It's important for students to stay politically informed, but often newspaper articles can be partisan, needlessly inflammatory, or simply not explain what they are reporting on. FiveThirtyEight is a service that uses statistics to explain political happenings as well as providing explanatory articles on things like the electoral college. Interactive activities allow students to adjust [...]
Although we've had a relatively mild winter so far around here, that can change at any time. And on days where it's too cold and snowy to go out for recess but not cold or snowy enough to cancel school, it can be hard to fin activities that will satisfy restless kids. Fortunately, there is [...]
Like them or not, sight words are a part of the elementary school curriculum. Flashcards are great, but students can quickly tire if what feels like rote memorization. Sight word games offer them a way to practice their word recognition skills in a way that doesn't feel like work. Education.com has several visually appealing and [...]
Good news for those of you who use IXL in your classrooms: IXL has now expanded their curriculum to include science and social studies for middle schoolers. The curriculum involves introducing the concepts, practicing the concepts, and reteaching the concepts if necessary. So for your middle school students, or even your precocious elementary schoolers, now [...]
Good quality maps can help students understand complex concepts and interactive maps are even better for allowing students to dig deep and make connections in a way that makes sense to them. ArcGIS maps are not only visually stunning, they contain a wealth of data. Available maps range from historical empires around the world to [...]
You heard that right, Netflix (savior of all our favorite 90's shows) is producing a new CG version of The Magic School Bus. The cast hasn't been confirmed yet, but the bus has been upgraded with 21st century technology, and the kids will get to use new tools while having their adventures. The original release [...]
If you went to school at all in the twentieth century, chances are you had a set of wooden shape blocks to practice pattern making or tessellations with. The set of yellow hexagons, orange triangles, green squares, and tan diamonds was well loved in my experience but could cause serious problems when a two gallon [...]
It's a new year and that means it's time for resolutions. We've seen some tongue in cheek ones and some really good ones and now we want to see yours. What are your classroom resolutions for 2017?
For the first Tool Tip Tuesday of 2017, I'd like to turn it over to you. What tools did you find useful in your classrooms in 2016? Are there any tools that are getting a lot of hype that you don't think are worth it?
For our last post of 2106, we turn to a subject that is near and dear to my heart: neuroscience. There's a new movement in teaching called Whole Brain Teaching that uses strategies gleaned from neuroscience to influence teaching methods. For example, students will create and learn body movements that correspond to certain vocabulary words, which [...]