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11/12/2012

Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers™

This weekend we recognize veterans who serve or have served in our military. If you are a veteran and a teacher, we thank you for serving twice! If you know a veteran, take a moment to thank him/her. It is entirely appropriate to celebrate what veterans do to preserve our country, especially just after we exercised our right to vote. 

 

Shopper alert!
It’s shopping season again. You can support TeachersFirst simply by doing your usual shopping at Amazon. Enter the Amazon site via the link at the bottom of our Reading for All page and make your purchase during that visit. TeachersFirst earns a percentage of the profits from the sales using this entry point. Help us continue our free, ad-free service to teachers. Our non-profit parent company, The Source for Learning, appreciates your urge to shop ‘til you drop.

 

Safe anywhere
Modeling and helping students learn about Internet safety is the responsibility of every adult in our students' lives, including teachers in all subject areas and parents at home. TeachersFirst offers a collection of Internet safety resources to help. Share these reviewed resources with parents at conferences or on your class web page so together we can build responsible digital citizens.

 

Thankful Fridays
Throughout November, our Editor’s blog, Think Like a Teacher, will feature weekly posts about things for which teachers can be thankful, especially this Thinking Teacher. We welcome your comments!

 

Just in time
This week we celebrate Veteran’s Day and next week Thanksgiving. Find resources for these and many upcoming events at the TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar. If you are in the midst of parent-teacher conferences, don’t miss TeachersFirst’s collection of ideas for working WITH parents.

 

You can see the world!
Help your students to understand life and people in other places. Across the World Once a Week (#xw1w) offers an easy way to spend just a moment or two of class time to help students think about everyday life in other corners of the world. Share responses about life where you live and learn about others with Across the World Once a Week (XW1W). This quick activity uses microblogging and something called a hashtag. It’s easy! Get started now with these simple directions and FAQ. Tell your teacher friends!
XW1W for the week of November 11: What is your favorite snack after school? 

 

One or two special teachers
TeachersFirst’s review team of experienced, Thinking Teachers is looking for one or two new additions. Reviewers MUST have the following qualifications:

  • Familiarity with TeachersFirst
  • Strong writing skills
  • Minimum of five years classroom teaching experience

For more information and to express an interest, use the Contact Us link on TeachersFirst no later than November 23. Be sure to mention the Review Team in your subject line. Tell us how well you know TeachersFirst and your teaching area/experience.

 

Last chance for November
This Thursday’s OK2Ask® session is for any teacher looking to gather ideas. Enjoy some no-calorie mental munchies before our holiday hiatus. See the full schedule through May, 2013. Register now for Thusday. Registration for January, 2013 sessions opens Dec 1st. All sessions meet 7:00- 8:15 pm Eastern time unless otherwise noted.

Great Ideas: Exploring the Resources of TeachersFirst 3.0 to Plan Effective, Technology-Infused Lessons; Thursday November 15

 

Globetracker cliffhanger
Every week is a cliffhanger for Geo and Meri, two teens on the worldwide Globetracker’s Mission. Readers choose what happens next as they learn geography, map skills, landforms, and more in grades 2-6. This week, the teens find a big clue on a real cliff in Argentina. Globetracker’s Mission is Ready to Go any time at bottom center on the TeachersFirst home page. Fire up your projector to share the teens’ blog. A new episode appears every Sunday.

 

Veteran Recognition
How do you honor Veterans Day at your school? Respond to the weekly poll on the TeachersFirst home page.

 

Featured Sites
This week in our Featured Sites, find interactive treasures and some clever tools:

  • A powerful Holocaust project
  • Panoramic world tours
  • A super cybersafety find
  • Sea levels seen a new way
  • Reading for young “monsters”
  • Poetry
  • Virtual biology labs
  • Made to order signs
  • Common Core help
  • Free new mindmapping app/software

And more. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are reading this November 18 or later, the link above will take you to the Featured Sites for the current week. Find the archived November 11 Features here, and don’t miss our many additional recent additions from the link at the bottom of the Featured sites page.

 

May you find a moment to feel optimism this week—and an opportunity to thank someone for it.

 

Your “teacher to go,”
Candace Hackett Shively
Director of K-12 Initiatives