I don’t care which television news channel you select – I hate them all. Why? There are a variety of reasons. For one, they are all emotion, little fact. They focus on sound bites instead of the whole speech. They care way too much about celebrity and not about the common person. Most of all, […]
social studies
Posted inEducational Apps, Uncategorized
Teacher-Saving Web Tools, Part I: Differentiate reading news with Newsela and Readability
Reading skills are critical to teach our students – but it’s such a stressor to find relevant, newsworthy materials that ALSO hit a variety of reading levels and ALSO are free of all the advertisements, sidebars, and distractions. I’ve spent (wasted) so much time adapting articles myself and copy-and-pasting them into Word docs so that […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum
Integrating the Arts
Budget cuts have been happening for quite some time and when programs are axed, the arts are usually the first to go. We live in a time when the arts aren’t appreciated as much as they used to be. Students are not given the chance to form opinions about art, music and theatre simply because […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Social Studies
Where Are You From? Connecting Students to the World
Our students often have a difficult time connecting to the big world outside their everyday lives.  I had a rich and in-depth activity that I loved to do with my students to allow them the opportunity to connect themselves to a bigger world and to each other. It often resulted in comments like these: “My […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
The Importance of History in the Elementary Classroom
This past week marked the thirteenth anniversary of 9/11. My first and second graders haven’t a clue about what this terrorist attack on the United States meant. Some adults still don’t realize it either, for that matter. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to remember that these kids are only six and seven. I liken it to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Social Studies
A Call for National History Day
All teachers search for that moment when what you do in the classroom raises administrators’Â eyebrows, students’ hopes, and the goosebumps on our own skin. These pivotal moments in our interconnected lives show us – emotionally – that our job is more than just worksheets and pencil sharpeners; it’s changing lives. One of the most remarkable […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum
Utilizing Journals Across Subjects
One of the skills I see kids lacking consistently is the ability to find information on their own. Resourcefulness used to come almost innately, but nowadays it’s missing in action. One of the ways I try to teach this skill is with journals. We use journals for just about everything in my class. Most of […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Series, Social Studies
The Traveling Teacher: Lewis and Clark in Missoula, Montana
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] In my previous travels, I’ve visited both Philadelphia and Denver. After a 3-day respite at home, I headed back for the Mountain Time Zone to experience all that Big Sky Country […]