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 »

Two Sides to Students’ Right to Privacy: Safety vs. Intellectual Freedom

This week is Choose Privacy Week , an event sponsored by the American Library Association. While privacy has been part of our recent national discussion, privacy issues are nothing new to K-12 public education, which must follow at least three privacy rules and laws.  These include the 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a … read more »

Take Your Presentations to the Next Level!

It took the better part of a school year, but now your classroom is moving along smoothly. Your class is familiar with your teaching style, you have learned the quirks of individual personalities, you and your students have mastered all of the “new” technologies and materials from the beginning of the year, and everyone is … read more »

Being Resourceful Part Two: Reliable Sources and C.R.A.A.P.

Evaluating resources, in any medium, is a critical thinking skill for information literacy, media literacy, or digital citizenship.  Of course, it is also part of educational state standards patterned after the Common Core.  They emphasize reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts. In a discussion of the key shifts in the standards, the … read more »