Your GREEN PAGES: 53 Skill-Building Activities You Can Use Right Now!

Teaching Pre K-8, Feb 2005 by Swartz, Elizabeth

Parents Activity

46 HEALTH/MATH Discuss with your child the kind of dental health insurance that you have from your place of employment. What does it cost every week? What exactly does it cover? What does one trip to the dentist cost? How about annual x-rays? Fillings? Braces? Caps? What is the dental health history of their parents and grandparents? Discuss with them their responsibilities for taking care of their teeth both from the health perspective and from the financial perspective.

Careers in the News

47 READING Teach students about the many steps necessary in creating a newspaper and/or invite an editor from a local paper to come in and give a talk. Make a classroom paper and put some students in charge of photo, articles, interviews, proofreading, editing, printing, sales, etc. If possible, watch a video or visit a working printer's business. What educational background is needed for each job? What are the hours worked? Average salaries and some of the benefits offered?

Groundhog Day

48 HISTORY/SCJENCE Research the hibernation habits of a groundhog. Does the tradition of the groundhog's shadow hold any merit? What about the size of the stripe on a wooly caterpillar? Where do these beliefs come from? Why did they originate? How is spring predicted scientifically? What do your students think of this method?

Kids Do Care

49 SOCIAt STUDIES Promote service projects within your community and start some new ones, too. Take your class to www.kidscare.org to get more ideas of how to start a service club at your school.

Today's News

50 SOCIAL STUDIES Get some online news versions designed for kids in grades 6 and up by CNN. This website has links to all the major headlines as well as links to archives for research and "curriculum specials" to help with reports. Go to www.cnnstu dentnews.com/fyi/index.html Make that a favorite place for students to check for daily updates.

Those Pearly Whites

51 SCIENCE Your students might like to compare the ingredients found in toothpastes, tooth powders and gels. Ask the school nurse, dentist or dental hygienist to come and visit the class and tell your students about the ingredients in each of these teeth-cleaning items and to also explain the chemical reactions that occur when they brush their teeth.

Independent? Dependent?

52 RESEARCH Show your students how to look at different labels (food, clothing, etc.) to see where products have been made. Point out that as consumers, we are dependent on many workers, including those in different countries. Define for your students the terms economic independence, dependence and interdependence.

Catch It!

53 SCIENCE Put some petroleum jelly on a microscope slide and leave the slide on a tray outside a school window. What do your students hypothesize will show up on the petroleum jelly? What factors may affect what shows up on your microscope slide? At the end of the day, check to see what pollutants have stuck to the petroleum jelly. You may want to use a magnifying glass to observe more closely. What was the most surprising thing your students found when they took a closer look?