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3/4/2013
Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers™
Windblown, windburn, winds of change, fly like the wind—so many figures of speech about the winds that blow during March. For teachers, this is the time to find your second wind, the time for renewed energy as you surge toward the culmination of the school year. There is still a long way to go and much to do, but the strength of your second wind will get you there, hopefully with a little help from TeachersFirst.
What’s Hot?
Want to know what resources other teachers like? Click on TeachersFirst’s What’s Hot menu, especially What’s Popular, the resources most frequently marked as Favorites by TeachersFirst members during the past 60 days. Heat up your lessons with resources your peers recommend. Tip: you can also share a resource on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest simply by clicking the word “share” at the top of the review! Spread the word.
Timely learning
March brings much more than a time change (Daylight Saving: Sunday March 10!). March is Music in our Schools Month and Women’s History Month. These and other events in the TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar complement your curriculum. Don’t miss resources for Pi Day and the Ides of March. Of course, you’ll find a little Irish fun for St. Patrick’s Day.
Visit our new "space." Learn in you pajamas!
OK2Ask® has moved into new quarters, and we invite you to see our new, easier to access space! OK2Ask is our series of free, live, online sessions for teacher self-directed professional development. Now our space is powered by Adobe® Connect™ and requires nothing but a normal Flash plug in on your computer and an Internet connection. (Tablet users can download the Adobe Connect app to attend, though we recommend having a regular keyboard to be able to participate fully.) Registration is now open for ALL spring OK2Ask® sessions. Find times and descriptions to register:
Hands Off, Vanna: Giving Students Control of Interactive Whiteboard Learning
Thursday March 7
Blooms 2.0: Promoting ALL levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy through Technology
Monday March 11
Sharing and Solutions for Technology Coaches/Trainers (60 min session)
Thursday March 21
Now I See! Infographics as content scaffold and creative, formative assessment… even if you don’t think visually
DATE CHANGE! Tuesday, April 9
One to One: Ideas and Tips for Teaching in a 1:1 Classroom
Monday April 29
Ready.. Set.. Summer: Student Tools to Stay Fresh and Teacher Professional “Refreshments”
Monday May 6
Sprouting soon
Across the World Once a Week (#xw1w) gives your students a peek into everyday life in other places, including climate. 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. XW1W for the week of March 3: What signs of spring are you waiting to see?
Europe!
Geo and Meri are now on the European continent, still chasing Dewey, the truth-sniffing dog, on Globetracker’s Mission. Do you think they will find him? Your students in grades 2-6 will learn geography, map skills, landforms as they follow the blog posts of Geo and Meri. Globetracker’s Mission is Ready to Go any time at bottom center on the TeachersFirst home page.
Talking the news
How often do you discuss current events with students? Share your thoughts via weekly teacher poll on the TeachersFirst home page.
Featured Sites
This week in our Featured Sites, find unusual and helpful resources:
- Sensational sound that surrounds us
- An online geoboard
- Marvelous math ideas
- A trio of history finds
- Favorite scientists
- Shakespeare and poetry finds
- A way to plan a perfect day
- Music videos for STEM
- Amazing web labs
- A graphic look at disease outbreaks
- Fishing!
And MORE. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are reading this March 10 or later, the link above will take you to the Featured Sites for the current week. Find the archived March 3 Features here, and don’t miss our many additional recent additions from the link at the bottom of the Featured sites page.
Breathe deeply and feel that second wind this week.
Your “teacher to go,”
Candace Hackett Shively
Director of K-12 Initiatives