Infusing SEL Into Everyday Instruction

It is critical to teach students strategies to deal with emotions and interact respectfully with peers. As a father of six, life can be crazy. My wife, also a teacher, enjoys our bedtime routine of reading aloud to our children. Recently, we read Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. Lilly brings a purple plastic … read more »

Storytelling and The National Day of Listening

November 27 is the National Day of Listening. Celebrated each year on the day after Thanksgiving, it’s a time to gather families and friends for the specific purpose of recording and sharing histories and stories for preservation. Launched in 2008 by StoryCorps (reviewed here), this observance falls at a time when many families are together, … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Animoto – Part 1

Animoto is an amazing free tool to create slideshows with many extra touches (images, music, video clips, sounds, and other forms of media). The user interface is easy to use and basically requires click and drag to move text, add images, and more. There are many templates to choose between as you begin your project, … read more »

Curation in the Classroom

Curation in the classroom is not something new to educators; we curate content all the time for lessons, project resources, future ideas, and more. However, curation is also a valuable tool for students! It is a skill they can use in their classes, personal life, and future careers. Getting started with content curation in the … read more »

Tech Tool of the Month: Microsoft Edge Browser – Part 1

Microsoft Edge is a unique browser option that contains many accessibility features, curating options, search functionalities, current events/news, and much more. Use the Immersive Reader accessibility feature to remove distracting images and “extra” stuff to make reading digital texts simpler for students. You can also use this browser’s Read Aloud feature for students who need … read more »