Unlock the Mystery of Intellectual Property for Middle School Students

Author: Kevin Bower | Posted:
Categories: Digital Citizenship | Tags: , , ,
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Teaching our students about intellectual property is essential to help them respect the rights of others as they create and understand the value of creative work. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Intellectual Property (IP) is something you create. It is imagination made real. It includes trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets. … read more »

Happy 223rd Birthday, Library of Congress!

Author: Darshell Silva | Posted:
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April 24th is the 223rd birthday of the Library of Congress! The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library and an agency of the legislative branch of the U.S. government. It serves as the main research arm of the U.S. Congress, is recognized as the national library of the United States, and is the … read more »

Empowering Autistic Students: Create Awareness and Inclusion for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Author: Erica De Los Santos | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application, Let's Talk About | Tags: , , , 1 Comment

“It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a child with autism to raise the consciousness of the village.” Elaine Hall April is Autism Awareness Month when individuals, organizations, and communities unite to increase awareness and acceptance of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As educators, it’s essential to support and celebrate autistic students and … read more »

Let’s Chat: Planning for Earth Day with AI

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: , , , ,
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The first Earth Day celebration took place on April 22, 1970. Senator Gaylord Nelson promoted the concept of Earth Day to encourage students to fight for environmental causes with the same kind of energy they used to fight the Vietnam War. Earth Day activities and events have seen over one billion people in one hundred … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: FluentKey – Part 2

Author: Melissa Henning | Posted:
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In Part 1 of this blog, we introduced you to FluentKey and discussed applying the SAMR Model and the Triple E Framework using FluentKey in your instruction.  Learn more about this game-based learning interactive that uses video clips to engage students and helps them practice listening comprehension skills in 14 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, American Sign … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: FluentKey – Part 1

Author: Melissa Henning | Posted:
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FluentKey is a game-based learning interactive that uses video clips to engage students of all ages. The videos are designed to enrich world language learners and improve students’ listening comprehension skills. FluentKey offers learning activities in 14 languages (including American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Hebrew) and is also ideal for English language … read more »

Let’s Talk About: Feedback

Author: Ruth Okoye | Posted:
Categories: Let's Talk About | Tags:
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Teachers know how important it is to give students feedback on their work. Feedback can help students improve their skills, learn from their mistakes, and achieve their goals. Many articles, books, and workshops can help you as a teacher to learn to give constructive, specific, actionable, and respectful feedback. Here at TeachersFirst, we’ve looked at … read more »

Celebrate Citizen Science Month

Author: Kevin Bower | Posted:
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Every month, the TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar highlights events and observances, some of which help raise awareness of meaningful causes. A few highlights for April are Earth Day, National Poetry Month, and Financial Literacy Month. We can’t forget the shenanigans and tricks on April 1, but there’s no foolin’ that April is also Citizen Science Month, a … read more »

Exploring Ideas Using the Six Thinking Hats Method

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: , , 1 Comment

Great ideas need landing gear as well as wings. C. D. Jackson Every March, International Ideas Month takes place. This observation recognizes the potential of ideas, even those that seem simple or unattainable. As educators, we both teach students about famous people who have formulated great ideas and inspire them to explore their own. Coming … read more »

Coming Soon to Netflix: Your Students’ Series about the Founding Fathers!

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
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James Madison is often called the Father of the Constitution for his role in writing the Federalist Papers and creating a new form of government following the Continental Congress. He and the rest of the founding fathers—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay—led the revolution, brought independence to the … read more »