Tons of puzzle ideas

Discovery has free puzzle makers - ranging from crosswords, to cryptgrams, mazes, and more

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=762792&CFTOKEN=70427563

Paws in Jobland (grades 3-5)

Here's a very comprehensive resource with some great lesson formats: http://www.collegefortn.org/images/tn/pdfs/Paws_Lessons_3-5.pdf

Paws is a dog, and the lessons deal with careers. Now, as charming as the lessons are, career talk at the grade 3 to 5 level is questionable from a developmental perspective. Nonetheless, many ideas are transferable!

Learning styles are a myth

Great video here; Professor Daniel Willingham describes research showing that learning styles are a myth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk&feature=related

Mystery snack bags: Wealth Allocation

Here is a great lesson idea that can be adapted: http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/popcorn.htm
The basic concept is this: take a bunch of brown lunch bags, fill them with different things ranging from popcorn to crumpled paper, to perhaps even coins mixed with paper.
Then, distribute them under the guise that they are donated snacks. Once students open them, you can discuss resource or wealth allocation in a variety of ways; this can be extended for trade, etc.

Social Justice Lesson Plans

OISE's Centre for Urban Schooling has some great social justice lesson plans that could be adapted for different courses. The economic and supply chain ideas would be great for international business.
http://cus.oise.utoronto.ca/Lesson_Plans_Social_Justice_Issues.html

Online Flash Websites - Wix

This is a great site that allows you to create a flash website: www.wix.com

Learning, not teaching!

Great article: Lessons for helicopter parents from a 71-year-old educator by Sarah Hampson, Globe and Mail, Published Monday, Sep. 05, 2011 6:00PM EDT

A few quotes:
There are many gifted teachers in both public and private systems, she emphasizes, but what worries her most is the rigidity of the typical classroom teaching style. “Time in the classroom for actual learning as opposed to teaching is shrinking,” she says. “There’s a very high expectation on academics and testing. A lot of time is spent on drumming in lessons and worrying about kids who haven’t made it. Children should be given time to learn things, to not be pushed.”

“[Teachers] shouldn’t just be taught what to teach, but how children learn though play, through trying things out, though supposing and testing,” she says. “All the resources are at their fingertips. But if they did understand how children learn, you would not see classrooms running on half-hour periods, each with a different unit. You would see more integrative, collaborative learning.”
A good teacher creates an environment in which it’s safe for the child to take risks, she explains. “Children have to take risks and know they’re not necessarily going to be right.”