Chinese New Year of the Goat books for kids, children's literature from China

Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival celebrates the culture of the Orient. It begins Feb. 19 in 2015 and culminates with a Lantern Festival. What better way to explore Chinese culture in your classroom than with literature? Here is a list of children's books for pre-K to second graders from China. Some books are specifically Chinese stories and others are Japanese Buddhist stories. Chinese New Year encompasses traditional animals of the zodiac so many kids' books in this list are animal-themed. It's CNY Year of the Goat (or Sheep) in 2015.

2014 Chinese New Year of the Horse Crafts, Printables

Chinese New Year begins early in western calendar January 31, 2014. This year, we celebrate the Year of the Horse. It's also called the Spring Festival and concludes with a Lantern Festival. I'd love to visit China--all that festivity! The theme is Good Fortune and the expression is "Gong Hay Fat Choy!" wishes luck for the coming year.
Speaking of luck, I happened upon a cute site I thought I'd share with parents: Activity Village. It's one I've used a lot over my career writing about educational printables. But they seem to have improved site loads and content. There are crafts, games, puzzles, coloring sheets and worksheets for kids on CNY (Chinese New Year). There are recipes, game and party ideas. Read on.  2014 Chinese New Year of the Horse Crafts for Kids

Creating Friend Maps to Learn Geography, Social Studies

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to visit big churches. The minister would ask if there were visitors and how far they'd come. It's one of the ways I developed my passion for world travel. Since I started writing online, I've done kind of the same thing. Writers come from around the globe. So I keep a mental map of places my friends hail from. You know, like those maps where you stick a pin in your location? You might attach a string to show how far you traveled to get there.  This is a great geography and social studies activity. My Bubblews World Friend Map, Where Should I Put Your Pin?

Jewish Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day Stories

The Hebrew 27th day of Nissan, in fact the entire week, is a sad time for the world. For 2013, these dates correspond to April 6-13 on the Western calendar. They are "days of remembrance" that commemorate Yom HaShoah, Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day. During this time, we honor the millions who died in the World War II Nazi genocide. I'm not a Jew, but I am a human. And I feel deep pain and solidarity with Jews throughout the world.  Let's Mark Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, by Sharing Stories

Catholic Lenten Bible Readings, Prayers, Devotions for Lent

Catholic Relief Services is the single largest non-governmental relief agency in the world. Each year at Lent CRS initiates what is called 'Operation Rice Bowl'. Operation Rice Bowl is a program which focuses our attention on the cardinal aims of the Lenten season: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The Rice Bowl project consists of a cardboard box which when assembled, looks very much like the take out boxes that rice comes in. The Rice Bowl is a box which families set up in their homes during Lent to collect loose change and offerings for the poor and hungry of the world. Operation Rice bowl also includes a Lenten prayer calendar with devotional activities, feast days and stations of the cross. Each calendar day has a prayer focus. Specific information about world poverty statistics and needs from around the world are listed also.  Lenten Rice Bowl Devotional and Lesson Planner

Back to School, Valentines Day Unit on Mosaics

Coming back to school in January after the holiday can be dreary for kids, especially when the weather is wet and cold and days are shorter. This is a difficult but crucial time to keep educational momentum. Start the new year off with an engaging, interactive unit. Get kids actively involved explorating and learning. Use this unit for all ages and grades. Multisensory, cross-curricular lesson plans cover a spectrum of content. The unit focuses on mosaics. Mosaics are art forms in which murals are made using tiny tiles or pieces of paper cut in geometric shapes to create a picture. Mosaics are Persian in origin and are often seen in Turkey, Iran and Iraq. Making mosaics, kids learn math, science, patterns, shapes, art, social studies and design.  Use the book "St. Valentine" by Robert Sabuda as a starting point. Read more

Dr. Seuss a Polymath? I Vote "Yes!"

Oh, the places Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, has gone in 108 years. From the Jungle of Nool to the top of Mt. Crumpet to the best-seller list and On Beyond Zebra, the good doctor is loved in all lands, tongues and, I suspect, genera and species. As the Washington Post reminds us, March 2 is the birthday of this patron saint of fun. I propose that, in honor of Seuss Day we elect Geisel our newest polymath, our next Renaissance Man. After all, says Assessment Psychology, it's been some time since the last, Rabindranath Tragore was added to the list. And the U.S. only has one polymath so far. I won't tell you who--see if you can find out. Take a moment the check the other Renaissance Men. And yes, we're overdue for a Renaissance Woman category.  Who better than Seuss for homo universalis? Read more on Dr. Seuss Should Be Next Renaissance Man

Free Printable Presidents Day Lesson Plans, Activities--Read Around the World with Nobel Prize Laureates

Several American presidents have become Nobel Prize winners. Since President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, Americans have become more focused on the Nobel prizes. Here are lesson plans for reading 'around the world' with Nobel Prize for Literature Laureates. In middle school and especially in high school, use these lessons for world literature, history, world religions and world cultures classes. These lessons are perfect for President's Day. Read more at Read Around the World with Nobel Prize for Literature Laureates

Literature for Chinese New Year, Asian Culture

Best Books for Chinese New Year, Oriental Culture -- Upper Elementary, Middle School High School Students Chinese New Year celebrates the culture of the Orient. This year CNY is the Year of the Dragon and is celebrated on Jan. 23. What better way to explore oriental culture in your classroom than with literature? Here is a collection of childrens' books of Asian and Chinese culture, traditions, history and wisdom for parents, teachers and homeschoolers. Recommended ages are 10 and up. Read on for free printable CNY lesson plans and here's the Chinese New Year list of children's literature books. 

Book to Movie Films for World War 1 History Lesson Plans

Book to Movie Films for World War 1 History Lesson Plans World War One is probably the most overlooked, least explored war in American history classes. Europeans know more about WWI because many countries such as France, England and Germany were involved in conflict for a longer period of time. Ironically most historians agree that World War One, called then the Great War, and 'the war to end all wars' was the catalyst for WWII. Read more

Free Printable medieval castle models, heraldry designs, coat of arms patterns

Free Printable Castles: Cut and Paste Activities Cut and paste activities make ideal educational tools. Students, need a project to submit for a reading response, literature, history or social studies assignment? If you teacher allows it, why not make a model or 3D diorama? Here is a complete castle model that you could make for an assignment. Use for literature response if you are reading about about fantasy, medieval life, fairy tales, Shakespeare. For more info Click here

Free Printable Bible Activities

Free Printable Christian Christmas and Bible Story Coloring Pages Looking for free printable Christian and religious Christmas and Bible story coloring pages? Papa Jan has hundreds of holiday and religious coloring pages, including fifty Bible story coloring pages and Christian Christmas coloring pages. Read More

Historical Fiction Reading For Tween and Teen Girls

Best Historical Fiction Books for Tween and Teenage Girls Historical fiction is becoming more popular with school aged girls. Here's a list based on my 20+ year teacher career, of the best historical fiction for tween and teenage girls. This list is not exclusively for girls, but girls may be more drawn to it. Read More

Best ABC Books to Teach Children the Alphabet

Best ABC Books to Teach Letters of the Alphabet to Children There are literally hundreds of ABC books to teach letters of the alphabet to children. Authors and illustrators across the genre spectrum have written ABC books for children. Here are my recommendations for best ABC books, based on words and pictures. Read More

Websites with Free Literature Resources

Free Web Resources for Literature Lessons and Homework. Here are 10 websites to get free homework help with American lit, world lit or other literature classes. These sites have lesson planning for teachers including study guides, printables, activities, games, online books, ebooks, reference and resources View more » 

Read Around the World Books for Ages 4-8

World Literature Lessons for Reading Books with Children Ages 4 - 8
Literature guide for books and stories around the world. This list provides literature ideas from 5 continents and over twenty countries. These books are best for ages four to eight. Includes many Caldecott Medal winners awarded for best illustrations. Feel free to print and use these lesson  plans in your classroom or homeschool.  View more »

Read Around the World

Read Around the World --Grades 4-8 Literature Unit--for School, Library, or Home-School Use With this literature unit you can tour the 7 continents visiting 20 countries in all, by reading books set in these different lands. Includes title, author, copyright date, brief description and age level. Most books are Newbery award winners (for content) or Caldecott award winners for illustrations). View more »