Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Find hands-on, technology-infused ideas with the snack-size informative posts shared by TeachersFirst blog authors. Each post shares ideas for incorporating free resources into classrooms based on the latest frameworks for effectively using technology to enhance learning. Not only do the blogs have technology-infused ideas, but the topics are always spot on for your classroom, using monthly celebrations such as Women's History, Black History, holidays, Get Caught Reading, and other appropriate topics like Using Cartoons to Empower Student Voice, Using Rubrics When teaching Remotely, and many more. Use the search feature to find and read blog posts for any topic. Don't forget to subscribe using your RSS feed and receive alerts with the latest posts.

tag(s): blogs (65), preK (270), teaching strategies (50)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from May 2020. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

The authentic nature of simulations can be highly motivating for even your hardest to reach students. When used properly, instructional simulations can empower student learning, helping students to set goals, seek feedback, and demonstrate what they have learned. Learn to choose simulations that model the relationships between concepts studied. In this session, we will discuss how to best use simulations in the classroom to increase student achievement, allow students to reflect on what they have learned, and transfer their knowledge to new problems and situations. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand the value of using simulations in the classroom; 2. Explore instructional simulations; and 3. Plan for the use of simulations in the instructional setting. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): professional development (385), simulations (19)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from May 2020. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Creating and using timelines is a great instructional strategy that can scaffold student comprehension in all subjects. From the introduction of a concept to assessment, timelines can help empower learners and inform your instruction. Explore, compare, and contrast three different online timeline creators. Participants will learn about the features of these three free tools and then explore ways to use them in the classroom. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand various ways that timelines can be used in the classroom; 2. Explore 3 timeline tools to use in the classroom; and 3. Plan for the use of one of the three tools in your educational setting This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): professional development (385), timelines (56)

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. This Reading Trek provides inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Follow Claudia Kincaid and her brother Jaimie when they decide to run away from home and end up hiding out in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Use our robust Instructional Guide with students in grades 4-8. Content correlates to Common Core Standards. Find the entire selection of Reading Treks here.

tag(s): 1960s (26), new york (24), virtual field trips (129)

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. This Reading Trek provides inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book Whirligig. Brent Bishop, seventeen-years-old, constructs whirligigs in the four corners of the United States as penance and redemption after he accidentally kills another person in a car crash while trying to commit suicide. Use our robust Instructional Guide with students in grades 7-10. Content correlates to National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, ISTE Student Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards. Find the entire selection of Reading Treks here.

tag(s): character education (80), drugs and alcohol (28), virtual field trips (129)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from April 2020. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Simple, powerful, and free -- take organizing, note-taking, and collaborating to new heights with Google Keep. Learn how to maximize student productivity with great features for capturing ideas, collaborating on projects, curating resources, receiving reminders, and taking notes. See how easy it is to incorporate text, images, audio, and drawings on virtual color-coded sticky notes and checklists. "Keep" your classroom workflow smooth and on task with Google Keep. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Learn the basics of using Google Keep for organization; 2. Explore strategies to enhance notetaking and resource curation; and 3. Plan for the use of Google Keep in your classroom for student productivity. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): Formative Assessment (74), Google (47), organizational skills (88), professional development (385)

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. This Reading Trek provides inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book Lost and Found Cat, the True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey. This picture book is the true story of one cat's journey to be reunited with his war-torn family and shows how ordinary people can help with compassion and hope. Use our robust Instructional Guide with students in grades PreK-3. Content correlates to Common Core Standards, ISTE Student Standards, and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Find the entire collection of Reading Treks here.

tag(s): iraq (26), preK (270), virtual field trips (129)

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. This Reading Trek provides inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book Harriet the Spy. Harriet Welsch is an 11-year-old girl living in New York's Upper East Side. One day she starts writing her observations about everyone she knows in a notebook. Then someone finds her notebook and exposes its content, which is very critical. Use our robust Instructional Guide with students in grades 4-7. Content correlates to Common Core Standards, ISTE Student Standards, National Core Arts Standards for Visual Arts, and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Find the entire selection of Reading Treks here.

tag(s): new york (24), virtual field trips (129), women (151)

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. This Reading Trek provides inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Peter Hatcher is a fourth-grader with a two-and-a-half-year-old brother who is a handful. Read about the exasperating situations Peter finds himself in because of his little brother. Use our robust Instructional Guide with students in grades 3-5. Content correlates to Common Core Standards, ISTE Student Standards, National Core Standards for Visual Arts, and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Find the entire selection of Reading Treks here.

tag(s): 1950s (8), new york (24), novels (34), virtual field trips (129)

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. This Reading Trek provides inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book, A Long Way from Chicago. During the time of the Great Depression and the beginning of WWII, Joey and Mary Alice, city children from Chicago, spend a week each August with their eccentric Grandma Dowdel in her rural home town. Over the eight years the story takes place, they learn to appreciate their Grandma's spunkiness and get to experience many situations that their parents would never allow them to encounter. Use our robust Instructional Guide with students in grades 4-8. Content correlates to Common Core Standards, ISTE Student Standards, National Core Art Standards, and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Find the entire selection of Reading Treks here.

tag(s): 1900s (72), 1920s (6), 1930s (20), 1940s (14), family (51)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from April 2020. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Join us for this light-hearted session where you take the role of a student working on a real-world connection project. Learn to use Google search tools like a Ninja as you prepare and submit your project. The tips and tricks presented in this session will help empower your students as they use research strategies to locate information and resources for projects and other creative work. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand how effective search strategies assist with student research; 2. Plan for the introduction of search strategies in the classroom; and 3. Create a project exemplar to share with students. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): digital citizenship (85), Google (47), media literacy (109), professional development (385), Research (87), search strategies (22)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from April 2020. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Integrating visual and written content can increase the impact of the writing that your students do. As students learn to use imagery to illustrate critical points in an argument or visualize the action in a storyline, they become better communicators. Join this session and help your students develop the ability to communicate clearly and creatively. Model and nurture creative expression while providing a new way for your students to reflect on what they have learned. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand the components of a visual essay; 2. Explore a tech tool that can be used to create visual essays; and 3. Create a visual essay exemplar to share with their students. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): essays (21), professional development (385), visualizations (11)

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature or text using the My Maps feature of Google Maps. This Reading Trek provides inspiration and suggestions for using the trade book If You Lived Here, Houses of the World. Use our robust Instructional Guide with students in grades 1-4. Content correlates to Common Core Standards, ISTE Student Standards, and National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Find the entire selection of Reading Treks here.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), family (51), homes (5), virtual field trips (129)