Educator Helper by Beth Hammett

Sunday, October 5, 2025

FREE National Park Handouts for Fall

As the leaves begin to change to various shades of browns, oranges, and yellows, it's time to visit parks across our nation!

The U.S. National Park Service offers students an opportunity to become a Junior Ranger through its free program at national parks. Plus, there is free access to all fourth graders through the National Park Service's Every Kid Outdoors program.

Want to visit an a local park that is off the beaten path? One park that stands out is Stockstill Park in Branson, Missouri. This 60.8 acre park is tucked away in the middle of a tourist city and offers peace and tranquility amidst a walking trail, stream, playground, pavilions, tables, benches, restrooms, tennis courts, dog park, pickleball courts, skate park, tennis courts, and a softball backstop. It's a rare gem in a busy vacation area:

Stockstill Park, Branson, MO.

Venture outdoors and explore local, state, and national parks during the change of seasons. Then, help students start their own national park tour!

Begin with letting students plot their trip and uses math skills to configure mileage. Then, learn facts about each of the parks while you fill in information, and color scenes from parks. Be sure to incorporate students' poems and oral and written stories about national parks to complete your unit.

National Parks included are:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Olympic National Park
Zion Canyon National Park
Grand Tetons National Park
Acadia National Park
Glacier National Park

Get the packet at AUL or TpT

Happy Fall!
Beth, Educator Helper

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Here Comes the Holiday Season! FREE Get Fit Action Story to Get Moving

Here it is--the official How Many Days Till Christmas counter! That means the kickoff to the holiday season is upon us.

This fun site features other holiday goodies with categories that include Track Santa, Christmas Songs, Christmas Movies, and Christmas Traditions. It's fun for adults and kids alike.

As you count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds to the holiday season and Christmas, take time to get up and get moving with Get Fit Action Stories. These combine sight words with action moves to engage emergent readers and build basic reading, vocabulary and motor skills.

Try the holiday bundle at AUL or TpT to keep students active and engaged during the holiday season:

Try FREE Get Fit Action fun:

Have fun--get up and get fit for the holiday season!

Beth, Educator Helper

Monday, September 22, 2025

National Comic Book Day FREEBIES for September 25

Students love graphic novels!

From inferencing to symbolism to word play, comic books tie together so many reading and writing concepts. But, have you tried a classroom comic book project?

First, begin with a history of comics:

Link: https://youtu.be/qipZ6h4S--c?feature=shared

Next, do a whole group brainstorm of famous comic books and their characters. Then, do small group brainstorming of features found within comic books.

Watch the artist of The Mask demonstrate his techniques for making a comic book:

Link: https://youtu.be/wb0M81xqTxQ?feature=shared

Now, you are ready to begin your class comic book writing adventure!

My students made some amazing comic book projects:

Get started with the easy to follow, step-by-step packet with handouts, guides, templates, resources, examples and much more:

AUL or https://ampeduplearning.com/comic-book-writing/

TpT or https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Comic-Book-Writing-112862

Comic book writing is great for math and science concepts, such as lab instructions or how-to guides, excellent for history and language arts, such as retelling famous events or biographies, and will keep students busy and engaged for many class periods.

Some teachers asked me to NOT teach comic book writing because it was all students wanted to work on and talk about. It's a project worth highlighting with a school reading and sharing day. Our librarian featured students' comic books with great results!

Educator Helper offers a full line of comic book writing activities to help you get introduce skills:

Have fun with comic book writing and activities from AUL and TpT!
Beth, Educator Helper

Sunday, September 14, 2025

FREE Homecoming Activities

Friday night lights and homecomings!

The energy and excitement of homecoming can be felt at last year's parade in Wynnewood, Oklahoma:

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEH1yRKJS8M

Make it fun, make it special, and celebrate your home team with some FREE activities to incorporate learning into homecoming week:

Click here for more Homecoming Activities Packet fun from Amped Up Learning or TpT!

Support your local teams and enjoy homecoming week!
Beth, Educator Helper

Sunday, September 7, 2025

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

"Community-led efforts to improve access to healthy food have been transformational"--you ARE making a difference!

The State of Childhood Obesity released its 2024 Annual Report at https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/2024-annual-report/, and it shows that some community-led programs across the U.S. are leading to healthier lifestyles.

Did you know according to the CDC:

Approximately 1 in 5 U.S. children and adolescents have obesity.
Obesity affects some groups more than others, including adolescents, Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black children, and children in families with lower incomes. (https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood-obesity-facts/childhood-obesity-facts.html)

NICHQ provides a plethora of resources to help with healthy kids initiatives that is called the Obesity Toolkit. Click to get your free Obesity Toolkit here.

Here's some more nutrition freebies to help students learn more about nutrition: