Classroom Activity Ideas
Need ideas for classroom activities and making lesson plans? You will probably receive help from your ‘host teacher’ and your ‘student-teacher supervisor’, but here are a few other suggestions. This guide is divided into two categories: Materials available in Leddy Library and Web links.
In the Leddy Library
The CRC Collection in the West Library Building has many books with suggestions for teaching. To find out what is available, search the library’s online catalogue. For example, are you looking for “math activities”? Just type this phrase into the catalogue’s search box and library materials with this keyword phrase will be listed.
You can also look for articles in journals and magazines by searching databases. The largest database for education is the ERIC database. As with the catalogue, you type in your keyword phrase such as “math activities”, to see what’s in the literature.
When using the catalogue or database, the more you refine your search words, the more you will retrieve. Be creative and think of different words to describe your topic and your search results will get better.
On the Web
Google
Google can be very useful for finding Web sites offering ideas, but you have to be critical of what you find. It’s amazing how many teacher groups, school boards and education faculties offer Web links to materials. When using Google, use such phrases as “classroom activities” and/or “lesson plans” in combination with subjects (e.g., “compound words”) and even location words such as “Ontario”. The results, often, are very useful especially for narrow teaching topics.
Here are three examples of comprehensive Web sites that are popular with teachers:
Teachers Network
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/
This is a ‘by teachers for teachers’ site. It offers lesson plan ideas, material for ‘new teachers’ and much more.
The Educator’s Reference Desk
http://www.eduref.org/
One of the most comprehensive and popular Web sites for teachers. Two of its most highly used services are its “Resource Guides” and its “Lesson Plans”.
Discovery Channel School Lesson Plans K – 12
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/
Free lesson plans written by teachers for teachers. This “Lesson Plan Library” is broken down into three groups: “K-5”, “6-8” and “9-12”. You can also search by subject.
Peter Zimmerman
Education Librarian
pzimmer@uwindsor.ca
updated September 2010 |  |