Engage Students and Extend Learning Through Historical Inquiry

“You don’t hate history, you hate the way it was taught to you in high school.”  Stephen Ambrose, American historian 1936-2002 What do you remember from your history classes? How much time did you spend reading textbooks and watching films? Do you remember having an opportunity to come up with your own questions and research … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Pathbrite – Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog, we introduced you to Pathbrite and discussed the application of both the SAMR Model and the Triple E Framework to help you integrate Pathbrite into your instruction. Today’s post offers detailed instructions about how to use this tool and shares classroom use ideas by subject. Pathbrite: As you arrive … read more »

Celebrate School Library Month!

April is School Library Month! The first School Library Month took place in 1985 with the theme “Where Learning Never Ends: The School Library Media Center” and was spearheaded by Lucille Thomas, chair of the School Library Media Month Committee. This year, choose your own theme to celebrate School Library Month! The American Association of … read more »

What’s The Buzz: Storytelling

World Storytelling Day is just around the corner. As the world gets ready to celebrate the art of oral storytelling, it seemed the perfect time to ponder the instructional case for storytelling.   Storytelling is an ancient interactive art form in which one conveys a tale with gestures, words, and sounds while encouraging the listener to use … read more »

Celebrate Freedom of Information Day 2021

Freedom of Information Day takes place on March 16th- James Madison‘s birthday. It is commemorated on this day because Madison was a staunch proponent of a free press and flow of information to the public. The Freedom of Information Act was first enacted in 1966 and updated 50 years later in 2016 after a lengthy … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Duolingo – Part 1

Duolingo is a device-agnostic tool that offers free online language learning classes. The site currently offers personalized lessons in thirty-seven languages, including Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, Arabic, Dutch, Polish, Greek, Romanian, and Swahili. Duolingo uses game-based learning to scaffold material and teach languages in chunks of time or assigned lessons. The personalized learning creates differentiated … read more »

Let’s Talk About Random Acts of Kindness

Sustained social isolation during the pandemic has taken its toll on everyone, especially our students. As educators, we need to help our students with ways to meet social-emotional learning (SEL) needs while we collectively continue to work towards overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic threat. Science tells us that kindness increases your happiness, so now is the … read more »

Engage with Award-Winning Books in Your Classroom!

The American Library Association recently announced the 2021 winners of the youth media award. In addition, many other book awards for K-12 books were recently announced. Award-winning books are always an excellent addition to school libraries and classrooms! It’s like having a ready-made, vetted buying list.  Every year, the American Library Association honors outstanding books, … read more »

Career and Technical Education Month

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month is a public awareness campaign that takes place during February. The goal is to raise awareness of the value of CTE and celebrate the accomplishments of career programs and support provided by schools across the country.  This infographic on the Association for Career and Technical Education’s (ACTE) website provides an … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Nearpod – Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog, we introduced you to Nearpod and discussed the application of both the SAMR Model and the Triple E Framework to help you integrate Nearpod into your instruction. Today’s post offers detailed instructions for how to use this tool and shares classroom use ideas by subject. Nearpod: If Nearpod is … read more »