Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Enhance the foreign language curriculum through the integration of geography, food, and literature as related to Spanish culture. Students analyze literature created by modern Latino authors who use foods as symbols for identity, patriotism, religion, and nostalgia. This series of lessons promotes understanding of the Creole culture as it exists on the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

tag(s): spanish (112)

A brief background on Camp David and what the President uses it for.

tag(s): presidents (151)

The Native American Studies section of Harvard Library's K-12 teacher toolkit curates open and freely available resources for teaching Native American history, cultures, and contemporary experiences. A featured resource is the Smithsonian's Native Knowledge 360'?, which provides educators and students with Native-centered perspectives that challenge incomplete or stereotypical accounts of Indigenous history. The broader toolkit also includes subject-area pages, curriculum resources, open educational-resource repositories, children's literature, media-search guidance, educational technology, and professional-development materials. The guide is designed as a starting point rather than a complete unit, so teachers should preview each external resource for grade level, cultural accuracy, accessibility, account requirements, and continued availability.

tag(s): native americans (127), OER (53), primary sources (146), Teacher Utilities (222)

The Common Sense Education resource page on free learning resources for Hispanic Heritage Month offers a comprehensive collection of tools to help teachers celebrate Hispanic culture in their classrooms. It features a variety of free resources, including lesson plans, videos, and interactive activities suitable for all grade levels. Teachers can use curated media content, such as documentaries and digital books, to enhance learning. The article also provides recommendations for culturally relevant apps and websites that foster student engagement while teaching about Hispanic heritage, making it a versatile resource for in-person and virtual learning environments. If your district blocks YouTube, then the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): central america (26), cross cultural understanding (176), cultures (291), dance (42), hispanic (54), south america (80)

This virtual exhibit illustrates a little-known chapter of Canadian history - the story of Canada and Jewish Holocaust refugees. Choose tabs to follow the story of the refugees from "We Had to Leave" through "New Lives." Each section includes detailed information about the refugees' stories including photos, videos, and additional readings. Also, each portion of the site includes lesson plans for classroom use. This site is available in English and French.There is an abundance of excellent material on this site, regrettably the videos use Flash. Nothing else does.

tag(s): canada (23), germany (25), hitler (5), holocaust (42), jews (65), world war 2 (168)

Find resources related to John F Kennedy: facts, links to several speeches, and a multimedia gallery. Each speech includes a video, audio, and published transcript of the text of the speech, This is part of a larger collection of all the United States presidents but provides a nice starting point for important events and information related to our 35th president.

tag(s): 1960s (54), kennedy (25), presidents (151)