Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from October 2024. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

This engaging interactive workshop will teach you how to leverage practical strategies and powerful free tools from Microsoft like Reading Coach, Edge/Word Online, and Forms to support your students' literacy development. Whether you're looking to boost reading comprehension, improve writing proficiency, or integrate technology seamlessly into your lessons, this workshop has something for everyone. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Explore strategies for using technology to enhance reading comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. 2. Discuss approaches for collaborative writing, feedback, and improving writing skills. 3. Develop strategies for creating assessments aligned with literacy standards to gain insights into student learning. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): professional development (385), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96), writing (325)

Take a virtual field trip with this Reading Trek based upon Jennifer Thermes' book Charles Darwin's Around-the World Adventure. This Reading Trek includes a Teacher Guide that uses Google My Maps, reviewed here as the basis for a virtual journey that includes maps that are embedded into illustrations to tell the story of Darwin's five-year voyage aboard the HMS Beagle. Additional suggestions include ideas for using this book with lessons on using maps and extension activities for several core content areas. Teaching suggestions are correlated to National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, National Core Standards for Visual Arts, Next Generation Science Standards, and Social Justice Standards.

tag(s): animals (295), continents (33), darwin (13), ecosystems (83), plants (146), preK (271)

TeachersFirst Help! I Lost My Library/Media Specialist series, reviewed here, brings you this article with book suggestions and activities featuring the genre of mysteries. This article begins with background knowledge on the advantages of including mystery books in classrooms in any reading program. The activities include recommendations for picture books and novels and lesson ideas that utilize technology and online resources to enhance knowledge and comprehension. Additional extension activities that encourage students to explore the mystery genre are available further down the page. They include writing projects and video book reviews. Information includes correlation to ISTE and AASL standards.

tag(s): book lists (167), mysteries (23)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from November 2023. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Content area literacy is the ability to use reading and writing to acquire information in a subject area. It involves general literacy skills, content-specific literacy skills, and prior knowledge of content. This interactive workshop will explore five technology-integrated strategies that will enhance content-area literacy across the curriculum, focusing on supporting the needs of diverse learners to ensure an inclusive and equitable learning environment. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Explain the definition and benefits of content area literacy; 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of the five strategies presented for their students' learning needs and goals; and 3. Plan hands-on, engaging activities that will help students develop content area literacy skills. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): literacy (122), professional development (385), reading strategies (96), teaching strategies (50)

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional learning session is from February 2023. You can register and immediately view the archive of the session.

Want to use an engaging and challenging learning platform to bridge content knowledge gaps for your students? Come to this session to learn about three tech tools that will help you reach every student at their level. Teach Your Monster to Read, CommonLit, and GeoGebra will help find and fix missing skills in Reading or Math. Learn how to leverage these free, adaptive online tools to improve student outcomes. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Learn about content area tools to use in the classroom to bridge knowledge gaps; 2. Understand how to use assessment data to guide intervention; and 3. Collaborate with other participants on ways to use these tools in instruction. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): professional development (385), reading strategies (96)

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

Tired of giving students the same language arts assignments? Want to switch things up? Join us to look at a few quick and easy ways to refresh your lessons and gauge student comprehension using authentic assessments. Learn to use technology to create an environment that allows students to share important connections they have made between what they have read and their personal lives, other texts, and the world around them. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Learn authentic ways to assess reading comprehension; 2. Explore tools for quick and easy in-class reading projects; and 3. Create a project sample for use in your instructional setting. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): Formative Assessment (74), professional development (385), reading comprehension (149)

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

Good readers take breaks to process what they're reading. Learn research-based strategies to use Microsoft Sway to guide comprehension. Helping students become aware of reading comprehension strategies allows them to manage their learning and empowers them to read strategically. This is especially helpful in a flipped or blended learning model. Join us and learn how to put Sway into action in your classroom! As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Learn three active reading comprehension strategies; 2. Understand where these strategies fit in the instructional cycle; and 3. Plan for the use of Sway during reading instruction. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): blended learning (37), flipped learning (9), Microsoft (80), professional development (385), reading comprehension (149), reading strategies (96), remote learning (54)

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

Explore four free TeachersFirst exclusive resources that spark curiosity and support classroom instruction. Let TeachersFirst help you save time and assist you with creating engaging learning experiences for your students. Enhance reading comprehension across content areas with our library of pre-made virtual field trips that immerse students in literature and build context and interest in the characters and their journeys. Support geography and mapping skills in grades 2-6 with the weekly episodic adventures of Geo and Meri. Build cross-cultural understanding and practice digital writing weekly with XW1W. Explore a web-based, interactive infographic of the Battle of Gettysburg designed to raise questions and invite connections for students in grades 5-10. As a result of this session, teachers will: 1. Understand the importance of context within instruction; 2. Explore four curricular support resources that can be used to spark curiosity and discussion in the classroom; and 3. Plan for the use of a TeachersFirst exclusive, web-based resource in your lessons. This session is appropriate for teachers at all technology levels.

tag(s): professional development (385)