Lets Talk About: Social Media Practice Spaces

| Posted:
Categories:
Let's Talk About
| Tags: , , , 4 Comments

I have been an advocate for the use of social media in schools for a long time.  As a professional, using social media is a great way to learn and grow and connect with others who are like-minded.  While social media can be a great tool, we’ve all heard of people who used social media … read more »


Six Sites for Rhyme Time

| Posted:
Categories:
Classroom Application
| Tags: , ,
Leave a comment

“There’s something so wonderful about writing in rhyme where it isn’t just the meaning of the words, it’s the music to the words and the shape and the sound.” Gary Ross Learning about rhyming words is one of the earliest skills taught to young readers. Exploring rhymes helps students understand how language works through sounds … read more »


What’s the Buzz: Instructional Technology Frameworks Part 1

| Posted:
Categories:
What's the Buzz
| Tags: , , 3 Comments

After the VSTE annual conference, I’ve done a lot of thinking about frameworks. One of the Keynote presentations introduced a framework that was new to me and then questioned the continued use of structures like SAMR. I had to do some reflection, because here at TeachersFirst we use the SAMR model a lot.   I … read more »


Cartoons and Comics Aren’t Just for Newspapers Anymore

| Posted:
Categories:
Classroom Application
| Tags: , , ,
Leave a comment

Did you know the first cartoon appeared in a U.S. newspaper way back in 1754? Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette featured the political cartoon “Join or Die” on May 9, 1754. The picture showed the American colonies as a snake divided into eight pieces and presented the political point of view that the colonies should unite. … read more »


Teaching in the Middle

| Posted:
Categories:
Classroom Application
| Tags: , , ,
Leave a comment

They say that it takes a special person to teach in a middle school and most days during my career as a middle-school educator I would wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.  Here’s why— the brain is said to be fully mature by the age of 25.  This leaves a challenge for all K-12 educators, but … read more »