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Social media is a regular part of students’ lives. They use it to communicate with friends, share photos and post status updates on a regular basis. In fact, 92 percent of teens, ages 13-17, report going online daily.

Unfortunately, this shift to more online communication has also brought more bullying into schools. Around 80 percent of young people believe that bullying is easier to do online and 43 percent of kids have experienced cyber-bullying, according to DoSomething.org.

However, teachers don’t need to make students to put away their phones. Instead, teachers can use these tools in the learning process. Not only will this help make learning more relevant, but it’s also an opportunity to encourage positive social media use – something students don’t learn about enough.

You don’t need to drop all the books and completely change course. Rather, bring social media into the classroom in small amounts, using projects or research as a chance to talk about positive and appropriate use of social media. Here are a few ways to make this work in your classroom. 

Bring it Into Your Lessons

You don’t need to create social-media specific lessons to teach students how to use social media in a positive way. Simply bring these tools into your current lesson plans, giving them a chance to learn by doing.

Here are a few fun and simple ideas to do just that:

Use Twitter to Research: Show students that Twitter can be used for more than sharing their personal thoughts. Ask them to research and source at least three tweets for their next project. This will also give them a chance to practice deciphering between good and bad sources of information.

Use Blogs for Work: Teach students that they can put their thoughts onto “paper” and share the final product with the world by bringing blogging into your classroom. Not only will they get a thrill from sharing the work they put so much time into, but this also gives them experience with using various blogging tools and writing web content; skills that are quickly becoming required of 21st century students.

Use Social Platforms in a Different Way

Students use Pinterest to share funny memes and products that they want to buy. But this tool—and others—can be used in so many different ways in the classroom. Use the following ideas to show students how multi-dimensional these social platforms are.

Historical Figures’ Facebook Pages: Have students create a Facebook page for a historical figure of their choice. They’ll need to show you that they know everything about this character by creating status updates and filling out the varisous sections such as, “about me” and “interests.” (Idea from EdTechTimes.com)

Current Events Pinterest Boards: Each student creates their own board and adds a new current every week—or with whatever frequency you assign this task. Encourage students to go onto Pinterest and comment on their peers’ posts, allowing them to collaborate and socialize with an educational mindset.

Did you know students can utilize their social-emotional skills when navigating social media? See how SEL can benefit.

Create Class-Specific Social Groups

For most students, social media is used to chat with friends and share photos. With a classroom account, students can still do that, but within the framework of education and school. While you can use these groups to share homework, give test reminders, and further cultivate your classroom community, classroom social groups provide you with a great opportunity to encourage positive social media use.

For example:

Create group rules: Every student must abide by the rules, including using appropriate language, proper spelling—you not u; your not ur—which may translate to their social media use outside of school.

Create an anonymous concern form: Many students won’t report cyber-bullying for fear of someone finding out—90 percent of teens who have seen it say they ignored it. Provide students with a Google Form they can use to share any issues they’re having in the classroom group with regards to cyber-bullying or poor language use. While you should be constantly monitoring these platforms, students could write something and delete it before you see it.

Use Social-Focused Tools

If you or your students aren’t ready to fully use social media in the classroom, use tools that have similar collaboration and social features. This gives you a chance to lay down ground rules and set expectations for social media use without allowing students to log into Facebook in the middle of class. Try one of these simple tools.

Whooo’s Reading: Students call this tool “Facebook for reading,” because it incorporates many similar features of Facebook including commenting and “liking.” However, it also uses gamification features to motivate students to read more, while using fun CCSS-aligned comprehension questions to ensure they understand the text.

Google Docs: Allow students to use Google Docs for peer reviewing. With this tool, they can collaborate and comment in real-time, similar to Facebook. Use this as a chance to talk about what makes an appropriate and helpful comment, versus one that is mean or inappropriate.

Diigo: Students use this web platform to tag websites, create a personal library, share with classmates, and structure research. This puts an educational spin on sharing and online chatting, while allowing you to monitor and guide the process and conversation.

Bringing social media into your classroom isn’t just about engagement, or giving students what they want, it can be beneficial in teaching how to use these platforms correctly. With cyber-bullying and teen social media use at an all-time high, teachers have an opportunity to change the course.

Jessica Sanders is the Director of Social Outreach for Learn2Earn, a San Diego-based education organization that offers Read-A-Thon fundraisers and reading motivation tools for teachers and schools. She grew up reading books like The Giver and Holes, and is passionate about making reading as exciting for young kids today as it has always been for her. Follow Learn2Earn on Twitter and Facebook, and check out their new ebook, How to Bring Technology Into the Classroom, just $2.99 on Amazon.com.

Teens can accomplish more with their phones in an hour than most people can accomplish in a week. However, while technology moves us forward, basic life skills are slowly fading into the background. Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, along with other social media tools, make it so easy for teens to interact with people from the comfort of their homes that in-person job interviews or public speaking tasks seem daunting. And with banking apps to help manage our finances, it’s easy to see why many young people don’t know how to write a check or balance a checkbook. Still, basic life skills, which include managing a bank account, writing a resume, or understanding how a paycheck works, are as important today as they were 20 years ago.

Help Teaching offers worksheets on the following topics to help teenagers understand, learn, and remember the basic life skills they need before entering adulthood:

Must-Have Lifeskills for Teens for Optimal Mental and Social Development

#1. Driving and Safety

Knowing driving laws plays a big role when it comes to driving safely. Being a defensive driver – doing everything to avoid an accident – is also essential when on the roads. Once teens get a driver’s license, it is imperative that they stay within legal speed limits, obey the rules of the road, and keep their seat belts on at all times. The Driving and Safety worksheet is a great reminder that driving correctly isn’t only important for the driver and his passengers, but for all of the motorists on the road.

#2.  Managing bank accounts

It’s not difficult to open a bank account, but it isn’t always easy to maintain one.  Our Understanding Checks and Bank Accounts worksheet covers what teens need to know in order to manage their money in high school and beyond. It touches on understanding the difference between a checking and savings account, discovering how interest works, learning how to withdraw and deposit money, and keeping a checkbook up to date.  Teens may not realize that balancing a checkbook isn’t always easy — it takes discipline and time.

#3. Filling Out a Check

While teenagers have seen parents or other adults write checks, many do not know how to write one out on their own. It’s important for teenagers with checking accounts to know how the process works.  The Understanding Checks and Bank Accounts worksheet refers to important details, such as filling out a check, where to find the routing, account, and check numbers, and where to sign a check.

#4. Writing Resumes and Cover Letters

A resume is a summary of work experience, skills, and education, and can be utilized even if an applicant doesn’t have much of a work history. Help Teaching’s Resumes and Cover Letters worksheet addresses what type of content is needed to make a good impression on a potential employer. Items such as professional quality, easy to read content, and error-free grammar and spelling are a must. It also touches on the need for cover letters to be tailored to each job application, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

#5. Searching for a job

Finding the right job takes time, knowledge of labor laws, and some detective work. This process can be frustrating for anyone, but our worksheet The Job Search provides tips and guidance on how to proceed. Items such as networking, when to apply, what jobs to apply for, and age limits are covered.

#6. Job Applications

Job applications are generally used for all places of employment. Deciding what information to have on hand, or knowing what should be filled out on the application can be daunting to someone just starting the job search.  The Filling Out a Job Application worksheet touches on what is important when applying for a job. Employers need easy to remember items such as name, address, and phone numbers, but can also require information not known offhand, like a social security number, emergency contacts, or former supervisors’ information. The worksheet also discusses what to do if there is no work history to include on an application, such as preparing a list of skills that can go a long way to impress a hiring manager.

#7. Job Interviews

Once the application has been received, a personal interview is the next step. Help Teaching’s Life Skills worksheet The Job Interview recognizes how intimidating it can be to meet with a potential employer. It can be difficult think quickly when nervous, or to answer questions on the spot, so it is wise to be prepared before going in the interview room. First impressions are key and things like being on time, what kind of clothing is worn, and overall demeanor can be the defining factors in getting the job or being passed over.  Knowing what skills are outstanding, what skills need improved, and having questions ready for the hiring manager will make a positive impression.

#8. Understanding your paychecks and taxes

Once a job is obtained, our website’s worksheet Paychecks and Taxes can help guide employees through the ins and outs of deductions and taxes. For teenagers and young adults, often the number on that eagerly awaited first paycheck is not nearly as high as had hoped.  This worksheet discusses 401 K, the difference between net and gross pay, overtime, and benefits on a paycheck. It also introduces topics such as tax forms, dependents, Social Security, and Medicare.

#9. Credit Card Management

When that paycheck begins to come regularly, a credit card may be desired. Without out the right knowledge, it’s easy to fall into credit card debt. Anyone under the age of 21 must have a co-signer to obtain a credit card, unless they can prove they have a five-figure income. Our worksheet Understanding Credit Cards discusses how credit cards work and how to manage them. It refers to credit scores, credit history, and payments, along with APR and interest fees.

The amount of knowledge teens and young adults have with basic life skills is often taken for granted.  As a result, many go out into the real world not knowing how to write a check, use a credit card wisely, or even remember basic driving skills. Teachers can use the Life Skills worksheets in any high school or higher grade level. Some worksheets such as Understanding Checks Bank Accounts can be used for early high school, and even middle school. Find more life skills worksheets at HelpTeaching.com.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to learn more with KidsKonnect and their article for teaching lifeskills to homeschoolers.

“I’m never going to use this!” Chances are, if you teach math, you’ve had a student say something along these lines. Yet, math is a vital part of our daily lives. From checking the temperature or deciding what to wear, to knowing if you have enough money to purchase an item or figuring out how long it will take to get somewhere, math is a part of everyday life. Here are nine ways to make math relevant for your students and inspire them to embrace math in the real-world.

1. Follow Current Events

Connect math to social studies by following current events in the news. Students may be surprised by how frequently numbers are cited in news stories. Start by identifying a grade appropriate print, online, or video news sources like PBS NewsHour Extra. Then, have students keep a journal of articles that cite numbers and analyze how the data is presented as part of the news story.

2. Partake in a Math Competition

Quality math competitions will challenge students to apply their knowledge in ingenious ways. Encourage creative problem-solving and build teamwork skills by enrolling students in a competition like Odyssey of the Mind.

3. Teach Personal Finance

If there is one math skill every person should master, it is money management. Although students typically learn how to add and subtract money, learning how to budget, invest, and manage debt are essential when it comes to ensuring a secure financial future. Get started with these ideas on teaching personal finance.

4. Play Games

Games are a fun way of incorporating math learning into the classroom while engaging students in play. Many classic board games help develop counting skills, number recognition, and fact fluency through the use of dice, spinners, and cards. Online math games are a high-interest activity for today’s tech-savvy students and many also support math standards and curricula.

5. Plan a Road Trip

Planning a road trip can help students hone their math skills while also studying geography. Divide students into groups, provide a budget, and have them research, design, and present a print or digital travel brochure of their road trip. Require that each group provides a breakdown of costs, including miles per gallon for fuel, meals, lodging, and admission fees to attractions.

6. Get Cooking

Many kids love to cook. Apply math to daily life by having students practice their culinary math skills. Not only does cooking allow students to practice skills like conversions, fractions, and proportions, but they also get a tasty meal or snack at the end!

7. Root for the Home Team

Whether you have students who participate in sports, play sports video games, or simply love to watch a good game, statistics play a key role in athletics. Challenge students to watch or participate in a sport, then record and graph data about the game. Alternatively, look for sporting events that provide educational materials like these Iditarod math teaching resources.

8. Study the Mathematics of Music

From patterns to frequency, music is mathematical. Elementary students can connect the arts and math by listening to music and identifying patterns. High school students can dig deeper into the mathematical structure of music by studying harmonics or looking at new ways of seeing music.

9. Celebrate Math Holidays

Math holidays and theme days are a great hook for inspiring students to learn math. Join Global Math Week in October, connect math and literacy on Math Storytelling Day in September, or celebrate any of the multitude of math holidays throughout the year.

How do you make math relevant for students in your classroom? Share your ideas in the comments. For more math teaching resources, try Help Teaching’s free math worksheets and math lessons.

Sometimes engaging toddlers and preschoolers might seem as complicated as herding cats. Not only do they have tons of energy, but they’re also very opinionated. How do you engage a child whose favorite word is “no” and favorite question is “why?” Believe it or not, it can be done. The key is to use their energy and opinionated nature to your advantage. Whether you’re working with one child or a group of children, we’ve discovered some ways to help harness the energy of young learners and maximize their ability to learn. Keep reading to learn how to engage young learners!

See Our Guide for How to Engage Preschoolers

1. Keep it short

The average attention span for a two-year-old is 3-6 minutes. For three and four-year-olds, it’s around 8-10 minutes. Because young children can’t focus for very long, it’s important to make the most of the time you have. As a general rule, plan to switch activities every 10-15 minutes. If you need to complete a longer activity, break it up into smaller steps and take breaks in between the steps to keep children focused. Keep in mind that children’s attention spans vary from activity to activity too. For some activities, a few minutes may be all they can handle, while others will hold their attention for half an hour. Be flexible in your planning to allow for changing attention spans.

One way to keep young children’s attention is to show them a short video. Most of Help Teaching’s videos for young learners, such as this Naming Shapes video, are 1-3 minutes in length to make it easy for kids to focus.  Browse all of our videos and self-paced lessons for all ages here.

2. Make it hands-on

Young children love to get their hands on everything. Touch is one of the ways they experience the world. They’re also still developing their motor skills and using their hands can help them build key skills. When working with young children, given them plenty of opportunities to complete hands-on activities, be it molding shapes out of clay, feeling plastic letters, or even moving a clothespin to the correct answer on a clip card.

3. Get moving

The parts of the body are all connected. As children spin in circles, jump up and down, and move their bodies in other ways, they’re making important connections in their brain. Sometimes children need to move their bodies to help them process information. By incorporating movement into learning activities, you help children focus and experience the lesson on multiple levels.  Click here for ideas to motivate your students to bust a move!

4. Repeat it

Have you ever noticed that young children love to watch the same shows and sing the same songs over and over again? While this may drive you nuts, it’s actually an important part of their development. Not only does repeating information help children learn, it helps them build confidence in their knowledge and feel like they have mastered something. Repeat patterns, sound, expressions, and bits of information to help children gain the confidence they need to learn new things.  For example, repeating letter sounds is key to phonics education.  Here are some of Help Teaching’s preschool-specific video resources you can use.

5. Involve rhythm

Adding rhythm to an activity is another way to help young children take in information on multiple levels and make crucial connections in their brain. After all, the ability to connect rhythm to sound and movement is a cognitive skill. Just patting your hands in a rhythm while you recite the alphabet or explain an important concept can be enough to help children remember it.  You may find this teacher’s video helpful in understanding the difference between rhythm and beat.  And here are one teacher’s tips on teaching music to preschoolers.

6. Offer guidance

Young children are just beginning to gain confidence. As an adult, you want them to learn and explore on their own, but many children need to know that you’re there to help them. You can offer guidance by asking leading questions, giving them subtle hints, or starting the activity with them and then letting them finish it on their own.

For example, in this How Many video, children are shown how to count, and then given the opportunity to try on their own.

7. Include their interests

Sometimes young children are so focused on a television show or one type of animal that it’s hard to get them interested in anything else. When it comes to getting children involved in other activities, use what they love to your advantage. Count dinosaurs, practice colors with princess dresses, or role play a popular fairy tale using their favorite stuffed animals. Think of creative ways to bring children’s interests into activities to help get them interested in something new.

For example, if you want to teach children new words, try themed vocabulary lists, such as these construction words and princess words videos.

8. Give them a task to do

Children love to feel important. Giving children a task to do helps them feel like they have an important role to play and encourages them to take ownership of their learning. You can do this by turning an activity into a game, giving kids a puzzle to solve, or creating a process that children have to work through.

For example, turn a question into a riddle for kids to solve or make a bingo board with activities for them to complete.

9. Offer a choice

Another thing children love is choices. Even the most headstrong children are often likely to comply when given choices. Design learning activities so that children can make choices. The choices may be as simple as what color of crayon to use or you may offer a choice of completely different activities that all cover the same skill.

10. Tell a story

Sometimes children have a difficult time remembering individual facts or bits of information. However, if you put that information into a story, children will often hear the message loud and clear. You can tell stories about specific bits of information, such as the letters of the alphabet or the names of shapes, or you can tell a story to illustrate character-centered skills, such as saying please or learning the difference between tattling and telling. Plenty of authors have written books designed to do just this, but you can also make up a story of your own or print out a simple mini book to help get the message across.

11. Use color

Color makes learning exciting. Fill learning activities with brightly colored pictures, words and objects. Give children coloring pages related to basic concepts, letters, or numbers, and allow them to fill them with colors of their own.

12. Follow a routine

Young children thrive on routine. Every day, they’re taking in new information and learning all about the world around them. With all of this new information coming in, it can cause them to feel like they’re losing control. Routines help children feel like they have some control. They know what to expect so they’re more willing to focus on new information when it comes in.

13. Offer positive reinforcement

Some toddlers and preschoolers may seem like they have big egos, but in reality, most young children are slowly building confidence in themselves and their abilities. By offering positive reinforcement, you help young children build confidence in themselves and their abilities. This makes them more willing to learn new things. Positive reinforcement is not the same as praising children for everything they do. Instead, it involves specific positive phrases, such as “You can do it” or “I like the way you cut out the circle with the scissors.”  Teachers and parents will find a comprehensive guide to this subject here.

14. Be enthusiastic

Have you ever noticed how young children tend to feed of the enthusiasm of others? If you’re excited about something, toddlers and preschoolers will be too. So even if you’re not all that excited about counting to 10 or singing the alphabet song, paste a smile on your face and pretend like it’s your favorite thing in the world. The more enthusiastic you are, the more likely children will buy in to what you’re selling.

15. Let them rest

Growing is hard work. While it’s tempting to pack children’s days full of highly engaging activities, they also need time to rest. The average toddler needs 12-14 hours of sleep each day and the average preschooler needs 10-12 hours of sleep a day. While you might not be successful at putting them down for a nap in the middle of the day, you can enjoy some quiet rest time throughout the day. Play some soft music or listen to a story. This will allow children to recharge and be ready to learn even more when rest time is over.

What are some of your favorite strategies for engaging love learners? Share them with us in the comments. Also don’t forget to check out Help Teacher’s Early Education page full of printables, coloring pages, and other resources to use with toddlers and preschoolers, and read 10 Fun and Engaging Activities for Toddlers at KidsKonnect.

When it comes to activities for the first month of school, preparation is key.  This allows you to kick off the school year on a great footing, being in the good graces of your school administration, keeping your stress levels down, and maintaining a great work-life balance.

Since the first month of school is about getting to know your students and allow them to settle into school again, having great activities lined up will help establish the tone for the rest of the year. We’ve compiled a list below of the many activities you can set up for your students while they get to know one another and figure out their team dynamics.

(Note: Most of the activities were designed with elementary students in mind, but many middle and high school students will enjoy them too!)

General Activities

1. Scavenger Hunt. Pair your students up and give them a list of objects to find around the classroom. You can use a scavenger hunt to help familiarize students with the layout of the classroom or to help them find important papers and other supplies they’ll need during the school year. A fun spin on this activity is to have students solve clues that will ultimately unlock a mystery box with a treat inside of it. Depending on the age of your students, the clues can range from mathematical problems, to chemistry questions, anagrams, and more.

2. All About Me. Ask students to bring a photo of themselves to school, or draw a self portrait. Students should write their names clearly and large. This can be pinned up in the classroom so that you and the students can learn everyone’s names easily. A fun extension a few days later is to play a game of “Guess Who” by reading the descriptions of students but hiding the face.

3. A Class Project. If you’ve ever had to pitch a tent, you’ll agree that it’s one of the biggest tests of communication and team work! While you’re not going to go camping in your classroom, you can find other activities that require communication and teamwork, such as constructing a bookshelf, decorating the classroom door, creating a bulletin board or classroom rules poster, or plant a classroom garden. This type of shared activity will help you learn your students’ communication styles and help you all learn to work together. It’s also a great way to spot leaders, and students who shy away from group activities.

4. Find a Friend. After a lot of missed time at school, being in a room full of peers can be intimidating for some students. An easy activity to help break the ice and encourage one on one conversations about shared interests is to create a “Find a Friend” worksheet wherein some interests with pictures are shown, such as hobbies, activities, sports, favorite foods (or worst foods). If two students list ice-cream as their favorite food, have them pair up start talking about the joys of ice-cream – what’s the best brand, topping, spoon or cone, etc. They can then present what they have in common to the class.

5. Bucket Filling. The concept of bucket filling has become popular in many schools. Give each student a plastic bucket to decorate. Talk to students about actions that fill their buckets (being kind, showing respect) and actions that take away from their buckets (not listening, putting others down). Throughout the school year kids can add and take away small stickers, coins, or other tangible objects from their buckets.

Language Arts Activities

6. Readers’ Theater. Take a popular fable or fairy tale and turn it into a readers’ theater piece for the class. Place students into groups and have each group decide how to perform the story for the class. This activity will help students become more comfortable speaking in front of their peers and give them a chance to learn to cooperate with others.

7. Group Writing. Have each student take out a piece of paper and write a sentence or first line of a poem on the top line. Students then pass their papers around the room with each classmate adding a sentence or line. At the end of the activity, every student has a class story or poem to share. Chances are students will think they’re hilarious too!

8. Writing Time Capsule. Give students a traditional back-to-school writing prompt, but add a bit of a twist. Take each student’s piece of writing and place it into a large mailing tube or envelope. Call it a “time capsule” and explain to students that you’ll pull each piece out at the end of the year so they can see how much their writing has improved.

9. My ABCs. Using the 26 letters of the alphabet as inspiration, have students write 26 words or fun facts to describe themselves. They can turn these into small ABC books or simply read them aloud. Use our handy alphabet charts as a template for this activity. You can even emojify this lesson by having students choose five emojis they feel represent them as a person. They should draw these emojis and then explain why, alternatively, the student displays their five emojis to the class and their peers can decipher them.

10. Read a Book. Since the beginning of the school year is so stressful, regularly take some time to sit with students and read a book together. You can let students suggest some of their favorite books to read or choose a fun chapter from the book that the whole class will enjoy.

Math Activities

11. Class Survey. Divide students into small groups and have each group write a summer or back-to-school themed survey question. Each group writes its question and creates a graph for the answers on a large piece of paper hung on the classroom wall. All students then walk around the room and plot their answers on the papers using colored sticker dots.

12. Me by the Numbers. Allow students to blend their artistic talents and math skills with this activity. Give students blank sheets of paper and have them draw pictures of themselves (or use photos) in the middle. Around their pictures, students answer and illustrate number related questions about themselves. For example: How old are you? How many pets do you have? What size shoe do you wear?

13. Find Someone Who… Bingo. Print a copies of the number-themed Find Someone Who… Bingo cards. Ask students get to know their classmates by talking with each other and writing the initials of the student they find that fits each statement in that box.

14. What’s Your Birthday? Challenge students to arrange themselves in a line across the room in order of birthday (day and month). The catch? No talking or writing.

15. Human Knot. This classic team-building activity also strengthens student understanding of special relationships and pattern recognition. Have 8 – 10 students stand in a circle, raise their right hands, and then join hands with someone across from them. Repeat with left hands. Important – students should be holding hands with two different people and not holding hands with a person next to them. Groups must then untangle the knot without letting go of hands. Try combining students into larger groups after they are successful untying themselves in smaller groups.

Science Activities

16. Lost on the Moon. In this exercise, students must work both individually and together to rank a set of items based upon their importance for surviving on the moon. After, teams can compare their ranking to how experts ranked the items. Get started with this online version.

17. Tower Building. Challenge small groups of students to construct the tallest tower they can using only the materials provided in a given time. Simple materials that work well include straws and paperclips, plastic cups, and index cards.

18. Class Pet or Terrarium. Raising and caring for a pet or growing plants in a terrarium can be a year-long class endeavor that helps foster an appreciation for nature. If your school allows small pets like fish or hamsters, students can work together to develop a job share schedule for feeding, cleaning, and vacation care. Another option is to have students design, build, and care for a class terrarium.

19. Classroom Makerspace. Introduce your students to the concept of makerspaces – a physical location to design, collaborate, and build. Designate an area of your classroom as a makerspace, and have the class brainstorm what should go in the space. Working together to design and create the space will get students excited to use it throughout the year.

20. Two Facts and a Science Fiction. In this variation of Two Truths and a Lie, each student researches two interesting, strange, or amazing science facts and makes-up one science falsehood. Students then take turns sharing their three statements and the class votes on which one is incorrect, or a piece of science fiction.

What activities do you use to help get to know your students and build a sense of community in your classroom at the beginning of the school year? We’d love for you to share them in the comments!

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Typically, it’s the students who receive the rules on the first day of school. However, there are some rules teachers should follow too. Following these rules on the first day of school and throughout the school year can help ensure success.

1. Be Welcoming

Many veteran teachers live by outdated axioms, such as “Don’t smile until Thanksgiving!” and “It’s easier to go from mean to nice than from nice to mean!” While these nuggets of wisdom contain some truth, experience has shown that most students – even those with behavior issues – benefit from a warm, welcoming environment, not one based on obsolete clichés. Greet your students as they come into your classroom. Make them feel comfortable in their new, unfamiliar surroundings. Allow them to take ownership of the setting by referring to it as “our classroom.” A strong presence in the classroom can take back momentum at a moment’s notice, even if you smile at your class before the leaves on the trees change color.

2. Be Specific

Many students won’t remember much of what you say on the first day of school and parents will sign your contract without giving it a second look. Despite those unfortunate truths, it is imperative that you design your syllabus or contract with specific information and properly enforce whatever you distribute to students and parents. If you weigh your grading components differently, break it down on paper. If there are stages to your behavior modification plan, list the steps you will take to correct misbehavior. If you give formal assessments on regular days, create a calendar. These simple steps will keep your students and their parents informed, and serve as evidence should your methods be questioned by an administrator or parent.

3. Be Prepared

Just because it’s the first day of school, it doesn’t mean you should improvise your lesson. Have the entire period planned out with ice breakers, activities, and, yes, even class work. Setting the tone on the first day doesn’t mean being strict and insensitive (see rule #1), but it does mean being consistent and organized. Students will remember if you ended class too early, and that can set a precedent that is hard to shake.

4. Be Collegial

Teachers often share the same students. These teachers likely meet as part of a team or to informally compare notes. If your schedule allows, it would be helpful to make an appearance in your colleague’s classroom during the first few days of school. This is a special show of support for someone whose skills you will rely upon for the next nine months. This united front of solidarity also help students see your educational interdependence. You will know the excuses, explanations, and issues from their other classes and you can use that information to better educate them.

5. Be Ready for Anything

A new school year and new students means a new set of unknowns. Never be surprised when something happens for the first time and always be prepared with a rational response to problems.

Whether it’s your first day of teaching or you’re a veteran of the back to school grind, following these five simple rules can make your first day a walk in the park and set the tone for a prosperous year of learning. Read Back to School Tips for Teachers for more advice on a great start of the new school year.

Popular television shows like Law & Order: SVU have captivated countless audiences by providing a bridge between chemistry, forensics, and the law.  Help Teaching understands the challenges of engaging students in chemistry as a discipline and as a practice. Here are some ideas and strategies to help make chemistry come alive through forensics during National Chemistry Week and throughout the year.

The Importance of Chemistry
Without chemistry, many modern-day forensic techniques would not be possible. Spectrophotometry, for example, uses knowledge of the reaction of substances with light to identify specific drugs, like morphine, present in corpses. Connections like these can help students to see the connection of chemistry to solving crimes and can serve as a way to motivate students every day. When presenting concepts in chemistry, try to find connections to forensic science that put real-world applications of chemistry into perspective. Some examples might include the following:

• The use of chromatography to identify tartrazine (yellow #5 dye in M&M’s that can cause allergic reactions)
• The use of atomic emission in flame tests to identify compounds that are fatal to humans, like potassium chloride
• How arsenic’s chemical and physical properties are used to identify it as the poison responsible for various murders

When making these connections, also be sure to include one or two real-world case studies that involve the concept being explored. This can help students to find concrete meaning and relevance in the topics that they are learning, no matter how abstract. As you read this, you might be thinking to yourself, That’s all well and good, but how do I find these connections? It’s important to consult a variety of web-based resources, both formal and informal, for this purpose. Here are some invaluable resources to help bridge the gap:

1. Careers in Forensic Chemistry – What better way to kick off the beginning of the year than by introducing students to the possibility of a career in forensic chemistry? Students will love the idea of being able to work with and analyze blood, poisons, and metals in bullets.
2. Chemistry & Forensic Science in America provides a historical timeline of how chemistry was used to make important advances in the field of forensic toxicology. This timeline can be consulted throughout the year as a resource to motivate and intrigue students. Some possible points of interest include an exploration of chemical and physical properties of the element radium in early 20th Century America and an introduction to types of chemical reactions through a discussion of the Marsh Test in detecting the presence of arsenic in human tissue.

Using Forensic Science to Promote Rigor in Chemistry
With increased demands for rigor in the classroom, chemistry teachers also are faced with how to incorporate discussion and literacy, while still delivering content in a relevant and accessible way. Books and literature directly relating chemistry to forensic science provide vantage points from which to plan activities that can promote college and career readiness. Specifically, by identifying the chemical principles and properties involved in forensic techniques, like the Griess test for ballistics analysis, students can begin to think more actively about why knowledge of chemistry matters. At the same time, students can be taught important skills, including annotation and asking questions showing evidence of critical thinking. Having students engage in laboratory activities and write reports centered around the scientific method builds a classroom culture of inquiry-based learning. To foster a culture of rigorous learning that’s also fun and engaging, start with these resources that you can start using in your classroom today:

1. The Poisoner’s Handbook can be used as a video to kick off a unit on nuclear chemistry or on the Periodic Table, with a focus on early American medicine. The Poisoner’s Handbook has also been published as a book, which could serve as a book that students refer to throughout the year to encourage discussion and literacy in chemistry to support the Common Core Learning Standards.
2. Chymist – Forensic Chemistry provides a list of invaluable resources from which to download class readings and investigations as they relate to important topics in forensic investigation. These articles help to encourage literacy and can serve as introductions to experiments that students conduct in the classroom.

Resources for Forensic Science Lessons in Chemistry
Incorporating forensic science into chemistry requires careful planning to ensure that delivery of content and skills does not fall to the wayside. With this in mind, it’s important to find resources that will help to build and enhance your units of study most effectively. To that effect, below are some key resources that we’ve compiled here at Help Teaching to help you get started:

1. Classroom CSI provides a list of fun and engaging forensics-based activities to try with your class.
2. Forensics from nclark.net provides links to a multitude of resources that relate forensic science and chemistry to one another. Using these resources, you can find various experiments and activities to cover topics and skills that are being taught in your classroom, while simultaneously engaging students.
3. CSI Web Adventures offers a collection of interactive cases based upon the television series. Cases range in difficulty level and make for engaging activities to hook middle school and high school students interested in learning about forensics.

Teaching chemistry to students who have no prior experience can be a daunting task. However, approaching chemistry from the perspective of society and the law can open new doors and leave a lasting effect on students.

Have other ideas about how to teach chemistry through forensics? Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comments section below. Also, make sure to check out Help Teaching for chemistry worksheets and online chemistry lessons.

Looking for more great science teaching ideas? Read our Ultimate Guide to Teaching Science!

Looking to invigorate your science curriculum and teaching this year? Help Teaching’s team of teachers understands the time and commitment it takes to prepare meaningful science classes and lab activities, not to mention stay up-to-date with the latest scientific advances. We’ve gathered links from across the internet to over 80 of our favorite resources to help support rookie and veteran science teachers and homeschooling parents alike.  This year we’ve added several new science sites and a new category for our favorite engineering sites. Happy Teaching!

Our Guide To Teaching Science

Next Generation Science Standards

Whether or not your state has adopted the new science standards, they have been released and are the talk of the science teaching community.

Bozeman Science provides a free series of NGSS videos on each of the disciplinary core ideas. The videos give a clear overview of each standard as well as suggestions on how to teach the core ideas at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

NGSS@NSTA provides current information about the implementation process and professional development opportunities, including free web seminars, to support science teachers looking to incorporate the standards into their curriculums.

NGSS is the primary resource for teachers looking to read and learn about the new science standards. Teachers may find the EQuIP Rubric overview page useful for identifying high-quality instructional materials that align to the standards.

The National Academies Press offers several NGSS-related publications useful for teachers, many of which can be downloaded for free after creating an account.

PBS LearningMedia NGSS links to a large collection of NGSS resources for professional development and classroom use.

Parent Q&A is a flyer designed to answer parent questions about the Next Generation Science Standards but is also a nice overview for teachers and administrators.

The Concord Consortium features a unique tool that allows educators to navigate the NGSS by core idea, practice, and crosscutting concept and locate high-quality digital activities that support the standards.

Breaking Science News

Check these sources regularly to stay current with scientific research. Better yet, have your students read them as well!

Newsela website and app keep educators and students alike up-to-date with current events, including a large selection of STEM news stories at different reading comprehension levels. Registering for the free version of the platform allows teachers and students unlimited access to articles.

Scientific American maintains a section dedicated to education that includes activities, information on their program connecting teachers and scientists, tips on improving science literacy, and more.

Live Science will help keep you up to date with science headlines across disciplines.

BBC Science & Environment is the place to go for breaking science news. Whether you are a busy science teacher or student looking for the hottest topics in science, BBC has coverage for you.

Science Daily offers a compilation of breaking news articles for those interested in the latest research.

ScienceBlogs hosts posts from over sixty blogs, presenting a wide range of science news and viewpoints.

HuffPost Science will help keep you up to the minute with breaking science stories.

NewScientist shares topical news stories on all things science-related.

Science Instruction

Like the scientific method, great science instruction takes systemic modifications. Read on for resources that will help invigorate your science teaching.

Good Thinking! The Science of Teaching Science by the Smithsonian Science Education Center houses a collection of must-watch videos for anyone who teaches science. These short, animated videos explore common student misconceptions on topics ranging from natural selection to chemical reactions.

NSTA Learning Center links science teachers with professional development resources by subject and grade. Be sure to peruse their collection of 4,000+ free articles, web seminars, podcasts, and modules available to support your professional growth.

What Works Clearinghouse reviews and summarizes education products and research to help educators make evidenced-based decisions when it comes to teaching.

SERC is working to improve STEM education by providing a rich assortment of professional development opportunities and resources for educators.

Understanding Science is a primer for teachers and students alike on what science is and how science really works.

BSCS Science Learning helps to transform science education by working with science educators worldwide to provide a variety of resources. They conduct research on improving science instruction, develop instructional materials, and offer professional development.

Baylor University put together a resource on how to identify effective stem resources for students to help make sure your teaching is effective.

Help Teaching’s library of printable science worksheets is ideal for practice and assessment. Our growing collection of self-paced science lessons for biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science are a great way to introduce topics and reinforce learning.

Science competitions and fairs can inspire students to pursue STEM careers while providing hands-on learning opportunities. Consider challenging your students to participate in a local science fair for one of these major science competitions: Young Scientist Challenge, ExploraVision, Regeneron STS, & Google Science Fair.

Science Activities

Science lends itself to hands-on activities that engage students in active learning. Save time and get inspired when preparing lessons this year by reading these links.

Science Friday partners with educators and scientists to create STEM activities, lessons, and resources for all learners. This site connects teachers with relevant, unique, and dynamic instructional materials, videos, stories, and more.

ScienceNetLinks brings together a large, searchable database of science lessons, interactive tools, news, and hands-on activities to support formal and informal science education.

Science Buddies is the place to look for science fair topics and activities. Not only does Science Buddies provide science fair project resources for students and teachers, but their growing collection of science activities are perfect for classroom and home use.

BIE maintains a library of science project-based learning units that encourage student inquiry and investigation.

Lawrence Hall of Science: 24/7 offers citizen science projects, hands-on activities, online games, and more for classroom and home exploration.

PBS LearningMedia has thousands of the best digital science teaching resources in an easily searchable platform by grade, subject, standard, and format.

Zooniverse brings together a collection of citizen-science or people-powered, research projects where everyday people can contribute to real science.

Science Kids has a nice collection of experiments, science fair project ideas, games, videos, and images designed to get kids interested in science.

Annenberg Learner brings together a collection of science interactives that can readily support any science curriculum.

Virtual Microscope simulates the use of various types of microscopes for students through the examination of set image samples.

PhET Simulations supplement classroom learning with a large array of well-designed science interactives.

The Science Spot contains a vast library of information and resources pertaining to all areas in science, including forensic science and astronomy. This is an essential resource of middle school teachers and students as well as for high school teachers. This website also provides tips for implementing interactive science notebooks in the classroom.

Hook your students on science by sharing videos from Veritasium, Science360, SciShow, It’s Okay to Be Smart, Untamed Science, and Help Teaching.

Collaborate and Explore

We teach our students that collaboration is an essential part of doing science. Practice what you teach with these links for connecting and sharing with teachers who have similar goals.

Teaching Channel is on a mission to create an environment where teachers can watch, share, and learn new techniques to help every student grow. Start by watching these science videos, then explore the entire site for more teaching inspiration.

Skype in the Classroom helps teachers connect with other educators and experts in their fields. Use Skype to bring your students on virtual field trips, interact with a virtual guest speaker, and collaborate with another class from across the country or around the world.

STEM on Google+, and STEM Educators are Google+ groups offering vibrant online communities of science teachers sharing resources and best practices.

Professional Learning Communities allow teachers to connect with others in their schools, districts, and communities who are dedicated to science education.

Google Educator Groups bring educators together, both online and offline, to share ideas on web-enabled learning.

AP Teacher Community connects and supports those instructing AP courses.

Astronomy

Don’t miss out on the latest discoveries about the universe with these links.

NASA Education for educators opens a universe of information about space science through lessons, videos, professional development, and more. Get started by browsing astronomy teaching resources in NASA Wavelength.

Google Sky does for the view of space what Google Earth does for the view of your neighborhood.

Air and Space Live webcasts from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum bring a world and beyond of learning opportunities for anyone interested in astronomy.

If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel dubs itself, “a tediously accurate scale model of the solar system,” but don’t be misled by the tagline. This interactive is beautiful in its simplicity and will engage your students on this virtual journey through our solar system.

National Optical Astronomy Observatory offers numerous space-based resources, programs, and resources for educational purposes.

Biology

From life science to AP biology, helping students develop an understanding of the nature of life is essential for science literacy.

BioEd Online from Baylor College of Medicine offers science teachers resources that include lessons, videos, classroom slides, and a full library of magazines and storybooks for use with K-12 students as well as professional development courses for teachers.

BioInteractive by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a free collection of virtual labs, films, animations, apps, and more that are ideal for biology education.

Encyclopedia of Life offers an extensive collection of free resources on just about any organism.

The Biology Corner offers a wealth of teaching resources for biology teachers, including classroom presentations and lab handouts.

Ask a Biologist not only allows K-12 students to submit questions for biologists to answer, but also offers a wealth of biology-related articles, activities, games, and more.

Solve the Outbreak is a free app by the CDC that challenges students to solve epidemiology mysteries. It’s fun, really!

Cells Alive brings microbiology to life through amazing photos, interactives, and videos.

BEN: BioSciEdNet managed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, helps teachers to engage their students with animations and lab activities.

Biology4Kids offers clear explanations of many topics for elementary and middle school reading levels or for teachers searching for material covering the basics, from scientific study to cell biology.

American Physiological Society supports education through student activities and curricula, education projects that link teachers and physiologists, and teacher learning resources.

Chemistry

Teaching the central science takes knowledge, skill, and a bit of wow factor. Use these links to help make your class preparations a little easier.

American Chemical Society’s education page is the place to find materials for teaching chemistry, professional development opportunities, and reports on chemistry education.

ScienceGeek.Net is chemistry teacher Andy Allan’s personal website where he shares his collection of presentations, labs, and more.

Evan’s Chemistry Corner provides worksheets, transparencies, and lab activities for Regents Chemistry in New York State, but these resources can be used in any high school chemistry classroom.

Kent Chemistry contains instructional pages covering topics in chemistry, along with accompanying videos, practice questions, worksheets, and lab activities. Both high school-level and AP chemistry are covered.

Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry catalogs 1,500+ terms and is an essential resource for any organic chemistry course.

Periodic Videos from the University of Nottingham features videos and experiments on each element. Check out their 500 videos on YouTube as well.

Crash Course Chemistry contains a playlist of YouTube videos covering various topics in chemistry in a short amount of time.

Chemmy Bear contains a multitude of resources for AP chemistry, from handouts and activities to study cards and practice tests. This site is especially helpful for newer AP chemistry teachers and for teachers of honors chemistry courses.

Seasonal science “holidays” offer fun and engaging ways to incorporate STEM activities into your classroom. Celebrate science this year with these theme days and weeks:
World Space Week Stellar Activities October 4 – 10, 2018
Earth Science Week Fun Daily Activities October 14 – 20, 2018
National Chemistry Week – Chemistry & Forensics October 21 – 27, 2018
America Recycles Day Activity Guide November 15, 2018
Earth Day Activities for Kids April 22, 2019
World Oceans Day Activities June 8, 2019

Earth Science

Developing student understanding of the earth’s structures and processes helps nurture an appreciation of the natural world.

EarthLabs supplies rigorous units on earth and environmental topics that focus on hands-on laboratory activities and data analysis. Each unit provides all the information, resources, and lessons necessary to elevate earth science and environmental lab instruction to the next level.

NOAA brings together a wonderful collection of resources about the oceans and atmosphere.

USGS Education compiles a wide variety of videos, maps, images, and interactives ideal for use in the earth science classroom.

ClimateChangeLIVE engages students with two electronic field trips for the classroom as well as supplemental materials and support for teachers.

COSEE is dedicated to helping build collaborations between students, teachers, and scientists interested in ocean studies.

Physics

Physics is daunting for many students. Great physics teachers actively engage students with the study of the interactions between energy and matter.

The Physics Classroom supplements physics instruction with tutorials, animations, teacher toolkits, and lab activities.

The Physics Front is an extensive collection of materials, including online tools and lesson plans for K-12 physics and physical science instruction.

PhysicsCentral shares everything from articles to posters to home projects to support those educating physics students at all levels.

APlusPhysics contains helpful video tutorials and web pages for students to learn from, covering topics ranging from high school physics to AP physics. The site also contains worksheets for teachers to print and distribute to students as well as activities that teachers can implement.

Burrows Physics‘ playlist contains a multitude of videos covering various higher-level physics topics. These are helpful in providing instruction to students outside of the classroom.

Practical Physics offers a wide array of experiments that enable students to get hands-on experience with concepts in physics, enriching students’ understanding and refining students’ ability to visualize the forces and science at play in the real world.

ComPADRE is a digital library of teaching resources for physics and astronomy educators.

American Association of Physics Teachers will keep you posted on conferences, projects, and competitions as well as just about everything you need to stay up to date with teaching physics.

Engineering Practices & Design

Today’s science students must understand engineering practices and design solutions to help them prepare for everyday life and career paths. Enrich your STEM curriculum with these engineering resources.

TeachEngineering is a website that guides teachers in nurturing students’ abilities to create innovations to challenges in any subject. Some activities include how-to videos on YouTube.

NASA Engineering Design Process aids teachers in helping students to understand that engineers must imagine and plan before they begin to build and experiment in a variety of challenges for K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. The site also provides plenty of guidance for supporting students in the engineering design process.

Science Buddies offers educators an exhaustive description of the engineering method with a side-by-side comparison against the scientific method.

TryEngineering has 100+ engineering lesson plans for teachers. Students interested in pursuing engineering careers will find the university and career portals useful.

EngineerGirl by the National Academy of Engineering offers a wealth of information on engineering professions for girls and women.

Although this list is by no means comprehensive, we hope it will inspire and energize your science teaching and classroom this year. Be sure to visit HelpTeaching.com and utilize our growing library of K-12 science worksheets, lessons, and questions!

The American flag has survived battles, inspired songs and reflected the growth of the country it represents. When introducing facts about Flag Day this year, why not take some time to celebrate with your students what is arguably the best-known flag in all the world.

Flag Day is June 14

History of the American Flag

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia established an official flag for the new United States of America: “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”  In 1949, President Harry S. Truman officially declared June 14 as Flag Day.  The story of this American institution is as exciting as the history of the nation itself.

Did Betsy Ross really sew the first American flag?

The story goes something like this… in May of 1776, a mysterious trio of visitors entered the home of a Philadelphia upholsterer by the name of Betsy Ross.  The most famous of the three was none other than George Washington, then commander of the Continental Army.  Ross knew Washington because their pews at Philadelphia’s Christ Church were next to each other.  In fact, Ross had embroidered ruffles for Washington’s shirts.

The men presented Ross with the plan for a new flag which included six-pointed stars, one for each of the colonies.  The seamstress showed them it was easier to cut out five-pointed stars and convinced them to make the change.  They appointed her to sew the first flag representing what would, in just weeks, become a new country.

As I said up front, that’s the story.  The Washington Post, however, debunked that tale in a 2011 opinion piece.

What’s in a name?

Formally, the flag is called “the flag of the United States of America”, but over the years, the American flag has been given many nicknames.

Sometime in the 1820s, a Massachusetts sea captain by the name of William Driver gave the moniker “Old Glory” to a large, 10-by-17-foot American flag flown on his ship.  The flag had been sewn by his mother.

The distinctive design of the flag made it unique, hence the nicknames “the Stars and Stripes” dating back to at least 1809 and “the Star-spangled Banner” dating from the War of 1812 (see more about this below).

There are many nations whose flags feature the colors red, white, and blue (e.g. France, the United Kingdom, North Korea), but there’s only one flag that goes by “the red, white, and blue”—the American flag.  Some think this nickname may have its origins in a line from George M. Cohan’s 1906 song You’re a Grand Old Flag: “ev’ry heart beats true, ‘neath the Red, White, and Blue.”  However, the American flag is lauded in Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean written in 1843: “Three cheers for the red, white, and blue!”

Design of the American Flag

The so-called Grand Union Flag was the model for the original design of the American flag.  Also known as the Continental Colors Flag, the Grand Union had 13 alternating red and white stripes, with the Union Jack (the flag of Great Britain) in the corner where the stars are placed today.  In 1777, Congress decreed the Union Jack be replaced with 13 white stars on a blue field, one for each state (13 at the time).

Colors

Over the years, Congressional acts changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed stars to be added to reflect the admission of each new state.  Today the flag consists of seven red stripes alternating with six white.  The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union.  Officially, the red used on the flag is known as “old glory red”, and the blue field of stars is “old glory blue”.  The stars are white, not gold or yellow.

Dimensions

The shape of the flag is also specified by Congress.  The ratio of width to length must always be 1:1.9.  The width of each stripe must be exactly 1/13 of the flag width.  The dimensions of the field of stars (known as “the Union”) are also specific.  Likewise, each star is 4/5 the width of a stripe.

Size

One aspect of the flag that is not dictated by law is its size.  The largest flying American flag can be found in Gastonia, North Carolina. The flag is 114 feet by 65 feet (7,410 square feet), and each stripe is five feet tall.  It’s attached to a massive pole that is over 225 feet tall and has a diameter of five feet.  On a clear day the flag can be seen from over 30 miles away.

The granddaddy of the grand old flag

The largest American Flag ever created, but, due to its size, was never flown, is a flag once owned by Thomas Demski, a former mayor of Long Beach, California.  This “superflag” is 505 feet by 225 feet and weighs 3,000 pounds.  Demski’s flag is about one-and-a-half football fields long.  Each star is a massive 17 feet high, and it takes 500 people to stretch out and hold the flag.

Flying the American Flag

The flag has flown over many places in the United States, its possessions, and its military and civilian facilities around the world.  The aforementioned superflag has been unfurled at Superbowls, the Washington Monument, and the Hoover Dam. 

The first time the American flag was flown overseas was in 1805 when the Stars and Stripes were hoisted over Fort Derne, on the shores of Tripoli in Libya.  The flag was placed at the North Pole in 1909 and on top of Mount Everest in 1963. (places the flag has flown)  The American flag has not been restrained by gravity, as Old Glory was first planted on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969.

Proper display of the flag

The American flag is usually displayed outdoors from sunrise until sunset.  The flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.  The flag should not be flown in inclement weather.  The flag should be flown daily, including all holidays, on or near all public institutions including polling places on election days and in front of schools when in session.  When displayed flat against a wall or a window, or in a vertical orientation, the field of stars should be at the top left of the observer.

The flag should be raised vigorously and lowered respectfully.  When the flag is raised or lowered as part of a ceremony, and as it passes by in parade or review, everyone, except those in uniform, should face the flag with the right hand over the heart.  The flag should never be dipped toward any person or object, nor should the flag ever touch the ground or anything beneath it.

The Pledge of Allegiance

The pledge has been an important part of civic life since 1923.  Countless school days have begun with this spoken anthem of loyalty to the flag and the nation.  According to the Flag Code, when the pledge is recited, it should be done “standing at attention facing the flag with one’s right hand over one’s heart.  When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute.”

The American Flag in custom and tradition

The flag plays a central role as a symbol of the nation.  It is used to inspire, comfort, and galvanize Americans for a cause.

Songs about Old Glory

Many songs have been written about the flag over the years.  Probably the most celebrated is The Star-spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key’s tribute to the flag.  After a British bombardment in Baltimore Harbor in 1814, Key was inspired by the sight of the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry.  The song officially became the national anthem in 1931.  The original flag is displayed today at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Other popular songs about the flag have been written over the years.  You’re a Grand Old Flag is a spirited patriotic song written by George M. Cohan in 1906 for his stage musical George Washington, Jr.  The Stars and Stripes Forever was written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896, and became the official march of the United States in 1987 by an act of the

U.S. Congress.  In his lyrics, Sousa’s praise for Old Glory is hyperbolic:

“Other nations may deem their flags the best

And cheer them with fervid elation

But the flag of the North and South and West

Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.”

Songs about the flag reinforced Americans’ resilience following the terror attacks of September 11.  Charlie Daniels’ song This Ain’t No Rag, It’s a Flag and Toby Keith’s Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) reflected the feelings of millions of Americans.

Resources for Teaching about Flag Day

Help Teaching has created these educational resources on facts about flag day:

• Flag Day Math
• Flag Nickname Scramble
• Poem Analysis: The Flag Goes By
• American Symbols lesson and worksheet
• The National Anthem

KidsKonnect.com offers these resources:

• American Flag Facts & Worksheets
• Flag Day Facts & Worksheets
• Betsy Ross Facts & Worksheets
• The Pledge of Allegiance Facts & Worksheets
• American Patriotic Music Facts & Worksheets

BusyTeacher.org has these free resources:

• Flag Day Worksheet
• The Origins of Flag Day
• The United States Flag
• Wave High and Proud
• American Symbols 2: Stars And Stripes

Your students will enjoy these videos about Flag Day:

• PBS LearningMedia (1:29)
• National Constitution Center “The History of the U.S. Flag” (13:29)
• History of the U.S. Flag, in Paper (4:00)
• The Evolution Of US Flags (In 80 Seconds) (1:20)
• Proper Flag Etiquette (2:41)

These Free Flag Day resources are from the National Constitution Center:

• The History of Flag Day Lesson Plan
• From our Blog: How much do you know about the American flag?
• American Flag Pinwheels Craft Activity
• Patriotic Wreaths Craft Activity

Here are some delicious Easy Patriotic Cake Decorating Ideas from Chiff.com.

The United States Flag Code and other flag facts can be found at The American Legion’s website

So, “unfurl” these resources this Flag Day to help teach your students about the Grand Old Flag!

School is out. The weather is nice. And your kids are… bored out of their minds. While blog posts about letting kids experiencing boredom have gone viral, we know that sometimes they need a little help figuring out what to do. From activities designed to help kids learn and give back to their communities to those focused on making kids a little money and helping them have fun, we’ve gathered the ultimate list of over 100 summer activities for kids. Best of all, most of these activities can be done at home, so you don’t have to spend the summer running your kids from place to place.

Educational Activities

To help prevent kids from experiencing the summer slide, engage them in some educational activities. Last year we shared 15 summer learning activities for all ages. This year, we have a few suggestions to add to that list.

Reading/Writing

1. Create and distribute a family or community newsletter
2. Keep a summer journal
3. Write and direct a play or puppet show.
4. Write letters to family and friends
5. Join a summer reading program, such as one found at your local library or Barnes and Noble.
6. Challenge yourself to finish all of the books on a list, such as the American Library Association’s Summer Reading List.

Science

7. Spend rainy days looking at the resources found on the Help Teaching Ultimate Guide to Teaching Science.
8. Conduct a science experiment
9. Find out what plants are in your yard using a field guide or an app like Project Noah.

Use Help Teaching’s library of science worksheets to reinforce science concepts and introduce new ideas.

Math

10. Take a free summer math course, such as the Summer Math Challenge
11. Grab a measuring tape or ruler and start measuring random plants outside
12. Figure out the perimeter of the local pool
13. Count your steps as you walk and try to get in a certain number of steps each day

Use Help Teaching’s library of math worksheets to keep numbers fresh in your child’s mind.

Other Activities

14. Plan a trip by getting out a map and tracking where you want to go. You don’t have to go, just pretend
15. Go geocaching
16. Go letterboxing
17. Take a course or learn a new skill, using some of the resources in Help Teaching’s Ultimate Guide to Free Online Self-Learning for Kids
18. Visit a museum. Many museums offer free days throughout the summer. Bank of America customers and military families can also get free admission to museums during the summer

Socially Responsible Activities

Summer is also a great time to teach kids to give back to the community through volunteering, taking care of the environment, and other socially responsible activities. Try out a few of these suggestions this summer.

Volunteering

19. Read stories to or play games with residents of a local nursing home
20. Spend time visiting the animals at a local animal shelter
21. Serve a meal as a family at a local food bank
22. Use a service like VolunteerMatch.org to find organizations in your area that need volunteers.

Helping Others

23. Visit with elderly neighbors
24. Offer to do chores for neighbors free of charge
25. Raise money for a local charity
26. Hold a neighborhood food drive
27. Donate items to a thrift store or charity
28. Do random acts of kindness
29. Take snacks to the local police or fire station
30. Offer to watch a friend’s dog or cat while they go on vacation

Helping the Environment

31. Clean up trash in your neighborhood or at a local park
32. Start recycling cans and bottles at home and encourage neighbors to do the same
33. Plant a garden
34. Make bird feeders
35. Go the farmer’s market. Check out Local Harvest to find one near you
36. Pick your own fruits or vegetables. Find a farm using Pick Your Own
37. Practice conserving water by taking shorter showers and watering plants in the evening
38. Start a compost pile
39. Raise butterflies

Money-Making Activities

While most kids aren’t old enough to get an official summer job, they can use the summer to make some extra spending money. Encourage them to earn money to save up for a toy or other item they really want instead of just going out and buying it for them. Some suggestions for making money include:

40. Mow lawns
41. Sell lemonade
42. Make and sell crafts like bracelets
43. Ask parent or neighbors to do chores for pay
44. Bake and sell baked goods
45. Have a garage sale or toy swap
46. Walk dogs
47. Weed gardens and water plants
48. Play an instrument in a public place
49. Sell clothes and toys to a local consignment shop

Fun Activities

Of course, at the end of the day, summer is a chance for kids to have fun. There are lots of ways to have fun at home and in your local community.

Cooking and Food

50. Make a pitcher of sun tea
51. Make ice cream in a bag
52. Make sculptures using fruits and vegetables
53. Mix whipped cream and food coloring to make edible paint
54. Place different flavored fruit juices into paper cups, add a wooden stick, and freeze to make popsicles

Arts and Crafts

55. Paint or draw a picture.
56. Practice your photography skills by taking close-up photos of animals and plants
57. Host an art show featuring artwork created by kids
58. Make a picture or sculpture using items found in nature
59. Draw with sidewalk chalk
60. Create a sidewalk chalk mural
61. Paint on the house or sidewalk with water
62. Tie-dye a t-shirt
63. Put watered down paint into a squirt gun and spray it on paper outside
64. Collect and paint rocks
65. Gather leaves and create leaf rubbings
66. Dry out flowers by pressing them between two heavy books
67. Mix bubbles with food color to make popped bubble art
68. Paint your feet and walk on white paper outside

Choose from the many Help Teaching arts related and music related worksheets

Community Events

69. Listen to music. Many towns offer free outdoor musical performances during the summer
70. Go to a fair or festival. Fairs and Festivals highlights many of these events around the United States
71. Attend a baseball game. Many minor league games offer inexpensive tickets
72. Host a neighborhood carnival with simple games such as ring toss and bean bag toss
73. Go bowling. Kids Bowl Free partners with local bowling alleys to let kids bowl free all summer
74. Take a picnic to a local park
75. See a movie. Many movie theaters offer summer matinee discounts, such as Regal’s Summer Movie Express which screens kid movies for $1 on selected days during the summer. Cities and towns also often sponsor summer movies under the stars.

Rainy Day Activities

76. Play a board game, or — better yet — design a new one!
77. Make up a new card game
78. Make personalized word search puzzles with Help Teaching’s word search generator
79. Have a movie marathon
80. Visit a fun website, like those found on our Top Free 100 Education Sites
81. Jump in puddles
82. Make a rain gauge and measure how much rain you get
83. Redecorate your room
84. Set up a tent indoors and have an indoor camp out

Water Activities

85. Have a water balloon fight
86. Hold a wet sponge toss where you try to land wet sponges on a target on the ground
87. Run through the sprinkler
88. Buy a kiddie pool and soak your feet
89. Play “Does it sink or float?” in a kiddie pool
90. Fill a tub with water and use measuring cups and other water toys to play with it
91. Fill bottles with different amounts of water and blow across them to make music
92. Fill buckets, squirt guns, and other containers with water and have a water fight

Backyard Activities

93. Make a fort using cardboard boxes, sheets, or tree branches
94. Have a picnic in your backyard
95. Camp in your backyard
96. Make a mini-golf course using plastic tubs with holes cut in them
97. Lay on a blanket and watch the clouds
98. Blow bubbles using different items, such as slotted spoons and funnels as bubble wands
99. Grab glow sticks and play a game of glow tag in the dark
100. Make a stunt track for your toy cars in a pile of rocks or dirt

Fun with Friends

101. Have a neighborhood scavenger hunt and see who can find all the items first
102. Ride bikes around the neighborhood
103. Have a dance party
104. Challenge friends to competitions, such as who can stand on one foot for the longest or who can jump the highest
105. Make up a special summer song or chant
106. Start a game of kickball or capture the flag

Whether it’s Make Something Monday, Wander Somewhere Wednesday, or Fabulous and Fun Friday, there’s plenty of fun to be had all summer long. What do you love to do with your kids in the summer? Share your ideas in the comments to help our list grow!

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Joe Pizzuto-Pomaco is an educator, writer, and editor who has taught in public and private schools 15 years.