American Presidental Elections

Presidential Elections are coming up in the United States. Even among children there is high interest in this tradition that occurs every four years. This election will prove to be a historic one. For younger students, the way US Presidents are elected can be confusing. The Tech Ninja created this Notebook activity for his third grade students but it could be used or modified for other grades or...

Teacher and the Rockbots

While searching for video resources for the Pledge of Allegiance on YouTube I came across a song that explained the meaning of the Pledge in a fun and educational way. The song was by Teacher and the Rockbots. Currently they have four albums out. One about American, on over multiplication, one on Science and one covering the World. The Ninja’s students love them! Additionally, they have...

Tall Tales

Throughout history people have told and written stories about their heroes. A tall tale is a special kind of hero story because the heroes of tall tales are “larger than life.” They are bigger and stronger than real people, even when the tall tale is based on a real person. Tall tale heroes solve problems in funny ways that are hard to believe. Tall tales are a way people can express...

Symbols of National Pride

There are many symbols of national pride. This SmartBoard Notebook file goes over several including The National Anthem, Uncle Sam and the Liberty Bell. There are several videos in this file from Discovery Streaming Education. If you have a subscription you will need the following files: Page 2: The segment Flag from the video entitled U.S. Symbols Page 8: The Star Spangled Banner Page 13: The...

The First Thanksgiving

The legend of Thanksgiving is has grown and grown over the years. Today, what many younger students consider to be an historical view of Thanksgiving is just a cartoon of what actually happened. Was it called Thanksgiving? Did they eat turkey? How many Indians were at the first Thanksgiving? What was life like for children at the time of the first Thanksgiving? I found a wonderful interactive...