Christmas Craft: Gingerbread House Collage

Good for fine motor skills. You can have the kids make gingerbread men, candy canes, candies, etc. for this craft.

Arctic Animals: Orca (Killer) Whales

This versatile project can be used during a few different themes, such as Thanksgiving (when teachers are looking to branch out from the traditional Native American lesson plans and into more creative territory), arctic animals, or learning about different cultures around the world. My class did this project when we were learning about the seasons, as orcas migrate along the Pacific coastline during the fall and spring. In this way, I taught my students that some animals migrate during fall and spring. 

The instructions to this great Pacific Northwest Native American orca whale craft for kids can be found here: http://www.thecraftyclassroom.com/CraftIndianTlingitPaperPiecing.html

Arctic Animals Craft: Penguins!

Getting tired of making paper crafts with kinders? Try making some mixed media art. Our class loved making these penguins.

Materials:

Plastic cup with attachable lid
Cotton or polyester batting
Construction paper for wings, feet, and beak.

Arctic Animal Crafts: Narhwal Art!

When teaching children about arctic animals it's fun for them to learn about some of the more unusual animals who live in the polar regions. Children love to learn about the unicorns of the sea!

Halloween ESL Activity: Witch's Potion

Level: Kinder, Elementary, Middle School

Materials: 1 cauldron, 1 wooden spoon with a magnet on the bottom, various objects or magnetic laminated pictures of icky things (slugs, toes, slime, eyeballs, lizards, etc.)

Activity:

One by one, students must pull icky ingredients out of a cauldron and pretend to be under a spell. The spell they are under is predetermined by what object they pull out. For instance, if a child pulls out a lizard, she must bark like a dog; if she pulls out an eyeball, she must wiggle like a worm; if she pulls out an eyeball, she must spin around.

This is a great activity for young learners, as it helps develop motor skills!

Halloween ESL Activity: Reassemble a Skeleton

Level: Kindergarten

Materials: Puzzle or large felt pieces for the wall. Teachers, all you need for this activity is a pair of scissors and black and white felt and your creativity!

Activity:

Have children reassemble felt pieces of a skeleton with your help. Ask questions such as, "Where is the leg? Where is the hand? What is this?" Children will enjoy helping solve the proper placement of the different bones.

This activity is great for Halloween, as you will have a new classroom decoration when it is complete. Or you can use it when teaching about parts of the body.

Pictionary Riddles

Level: Medium

Materials: White board, dry erase markers

Activity: Separate class into two teams. Choose one student to come up and draw a picture while you read out clues. The class must work within their teams to guess what the child at the front is drawing. They must also listen to your clues, because the child's drawing may be misleading!

Example:

Who am I?

• Most people don't like me.
• I am green.
• I have no arms. 
• I have no legs. 
• I can't swim. 
• I can't fly.