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October 19, 2015
Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers®
For some reason this month seems busier than most others. Maybe it is from preparing for the end of the marking period and parent conferences. Maybe it is from the leaves piling up on the lawn and other special fall events. As you rake up the leaves and dig through the piles of projects to be graded, let TeachersFirst help you prepare for the next round!
Poe Made Personal
Students learn best when they can explore and learn actively and personally. Check out The Interactive Raven to challenge your students to explore literary devices on their own devices or school laptops, making poetry a hands-on experience. Even the vocabulary is interactive. October is the perfect time for Poe!
FREE Online PD—OK2Ask
Registration is OPEN for all fall OK2Ask sessions. We have several NEW sessions! Read our FAQ for general information about certificates, etc. Please be sure to read the detailed descriptions and suggested technology comfort levels BEFORE you register for the best match for your learning needs. Coming up soon.
Google's Productivity Tools for the Classroom
Tuesday October 20, 2015 7pm EasternGet Organized: For You, Your Classroom and Your Students
Thursday October 22, 2015 4pm EasternCreate with Coding
Tuesday October 27, 2015 7pm Eastern
Calendar Happenings
The TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar offers resources related to events and observations on the calendar all throughout the year. Take a look at these:
Dig into The Explorers' Graveyard
If you teach explorers, dig deeper this year with a new lesson idea for elementary (or middle) grades. Classes typically study explorers around this time of the school year. Make your unit culminate just in time for Halloween (no mention of Halloween actually required). Create an explorers review project the whole school will enjoy. This assignment involves research, review, and creative writing.
Still Seeking 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.
Dress Up Day?
This week’s Teacher Poll asks: Does your school allow students to dress up for Halloween? Place your vote on the teacher poll on the TeachersFirst home page.
Resources to Share
Get your students on the right foot with lessons on good work habits with reviewed study skills resources from TeachersFirst. These are terrific for sharing with parents at conferences (or on your class website).
Featured Sites
This week in our Featured Sites you'll find:
- Siftr your photos
- Study Skills with GoConqr
- Current Events Heatmap
- Five Myths
- Owlie for the Young
- Kiddom
- Dual Digital Citizenship Tools
- A-Musing Math
- And more
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are reading this October 25 or later, the link above will take you to the Featured Sites for the current week. Find the archived October 18th Features here, and don’t miss our many other recent additions from the link at the bottom of the Featured Sites page.
May your students jump into the learning activities that you have raked together for them this week!
The TeachersFirst Team