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On-Site Outdoor Education – Learning about Vegetation
When students returned to the classroom during the latter half of the covid-19 pandemic, there was almost always a class walk outside, every period, every day. The kids were outside ALOT- even when it was cold. But this was not for learning purposes- rather for fresh, contagion free air. These days, outside walkabouts are almost…
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“Seedfolks”: Addressing Community in Urban Environments
Seedfolks, a book written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Judy Pederson is comprised of 13 short stories all revolving around a community garden in Cleveland, Ohio in the United States. Each chapter connects with another over time. I have used a few of the stories in this book when students were learning about urban…
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Task Cards & Why You Need Them
If you are a secondary school teacher, task cards are probably not a common item in your tool kit. But let me tell you they should be. I was introduced to them from several vloggers on YouTube who were creating them for their elementary/primary classrooms last year and they can be a game changer! What…
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6 Tips for Gardening Activities in the Classroom
No classroom activity has ever been more welcomed than planting vegetable seeds. It starts with smiling faces and dirty hands, and ends with senses of pride and accomplishment. And it is the gift that keeps on giving. The activity was less than a success my first time around – not having enough soil, pots or…
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Making Glaciers in the Grades 7-12 Classroom
Sometimes when teaching Geography with classes that are not too large (although I don’t know exactly what number means “too large” anymore!) I like to have the students engage in a collaborative hands-on learning activity to provide them with a better understanding of the results of probably the greatest erosional force on earth. After all,…
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Feel Good Friday’s
Feel Good Friday is my favorite day of the week, and the students too. Not just because there are two days of freedom ahead, but because it’s Feel Good Friday! Feel Good Friday was born out of the desire to let the students relax whilst being active in a community setting. As I had left…
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Simulating Plate Tectonics
I am not sure who created this wonderful activity. I was introduced to it just after the millennium by a colleague and I am still using it today. Simply using a Double Stuf Oreo cookie as a manipulative, students can reaffirm their learning about some of the key plate boundaries: convergent boundary, divergent boundary, transform…
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Simulating Plate Tectonics
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Welcome!
I’m Robin, a high school Geography & History Teacher, who is also crazy about tourism education. The purpose of this blog is to share what I have learned from my own experiences as a 7-12 educator over the past 24 years. You might have a very different grade and subject niche and therefore different priorities and needs, but I do hope there is something here that helps make teaching better for you and your students.
