International Museum Day takes place on May 18th! This year’s theme is “The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine.” National and local museums are amazing educational resources. Museums provide access to primary sources, in-person and virtual tours, lesson plans, educational resources, topic experts, and more. Today’s museums are a window into our past and can … read more »
May 18 is International Museum Day; however, not everyone has access to a museum to visit. So what do you do? Take a virtual visit, of course! If you read Ruth Okoye’s recent blog on virtual field trips you already have lots of ideas with places to visit and how to make the most of … read more »
Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican tradition that honors and celebrates deceased loved ones. Observed on November 1 and 2, this holiday blends Indigenous customs with Catholic influences, building a rich tapestry of rituals and symbolism. For educators, it’s an opportunity to explore themes of memory, family, and … read more »
When we talk about educational equity, we often focus on access to technology, culturally responsive curriculum, or closing achievement gaps. But there’s another, quieter equity issue that sits beneath all of those: students’ background knowledge. Every text a student reads, every math problem they solve, and every science concept they encounter draws on an invisible … read more »
Why do we celebrate Juneteenth? On June 19th 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and freed enslaved African Americans—two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This historic moment marked the beginning of Juneteenth, a holiday long celebrated by African American communities and officially recognized as a federal holiday … read more »
Jazz, to me, is a living music. It’s a music that since its beginning has expressed the feelings, the dreams, hopes, of the people. Dexter Gordon As April winds down, there’s still time to honor Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) and reflect on the incredible contributions of jazz musicians throughout history. Established by the National Museum … read more »
The Iditarod, known as the Last Great Race, is an annual reconstruction of the 1925 sled dog relay to get diphtheria medicine from Nenana, Alaska, to Nome during hazardous blizzard conditions. It took five and a half days for twenty teams and approximately 150 dogs to travel 674 miles with the valuable package containing diphtheria … read more »
Finding a resource that works for all grade levels and subjects to promote student learning is rare. Project Zero’s Thinking Routines Toolbox (reviewed here) is one of those unicorns. It offers strategies that enhance critical thinking skills in many ways that apply to real-world situations, using research-based strategies that scaffold and support student thinking. Why … read more »
A date which will live in infamy Franklin D. Roosevelt Each year, we commemorate Pearl Harbor Day to remember and honor the 2,403 Americans killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This significant event led to the United States’s consequential decision to declare war on Japan and enter World War … read more »
I forged the thunderbolts. She fired them. Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton is a name that might sound familiar, but what do you know about her contributions to American history? Perhaps, more importantly, what do your students know about her contributions? Students often obtain a deeper understanding of history when they learn about lesser-known … read more »