If you teach using themes, which ones generate the most interest for your kids? I'm working on curriculum mapping (getting away from boring Pearson stuff), and deciding which themes to keep and which to kick out. My most popular so far: Ocean Animal Homes Hibernation Plants My least popular: Community Helpers Outer Space
Anything nature related is going to be popular (I did rainforests with my reading groups last year and they LOVED IT. There's so much you can do with rainforests and if I have my own class that's a theme I'll be going all out on). Seconding dinos for k-2 especially.
These are the ones I teach: Who are my neighbors? What changes with the seasons? Who am I? How does a garden grow? How can I stay healthy? What are animals?
I had never even considered doing dinos. Great one. How do you teach family history? Would love to do that one but don't have many involved parents.
In class, it was all about different units of family. Then we sent home a questionnaire to each family from where each member was from, how they ended up in the town of my school, were there any family stories or traditions that were important, etc. We put up a huge map and then thumbtacked the place where each family was from. Then I typed up a book for each student with the info from their particular family and the child illustrated each page based on the info (I of course read what was on each page!). Kids took book home as a Christmas prezzie
