Mitchell Said:

I need a few ideas for lesson plans?

We Answered:

First - there are few activites which will keep those grade levels from getting bored if they go the full 45 minutes. It's easier to break things down into 15-20 minute sections.

One activity which has worked well for me involves tossing a beach ball around the group. As each person gets the beach ball, he or she has to tell one unique thing about himself/herself. This would work well with all of the usual games (like duck-duck-goose) as well. Just tell them to share whenever they're "it". You could also have them try to remember each others names or what they like as they toss the ball. "I'm tossing the ball to sarah who loves bubblegum ice cream" etc.

For another activity, you could have them draw themselves (or use pre-drawn or pre-cut-out forms) and then either write or draw items that they think represent themselves on the body. For example, a boy that loves his dog might draw a picture of his dog on the body....a girl with a twin sister might draw her sister inside her body. Alternatively they could cut out these objects from scrap magazines. The activity will go longer that the 15/20 minute limit I mentioned earlier, but they're doing a variety of things so they'll stay engaged longer.

You could also do cultural days - one day everything is related to Japan, another day it's related to Spain...explain to them that every country has lots of things they do differently..and that the United States has people from all over the world living here so in this country, all of these countries are represented which makes us unique as a country.

Also, try searching for lesson plan sites with sponge activites. These are activities designed to "soak up time" and are usually fun so kids will stay busy.

Honestly, you can alter just about any lesson plan to make it fit your themes, just be creative. Also, even if only part of your lesson plan links to your weekly theme, you can still meet your goals and have fun.

Here's a good website for the 6th graders, it would be a great "attention getter" to start the arts/crafts period with each day (only do one or two per day to keep it interesting). http://www.riddles.com/

Claude Said:

What are some good "About Me" themed crafts and activities for School Age Kids?

We Answered:

I don't know the exact age of the class, so it's difficult.

Have each student write a paragraph or paper about one of the happiest trips/days/moments of their lives.

Have them write about an experience that molded who they are today.

idk, im thinking of things for older students, sorry!

Clara Said:

What would be the objective of this craft lesson plan?

We Answered:

Amber is right. This is a math activity. It's not open-ended so it would have to be math and not creativity. I would say "The children will be able to cut out a circle using scissors to cut a curved line. They will also be able to use small dots of glue to attach the various pieces. They will be able to count the number of dots used. They will be able to describe the shapes used as circles." How old are the kids you are writing this lesson plan for? I wouldn't use this for any kids younger than 4. Younger children need more open-ended activities to simply learn the idea of cutting a curve and using just a dot of glue. Fours and fives could probably do it to learn more structured activities.