6 Remembrance Day Picture Book Recommendations

November 11, Remembrance Day, is an important day to recognize at school.  It’s a time to both reflect on the past and also consider the present and future. It can also be an excellent day to have thoughtful discussions with your students, not only about the sacrifices made by others, but also about the concepts of conflict and peace.  

Conversations about big topics like this can be tricky.  Picture books are a great way to start the conversation.  There are many amazing books that can help students understand the significance of Remembrance Day.  I've compiled a list of six teacher-tested picture books perfect for a wide range of learners and a variety of Remembrance Day experience levels.

Reinforce Concepts and Boost Engagement with Games

As teachers, we get to decide how our students learn content.  We know the value of written tasks, but we also know the power of engagement through games.  Incorporating fun classroom games into your lesson plan offers a simple way to motivate your students, and encourage them to draw on their creativity and imagination.  Games are an easy way to boost participation from reluctant or shy learners too!

Games can be incorporated into any subject area, at any grade level.  These game ideas will allow your students to have fun, without perhaps even realizing that they're learning too!  Be sure to stick around to the bottom for a freebie game you can add into your classroom rotation.

Ideas for the Day after Halloween

Even scarier than Halloween itself is... THE DAY AFTER!  It's likely that your kiddos are going to stay up too late Wednesday night.  It's likely that they'll have snuck some Halloween candy for breakfast Thursday morning, and probably have a few pieces in their lunch kit too.

I've rounded up a series of ideas for you to get through the day after Halloween, while still covering some meaningful learning outcomes.  Best of all, they're FREE!

Story of my Name Writing

Today I'm sharing one of my favourite tasks for building community in the classroom.  Students are able to share an important aspect of themselves (the story of their name) with the class and with me, their teacher.  Through this task we are also working on important skills, like reading comprehension, writing, and reflection.

Teacher Time Saving Tips

It's no secret - teachers are busy!  I have five of my own tried and true teacher time saving tips to share with you today, as well as some bonus tips from other teachers!

Let's Taco 'Bout Bulletin Boards

 

If you're a follower of mine, then you know that I'm a huge fan of the Back to School Bulletin Board (capitalized because it's that important to me). I've got two new boards for us to taco 'bout (hint hint) today.  Stick around 'till the end for some links to previous boards for even more inspiration.

A Guide To Year-Long Personal Inquiry

I've been using year-long personal inquiry (also known as Genius Hour, Passion Projects, etc.) in my classroom for a few years now.  I get a lot of questions about how I run it, how much time I allocate to inquiry, what the students present, and how I assess.  I've broken it down into seven pieces to share with you.