April is Mathematics Awareness Month! This year's theme is "Math Drives Careers." Math can be an engaging and intuitive subject for some students, but often it is a dry subject for others. These students ask, "When will I use this in real life?" One way to answer that question and engage learners is to demonstrate that math is all around us.

"The trouble with Women’s History Month—with all these special months—is that they encourage people to think that problems have been solved. The female heroes of yesterday are acknowledged, the debt paid and the slate wiped clean." -Maureen Costello, "The Trouble with Women's History Month" Use this quote and the resources below to discuss the past, present, and future of women's history in the context of Women's History Month.

March is Women's History Month! While the month is half over, there is still plenty of time to engage students of all ages in the history, struggles, and triumphs of women. Below is a brief, customizable lesson using images from Smithville Elementary Library's public blog. Images of notable women in history paired with one actionable word provide groundwork for biographical research and discussion leading into the contemporary.

In this lesson, students will explore the animals that are symbolic of the Chinese Lunar Zodiac Calendar, then use what they have learned to write a poem.

In this lesson for grades 9-12, students will analyze the impact of physical and cultural geographies on China’s development. First, download the PDF for each of the Chinese Dynasty maps from the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s “The Art of Asia” website. Use the Perfecta Series Poster Design System to print each PDF at poster-size. Print multiple copies of a current map of China and surrounding countries for individual student use. Display the Chinese Dynasty map posters around the room for student exploration.

Looking for resources for the 2020 Chinese New Year? Check out our blog post here. The Chinese New Year falls on February 19, 2015. In this lesson, students will read about Chinese New Year traditions, compare them to American traditions, then celebrate by practicing one of the Chinese New Year traditions.

Subjects: Arts & Humanities, Civics, Holidays, Language Arts, Social Studies, U.S. History Grades: 3-5, 6-8 In this lesson, adapted from an activity on Education World, students will reinforce their understanding of fact and opinion while learning about the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

'Tis the season! If you're like us, you have no idea where the year went. If you're feeling a little short on classroom ideas to fill out the weeks leading up to winter break, don't worry! We've compiled some great activities and lessons from teachers just like you, spanning subject and ages. Enjoy!

“Anchor charts are a wonderful tool to document students' thinking and learning and serve as a visual reference of our learning process. They keep what we are currently learning accessible and enable students to make later connections. Anchor charts 'anchor' our learning, bring focus to a particular strategy or standard we are working on and support students during independent practice, class discussions or whenever they just need a little reminder.” -Around the Kampfire We know how vital anchor charts are and how creative teachers are finding ways to incorporate these visuals into everyday lessons. However, what do you do with all the magnificent anchor charts you have created over the year? Surely not throw them away and start from scratch?!

I’ve been particularly drawn to picture books recently, and not just because it was just Picture Book Month. Children of all ages love listening to a story, which makes a read aloud an engaging way to introduce a new unit of study at any grade level. As a language arts teacher, I frequently use mentor texts as a springboard for discussion about a topic, or to model reading and writing strategies I want students to emulate. Continue reading to learn how I incorporate picture book read alouds in my 6th grade Reading and Language Arts class.