FOCUS ON LEARNING
The items that follow are time-sensitive for February. I hope you get a chance to check them out! Please contact me any time if I can help you with anything at all.
Winter Olympics: https://goo.gl/5BtNFD
It’s not too late to enjoy some terrific Winter Olympics activities with your students – but where to start? This great resource, put together by my friend Shannon Miller from Follett Software, is just the place to start! You will find books, websites, and activities galore. Check it out today!
Interested in chatting with an olympian? Jump on this one quickly! Classroom Champions’ Student Champion Chats is connecting schools across the USA with top winter athletes, as they compete on the world’s stage during the Winter Olympics! The third in a series of four moderated chats on February 22, 2018, will be coming to students live from South Korea. Olympic athletes will be discussing the importance of Goal-Setting, Perseverance and Teamwork with America’s students. Interested teachers can register to participate and receive a free toolkit to prepare for the live chat.
Black History Month Resources
February is Black History Month. Find the resources from NEH, the National Endowment for the Humanities here: https://goo.gl/Tj44cR
The Smithsonian Museum of African American History & Culture resources are located here: https://goo.gl/R8nieg
The Library of Congress Teacher Resources also include a wealth of information for the teaching of Black History Month. Find them here: https://goo.gl/3mUoH7
These free resources are great, but another I recommend for teachers is Up From Slavery, the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. (A free read on Amazon Kindle.) I wish every educator and person who wishes to be called educated would read this book. IF you do a book of the month reading, this is a great one for educators to discuss because he was a fantastic educator.
Fulbright Distinguished Teaching Award: https://goo.gl/NosJ8F
Ever wonder what it would be like to teach overseas? The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and IREX have announced the 2018 application cycle for the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (Fulbright TGC) Program. Fulbright TGC is a year-long professional development fellowship for United States elementary, middle, and high school teachers to become leaders in global education. Global education is integral to building 21st century skills, and teachers are the greatest resource to empower students as global citizens. Applications are due March 13, 2018, at 11:59 Eastern time.
I have met several amazing teachers who have been through this program. It sounds pretty amazing!
Presidential Primary Resources Project: https://goo.gl/L6ugYb
Here’s another one you’ll need to register for immediately in order to participate. Celebrate President’s Day all week long with 3 great FREE events from Presidential Primary Sources Project:
February 13: Forging Greatness – Lincoln in Indiana (Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial)
February 15: The Mystery of William Jones (Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site)
February 22: A Return to Where it Started – Herbert Hoover’s Lasting Legacy (Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum)
Discounts for Teachers: https://goo.gl/CrEsCA
Picking up some extra glue sticks or glitter for your classroom? These stores offer discounts for teachers. Every little bit counts! And if it’s books you’re buying for your classroom, both Barnes & Noble and Amazon offer discounts when purchasing for school.
Amazon: https://goo.gl/XrsbCu
Barnes & Noble: https://goo.gl/7u6Jm2
Girls in STEM: https://everfi.com/gender-gap-stem/
Everfi has put together some really interesting information regarding the gender gap in STEM. They also have incredible FREE resources for your students in Financial Literacy, Digital Literacy, Understanding Money, STEM Career Exploration, Alcohol and Prescription Drug Safety, Cultural and Civic Literacy. I’ve talked about these before – but they are worth mentioning again. There are resources for every grade level, and the activities are engaging extensions to your classroom (that are self-correcting as well!) For more information, see https://everfi.com/k-12/#tab-id-5, or shoot me an email and I’ll show you more!
FREE Matific Math Games: https://goo.gl/Emc84K
The US Matific Math Games are free and use the fantastic virtual manipulative math site Matific. The “warm up” or practice rounds are February 14-20. Then, from February 21-28, your K-6 students can play the games and earn points. Over $50,000 in cash and prizes is being awarded. But most importantly, you have a simple, free way to help each student learn the math behind the standards you need to teach. Whether you do the games or not, the site is a fantastic free resource that every K-6 classroom should use.
Instagram for Teachers: http://classtechtips.com/2018/02/02/instagram-teachers-tips/
I’m not going to kid you – Instagram makes me a little nervous. But I know there are people using it a lot, and I understand that it can be a terrific teacher tool. So – let’s look a little closer at Instagram. You can start by reading this article. And if you’re using it successfully in your teaching, please let me know. I’d love to learn what you’re doing with it!
Seesaw: PD in your PJs https://goo.gl/QkXEJj
Seesaw is one of my all-time favorite tools to use in classrooms, and if you haven’t tried it – for communication with your students and/or their parents, and for digital portfolios – you really must give it a try. It’s one of the easiest tools to figure out – and there are many, many resources available on their website to get your set up with your free account and using it with your students. A great place to start is here: http://help.seesaw.me/hc/en-us
I would love to work with you in planning way to use it, so please let me know if I can help. I’m also available to be your support as you try it out those first few times with your class. Once you give it a try I think you’ll find it’s one of your favorite tools as well!
Laurie Conzemius LLC 