4 Free Resources for Teaching Growth Mindset

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right.” Henry Ford September 13 is Positive Thinking Day. Consider it to be an excellent time to stop and think about how to develop positive thinking and attitudes in our students. One well-known method to promote positive thinking is through growth mindset. Growth mindset, … read more »

Using Primary Sources to Teach Thanksgiving

There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. O. Henry A recent TeachersFirst blog post by Paula Deal discussed the use of primary sources and suggested several resources for finding primary sources for all grade levels. What better time of year to include primary sources than … read more »

Have You Heard? If they can do the worksheet, they don’t need it…

It is the start of a new school year. May this be your most wonder-filled, rewarding and empowering yet. At the beginning of each new year, we plan — we plan for the use of instructional strategies that have improved student learning in the past, and we plan for the implementation of newly acquired strategies as … read more »

Have You Heard? Nothing Could Be More Absurd…In Memory of Seymour Papert

Twice a month we devote blog posts to powerful quotes. We offer short discussions of how they impact us personally, professionally and, most importantly, how they apply to our area of expertise, effective technology implementation in the classroom. This week we chose a quote from the legendary educational theorist, Seymour Papert, MIT mathematician, computer scientist, and … read more »

6 Easy (and free) Tools to Manage Your School Year

“Anxiety is caused by a lack of control, organization, preparation, and action.” David Kekich Do you wonder how some teachers manage doing everything and make it look easy? The secret to getting things done is organization and management. Teachers know the beginning of the year is one of our busiest times as it brings an onslaught … read more »