.html
Building a Bird's Nest Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceLABirds-LearnAboutBody13.htm
Learning About a Bird's Body
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/educational.html
Virtual Birding
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/educational.html
What Makes a Bird a Bird?
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/teacher/lespl1.html

Multimedia
Bird sounds
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/radio/dawn_chorus/
Wild-Eyed Alaska
http://www.hhmi.org/alaska/
World Bird Guide
http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/

Crafts
A Variety of Bird Feeders
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/life15.html
Bird Binoculars
http://www.kinderart.com/crafts/birdbinoculars.shtml
Bird Crafts
http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/birdcrafts.html
Bird Mobile Craft
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbirdmobile.htm
Curly Bird
http://members.aol.com/Sabbeth/Warmcraft.html
Egg Cup Bird
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/birdprojects/a/blbirdcr2.htm
Nesting Supply Box For Birds
http://www.squiglysplayhouse.com/ArtsAndCrafts/Crafts/BirdSupplyBox.h
tml
Pinecone Bird Feeder
http://oldfashionedliving.com/birdfeeder2.html

Cooking
Bird Treats
http://www.robinsfyi.com/holidays/christmas/recipes/animals/birdtreat
.htm
Edible Bird's Nest
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/030600c.shtml

Online Stories
A Bird Without a Song
http://www.marlo.com/wguy1.htm

Multimedia
Chick Hatchery
http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/videos/video-
detail/activities/the-hatchery/

Online Activities
Bird Migration Game
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Educa
tion/Kids_Stuff/Woth_game/default.cfm
Fly like a bird, a 3D fly around
http://www.gamevial.com/flylikeabird.htm
Home of the Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection
http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/index.htm
Test your Memory Skills - Birds
http://www.bellaonline.com/code/memory/birds2.asp

Printouts
Bird Themed Coloring Pages
http://www.coloring.ws/birds.htm
How Many Colorful Birds Book for Early Readers
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/books/howmany/birds/
Mega Birdsearch
http://www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/birdsearch.htm
Word Search Puzzles: Birds
http://www.thepotters.com/puzzles/birds.html

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 Thank you Penny for a another great week of Lesson Plans!!

Welcome to another edition of the Lesson Theme of the Week this
week's lesson theme is on Spring. And I hope you enjoy this week's
theme and will pass it on to other homeschool families so they also
may use it to teach their children.

The Homeschool Network Internet Library News
http://homeschoolnetworklibrary.com
Please remember you can find additional materials in the member
section to go along with this week's lesson theme.

Lesson Plans
Integrating Math into a Spring Thematic Unit
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-
bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Mathematics/Measurement/MEA0004.
html
Soar Into Spring With Kites!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson056.shtml
Splish, Splash, Spring Lesson Plan
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?
id=877&&DI=6244&IG=45bfe1f7c2714a7cb5359ab09b456aa0&POS=2&CM=WPU&CE=2
&CS=AWP&SR=2&sample=0
Spring Cleaning: Lesson plan based on Clifford The Big Red Dog
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=487
Spring Egg Art Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ArtMathPatternsEaster-SpringEgg15.htm
Spring Awakenings
http://www.cas.muohio.edu/scienceforohio/SprAwak/L.html
Spring/plants lesson plans for Head Start
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MDMultidisciplinaryUnitOnSpringAndPlan
tsP.htm
Spring Time Flowers Math Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MathSciFavoriteFlowerGraph25.htm

Art
Baby-food Jar Gardens
http://crafts.kaboose.com/jgardens.html
Coffee Filter Butterflies
http://crafts.kaboose.com/butterfly1.html
Cross Stitch for Spring
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/spring/mcrossstitch.htm
Easy Spring Flowers
http://crafts.kaboose.com/flower1.html
Paper Bird House Craft
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/spring/mbirdhouse.htm
Spring Windsock
http://crafts.kaboose.com/windsock.html

Music
Spring Songs Ideas
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/pep/teachingideas/sprin
gsongs.html

Cooking
Butterfly Cake
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50107
Flower Power Cake
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50138
Ladybug Cupcake
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50162
N is For Nest Cupcake
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50168

Online Activities
Spring Jigsaw Puzzle
http://www.primarygames.com/puzzles/jigsaw/spring/start.htm
Spring Match Game
http://www.primarygames.com/season_match/spring_match/start.htm
Spring Slide Puzzle
http://www.primarygames.com/seasons/spring/games/sliders/start.htm
Spring Word Search
http://www.primarygames.com/seasons/spring/word_search/start.htm
What is Spring?
http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~ptk1nc/spring2002/Cloze/whatisspri
ng5.htm

Printouts
DLTK's Custom Printable Coupons
http://www.dltk-cards.com/coupon/
Make Your Own Books - Spring
http://www.dltk-teach.com/minibooks/spring2/index.htm
Spring
http://abcteach.com/directory/seasonalseasons/spring/
Spring Anagram
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/spring/m-anagram.htm
Spring Coloring Pages
http://www.coloring.ws/spring1.htm
Spring Poem Printout
http://www.abcteach.com/spring/poem.htm
Spring Puzzle
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/fun_activities/crossword_puzzles/
Spring Themed Worksheets
http://www.kidzone.ws/thematic/spring.htm

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I was going through my emails and someone shared the link to two free unit studies. So I thought I would pass them on to all of you. Hope you have a great day!

Human Body Unit Study - This is a pdf file and is a whole unit of the human body.

Hurricane Unit Study - This is also a pdf file and is a whole unit for science on investigating hurricanes.

Enjoy!

Miscellaneous Lesson Plans - This link is sponsered by Utah Education Network. This site has dozens of lesson plans with documents to support the lessons.

Education World - This site is a great site for lesson plans and are submitted by teachers. This is a great place to spend a few hours at.

Zoom School - This site has many different lesson plans and is designed for elementary students. The lessons you can find here are biology, geography, language arts, and early child hood activities. This site looks like it's part of Enchanted Learning.

I know that I can always use premade lesson plans when I am running short on ideas. Here are a few sites that are great resources for lesson plans. Enjoy!

The Academy Curriculum Exchange - This website has a wealth of resources for grades K - 12. They have curriculum for langauge arts, mathematics, miscellaneous, science, and social studies. The lessons here are very detailed and consise but they require alot of sifting through pages.

Lesson Plans and Reproducibles - This site is made by Scholastic and this particular section is the most valuable: hundreds of lesson plans ranging from elementary to intermediate ages, in 100 different categories. This site could keep me busy for days.

Lesson Plans - This site has over 3,500 free lesson plans. There is lessons for all ages and subjects.

Marc Sheehan's Lesson Plans - This site has a small collection but includes theme units, lesson plans and links to other lesson plan sites.

Stay tuned as tomorrow I will finish posting the lesson plan sites that I have found.

I came across this in one of the email groups I am in and thought I would share it. I think this would be a cute idea art project for either Valentines Day or thinking ahead to Mother's Day. Also after reading this you could use this for a primary science experiment in changing colors.

Coloured Flowers
Materials you will need:
. Water
. Scissors
. Food Colouring
. Jar, Plastic Cup or Test Tube
. A Flower (light coloured-white carnation) or Celery Stalk (with
leaves)

This is a colour changing experiment.

Steps:
1. Fill the cup with water.
2. Add a few drops of food colouring
3. Cut the end off the stem (stalk)
4. Put the flower in the water

Watch and in time the food colouring will be sucked up the stem
along tiny tubes (called vessels) and the petals of the flower will
start to change in colour.
Another way to try this experiment is to get a flower with a long,
thick stem (or a celery stalk with leaves) and slit it carefully
from the bottom and put one end in separate test tubes (with
different food colourings).  Your flower (or celery) should have
petals (or leaves) in two different colours.
Did you know that plants need water to live?  As well as absorbing
water from the atmosphere (air) through their leaves, they suck
water up through their stems.  If you used the celery stalk for the
above experiment you could cut the stalk and see that the little
holes inside are coloured.

   The bitter cold temperatures in our area over the weekend provided me with an opportunity to make some old fashioned homemade "stained glass" hard candy. Every winter family and friends eagerly await the Arctic blast that drives our temperatures into single digits with low humidity knowing that the candy soon will be ready. The phone rings, the emails arrive, and notes placed mysteriously throughout the house appear as soon as the forecast is known, they all want to make sure I am aware the cold air is on the way. "Hurry up and get ready, the deep freeze is coming!" has to be one of my favorites. The weather is important because after the molten candy is poured from the kettle onto the tray I immediately (but carefully) rush it outside and place the tray in the snow. Between the very cold air on the top surface of the candy and the ice cold snow on the bottom of the tray, the candy instantly freezes and cracks into gorgeous pieces of old fashioned candy.
   I use a very old recipe that my neighbor just recently passed on to me from her great-grandmother. I grew up with her candy but it was always a "secret". It is a time consuming and labor intensive process but it creates some of the best tasting, most beautiful candy I've ever had.
   Over the 2 days I managed to make 10 different flavors, peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, cinnamon, cherry, lemon, lime, orange, root beer, and red licorice. That certainly does not appear to be a lot, but it takes on average 2-3 hours per flavor. Of course I already have orders for second batches, but I am at the mercy of Mother Nature and the weather. 
   The boys help out a lot, they measure out the ingrediants, watch the kettles to make sure that the heat is just perfect, and most importantly remove the molten candy from the heat source when it reaches exactly 310 degrees. This experience of making candy actually is a science, chemistry and math lesson, all rolled into one delicious "class." Sometimes homeschooling teachs us all when we least expect it.

 

Many of you may already be aware of the fact that an asteroid is set to hit Mars on January 30th, 2008, or is it?  It has been called a hit and a miss so many times that it's hard to keep up with it.

If it does hit, what affect will it have here on earth? Any? One great way to find out is to visit NASA's website and visit their podcast section, and if your student is an ipod user, NASA has a special NASA room set up at itunes.

The Audio Podcasts are set up into these categories:

• This Week at NASA
• Shuttle and Station
• Solar System
• Universe
• Earth
• Student Opportunities

The Video Podcasts are set up into these categories:

• This Week at NASA
• NASA edge
• Shuttle and Station
• To the Moon
• Solar System
• Universe
• Earth
• What's Up

But it doesn't end there.  Your children have a whole library full of podcasts from additional NASA resources:

• Ask an Astronomer
• Astrobiology Magazine
• Brain Bites - Ask NASA
• Chandra X-ray Observatory
• Digital Learning Network
• Hubble Watch
• + more

My daughter who loves science, but detests boring book science was busy yesterday downloading her own selections onto her computer.  We only stumbled upon this section of NASA yesterday and we were hooked.

These podcasts can easily fit in to your current science curriculum and lesson plans, and who better to learn science from and keep on top of current events in space than the NASA scientists?

To visit: NASA podcast Room

I am so glad it's the weekend so I can finally sit down and update on some new discoveries and current events that have occurred in the last few weeks.  There is some interesting stuff here, hopefully some of it will interest you enough to inspire some new lesson plans for your children:

New Game Builds Vocabulary for Kids - and Adults:  There is a new game in town for your Nintendo DS, it is called "My Word Coach", and it is getting great reviews. It was inspired by a college professor and has six different vocabulary games that also tracks your progress, read about it here:
My Word Coach

Indoor Gardening: Growing your own Vegetables and Herbs Indoors durinig the Winter: This is a fantastic and informative article about how to grow vegetables inside your house during the winter.  It is written with clear direction and really shows you how to get started with little cost. This would make a great home-school family project! (Not to mention fresh vegetables around the house year-long)
Indoor Gardening

Scottish Water Plant Dig reveals ancient Roman Fort:  This is a cool story! When construction workers in Scotland were readying a site for a new treatment plant, they came upon an ancient Roman fort, which is dated 2000 years old. To read about the discovery:
Ancient Roman Fort

Puzzle Pouch and Free Patterns:  If you have a student who likes to sew and if looking for some easy patterns, don't miss this article. The sewing blog at About.com has found some terrific free patterns for a Puzzle Pouch, and don't worry about not having a sewing machine, these can all be done by hand:
Puzzle Pouch and Free Patterns

Fortune Cookie - Made in Japan?:  This is a fun story, it has been discovered that fortune cookies are not Chinese at all, they are Japanese!  Read the story of how one history graduate in Japan discovered this shocking fact:
Fortune Cookies: Made in Japan?

U.S. Scientists Create beating Hearts in Lab:  This was a huge story in the science and medicine world.  A group of scientists created beating hearts in aging rats, they feel that this could lead to some mighty new changes in health-care in the future. Read about the discovery and story:
Beating Hearts in Lab

Sir Edmund Hillary, who first climbed atop Mt. Everest, has died:  Yes, Sir Edmund Hillary died at the age of 88 on January 11, 2008.  This story made me put a note to myself about future lesson plans on Sir Hillary and Mt. Everest in general.  Children will find his story exciting, and his life even more so:
Sir Edmund Hillary dies

On-Line Tangram Puzzle Games:  If your student is into puzzles of any kind, then your student is going to love Tangrams.  Dave at About.com has put together a few sites for you involving Tangrams. Tangrams may look simple enough, but believe me it is not, some of these are wonderfully challenging:
On-Line Tangram Puzzle Games

Tornado Handbook, an Interactive Guide:  You have to love the people over at the Discovery Channel, they are always coming up with some unique learning tools! This is a interactive Tornado handbook, that allows your student to participate in making a tornado, while learning step by step along the way how tornadoes form, you are going to love this!:
Tornado Handbook

New Solar System could Breed Life:  Astronomers are very excited about this one.  The beginning stages of a new solar system have been discovered, and scientists believe that this new solar system could breed life. To read more on this discovery:
New Solar System

Time-Line Greenland:  This is just a great time-line for Greenland that will enhance any study or lesson plan you may be doing on Greenland. Done in chronological order and stacked full of information:
Time-Line Greenland

Civil War Detective Solves Grave Mix-Up:  Imagine that you really really really don't like the neighbors down the street "The Smiths", you are feuding constantly. But then you die and for some strange reason, end up buried in the Smith family plot! Read the story of the Civil War soldier, who really wound up buried in the wrong place, and the person who solved it:
Civil War Grave Mix-Up

Make your own Sock Puppets:  Finally, some hands-on fun for the little ones.  Very good article on making your own sock puppets and a list of materials that you will need to get the project done:
Sock Puppets

Going High-Tech: Geo-caching in the Classroom:  This is one gold-mine of a find for classroom fun with GPS.  This site will help inspire hours of learning and fun using a GPS for your older or advanced students. The blog has several ideas to get you started:
Geo-caching in the Classroom

Volunteers needed to join International Bird-Feeding Study!:  Be part of an international study on bird-feeding.  There are two different programs to choose from. This would be an ideal on-going lesson plan for the entire family, and a chance to be part of something very special and important:
Volunteer for Bird-Feeding Study

That is it for this week, hope you found something new for your home-school curriculum planning!

The Electronic Zoo - This site has huge selection of animal resources. This site is organized by animal. To look at the animal categories just click on animals. There are also other sections such as organizations, publications, and more.

Elementary Science Curriculum - This site is organized by grades 1 - 5. The science units are from Saskatchewan Education. There is also a section on how to use this curriculum, unit planning, and a few more things.

Exploratorium - This site is an excellent site for science resources. There are many science explorer activities here at this site. New activities are updated often.

Space.com -  This site has earth and space news as well as weather science. If you click the space view tab you will see gorgeous pictures of space related things.

I have met dozens of home-schooled children over the years who are in love with horses, and horseback riding.  Several times a year, hundreds of home-schooling families visit ranches and horse farms all over America, it is a very fun and educational field trip to take.

As an extension of Michigan State University, My Horse University has MUCH to offer your older home-schooled child.  I believe this course would be perfect for teens, but if you have an advanced middle-school child who is wild about horses, this may be for you too (Check out the sample lessons on the site). If you have horses of your own, these on-line courses are really for you!

My Horse University offers science-based courses and live web presentations on horse breeding and selection, from the top experts in it's field.  The short courses take about an hour or two to complete, and you can view the courses when they fit into your schedule from your own home.  On the website, you are able to view samples of the courses, and of the web presentations before you buy anything.

Don't wait too long though to sign up, the live web presentations are as follows:

• Breeding for a Champion - January 21
• Your Next Competition Horse - January 23
• Preparing and Breeding your Mare - February 4
• Post-Natal Care - February 11

These web courses can be bought individually, or as a whole series, and each series has an overview and extra activities that you may chose to take part in.  This is great scientific fun for all horse lovers!
My Horse University

   Well, the Michigan primary has come and gone and it appears that our state has added a new possibility to the presidential run. Mitt Romney pulled a win out of a very tight race and now leads all the candidates with 41 delegates. This is adding up to be a very exciting race for both Republicans and Democrats.
   While waiting for results and watching the news periodically, yesterday we decided to build a mold terrarium so that we could observe the growth process of several variations of mold and document the findings. We placed bread, cheese, carrots, cucumber, banana, and some mashed potatoes in an old pickle jar, sealed it tight with the lid and taped it shut for safety. Overnight the bread began to grow little colonies of bluish/green mold, but the rest still is not visible. This really is fascinating and the boys enjoy these types of "Eww, gross!" experiments. Last year we built a bacteria terrarium using swamp mud, a raw egg, some shredded newspaper, and dead leaf litter. This jar had to have 24 hours of light so we used a desk lamp and within 7-10 days a plethora of bacteria in a rainbow of colors was very visible without the use of a microscope. I have found that these simple projects are extremely educational and are great visual aides for biology and earth science curriculms. If you need any explanation or have questions regarding these to projects please feel free to ask and I will get back to you promptly.

   Wow! We sure have been riding a roller coaster of wild weather this last week. First we have a snowstorm that drops 16" of snow in 6 hours and we spend 3 days digging out. By the end of the week we are breaking records for high temperatures with severe thunderstorms (add another 2-3 inches of fresh rainfall to the melted snow total and there is wide spread flooding), and high winds with tornadoes rolling through the midwest.
   At least it allowed for a lot of conversation about weather and its cause and effects. It is difficult sometimes to teach about Earth science and weather phenomenon without visual or tactile aides. An example is light and fluffy snow, without being able to actually feel light and fluffy snow it remains an abstract thought, some cake frostings claims to be light and fluffy, but it does not feel anything like light and fluffy snow. Freezing rain, sleet and snow all are frozen water droplets, yet they all look and feel differently.
   It never ceases to amaze me how many lessons life on our planet presents to us everyday without having to be confined to 4 brick walls.

Granted, homeschooling takes something special. A lot of parents fear homeschooling their children because they "don't know" enough about Algebra, or Science, and are afraid of cheating their children. Let me tell you, what is most important is motivation. Parents, as teachers, do not need to know the quadratic formula or the Periodic Table in order for their kids to be successful. Motivation, either provided through parents or by the student him/herself, is the main component that is needed for homeschooling to be successful. Here is a link for an article published at the famous "How Stuff Works" website called "How Does Homeschooling Work" which describes how motivation is the key to making this work.

   Tomorrow we will be enjoying a Fun Friday at the Impression 5 Science Center. I figured that we would get back to lessons at a slow pace and enjoy the little extra time off before we work toward the mid-term chemistry exam and start a new healthy lifestyle course on Monday.
   This field trip will be interesting as "Impression 5 is a hands-on learning enviornment that challenges its visitors to experience, discover, and explore the world in which they live."  They offer many interactive lessons and educational games to make learning fun. Financially it is another bonus since Impression 5 is a member of the ASTC (Association of Science and Technology Centers) and its passport program. They honor membership cards from any ASTC member institution. 
   I will post our experiences tomorrow and maybe even a few pictures so you will have an opportunity to share the fun with us.  
 

The Power Points I am going to share with you today are completely made and ready to use. You can add them to your lesson plans and current curriculum as visual aids. The grades range from kindergarten to 12th grade. They are all free and each of these sites have many different categories for the subjects itself. Next to each link I will list just some of the many categories to give you an idea what is at these sites. I hope you enjoy them.

Free Physcial Education and Health Presentations in Power Point Format - This site has many different categories. Just to name a few of them: throwing and catching, movement, dance, and aerobics and anaerobics.

Free Langauge Arts Presentations in Power Point Format - This site contains figurative langauge power points. Just to name a couple examples: hyperbole, simile and metaphor.

Math Power Points - This site covers a wide variety of math topics. A couple of the categories are algebra, integers, laws of exponents, and again many more.

Free Math Presentations in Power Point Format - Just to name a few categories of the power points at this website: telling time, multiplication, addition, measurement, problem solving and logic and many more.

Free Science Presentation in Power Point Format - The categories here are general science, earth science, pysics, nanoscience, biology, ecology and environmental science. Each categories has many subcategories listed.

Free Social Studies Presentations in Power Point Format - There are 16 different categories here for social studies. Just to name a couple: 50 states, world history, U S Government, and economics.

Being a home-school Mom, I am always looking for new and motivating ways to bring practicality into our lesson plans.  Planning curriculum that includes the very things that we adults use on a daily basis.

Microsoft offers such online lessons. They offer a series of lessons using word processors, spreadsheets, databases, cameras and much more.  This site is for all grade levels, and very easy to get around and understand.

Microsoft currently offers lessons in:

• Geography
• Mathematics
• History
• Science and Technology
• Language Arts
• Social Studies

It is a wonderful way to teach and utilize the Microsoft products most likely already on your computer, and a wonderful way to teach your child while they master each application, hands on and learning at the same time!

Each lesson comes with instructions, teacher planner, and additional links for further studying.  Visit the Microsoft Learning Page here:  Microsoft Learning

 

No matter what age you are teaching, everyone can find a use for Foldables in their homeschooling program.  Dinah Zike devised the concept of using Foldables.  She is the author of an award-winning book, The Big Book of Books and Activities, and is a frequent speaker and lecturer who instructs both teachers and parents on making paper manipulatives for education.  For further information regarding Dinah Zike or to order her books, please visit her official website at http://www.dinah.com.

 

However, there are many websites available online that offer simple instructions for creating your own Foldables.  These instructions include graphic illustrations as well as ideas for implementing Foldables into your curriculum.  I have gathered some of the best resources for you below.  Many of the links will take you to other websites, while others will download the instructions in PDF format.

 

 

 

What are Foldables

 

These links will show you some wonderful examples of Foldables.  Once you see them in action, I’m sure you will come up with your own creative and imaginative ways to use these manipulatives with your own curriculum. The following is a PDF file that consists of five pages.

 

http://ushistory.pwnet.org/resources/pdf/Foldables_Color_Pictures.pdf

 

Foldables are commonly used in Lapbooks and Notebooks.  Here are some examples from TobinsLab; one of the leaders in lapbooking has actually trademarked the term, Lap Book.  This is a 2-page PDF file that will show you ways to use Foldables with Lapbooks.

 

http://www.tobinslab.com/downloads/Lap%20Book%20Info%20Sheet.pdf

 

 

 

How to Fold Foldables

 

The following is a collection of links, downloads, and websites that will instruct you in how to create various Foldables.

 

http://education.ucsb.edu/netshare/tepinst/hss/Visual_Literacy/foldables.pdf

 

This is a 24 page PDF File that will show you how to create the following Foldables:

The 3 Tab, The Booklet, The Tri Fold, The 4 Door, The Diamond 4 Door, the Circle Inlay, the Diamond/Octagon, the Isosceles Triangle, the Panorama, the Six Door, and the Volcano Shape.

 

 

MiniBook Instructions for Lapbooking.  This is a great PDF file that shows the Strip Book Method and the Shutter Method and more.

 

http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/userfiles/100/69745646108.pdf

 

 

 

CauseandEffectTwoTab..>

 

InterestBoundBook.pdf  

 

JournalResponseThree..>

 

LLBGuideDirections.pdf 

 

LayeredLookBook.pdf    

 

LayeredLookBookLesso..>

 

MapGraphic.pdf         

 

PictureFrameGraphic.pdf

 

PlotGraphic.pdf        

 

PocketBookFoldable.pdf 

 

PointofviewGraphic.pdf 

 

StoryElementsLLB.pdf    

 

ThermometerGraphic.pdf 

 

TimelineGraphic.pdf    

 

TwoTab.pdf    

 

VennDiagramThreeTabB..>

How to Make a Mini Book and a Foldable Box

 How to Fold an Accordion Book

Dinah Zike’s High School Economics Reading and Study Skills (includes Foldable instructions)

http://historyroom.org/foldable%20pdf.pdf Don’t use the PDF bookmarks.  Just download the pdf file or read it online, the bookmarks aren’t accurate. The PDF file is 70 pages.

Lesson Plans Online that Use Foldables

Math Resources from a Teachers Workshop that shows how to use Foldables.  

The PDF file is 15 pages long.  

https://www.t2tweb.us/Mgmt/TTC/SessionFiles/S0209-F03833.pdf

 

This is a 34-page PDF unit study for PreAlgebra.  It uses Foldables and Graphic Organizers with some of the lesson plans.  It is free to download.

 

http://www.nsa.gov/teachers/ms/prealg_all_measurements%20.pdf

 

Exploring Earthquakes

http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/science/ex_earthquakes.html

 

This PDF file is 7 pages and creates an Earth Foldable.  It comes with templates to print and instructions.  Exploring Earth: Earth Foldable  http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/science/pdf/ast_sci_fold_world_org.pdf

 

This complimentary lesson: Exploring Earthquakes; Vocabulary Words uses notebook paper to create an interesting foldable.

 

http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/science/pdf/ast_sci_fold_world_model.pdf

 

 

Sixth Grade Integers Lesson Plan that uses Foldables

http://www.nsa.gov/teachers/ms/numthe12.pdf

 

Glencoe Science: Waves, Sound, and Light (the bookmarks do not work, but the PDF file is valid).  37 pages great resource whether or not you have the Glencoe book.  Lessons and activities are included and use Foldables.

 

http://www.mrhayden.com/pdfs/7in14.pdf

 

Glencoe Science Resources: Cells- 47 pages

http://www.rssc.k12.in.us/S%20Mahuron/images/7in429.pdf

 

 

Glencoe Science: The Periodic Table (Bookmarks don’t work) PDF 36 pages

http://www.mrhayden.com/pdfs/8in05.pdf

 

 

 

 

Great Foldable Resources

 

Here are some great resources that you can use now that you know how to create Foldables.

 

HS Launch has a number of files available

http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/index.php?action=files

 

 

 

If you are like me, then you like to create your own homeschool lesson plans, and tailor what you teach to what your kids want to learn.  Curriculums are great for math and language arts, and I use them wholeheartedly...but when it comes to history, science, and social studies, I am a free spirit.  And, being a Christian homeschooling family, we like to relate the Bible into just about anything we teach/learn.  My kids love to see how the Bible ties into real historical events and how Earth is shaped by the catastrophic events that happened in Bible times (like the flood shaping the continents, etc.)

To this end, I want to list topics at the beginning of each month where you have the freedom to make your own lessons based on these monthly ideas.  These are just ideas, and if you have some of your own ideas, please let me know!  How to Develop a Homeschool Unit Study is a great place to learn how to put your lesson together into a neat and compact binder, and tailor it to meet the needs of children of varying ages, if that applies to you.

On to the ideas for January!

Polar Bear Lesson Plan
     Information about polar bears
     Create puzzles at Puzzlemaker.com
     Bible Reference:  Genesis 1:24-25

Penguin Lesson Plan
     Information about penguins
     Create puzzles at Puzzlemaker.com
     Bible Reference:  Genesis 1:24-25

Winter Theme Lesson Plan
     Book Suggestion:  "The Winter Solstice" by Ellen Jackson
     Science Experiment:  Expanding on Ice
     Winter Writing Prompts
     Make a winter craft
     Bible References:  Genesis 8:22 and Psalm 74:17

Crime Stopper Month
     Take a field trip to your local police station
     Learn about policemen and other community helpers
     Make a police craft
    
The whole purpose of developing your own lesson plans is to gather the information you find useful and put it all together in a way that makes sense to you!  Have fun with it.

Additional Ideas

January is:              

- Bath Safety Month
- Clown Month
- Eye Health Care Month
- Letter Writing Month
- Radio Month
- Soup Month
- Canned Foods Month (great time to donate canned goods to a shelter!)

Have a great New Year!

Since my youngest son is autistic I add a wide variety of things to use with our curriculum. One of the things that interst my son are printable board games. I print each page and laminate the boards and the cards that go with it. For playing pieces we use buttons or game pieces. They are very easy to put together and best of all they are free.

Board Games is a site filled with board games that match stories. Some of the stories are Rainbow Fish, The Very Hungary Catterpillar and The Three Little Pigs. These board games are in PDF so you will need adobe acrobat reader to view them.

Ready Made Game Boards This site is my favorite. You can use this site for a wide variety of ages. What's great about this site is it offers you a blank template where you can make your own cards to match the gameboards.They also have blank templates for you to make your own gameboards. You can find general games, primary games, langauge arts, math, science, and social studies games.