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August 10, 2015
Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers®
It’s the final countdown! As you prepare the piles on your desks, hang up your final bulletin board letters, and charge up your electronic devices, let TeachersFirst help you get organized both online and offline. We are here to save you time!
New Contributors
Do you enjoy helping colleagues learn about technology? Would you like to use that passion to contribute to TeachersFirst? The Source For Learning (SFL) is currently looking for new contributors for our TeachersFirst community. If you are interested in joining our team, please fill out this Google form.
School is BACK in Session!
Start your year off right with terrific, reviewed organization tools from the TeachersFirst Edge. Find some new and engaging ways to start yourself, your students, and even parents on the right track for a successful school year! Check out these resources tagged for back to school, including handy tools to arrange your seats and entire classroom, ideas to get to know your new students, and more! You will love the TeachersFirst’s Getting to Know You ideas for the first day or week of class. And you don’t want to miss our inspirational (ready to go) Bulletin Board Hangups. These thought-provoking quotes are ready to print for your classroom walls (and of course, FREE).
Newbie?
Are you a new teacher starting your first teaching job in the fall? Will you be working with a student teacher or mentoring a new teacher? Don’t miss TeachersFirst's ideas and help for newbie teachers, their cooperating teachers, and mentors. Click the “Share” widget to pass it on!
On the Calendar
Summer is the perfect time to check out the TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar. Scout ahead for events and resources to include in your plans for next year.
The Sea
The August theme from TogetheRead is “The Sea!” TogetheRead provides a list of recommended books, questions, and activities designed to build stronger readers. The themes include books for all ages, centered around the same theme. Parents find questions to ask as the family reads, deepening comprehension before, during, and after reading. Included are free and low-cost ideas for activities families can do together, as well. TogetheRead involves the entire family in supporting literacy.
OK2Ask Archives
It is hard to believe that our Summer season of OK2Ask has come to an end. Thank you for joining us for a fabulous five weeks! You can access the OK2Ask archived recordings anytime! These recordings (mostly 90-minutes) open in Adobe Connect. The online “classroom” space allows you to start, stop, and pause to learn about many teaching topics. Because we cannot assess your learning from an archived session, we are not able to grant certificates for watching a recording. But you will LOVE being able to watch and learn with OK2Ask. See the full archive listing here. Our 2015-2016 schedule will be posted soon! Watch your weekly update to learn more.
WOW Them!
Do you like to share your tech “finds” with students or colleagues on your website, blog, or wiki? If so, you can really look smart! Embed the TeachersFirst Featured Sites widget and have new “finds” every week without ever lifting a finger. If you can copy/paste, you can embed anything! Find the code to copy/paste here. Never embedded anything? We have a resource to help you. Or better yet, ask one of your students for help!
Memories...
What is your greatest memory from this past summer? Maybe a special vacation or simply time to refresh and renew? This week’s Teacher Poll asks: What was the most memorable part of your summer? Place your vote on the teacher poll on the TeachersFirst home page.
Teaching about TeachersFirst?
“Back to School” is PD season. If you feature TeachersFirst in teacher professional development workshops, teach a grad class about us, or coach teachers about TeachersFirst in your role as a technology integration specialist, we can help. Complete this form telling us where you plan to feature TeachersFirst. We will send out some TeachersFirst swag for qualifying sessions. Complete the form NOW to be sure you get the package in time for your presentation.
Featured Sites
This week in our Featured Sites find Twitter, Problem Solving, and more:
- Spruce Up Some Photos
- Go to Camp with Google
- Capitalization Perfection
- Grassy News
- Math Vocabulary Help
- Learn to Play…. Violin
- Growing Up in Your Area
- STEM Books for FREE
- Internet Safety for All Ages
- History of Canada with Maps
- And more
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are reading this August 16 or later, the link above will take you to the Featured Sites for the current week. Find the archived August 9 Features here, and don’t miss our many other recent additions from the link at the bottom of the Featured Sites page.
Ready or not... the new year is coming. Keep fresh and refreshed with TeachersFirst through the entire school year. Hats off to you!
The TeachersFirst Team