Classroom Resources

Learning at Home: Worksheets and Activities on Growth

Each week, the WorldStrides Education team prepares new lessons and activities around a broad, central theme that aims to give teachers, students, and parents new tools and resources that can be useful in the classroom (the new online classroom, that is) and at home. This week, our focus is on growth.

Can Growth occur in the time of social distancing? Certainly. 

Growth takes time. Perhaps, with so much of your time now spent at home, you’ve been able to pay closer attention to the arrival of spring. Or maybe you’ve thought more and more about how the world got so big and interconnected in the first place. Chances are that your influx of time has led to spurts in personal growth, too – a chance to revisit a hobby, more time to practice an instrument, more time to connect with your family, and grow your relationship. 

As you dig into this week’s topic, remember that growth is expressed in a variety of ways. Growth is innovation. Growth is change. Growth is revealing what’s been there all along. Growth is perspective, and it comes from looking both backward and forward. The world may feel like it’s standing still right now, but rest assured, one way or another, it’s growing.

When you look back – in six months, nine months, one year, two years – how much will the world – your world – have grown?

Social Studies Worksheets and Activities

Best for: Middle School 
⏳: 1-2 hours 
“Grow west, young man”
Westward expansion saw the United States grow into a nation that stretched from coast to coast. Looking back, it may seem that the growth of our country was ‘destined’ to occur – but is that really the case? In these activities, students will examine the myth of the western frontier, and use their creativity to imagine an alternate history of the United States.

Science Worksheets and Activities

Best for: Middle School and High School 
⏳: 30-60 minutes, plus time for plants to grow 
Growth Happens
Learn how to start Kitchen Scrap Gardening and examine natural growth in unusual places! The world around us has changed. Our lives may appear to have slowed, but for mother nature, this is her time to flourish. We see plants popping up in unusual places and animals wandering into new spaces. Wind patterns are changing and the hole in the ozone layer has even started to repair itself. This level of growth is a great reminder that, despite our calls to stay at home, life (all life, not just human life) goes on. These activities are designed so that you can examine the growth that continues to occur, even in the most improbable spaces.

International and Movement Worksheets and Activities

Best for: Middle School and High School 
⏳: 30-60 minutes
Dance moves culture
On April 29, the world celebrated International Dance Day. This UNESCO-recognized holiday was created in 1982 to elevate awareness of dance traditions and promote participation and education in dance. The date was specifically chosen to coincide with the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.

Around the globe and throughout generations, dance has always played a fundamental part of what we call “culture”. Like spoken and written language, dance is one of the most basic ways that we communicate and pass down our heritage, values, and history. As cultures grow and evolve, so, too, do dance traditions.

Social and Emotional Learning Activity

Best for: Middle School and High School 
⏳: 30-60 minutes
Constructive Solitude
How have you grown during this time? Have you mastered a new skill, finished that book that was taking forever, or learned to better manage your time? Maybe you have taken on new responsibilities! This week, explore how Henry David Thoreau turned to nature in his solitude. Then, reflect on your own experiences as a form of self-education.

Art Learning Activity

Best for: Middle School
⏳: 30 minutes
Tying art into the History activities this week that look at Westward expansion, how did art play a role in the shaping of the American West and how we picture it? The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC has an online gallery that helps tell the story of the American West. Take a look at the pieces and think about what image resonates with you? What makes it stand out to you? Does it match the typical story you think of when you hear westward expansion?

Now it’s your turn to be the artist – take a photo of something that represents a modern-day example of Manifest Destiny or Westward expansion and write up a gallery caption for your photograph.

Our theme for next week will be Legacy. Be sure to come back to check out more timely resources and activities to share with your students! And, if you want to give our Education team some feedback or ideas for future topics, reach out to us at discovery@worldstrides.com