Celebrate Citizen Science Month

Every month, the TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar highlights events and observances, some of which help raise awareness of meaningful causes. A few highlights for April are Earth Day, National Poetry Month, and Financial Literacy Month. We can’t forget the shenanigans and tricks on April 1, but there’s no foolin’ that April is also Citizen Science Month, a … read more »

Coming Soon to Netflix: Your Students’ Series about the Founding Fathers!

James Madison is often called the Father of the Constitution for his role in writing the Federalist Papers and creating a new form of government following the Continental Congress. He and the rest of the founding fathers—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay—led the revolution, brought independence to the … read more »

Celebrate World Poetry Day!

World Poetry Day is held every year on March 21. World Poetry Day was adopted by UNESCO in 1999 “to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increase the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.” It is a day for people worldwide to appreciate poetry from around the world and bring people together around … read more »

Let’s Talk About Student Activism

Reflecting on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, I’ve wondered what we as a society have learned and how those lessons can help our students today. Listening to some of the youngest participants in the march – children at the time – reminds me that our children need to see that they can “drive the change … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Padlet – Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog, we introduced you to Padlet and discussed applying the SAMR Model and the Triple E Framework using Padlet in your instruction. This simple web application allows you to create digital bulletin boards from seven easy layouts. Users can add images, links, videos, texts, drawings, and more to their virtual … read more »