$5 - $10 8th Grade Autumn Google Apps (by date, oldest first)

Need a fun way to introduce Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to upper elementary or middle school students? This great lesson lets students learn the basics of Microsoft Excel (or Google Sheets) as they create pixel art using the program. First, they'll create a quick pixel art from a given example and then they'll create their own! These are also fun lessons to use if you just need something for a one day lesson.

I've used this with 7th and 8th graders who used their free time to create even more art! I hope your students have as much fun as mine did learning Excel or Google Sheets!

Materials Required

· Computers with Internet access for each student (or pair of students)

· Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets

Files Included

· Teacher & Student Resources

· Introduction to Pixel Art Lesson (Microsoft Excel project) with tutorial

· Introduction to Pixel Art Lesson (Google Sheets project) with tutorial

· Legends and Sample Pictures for 2 Example and 7 Additional Pictures including:

o Example 1: Rake

o Example 2: Acorn

o Easy Picture 1: Smore

o Easy Picture 2: Sweater

o Picture 1: Bonfire

o Picture 2: Hot Chocolate

o Picture 3: Fall Leaf

o Picture 4: Fall Sunset

o Picture 5: Fall Trees

· Full Excel editable files for all pixel art projects (note: these can be opened in Google Sheets too)

Approximate Lesson Duration:

· 1-2 (50 minute) class period(s) (but your students will probably want to work on it longer!)

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Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative 2-Point Perspective City artwork was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I did a demo and taught the class how to use a ruler and a yardstick. Measurements and Math were a strong focus of the lesson. Next, students spent the rest of the first lesson practicing the use of a ruler and a yardstick. I taught the students how to do 2-point perspective with step-by-step slides. Students started on their Final Copy paper and created their own version of my example. Students used colored pencils, colored sharpies, or watercolor paint to color their Mandala Design. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative Mandala Design artwork was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I did a demo and taught the class how to use a ruler and a yardstick. Measurements and Math was a strong focus of the lesson. Next, students spent the rest of the first lesson brainstorming an idea for a stencil (¼ of their full Mandala Design. I taught the students how to rotate their stencil to get a Radial Design. Students started on their Final Copy paper and outlined their drawing in sharpie marker. We used large windows to trace our stencils on the final. Students used colored pencils, colored sharpies, or watercolor paint to color their Mandala Design. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

This creative Watercolor Boat Scene was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I asked students to brainstorm a boat/vessel that they wanted to have in the water, and water kind of body of water they wanted in their artwork. We discussed Winslow Homer, and his style of art. Students sketched their drawing and painted the larger areas first. Students painted the boat, smaller details and reflections last. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative Fall/Winter Birch Tree Unit was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. It is best to use watercolor paper for this unit, since it does the best job of absorbing and working with the watercolor paint. However, if watercolor paper is not at your disposal, please find the heaviest white drawing paper you can find. Painter’s Tape is also best for this assignment, but in a pinch, you may use masking tape- although masking tape may need to be stuck to a different surface (shirt/), it isn’t too sticky on the paper. I hope you have as much fun with this artwork as I have! I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative Fish Aquarium Scene was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I made 4 unique pre-cut fish aquarium stencils that students could choose from and trace on large 18 x 24-inch paper. Students were asked to brainstorm ideas for the background, and what the Fish Aquarium could be sitting on. Students were given lots of fish/aquarium life photos as a resource to draw from. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

This creative Bird’s Eye View Perspective Unit: 3D Forms OR City Scene was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I asked students to choose a Perspective artwork to complete: the 3D Forms artwork OR the City Scene artwork. Students used a ruler for most of this assignment and learned perspective drawing. Students worked with value or details in their artworks. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This is the condensed version: step-by-step only! This creative 2-Point Perspective City artwork was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I did a demo and taught the class how to use a ruler and a yardstick. Measurements and Math were a strong focus of the lesson. Next, students spent the rest of the first lesson practicing the use of a ruler and a yardstick. I taught the students how to do 2-point perspective with step-by-step slides. More information continued on the extended version. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative Ghostly Self Portraits Unit was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. It is best to use grey newsprint paper if you have it, but if you do not you could use white drawing paper (if you give the white paper a grey-ish look ahead of time). I used pencil to sketch everything out in student sketchbooks and on final copy newsprint paper. I used black crayon OR black oil pastel (depending on grade level) to first outline the major features of the pencil drawing. The older students used oil pastels. After outlining, white crayon OR white oil pastels were used for the self-portrait eyes, and a few other areas. Pattern was a focus throughout the composition whether it showed up on the person or in the background. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

This creative Art Room Gaming Badges Activity was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. *NOTE: this is a yearly event; it will take most of a full school year for any student to complete all 30 gaming badges…and that’s a good thing! *Students may try for any badge, in any order, however, students will want to start working on gaining easy gaming badges first, before trying to get the harder ones done. *Once students accomplish the criteria for a certain badge, either the teacher or the student may take colored pencils (only) to color the accomplished badge, so it looks similar to the completed version. *Move on to completing another great gaming badge. Good Luck! I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

This activity features a rigorous yet engaging digital escape room in which students tackle 5 Language Arts skills-based puzzles about Thanksgiving! (for use with Google Drive)

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging activities that encourage students to think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular Thanksgiving ELA Escape Room at home or in the classroom using your school's technology with this resource. Each task is skills-based so that with this fun lesson on a highly-anticipated holiday and impending vacation, learning is not sacrificed. This escape room encourages higher order thinking skills and a fun review of ELA material with a Thanksgiving twist.

How does it work?

Your students are stuck in your digital classroom and cannot leave for Thanksgiving break until they solve 5 challenging Language Arts skills-based tasks about Thanksgiving!

• Thanksgiving Fun Facts: In the first task, students will read 8 fun facts about Thanksgiving and must identify the parts of speech of underlined words within the passages. When matched correctly, shaded boxes will reveal the first code.
• Word Maze: In the second task, students must solve a series of word mazes. Letters they collect along the way will form their second code.
• Figuratively Speaking: In the third task, students must identify the figurative language devices used in fun Thanksgiving sentences. Shaded boxes in the correct answers form the third code.
• Landing of the Pilgrims: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of Landing of the Pilgrims by Felicia Dorothea Hemans, a perfect poem to study on Thanksgiving. Letters of the multiple choice question answers following the poem reveal their fourth code.
• Encrypted Message: In the final task, students must solve an encrypted Thanksgiving message using the codes and clues from the first four tasks. Once they decipher the quote about Thanksgiving and bring it to you, they are free to escape to Thanksgiving break!

Product Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

This product requires free accounts through Google Drive and is completely paperless.

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Also, check out more great fall-themed and Thanksgiving products by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Thanksgiving ESCAPE ROOM (paper version)

⭐ Thanksgiving Poetry ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Fall Themed Collaborative Writing Activity

⭐ Fall Themed Figurative Language Powerpoint

⭐ Fall Themed Figurative Language Task Cards

⭐ Thanksgiving Figurative Language Practice

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⭐⭐⭐For the escape room enthusiasts out there, you can now build your own bundle at 20% off the cover price of 3 or more escape rooms! Click the link to check out all of the escape rooms Language Arts Excellence has to offer: Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE⭐⭐⭐

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

If you are looking for a way to start your school year off strong with a rigorous yet engaging activity, look no further than this Back to School Digital Escape Room for ELA for use with Google Drive!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular Back to School Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom using your school's technology (thereby cutting down on paper and valuable prep time) with this meticulously-crafted resource. Each task is skills-based so that with this fun activity, learning is not sacrificed. Distance learning can certainly be a struggle for both students and teachers, so this escape room aims to provide a welcome break from the monotony while encouraging higher order thinking skills and a fun review of ELA material.

How does it work?

Your students must escape your digital classroom by solving 5 different Language Arts skills-based puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• Lit Match: In the first task, students must match literary terms with examples from popular books, songs, and animated movies by drawing a line connecting the term with the example. These lines will intersect with letters that once unscrambled, will form their first code word.
• Book Talk: In the second task, students must identify the part of speech used in quotes about literature by famous figures. When matched correctly, shaded boxes reveal the second code.
• Word Maze: In the third task, students must solve a word maze. Letters collected along the way form the third code.
• Figuratively Speaking: In the fourth task, students must identify the figurative language device used in animated movie songs. Designated letters in each answer form the fourth code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the fifth and final task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle that forms an inspirational quote to motivate them to start their year off strong. (We can't give that away here!)

Product Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and interactive worksheets

- Digital Student Answer Sheet

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

This product requires free accounts through Google Drive and is completely paperless.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

If you would prefer the paper version, check out the original here:

⭐ Back to School ELA Escape Room

If you enjoyed this escape room, make sure to check out the fun pop culture version:

⭐ Back to School ELA Digital Escape Room - Pop Culture Edition

_____________________________________________________________________________________

⭐⭐⭐For the escape room enthusiasts out there, you can now build your own bundle at 20% off the cover price of 3 or more escape rooms! Click the link to check out all of the escape rooms Language Arts Excellence has to offer: Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE⭐⭐⭐

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

Get ready to have the most fun you'll have teaching with a lesson that your students will be talking about for years to come with the Halloween Language Arts Digital Escape Room for use with Google Drive!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular Halloween ELA Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom using your school's technology (thereby cutting down on paper and valuable prep time) with this meticulously-crafted resource. Each task is skills-based so that with this fun activity, learning is not sacrificed. Distance learning can certainly be a struggle for both students and teachers, so this escape room aims to provide a welcome break from the monotony while encouraging higher order thinking skills and a fun review of ELA material on a sugar-filled holiday.

How does it work?

You have stumbled into a digital haunted house of horrors and can only escape by solving 5 challenging Language Arts skills-based tasks about Halloween!

• Devil's Night: In the first task, students must correct commonly misspelled words in a non-fiction article about Devil's Night. Once complete, they must unscramble shaded boxes to reveal the first code.
• Frighteningly Figurative Language: In the second task, students must identify the figurative language devices used in fun Halloween sentences. Shaded boxes in the correct answers form the second code.
• Halloween Fun Facts: In the third task, students will read 8 fun facts about Halloween and must identify the parts of speech of underlined words within the passages. When matched correctly, shaded boxes will reveal the third code.
• A Child's Nightmare: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of Robert Grave's famously chilling poem, A Child's Nightmare. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the poem will form the fourth code.... Cat! Cat! Cat!
• Frightful Fallen Phrase: In the final task, students must complete a fallen phrase that reveals a spooky poem. Once they share this with you, they may escape the digital haunted house of horrors.

Product Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

This product requires free accounts through Google Drive and is completely paperless.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Can't get enough escape rooms? Check out more seasonal escape rooms by Language Arts Excellence here:

⭐ Halloween Poetry ESCAPE ROOM

⭐Thanksgiving ESCAPE ROOM

⭐Christmas ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Hanukkah Kwanzaa Christmas Diwali ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ New Year's ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Valentine's Day ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ St. Patrick's Day ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Easter ESCAPE ROOM

_____________________________________________________________________________________

⭐⭐⭐For the escape room enthusiasts out there, you can now build your own bundle at 20% off the cover price of 3 or more escape rooms! Click the link to check out all of the escape rooms Language Arts Excellence has to offer: Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE⭐⭐⭐

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

If you are looking for a way to start your school year off strong with a rigorous yet engaging activity, look no further than this Back to School Digital Escape Room for ELA - Pop Culture Edition - for use with Google Drive!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular Back to School Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom using your school's technology (thereby cutting down on paper and valuable prep time) with this meticulously-crafted resource. Each task is skills-based so that with this fun activity, learning is not sacrificed. Distance learning can certainly be a struggle for both students and teachers, so this escape room aims to provide a welcome break from the monotony while encouraging higher order thinking skills and a fun review of ELA material.

How does it work?

Your students must escape your digital classroom by solving 5 different Language Arts skills-based puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• Comma Drama: In the first task, students must identify comma rules used in 6 celebrity quotes. When matched correctly on a mat puzzle, shaded boxes reveal the first code.
• Celeb-spiration: In the second task, students will read true stories about celebrities who had to work incredibly hard for their success, either by beating the odds of a harsh upbringing or by trying and failing many times before hitting it big. In each, there is one commonly misspelled word. Students must identify the word and enter the correct spelling onto their answer sheet. Shaded boxes reveal the second code.
• Stressed Out: In the third task, students must perform a close reading of the song, Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots. The letters of the correct multiple choice answers form the third code.
• Steph's Fallen Phrase: In the fourth task, students must complete a fallen phrase that forms an inspirational quote by basketball star, Stephen Curry. Circled boxes within the answer reveal the fourth code.
• Jigsaw Quote: In the fifth and final task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle that forms an inspirational quote by Kendrick Lamar to motivate them to start their year off strong. (We can't give that away here!)

Product Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and interactive worksheets

- Digital Student Answer Sheet

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

This product requires free accounts through Google Drive and is completely paperless.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

If you would prefer the paper version, check out the original here:

⭐ Back to School ELA Escape Room - Pop Culture Edition

If you enjoyed this escape room, make sure to check out the original digital escape:

⭐ Back to School ELA Digital Escape Room

_____________________________________________________________________________________

⭐⭐⭐For the escape room enthusiasts out there, you can now build your own bundle at 20% off the cover price of 3 or more escape rooms! Click the link to check out all of the escape rooms Language Arts Excellence has to offer: Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE⭐⭐⭐

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative Ghostly Self Portraits Unit was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. It is best to use grey newsprint paper if you have it, but if you do not you could use white drawing paper (if you give the white paper a grey-ish look ahead of time). I used pencil to sketch everything out in student sketchbooks and on final copy newsprint paper. I used black crayon OR black oil pastel (depending on grade level) to first outline the major features of the pencil drawing. The older students used oil pastels. After outlining, white crayon OR white oil pastels were used for the self-portrait eyes, and a few other areas. Pattern was a focus throughout the composition whether it showed up on the person or in the background. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative Mandala Design artwork was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I did a demo and taught the class how to use a ruler and a yardstick. Measurements and Math was a strong focus of the lesson. Next, students spent the rest of the first lesson brainstorming an idea for a stencil (¼ of their full Mandala Design. I taught the students how to rotate their stencil to get a Radial Design. Students started on their Final Copy paper and outlined their drawing in sharpie marker. We used large windows to trace our stencils on the final. Students used colored pencils, colored sharpies, or watercolor paint to color their Mandala Design. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

This creative Watercolor Boat Scene was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I asked students to brainstorm a boat/vessel that they wanted to have in the water, and water kind of body of water they wanted in their artwork. We discussed Winslow Homer, and his style of art. Students sketched their drawing and painted the larger areas first. Students painted the boat, smaller details and reflections last. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

This creative Art Room Gaming Badges Activity was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. *NOTE: this is a yearly event; it will take most of a full school year for any student to complete all 30 gaming badges…and that’s a good thing! *Students may try for any badge, in any order, however, students will want to start working on gaining easy gaming badges first, before trying to get the harder ones done. *Once students accomplish the criteria for a certain badge, either the teacher or the student may take colored pencils (only) to color the accomplished badge, so it looks similar to the completed version. *Move on to completing another great gaming badge. Good Luck! I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This creative Fall/Winter Birch Tree Unit was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. It is best to use watercolor paper for this unit, since it does the best job of absorbing and working with the watercolor paint. However, if watercolor paper is not at your disposal, please find the heaviest white drawing paper you can find. Painter’s Tape is also best for this assignment, but in a pinch, you may use masking tape- although masking tape may need to be stuck to a different surface (shirt/), it isn’t too sticky on the paper. I hope you have as much fun with this artwork as I have! I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.

Need an awesome Art Unit? I have just the thing for you! This is the condensed version: step-by-step only! This creative 2-Point Perspective City artwork was designed to be printed and displayed as examples while you teach. Use this Google Slide file to display these beautiful images one-by-one on a large screen. For this assignment, I did a demo and taught the class how to use a ruler and a yardstick. Measurements and Math were a strong focus of the lesson. Next, students spent the rest of the first lesson practicing the use of a ruler and a yardstick. I taught the students how to do 2-point perspective with step-by-step slides. More information continued on the extended version. I hope you and your kiddos love this! Enjoy.