Summer – Time to Relax or Time for Learning?

What do you do when summer break arrives? Is it time for a well-deserved break, or do you use this time for professional growth and rejuvenation? Perhaps a bit of both? If you’d like to try some rejuvenation that you can do at home in a relaxed setting, but still with a group of peers with … read more »

Summer Solstice or Meteorological Summer?

Summer officially begins on June 21 at 12:24 AM EST. Or does it? Ask your local weatherman and he will probably say that meteorological summer began on June 1. Both explanations, based on data and science, offer interesting opportunities for exploring weather and seasons through a different perspective. To understand the difference between the two … read more »

Celebrate Great Outdoors Month

In all of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle What is your favorite outdoor activity? Perhaps you enjoy swimming, hiking, boating, or another way to enjoy Mother Nature. Many others share your enthusiasm, in fact, June is Great Outdoors Month. Started in 1998, this celebration of the outdoors has grown from a weekly event … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Canva

As teachers, our digital resiliency is usually put to the test quite often. I recently had one of those experiences when I had to write the TeachersFirst weekly update using a new template. The biggest challenge for me was making the images fit in the template and have it work in all different types of browsers … read more »

5 Sites for Teaching About Memorial Day with Primary Sources

Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, is the time when Americans honor and recognize people who died while serving our country in the armed forces. Although historians dispute the birthplace of Memorial Day we know it began after the Civil War. This tradition continues to be held the last Monday of each May as communities … read more »