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March Into Spring:
Resources for Teaching About March's Special Days
 

Education World has dug deep into its archives to collect teaching resources for special events in March. This month is Women's History Month, National Nutrition Month, Youth Art Month, and Music in Our Schools Month. The vernal equinox ushers in spring, and the Iditarod mushers and their dogs compete before the snow melts. Scroll through these resources Or click a topic to go directly to the specific reosource you're looking for.

Spring

WOMEN'S HISTORY

March is Women's History Month. Education World celebrates women with a special Women's History Month theme page. There, you will find lessons, articles, activities, and resources to involve your students in the study of women's contributions to the history.

SpringSPRING

Don't miss dozens of great ideas on Education World's First Day of Spring resources page. There you will find lesson activities, online projects, book reviews, great Web sites, more.


NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH

nutrition

Sugar Ban in School Yields Positive Results
When Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler was appointed principal, she knew she had a responsibility to change the way students were eating. Poor nutrition was impacting their academic performance and behavior, and she knew good nutrition could improve those things.

Serve Up Classroom Nutrition Activities
Serve up a well-balanced nutrition unit. A "bunch" of activities to pick from!

Nutrition on the Net -- Healthful Activities for Every Grade
If your students think nutrition is a dull topic, they haven't gotten the full story. Lessons teach about the benefits of eating well, the power of the food guide pyramid, and the history of food.

Snack Attack: A Reader's Theater Script
Fruit and Vegetables vie for the attention of two kids looking for snacks.

Eating Up Idioms
During Nutrition Month, feed your students a diet of food idioms. (Grades 3-12)

Graphing Our Snacks
Graph the fat content of favorite snack foods. (Grades 3-12)

Money Management: Grocery Shopping for a Family Profile
Shirley Huinink, who teaches at Laurentian Hills Christian School in Kitchener, Ontario (Canada), submitted this week's lesson in which students work in groups to create menus and shopping lists for one of five profiled families.

Three Healthful Meals: A Practical Food-Guide-Pyramid Activity
Mandy Logue, a teacher at Alcorn Central Elementary School in Glen, Mississippi, submitted this week's lesson in which students create paper plate art showing a day of healthful eating.

Canteloupe Instead of Cupcakes? Believe It!
"Nutrition can't be a unit; it has to be ongoing." Those are the words of Sabina M. Mosso. The Dole Food Company has recognized Mosso's outstanding efforts to improve student nutrition in her school. Included: Mosso's tips.

Hold the Fries! Three Programs Are Improving Student Nutrition
Halting the trend toward child obesity is a challenge, but some schools are meeting it with more than food that is nutritionally balanced. Included: Learn about three school nutrition programs that are working.

A Feast of Nutrition Ideas on the Internet!
If you're looking for "fresh" ideas to squeeze into your classroom nutrition lessons, you'll find a "feast" of ideas on the Internet.

Kids Will Gobble Up These Books
Education World highlights concoctions whipped up by the word chefs at Wiley & Sons, Charlesbridge Publishing, and Teacher Created Materials. Join us as we explore four titles to flavor your food or nutrition units!

Sites to See: Nutrition
Help keep kids up-to-date on the latest nutritional information with regular visits to some of these Web sites. Included: More than a dozen sites for teaching and learning about proper nutrition.

Starting Good Eating Habits in the Lunchroom
High-fat school lunches that mimic fast food may be contributing to childhood besity and other health problems, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Schools need more fruits and vegetables on their cafeteria trays.

Make This Week's Lessons Pop(corn)!
Add a little pop to your week -- popcorn, that is. These lessons will engage students as they create popcorn timelines, maps, and graphs; do popcorn science and math; explore popcorn history and nutrition; and munch leftover popcorn snacks!

Find more nutrition lesson ideas, news, and resources in Education World's Fit To Be Taught archive.


NATIONAL CRAFTS MONTH

artRefrigerator to Renoir: Great Art Lessons on the Net
You don't need to be Picasso to teach valuable artistic concepts in your classroom. These art lessons will fill the void, give you perspective, and move you into motion.

Art on a Shoestring: Creating Groundbreaking Works Without Breaking the Bank
Art doesn't have to cost big bucks! Some of the neatest works of art are made with recycled or inexpensive materials. These activities straight from the Internet are fun and cheap!

MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH

Tune Up for Music Activities
Education World offers a symphony of activities to help students learn, share, and enjoy musical experiences. Included: Be part of The World's Largest Concert.

That's Entertainment: Music Lessons for Every Grade
Music is in the air! While the beat goes on, can you hear it? As you climb every mountain, do you hear the sound of music? You don't need to be a music man to make music in the classroom. Included: Five lessons that will have you singing a happy tune!

Connect With Music: Lessons Any Teacher Can Teach
No special training or skills are necessary to integrate music into your school day. Any teacher can make their core curriculum sing by working in some music.

Teaching With Opera
When Ellen Levine saw firsthand the benefits of having students create, stage, and perform an original opera, she couldn't have known she would become part of a dynamic teaching team in a classroom with opera at its center.

Music to Our Ears
Discover how fifth graders at California's Village School composed original rondos and created their own CD.

Music's Key Role in Helping Students Learn
Music's positive impact on learning is becoming well known, and one of the groups trumpeting that message is NAMM, the International Music Products Association. NAMM's Mary Luehrsen talked about the research behind the group's message.

SteveSongs Transforms Kids Into Songwriters While Reinforcing Classroom Skills
Setting Christopher Columbus's journey, the virtues of kindness, and even the long "e" sound to music are part of a day's work for Steve Roslonek of SteveSongs. The musician conducts songwriting workshops with students, helping them employ skills and concepts from class in the songwriting process. Included: Ways to use songwriting to reinforce lessons.

Making the Case for Music Education
New research, special programs, and dedicated teachers and community members are helping to make a solid case for putting music "Bach" into our schools.

The Schoolhouse Rocks: Using Music to Engage Learning
Educator Max Fischer reflects on many ways to introduce music -- from the Rolling Stones to Steve Martin -- to achieve learning objectives. Included: Tips for getting started.

Opera Is a Class Act
In an effort to enhance learning in all subjects, some teachers and school districts have adopted a musical medium -- opera!

Could Your School Be a "Wiener?
Singing those catchy Oscar Mayer hot dog and bologna jingles can win schools enough money to start or restart their music programs. And thats no bologna! Included: Contest information.

'Art Guitars' Auction to Benefit Music Education!
An on-line auction of celebrity-painted "art guitars" will help a museum build a larger music center and let them provide free music lessons for a greater number of kids.


IDITAROD

Iditarod Brrrreathes Life Into Tired Curriculum (Brrrr!)
Alaska in March is the place to be -- if you want to breathe life into tired lessons, or if you simply need to engage students who have a little cabin (or classroom) fever. Included: Ideas for working in language arts, geography, math, history, spelling, more!

Iditarod Activities Across the Grades
On your mark, get set, mush! These Iditarod activities that will help your students learn about this exciting competition.

 

Iditarod
Concerns

Many people, including the editors of Education World, are concerned about the dogs that race the Iditarod. Iditarod officials work diligently to ensure that the animals are treated humanely. The race's Veterinary Center details precautions taken and strict rules that ensure proper care of the dogs during the race.

Many educators view the Iditarod as an ultimate "teachable moment." The race offers endless possibilties for teaching and reinforcing language arts, math, and geography skills. Indeed, the Iditarod can also be used to teach about the history of this "Great Race," the history of the dogs that are part of it, and about good citizenship and animal care.

Additional Resource
Iditarod Math: Ten Math Work Sheets Teach About the Iditarod
The Iditarod is a "teachable moment" that rivals few others. Wise teachers use this annual sled dog race to teach geography and language skills, history, and science. This week, Education World provides 10 math work sheets for students in grades 4 to 8.

The Great Race: From Anchorage to Nome
Patrick Nolden, a biology teacher at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska, submitted this lesson in which students learn about the history of the Iditarod. (Grades 6-12)

Iditarod: The Last Great Race
Alaska's Iditarod race is a perfectly "teachable moment." Wise teachers use the race to teach geography, math, reading, and language arts. Included: Activities across the grades!

Cold Mush: Serving Stories from the Iditarod Trail
Jeffrey M. Peterson of Minnesota, 2004's Teacher on the Trail, is eager to experience the Iditarod and to share his observations and lessons with students around the world. Included: Information about Iditarod lessons.

Tales from the Trail: Iditarod Teacher Readies Lessons, Long Johns
Searching for that perfect winter getaway? How about weeks of outdoor travel in temperatures that would make penguins shiver? For Oregon teacher Csandra Wilson, the 2003 Teacher on the Trail, a trip to the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska is her time in paradise.

Voice of Experience: Back from the Iditarod -- Teaching Is a Lot Like Mushing
Educator Jeanie Olson is home from her trip to the 2003 Iditarod Sled Dog Race. As she reflects on her Alaskan adventure, she sees quite a few similarities between the skills it takes to be a dog sled musher and a classroom teacher!

 

Updated 03/03/2015