Let's Rock - Sound Energy

Explore the science of sound by creating your very own rock band of recyclables!
Sound Wave Experiments - ehow
Featured Above:
1. Kazoo -Martha Stewart
2. Tin Can Phone - DSO Kids / Bongo - Sophie's World
3. Membranophone - Exploratorium
4. Zither - ehow
5. Pan Pipe Flute - Krieger Science
More:
Sound Sandwich - Exploratorium
Scientific Sound Effects - E is for Explore - Make Music
Whirly Twirly Sound Hose: Explore

Long vs. Short Division

Having trouble with long division, simplify it! This simple trick comes from Math Guide. 
Short Division example below: 
1. 6 into 25 = 4
2. 1 left over, draw it in front of the 3
3. 6 into 13 = 2
4. 1 left over, draw it in front of the 2
5. 6 x 2 = 12, No remainder!

Leaf Investigator

Kids find a leaf, investigate it, then paste it in the square! (save to desktop to print)
Visit Education.com to find out how to figure out a tree's age by its circumference.

Measure Yourself!

Fun activity from The Lawrence Hall of Science, Measure Yourself! Kids take their own measurements. Then, they compare their measurements to different animals. Check out The Lawrence Hall of Science for the activity featured below, as well as for more science lessons!

image via: the lawrence hall of science

Rocks and Weathering

screenshot of BBC Rocks and Weathering

BBC's Rocks and Weathering: cool, interactive, animated site, that I discovered over at one of my favorite EDTech blogs: Free Technology for Teachers. Rocks and weathering lets kids examine sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks up close and personal, teaching them how they form. Click here to check it out!

Web 2.0 - Blabberize!

Blabberize: Totally free web 2.0 tool that kids will have a blast playing around with! Kids make their photos come to life, by adding a mouth and their voice to a picture. This web 2.0 tool is super easy to navigate, even preschoolers can blabberize!

Alphabet Story

Collaborate and create an alphabet story! Each student must use their problem solving skills and creativity to contribute to an original class story. The challenge: the story flows in alphabetical order!

Vedic Multiplication

Vedic Multiplication from Alex Bellos and Lapappadolce! Kids create horizontal lines that are parallel to each other to represent the first numeral in the equation. Next, they create parallel vertical lines (perpendicular to their original lines) to represent the other numeral. Then, they dot the lines where they intersect. Finally, they count up their dots and voila - they have their product! Example below:

Electoral College - KID Style

Awesome post about how to teach kids about electoral college, with a link to an interactive electoral map, from Hoosier Teacher! Check it out here!

image sources:
Capri Sun via Kraft  / Hi-C product nutrition
Map via east chester school

Ten Frame War

After creating ten frame dominoes, I had to make a War version! Print 2 copies of the ten frame cards and 1 copy of the the 1 more, 1 less, and word form cards. Cut the cards out. Then, challenge each other to a game of Ten Frame War! Deal out cards evenly. Each player lays one card down. The player with the greater value card gets to keep his card and take the other player's card. Winner of the game is determined by who has the most cards.

Morse Code

Turn off the lights, grab a flashlight, and practice your spelling words using Morse Code! Kids have to pay close attention to the flickering light to figure out each word. You could also come up with a different tapping sound for the rectangle and circle in Morse Code. Kids have to listen closely to differentiate the tap! Furthermore, you could have them draw the code and then have a friend solve it. Below, I made an original and colored version of Morse Code. You could use the colored code for drawing words or making a fashion statement! Kids could create a necklace or bracelet of beads, using Morse Code (check out Classic Play). Then, see if their friends can figure out their secret word!

The Greatest!

Practice place value and addition with three addends with this fun card game from Education.com! Each player gets dealt six cards. Next, they each create the highest three digit number they can make. Whoever has the largest numeral gets a point. Then, all the players add up their cards. The player with the highest sum gets a point. The winner has the most points at the end of the game.

For older kids you can deal out more cards; so they can work with higher place values and more addends.

Check out more uno math game ideas here!

Pine Cone Experiment

Demonstrate how seeds adapt by conducting the pine cone experiment with your class! Drop a ripe pinecone into a bowl of water. Leave it submerged in water, and be amazed as the pinecone starts to close up. What's happening?! The pine cone is adapting to its environment! It closes up when wet ("protecting the seeds inside the cone"). Once dry, it opens back up! Click here for the full explanation. Check out a time lapse video of the experiment here. To find out more about pine cones - are they living or dead - click here!

pine cone via public domain