You might not know that August 19 is Geocaching Day. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunt where players use GPS devices to find hidden containers located around the world. Hidden locations vary from easy to find areas to those that are more isolated and involve planning and preparation to access the site. Items found in … read more »
All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world. E. B. White Do you have a favorite children’s book? Perhaps you still remember your favorite book from childhood. My favorite was the Little House on the Prairie series. When this book collection became … read more »
Happy World Emoji Day (also called National Emoji Day)! This year we celebrate on July 17th. I am not sure about you, but I had no idea that any emoji days even existed! What better time than now to feature a tech tool related to emojis! Of course, the first tool that came to my … read more »
On April 16th we celebrate World Voice Day. I will be honest with you and admit that I had never heard about this day until several months ago, but as I learned more about the history of this day and its mission, I felt it was important to share more about it with our blog … read more »
April is the ideal time to observe National Garden Month. Winter is over. Growing cycles are starting again here in North America. It’s the perfect time to celebrate with Mother Nature. There are a lot of reasons why students in school should be involved in gardening activities. It fosters a Maker Mindset – a bent … read more »
Did you know that April is Jazz Appreciation Month? Also happening on April 30th is International Jazz Day. What better way to celebrate than with a song! In honor of jazz and music, this month we are featuring a cool tech tool that offers you the opportunity to play music: Virtual Musical Instruments. Explore the … read more »
In honor of World Storytelling Day (celebrated on March 20th), the tech tool of the month for March is WriteReader. If you aren’t familiar with World Storytelling Day, it is a global celebration of oral storytelling! On this day, people are encouraged to tell and listen to stories in as many languages as possible (and … read more »
Instructional scaffolding is a support structure that good teachers use all of the time. We design lessons in a number of ways to encourage students as they try to attain the lesson’s goals. Scaffolding lessons requires additional effort during the planning phase. The extra preparation affords you the opportunity to take on the role of facilitator during … read more »
Cast your imagination out and think about what it would be like to LIVE as a cell or a tsunami or a liver. This month’s tech tool encourages students to think about this type of question. MySciLife is a free social learning platform, created for grades 6-9. Participation is entirely FREE, and MySciLife offers educators … read more »
Do you use trade books in your classroom? Research has proven the many benefits of using trade books for instruction. This article from Scholastic features literary successes achieved by providing students with a variety of diverse reading material. Everyone agrees that using a wide variety of reading materials is good practice. However, this provides some … read more »