Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from January 2022. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Get inspired by digital writing tools that facilitate the planning and implementation of powerful, engaging lessons that support literacy standards! Through the exploration of three digital writing tools, understand how these tools can scaffold instruction for each component of the writing process -- prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and publish. Engaged students who understand the writing process produce more successful work. Join us to see how you can improve student organization, collaboration, storytelling, and decision-making within the writing process by using these digital tools. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand ways different digital writing tools can scaffold instruction; 2. Identify ways digital writing can increase student engagement; and 3. Plan for the use of digital writing tools in their classroom to support the writing process. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): professional development (385), writing (324)

Include literature in your teaching about the Progressive Era in the United States with the resources shared in this TeachersFirst Exclusive. Begin with a background summary that conveys information, including important dates and legislation passed during this period. Following this summary is a list of suggested picture books, virtual field trips, and videos to include with your studies of the Progressive Era. Additionally, each shared book also includes suggestions for classroom activities. Finally, this site also offers additional extension activities and correlation to National Library and ISTE teaching standards.

tag(s): 1800s (75), 1900s (72), branches of government (65), business (52), constitution (96), transportation (30), womens suffrage (52)

20th Century America Part 2 includes the years after World War 2 through the end of the 20th Century. During this period, there were global conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. In addition, the Cold War, a period of tension between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies, continued for decades. The latter half of the 20th Century was also a tumultuous time for Civil Rights. Strong African American leaders who worked for social justice included Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Little Rock Nine. It was also a time of innovation and technological advancements. Read all about these events and more in the resources shared in this curated list.

tag(s): 20th century (62), black history (133), civil rights (209), cold war (30), korea (21), martin luther king (45), middle east (50), rosa parks (9), segregation (18), vietnam (38)

The first part of the 20th Century in America takes us from the turn of the century through the end of World War 2. It is pivotal to help students understand how these years changed the country. Find resources in this collection related to the economic, social and technological milestones seen during this time. We will include resources that introduce the opening of the Panama Canal, the Wall Street Crash of 1929, The Great Depression, Mahatma Gandhi, World War I and II, the first winter Olympics, US Immigration Act of 1924, the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, the segregation era, the Roaring Twenties and prohibition, The Ford Model-T, Lindburgh's first nonstop flight from NY to Paris, the construction of the Empire State Building and the Hoover Dam. Discover these topics and many others in this collection.

tag(s): 20th century (62), great depression (30), holocaust (42), immigration (68), japanese (47), segregation (18), stock market (11), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)

Bring Colonial America to your class with the reviewed resources shared in this section. The colonial history of the United States covers the period of time from 1607 to 1776, when the thirteen colonies joined together to declare their independence. Therefore, the term Colonial America also refers to the thirteen colonies located on what is now the eastern coast of the United States. People came to the New World for many different reasons: religious freedom, commerce, and starting new lives after serving time in jail. Education was important to the colonies, and the economy was based most often on farming and trade.

tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), colonial america (95), colonization (21)

For over a century, America's Northern and Southern states had been in conflict over several issues, including cultural values, the federal government's power, slavery, and other economic interests. The bloodiest conflict in the history of our union was fought from 1861-1865 between the states that supported the federal union and the southern states that voted to secede and then form the Confederate States of America. This curated collection shares many resources and tools to help your students visualize what America was like during those tumultuous times.

tag(s): 1800s (75), civil war (139), lincoln (66), slavery (79)

Take your students back in time to the late 1700s, as the 13 colonies began their quest for freedom from British rule. These resources share information and tools to engage your students as they learn how the colonies came together to form the United States of America. Resources are shared for all grade levels and include classroom use ideas.

tag(s): american revolution (82), colonial america (95), colonization (21), washington (28)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from November 2021. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

You've probably used Google Maps to find directions, but there are so many other things you can do with this tool in the classroom! In this session, educators will go on a journey to learn how to integrate Google Maps into instruction. Learn about strategies for group collaboration and how to create and customize your own map by adding placemarks and paths--and remember, it's OK2Ask questions at any time! As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Explore Google Maps and its features, 2. Learn about uses for Google My Maps in education; and 3. Plan to incorporate Google My Maps into an upcoming lesson. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): Google (47), map skills (63), professional development (385)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from November 2021. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Prepare your students to use today's digital tools to help solve tomorrow's problems. Pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithmic thinking, and decomposition are core thinking skills that can be applied to any subject. Learn how to integrate these components into any content area using Microsoft MakeCode projects and Hacking STEM lessons--hands-on activities that engage students immediately. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Review the fundamentals of computational thinking and how they can be applied across K-12 disciplines; 2. Explore MakeCode and Hacking STEM, two resources that promote computational thinking; and 3. Plan for the use of computational thinking in the classroom. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): coding (85), computational thinking (40), Microsoft (80), professional development (385)