Free printable World War I lesson plans for Veterans Day, Armistice Day

Veterans Day is celebrated November 11. It's also called Armistice Day and Remembrance Day. We honor veterans, military and those who've died. We remember World War One, which truce was called on November 11, 1918. Here are free printable Veterans Day coloring pages. Images include American military, patriotic themes and WWI history.

Edupics has free printable Remembrance Day coloring pages. There are also over 100 military pictures to print and color. There are images of soldiers, weapons, vehicles, sailors, uniforms and insignia. Pictures are realistic and detailed. They cover wars from different countries and times in history. There are sections on printable WWI and WWII coloring pages.

Apples 4 the Teacher has several sections with printable coloring pages for holidays. Veterans Day coloring pages are linked here. Here's the site's free printable Social Studies lesson plans page. There are printable coloring pages of flags, presidents, famous people, American symbols and history.

Raising Our Kids has a really nice assortment of free printable Veterans Day coloring pages. These could be used to make homemade cards for American national patriotic holidays like 4th of July and Memorial Day, too.

Coloring Book Fun has a free printable patriotic themed coloring pages. These simple images would make good preschool holiday activities. Little ones can color them for greeting cards to give to senior citizens.

DL-TK has free printable Remembrance Day coloring pages and crafts. There are also mini booklets to use as coloring books. There are Veterans Day word searches and puzzles and poppy crafts. Coloring.ws has more Veterans Day coloring pages to print free.

Here are free printable GI Joe coloring pages from Educational Coloring Pages. 101 Coloring Pages has more GI Joe coloring pages to print free. Print a coloring book for kids to teach them what Veterans Day is and why we celebrate it.

Free printable pagan and Wicca sabbat crafts for Samhain

Much is known about religious and national holidays. But the least known holidays--and ironically some of the oldest--are pagan or Wiccan. Here are free printable Wicca crafts, coloring pages and resources for pagan holidays (sabbats).

* Joelle's Sacred Grove features a pagan calendar with activities for and explanations of the eight sabbats.

--Yule (or Winter Solstice)--between December 20-23. Yule ends the old year and begins the new (starts near Christian Christmas)

--Imbolc--or Brid's Day--February 2

--Ostara (Easter)--Spring Equinox--celebrated around Christian Easter.

--May Day or Beltaine is celebrated on the eve of April 30 into May 1. It's also called Walpurgis Night.

--Litha or midsummer's eve or , which celebrates the first day of summer (Summer Solstice) around June 21-25.

--Lughnasadh, a harvest festival which falls on July 31-August 1. It's called Lammas in some countries.

--Mabon, the autumnal equinox (the first day of fall).

--Samhain celebrates darkness and coincides with Halloween.

* Pooka Pages provides free printable Wicca coloring pages, games, spell and incantations and stories.

* ADF--A Druid Fellowship (or Ár nDraíocht Féin) is a neopagan group dedicated to promoting old pagan customs. This link takes you to the kids page with free printable pagan activities for Lughnasadh, Imbolc, Yule and Samhain.

* Stella Australis has a free printable Wicca coloring book with the elementals, gods and goddesses, Egyptian and Greek deities, moon phases and a Wheel of the Year, puzzles, Wicca vocabulary, runic symbols, history, magic, tarot and zodiac.

* Vintage Holiday Crafts has free printable nostalgic Victorian and Edwardian period greeting cards and crafts. They're labeled by their traditional holiday name May Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Easter, but images hark back to pagan counterparts: Maybon, Lughnasadh, Samhain and Ostara.

I linked you to Halloween/Samhain because that's the next holiday coming, but scroll around for the others.

Free Crafts and Printables from Martha Stewart

 I maintain several highly-performing niche blog, the most popular ones involving printable crafts for children. Internet searchers are always seeking freebies and crafts. Click this link for loads of free printable holiday themed crafts. Look for free printable crafts for fall holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Diwali, All Saints Day, Halloween, Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year's Day, Epiphany. Perfect for lesson plans.

You probably know Martha Stewart is the DIY home goddess. What you might not know is that her website offers free printable Martha Stewart craft patterns to make her many amazing crafts. This craft guru literally has crafts, recipes and printables for every holiday, theme and occasion. Whatever holiday is coming next is featured on the homepage. There's a timeline of holidays along the banner menu, so you can scroll through and find printable craft patterns and templates for past or upcoming holidays. 

Day of the Dead Lesson Plans and Printable Activities to Celebrate Dia de los Muertos

El Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, commemorates the lives of beloved dead. Day of the Dead is the Latino version of Catholic All Saints Day and All Souls Day, November 1 and 2. Dia de los Muertos traditions include creating family altars to honor the dead, visiting loved ones' graves and having picnics at the cemetery to be near the departed. Human skulls and skeletons are integral Dia de los Muertos symbols. Items are designed to look like skulls: candles, food and sugar skulls. People paint their faces to represent a skull (called a calavera). Some Halloween traditions developed from Day of the Dead but unlike Halloween, Day of the Dead isn't about scaring people. It's a religious holiday, culminating the Catholic holy days with pre-Columbian Aztec, Mixtec, Olmec and Toltec rituals of Mexico. If you need free printable Day of the Dead lesson plans to teach students about this popular cultural holiday, read on. Use the for homeschooled, public and parochial schooled kids.

Tiki Chris at Flickr has designed awesome free printable skull patterns from one basic skull template. Print these in black and white for students to color. Or print the basic skull template and have a calavera skull decorating contest! This would make an excellent art or social studies project. Using one basic pattern, students can exhibit their creativity in design. Kids will love making connections with this beautiful heritage art from Mexico.

QuestConnect.org has free printable Dia de los Muertos lesson plans and activities to thoroughly explore the Day of the Dead. Make papel picado banners, sugar skulls and skeleton crafts. Kids can learn the geography and culture of Mexico with an Oaxaca puzzle. Arty Ness has free printable Day of the Dead coloring pages, art projects, crafts with skeletons and skulls and more. Mr. Donn has a plethora of free printable Dia de Los Muertos lesson plans and activities. Use these for history, culture, geography and social studies lesson plans for middle school age kids.

Enchanted Learning has free Day of the Dead lesson plans to print. A-Z Central has a whole website devoted to Dia de los Muertos activities. Print and make crafts. Listen to music. Learn about the culture of Mexico. Play games. Learn to make recipes and foods from Mexico. National Geographic has vocabulary lessons on Day of the Dead. There's an awesome picture gallery.

Many parents, particularly Christian parents, don't celebrate Halloween. But don't mistake Day of the Dead skull for Halloween and ignore this rich, cultural festival. And don't let the skulls and skeletons freak you out. They show honor to the dead, not ghoulish fascination with death. These are as reverently handled as the nativity scenes at Christmas. And educators, if you teach ESL, please consider hosting a Day of the Dead party for students. It's good to learn about each other's cultures plus it makes Hispanic students feel more at home.

Free Printable Marco Polo, Kublai Khan, Silk Road Lesson Plans

As world explorers go, Marco Polo is probably the most curious and exciting. The exploits of Marco Polo are featured in a new Netflix Originals mini series. The next season will air in 2016. Marco Polo traveled in medieval times to explore the magical Xanadu, summer palace of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan (son of Ghengis Khan). Polo brought back exotic spices, jade, silk and strange beasts (elephants) to the western world. His travels ushered in the Silk Road and Spice Road trade systems. Marco Polo wrote about his travels in "Il Milione" or "The Travels of Marco Polo." Here are free printable Marco Polo lessons on the exploration, Kublai Khan, Xanadu and the Mongol (Mongolian) Empire.

Start at Silk Road by reading the biography of Marco Polo. Students could character map listing information about Marco Polo. Next acquaint yourself with the travels of Marco Polo. Here's a free printable map of the Marco Polo expedition, which became the Silk Road.You could expand it and attach it to a cheap roll up window shade to make a classroom map of the Silk Road. Have students color and label the map and make icons to symbols elements of the Marco Polo story.

This site describes Kublai Khan and the rise of the Mongol Empire under Ghengis Khan. Students could create a Facebook profile Ghengis or Kublai Khan to put their lives into modern perspective. Cal Tech has comprehensive information on Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Use this as a travelogue of Xanadu, the Mongol Empire and the Silk Road.

Mr. Donn offers free printable Marco Polo lessons and activities on the Mongol Empire and Kublai Khan, geared for lower elementary to middle school students. Lesson Tutor has free printable Marco Polo lessons. Click on the checkmarks beside each lesson to open the activities on Kublai Khan, Xanadu and the travels in the Mongol Empire.

Older students might complete these free printable Marco Polo worksheets and study guide. These lessons work well students in grades 4-8. Here's a more descriptive discussion on Xanadu and Mongol Empire with re-enactors dressed in Mongolian battle dress and villagers costumes. There are images of artifacts from the Kublai Khan dynasty which students could make replicas of. Last, for a creative writing and art lessons, have students draw what they imagine the Mongol Empire and Kublai Khan may have looked like using Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Xanadu, the Ballad of Kublai Khan

Free Printable Leaf and Tree Identification Charts for Science Lesson Plans

A popular autumn lesson plan is to assign students to make a leaf identification booklet. Here are free printable tree identification charts and leaf patterns and fall craft stencils. Parents, homeschoolers and teachers, make flashcards with these tree and leaf patterns. Use in hands-on Montessori style games for nature science study. Make tree and leaf books. Assign students to collect leaves, press them or make leaf rubbings. Students should label leaves and trees using identification diagrams.

About Forestry has free printable leaf patterns for tree and leaf identification from common trees around the country. The site also has textbook-quality, beautifully detailed free printable leaf coloring pages taken from naturalist Charles Sprague Sargent's leaf plate illustrations. Each page features a different leaf with its corresponding tree, berry, nut and foliage. These printable illustrations include cut-away drawings and other helpful identification data, plus the Latin classification for genus and species of the tree. The website gives the leaf and tree names in their American variation. Use these printables for taxonomy lessons on KPCOFGS (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family Genus and Species) as developed by zoologist Carolus Linnaeus.

Arbor Day offers several printable nature science resources and online tree and leaf identification activities. Here's a link for About Forestry's leaf and tree identification homepage. From here, follow the links for different information about conifers, deciduous trees, hardwoods, and other assorted trees from different biomes and habitats. Don't miss these free printable forest map. Here are free printable leaf stencils for decorations and children's activities.

Free Printable Poetry Frames, Poem Patterns and Creative Writing Prompts

April is National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo (an online poetry slam project). Here are poetry writing prompts for teachers. Poetry templates can help break the creative ice. 

ETTC has 30+ free printable poetry frames and poem templates on all different subjects and themes. Many relate to nature (a common theme in poetry), all about me and emotion and feeling poems. Many of these free printable poem template cover grammar, word usage and other English language arts concepts.

TSL Books has loads of free printable writing prompts, including frame poem templates, poetry prompts and story starters. There are poem templates available for preschool to upper elementary school. Check Students Handouts for more challenging printable poetry writing prompts. Use for personal narrative writing prompts, too.

St. Jean's an assortment of free printable poem templates, poetry frames and graphic organizers: couplets, triplets, quatrain, tanka, sonnet, limerick, cinquain, haiku, persona and many other poetry templates to print.

TNEllen has eight free printable poem templates with different variations on the basic "I am' and "All about me" poem theme. Examples are provided. Creative writing teachers can simply block out the example words and print the poetry frame. Students may refer to the example or fill in their own words like a Mad-Lib fill-in-the-blank activity.

Cape.k12 has about 20 free printable poetry frames grouped by grade level. Each link focuses on different types of poetry writing frames and templates. Free printable haiku, cinquain, acrostic, 5 Ws, alliteration and diamante poetry template plus several other poem activities are available.

Free Printable Chronicles of Narnia Lesson Plans Unit

 Educators and homeschool parents, are you looking for free printable lesson plans on fantasy literature? Then you need to check out the Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. If you're teaching Chronicles of Narnia books unit studies, here are free printable Narnia coloring pages and lesson plans. Children have loved the Narnia books for decades. in the 1980s, PBS Wonderworks made some of the seven books into movies. Films have been made for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair as well. Check out the Narnia homepage for free printable Chronicles of Narnia coloring pages, lesson plans, games, puzzles, crafts and coloring pages to augment your book study. Get free teacher and homeschool resources, educational activities, printable Narnia maps, online games and more.

Here's a site with free printable Narnia coloring pages. Coloring Book has another set of free printable Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe coloring pages. Narnia coloring pages featuring the Pevensee children Edmund, Peter, Susan and Lucy, their cousin Eustace, Prince Caspian, Reepicheep, Drinian, Rince, the Dragon, Aslan and others. Websites feature detailed, realistic images from movies Prince Caspian, and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe movies. Here are Narnia crafts and Narnia coloring pages from the books series. Activity Village has free printable Narnia coloring pages and games galore! Print word search games--great for book study guides and tests--from each book in the Chronicles of Narnia series:

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Magician's Nephew (the first book chronologically in the series)
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Last Battle.

There are is also a free printable mouse mask for Reepicheep, free printable dragon crafts and coloring pages (no spoilers, but SOMEONE--not saying who--turns into a dragon in a wonderful allegorical twist!) There's a Many-Coloured Sugar recipe (such as Caspian ate at the feast), a shield craft, sword craft and a castle craft which could be Cair Paravel.

Homeschool Giveaway lists links for free printable Chronicles of Narnia lesson plans, crafts, worksheets, book study guides and games. Here are free printable vocabulary lesson plans from Narnia books. And here are lots more teacher- made lesson plans for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe book study guides.

Free Printable Nelson Mandela Day Lesson Plans and Black History Month Activities

July 18 is Nelson Mandela Day. In the US, Black History Month is observed in February. Here are free printable Black History Month lesson plans to use in Nelson Mandela Day observances. Teach children about this hero.

To get lessons, visit Shmoop. There are 25-plus pieces of content available free on Black History Month. You'll find lessons on:
  Slavery
 
  Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance
 
  Jim Crow
 
  Civil Rights
 
  Desegregation
 
  "Black Power"
 
  Famous court cases impacting slavery, integration and civil rights
 
  Race issues in US wars: Revolutionary, Civil, WWII
 
  Ku Klux Klan and racial tensions
 
  Civil War
 
  Abolition
 
  Antebellum America
 
  Reconstruction
 
  FDR's New Deal
 
  Race in music history: jazz, blues, rock & roll
 
  Desegregation in schools, sports
 
  Woolworth lunch counter and bus boycotts

  Apartheid

There are teaching guides for poetry and books of Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Phillis Wheatley, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Richard Wright, Lorraine Hansberry, Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain and Harper Lee. Read on.

Free Printable Science Chemistry Biology Lesson Plans

EcoKids is an ecology website for kids, students, parents and teachers. This site features online ecology mystery games that students can read and solve. Students must pay close attention and put their knowledge of the ecosystem into practice. Plus, there are free printable biology and life science coloring pages, worksheets, activities and lesson plans for Earth Day and Earth Month!

KidsKonnect has paid and free printable biology and life science worksheets, lesson plans, charts and diagrams. Life science activities are based around environments world wide. Enchanted Learning has a huge collection of free printable life science worksheets, coloring pages, charts and diagrams. There are also general science activities, crafts, mini booklets, puzzles and worksheets.

Ology is a kids' science website from AMNH, the American Museum of Natural History. Get free printable life science coloring pages, worksheets, posters, charts and diagrams galore. There free printable science activities for all earth science, chemistry and physics or physical science. LearningPage has free printable life science coloring pages, cut and paste science crafts, life science worksheets, puzzles, games, charts and diagrams.

TSL Books has free printable life science lesson plans organized by grades. A neat tidy homepage features a left column of links by grade and subject. Each grade page has free printable lesson plans for each subject. This site is free but they do ask that a donation of a few dollars per year will help keep it free.

Free Printable Learning Activities and Games for Toddlers, Preschool

Need to occupy a toddler or preschooler? Here are 15 safe, school approved websites for young children. These sites are child-friendly, family-oriented and have lots of educational games and free printable activities for young learners.
Poptropica is cute, engaging, educational and school approved. Children create a character and play
free.
FunBrain touts itself as the #1 educational games website on the
Internet. Teachers and homeschool parents, check out FunBrain for school approved fun while
learning online.

Nick Jr. Check this site for free printable activities, cut and paste and crafts. Your toddlers and
preschool children can color, cut, paste and assemble all sorts of learning craft activities.

JumpStart Kids will recognize these characters from preschool and school activities. This site
requires registration, but once a parent completes and signs, children may play in this virtual world
free.
Disney Family has an nice clean layout that children will love. Starfall and Creative Kids at Home are two other educational sites for preschool. 

Free Printable 4th of July Crafts History Lesson Plans for Kids

With Memorial Day right around the corner, here are educational US history art projects and patriotic crafts. Use patriotic crafts for 4th of July holiday art projects too.

* Homemade dough, putty, paint. Kids in US history typically had few toys, so they made fun with found materials. Turn the back yard into an old-school chemistry lab. Here are recipes for silly putty, moon sand, play dough and other media for patriotic crafts and art projects. If you have a natural clay deposit, mine your own. Make clay pots or marbles (a favorite old-times game). Concoct homemade fabric paint mixing tempera and Elmer's School Glue or powdered milk. Teach chemistry and experimenting with paint recipes for Memorial Day and 4th of July art projects from Nate and Rachel (safe enough for toddler crafts).

* Decorate tote bags. In times past, kids art projects were learning activities. Use US history patriotic holiday crafts to teach simple sewing, math and life skills lessons. Repurpose fabric tablecloths, sheets, blankets, pillow cases, towels. Have kids measure and cut two matching squares. Sew three sides of squares together by machine or with needle and thread. Turn inside out. Fold and sew a hem around the top edge. Braid scrap yarn, rope, twine, into handles. Attach and decorate with homemade paint.

* Family tablecloth. Family was important, elders were respected and everyone worked together in olden times. Hand print a clean plain-colored flat sheet or polar fleece blanket with fabric paint (see recipe above). Get everyone involved--grandma, grandpa, grouchy Aunt Mildred, the baby, the cat--dips a palm (paw) in paint and hand prints. Then, they sign names in permanent marker near their print. Make patriotic holiday crafts do double duty as gifts and give as a keepsake to an elderly relative.

* Flag pencils. Cut white sheets or plain fabric scraps into 4x6 squares. Show world flags and play afree printable flag bingo game from Suitcases and Sippy Cups. Then let kids create a personal flag that represents their interests. Color with markers or crayons. Hot glue to new pencils. Wave your flag patriotic holiday crafts in Memorial Day and 4th of July parades.

* Personal logo T-shirts. Famous Americans--Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson--are known by mottoes like "Don't Tread on Me." The Gadsden flag was an American revolution symbol, Universities typically have Latin mottoes. Have kids create their own slogan and logo to reflect their ideals. Then transfer images to T-shirts with fabric paints or permanent markers. Recycle old shirts. Buy packaged T-shirts. Check dollar stores for good prices on supplies for patriotic holiday crafts and Memorial Day or 4th of July art projects.

Have a Memorial Day and 4th of July parade. Sing US history songs, display your patriotic holiday crafts and art projects. Wear US history shirts. US History leaps off boring textbook pages and comes to life with these educational US history art projects.

Free Printable Bible, Christian Craft Activities for Vacation Bible School

Parents, if you want your kids to grow up learning Bible stories, then you'll want these free printable Bible stories coloring pages. Calvary Chapel has free printable Bible stories coloring pages grouped by Old Testament and New Testament. You'll like how Bible stories are arranged by their familiar titles as you're used to hearing them at church. Papa Jan has free printable Bible stories coloring pages. I must admit to an old-fashioned love of these as Bible pictures are drawn in older styles. Here are general Bible coloring pages of religious images--praying hands, Jesus the cross, Bible, and others.

Sunday School Printables has hundreds of free printable Bible stories coloring pages. Most pictures are in cartoon form. Many come from the wonderful "Beginner's Bible" illustrations. First-School is a go-to for educational free printable coloring pages from Old Testament and New Testament Bible stories.

Jewish children can enjoy Old Testament Bible stories as they are contained in the Hebrew Torah. 

Free Printable Educational Travel Games, Puzzles for Summer Enrichment

Need educational car games for summer vacation and travel? Visit "How Stuff Works-- Parentables" for printable travel games. Fire up that printer because you're going to need it! Print travel-themed Scrabble, bingo, Memory, crossword, dot to dot, mazes, trivia, 20 questions, Mad Libs, hangman, tic tac toe, scavenger hunt, tongue twisters, story starters, word search, word games, word scramble, license plate games and more. 

Kidventurous has free printable travel games for children. You're going to love the Battleship game. Print license plate bingo, travel related question games, puzzles, car finder search, The educator in me sees learning opportunities in the printable travel math games.

MiniTime has free printable travel games and puzzles. Map games are listed by region of the United States (midwest, southeast, etc.) Kids will the love the Disney themed travel games. 

Free Printable Reading Response Journal Activities and Rubric for ELA (English Language Arts)

Kids get tired of doing the same ho-hum book reports and worksheets. The best way to teach any subject is with hands-on activities. Teach reading and literature study with interactive, personalized reading response journals. Get students interact with books, to take stories apart and live them, to explore characters, themes, symbols. Here are 50 printable activities to do that. They're multi-sensory, and employ HOTS (higher order thinking skills). I've included a template for a student activity calendar to organize response activities. Note. One of the activities is to create Facebook social profiles for characters. Optional Activities for an ELA (English Language Arts) Response Journal Rubric