Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from January 2024. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Spend less time searching and more time teaching with TeachersFirst.org! This workshop will empower educators by introducing them to the thousands of original and curated classroom resources on the site--all reviewed and rated by real teachers. You'll learn how to enrich instruction by taking advantage of lesson plan ideas and explanations of how to integrate top-rated resources into your classroom. You'll also discover how to stay on top of education trends through TeachersFirst's blogs, workshops, and weekly newsletter. Maximize your time and resources by finding everything you need in one place. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Discover time-saving strategies for finding top-rated teaching resources reviewed by real educators. 2. Learn how to integrate TeachersFirst's highly-rated resources into engaging and effective lesson plans. 3. Gain access to a network of support through TeachersFirst's blogs, workshops, and newsletter to stay on top of education trends. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): professional development (393), resources (83)

I'm Trying to Love Math is part of TeachersFirst Help! I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series reviewed here and provides book suggestions and activities to encourage interest in math. The background knowledge portion of the article shares some historical perspectives on the evolution of mathematics, beginning with a bone found in the Democratic Republic of Congo over 20,000 years ago. Next, scroll through the activities section to find math-related picture book suggestions and additional ideas for learning about mathematicians through biographies. The extension activity idea shares how to promote interest in math by creating brackets similar to those used with March Madness to determine the most influential mathematician of all time. Content on this site includes correlations to ISTE and AASL standards.

tag(s): biographies (94), book lists (168), careers (182), census (13), charts and graphs (169), data (150), professional development (393)

Social-emotional Learning (SEL) is the process by which students of all ages develop and use social and emotional skills, knowledge, and attitudes. Using SEL skills, students better understand emotion, manage their own, and show empathy towards others. SEL skills also help students set and achieve positive goals. Although this is an ongoing process through all grade levels, you can begin to instill these skills and understandings in even your youngest students. We encourage you to find appropriate tools and resources in this collection to use with your students and in your lessons.

tag(s): emotions (53), empathy (37), social and emotional learning (110)

Encourage your students to develop positive self-identities based on their membership in various groups in society. Help your students to feel confident to express pride and healthy self-esteem about their own self-identity, without devaluing the dignity of those that may be different than they are. The resources shared in this section help teachers to enable students to recognize that people have multiple identities and are members of multiple groups within our society, creating complex and unique individuals.

tag(s): bias (28), difficult conversations (57), identity (37)

As teachers, we frequently tackle uncomfortable subjects in the classroom, but polarizing public conversations or events in the news can sometimes make these subjects downright difficult to discuss with students. The resources in this collection will give you ideas on how to start and facilitate tough conversations about topics like inequality, injustice, and politics sensitively while still accomplishing learning goals. You'll also find lessons and activities to encourage respectful conversation, inclusivity, empathy, and understanding.

tag(s): difficult conversations (57), empathy (37), racism (83)

Empathy is our desire and ability to understand and share another person's feelings and use that information to guide our actions. It's the foundation of respect and inclusivity and is an essential component of relationship building, resolving interpersonal conflicts, and understanding cause and effect. In this collection, we share resources that will help you create lessons and experiences that cultivate empathy in your students and informational websites about this important topic.

tag(s): empathy (37), perspective (20), racism (83)

As educators, it's our duty to teach our students to respect people of all races, genders, orientations, and cultures, both in our classroom and in the outside world. Racism, sexism, and orientation discrimination can be difficult topics to broach in the classroom but are essential to discuss as students find their voices and form their understanding of the world. In this collection, we share resources about combatting racism, lesson plans about the human cost of discrimination, and additional activities to spark meaningful discussion and encourage students at all grade levels to treat all people with respect.

tag(s): black history (135), empathy (37), racism (83)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from July 2020. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Pulling all of your lesson content into one collection that students can navigate independently is a great instructional strategy. When used to implement flipped/blended learning, Wakelet allows students to be more self-reliant and gives the instructor more time to help students who struggle. Wakelet offers flexibility in how you share content with your students encouraging creativity in both the instructional sequence and in the ways students demonstrate learning. Join us to learn how Wakelet can be used to reshape your classroom. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand how Wakelet can be used to deliver differentiated blended learning lessons; 2. Explore Wakelet's built-in tools that support instruction; and 3. Plan to deliver a lesson using Wakelet. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): Accessibility (11), blended learning (36), classroom management (118), curation (32), flipped learning (9), professional development (393), remote learning (54), teaching strategies (52)