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December 7, 2015
Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers®
This week is a technology dream with the Hour of Code AND Computer Science Education Week. Look to TeachersFirst to help you “celebrate” these technology themes in your classroom!
Season of Giving
TeachersFirst’s Giving Tree lesson is an all time favorite. Students in all grades respond to the message of this Shel Silverstein classic. What would your students like to give/receive? What would you like to give/receive? Plant the seeds of generosity within your class with The Giving Tree.
Presenting PD?
Are you presenting at a winter workshop? If you plan to feature TeachersFirst at an upcoming workshop or PD session, you can request materials to share by filling out this online form. As a free service from a non-profit, TeachersFirst relies on word of mouth from connectors like you to “get the word out.”
CalendarHappenings
The TeachersFirst Classroom Planning Calendar offers resources related to events and observations on the calendar all throughout the year. Take a look at these:
Common Core: The Fuss over Non-Fiction
Even if you do not teach in a Common Core state, you have probably heard everyone talking about close reading and informational text (non-fiction). Demystify the Common Core with our helpful article for elementary teachers, Common Core: The Fuss Over Non-Fiction. This Q/A article will help you to make sense of this shift and provide you with some practice tips and resources to get started.
A Gift from YOU!
This week’s Teacher Poll asks: If you could give your students ONE tech gift, what would it be? Place your vote on the teacher poll on the TeachersFirst home page.
December Treasures
The December theme from our sister site, TogetheRead, is Finding Treasures. TogetheRead offers a list of books each month for all ages centered around a shared “theme” and accompanied by free or low cost activities for families to do together. The booklists include questions and discussion topics that will help parents build children’s comprehension skills as they read together—or separately. Share TogetheRead with parents of students of ALL ages. TogetheRead is another free offering from our non-profit parent company, The Source for Learning, Inc.
Featured Sites
This week in our Featured Sites you will find:
- World War I with The New York Times
- Banzai
- ZenPen
- Curiosity Machine
- Zeal
- Typing Alfa Style
- History of Immigration
- And more
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are reading this December 13 or later, the link above will take you to the Featured Sites for the current week. Find the archived December 6 Features here, and don’t miss our many other recent additions from the link at the bottom of the Featured Sites page.
Enjoy this “tech-tastic” week of technology with your class!
The TeachersFirst Team