Six Sites for Rhyme Time

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“There’s something so wonderful about writing in rhyme where it isn’t just the meaning of the words, it’s the music to the words and the shape and the sound.” Gary Ross Learning about rhyming words is one of the earliest skills taught to young readers. Exploring rhymes helps students understand how language works through sounds … read more »


What’s the Buzz: Instructional Technology Frameworks Part 1

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After the VSTE annual conference, I’ve done a lot of thinking about frameworks. One of the Keynote presentations introduced a framework that was new to me and then questioned the continued use of structures like SAMR. I had to do some reflection, because here at TeachersFirst we use the SAMR model a lot.   I … read more »


Tech Tool of the Month – Room Escape Maker

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Game-based learning and gamification are hot topics in education. This month I was given the task to find ONE tech tool to share related to games in the classroom. This task was quite the challenge due to the quality sites that I am already familiar with. But then I started to think about “what if” … read more »


School Culture and Climate

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School culture and climate is a passion of mine— I find the topic interesting, and there are so many different ideas, philosophies, tips, articles, books, blogs—you get the point.  I truly enjoy reading them all and taking little bits and pieces with me to create my vision for leadership.  I think most everyone out there … read more »


Cartoons and Comics Aren’t Just for Newspapers Anymore

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Did you know the first cartoon appeared in a U.S. newspaper way back in 1754? Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette featured the political cartoon “Join or Die” on May 9, 1754. The picture showed the American colonies as a snake divided into eight pieces and presented the political point of view that the colonies should unite. … read more »


Let’s Talk About: 5 Free Ideas for Teacher Appreciation

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  Teacher Appreciation week is right around the corner.  Every administrator agrees they value the faithful teachers who work alongside them. With a limited budget, it can be difficult to demonstrate how much. I thought it might be helpful to suggest five free ideas as with no cost and a little effort we can make sure … read more »


Virtual Field Trips for Arbor Day

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National Arbor Day is celebrated the last Friday in April each year. Local Arbor Day celebrations differ by state; many states observe this holiday at the best time for planting trees in their part of the country. For example, Maine observes the holiday on the third full week of May while South Carolina’s observation is … read more »


Tech Tool of the Month: Book Creator

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April brings us many celebrations related to writing: National Poetry Month, National Library Week, Poem in Your Pocket Day, World Book and Copyright Day, and more. What better time to feature a cool writing tool. The tech tool of the month is Book Creator; a tool for all ages to create beautiful digital stories! Book … read more »


Let’s Continue the Conversation: Virtual Collaboration in the Classroom

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If you caught last Thursday’s bi-weekly OK2Ask Twitter Chat (see the archive here), you know we chatted all things virtual collaboration.  Let’s delve a little deeper into this topic and continue the conversation. Regardless if you’re a new or seasoned educator, you’ve surely been bombarded with the importance of a collaborative learning space.  Collaboration is … read more »


Discover the U.S. Patent Office for Kids

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Did you know that many of the very first government departments, established by our first President, George Washington, remain in place today? On April 10, 1790, just under a year after his inauguration, President Washington signed a bill placing the foundation for our current patent system. This law, for the first time, gave the rights … read more »