Be a History Detective at the First Thanksgiving

Have you ever wondered what it was like at the First Thanksgiving celebration? My kids and I were discussing this on Thanksgiving. Long story short, we now know. Well, we have a much better understanding of what it might have been like. Visit Plimoth Plantation to experience history for yourself.

"In this fun, award-winning activity, kids take on the role of “history detectives” to investigate what really happened at the famous 1621 celebration. (Hint: It was a lot more than just a feast!) Along the way, they’ll read a letter written by an eyewitness to the event, learn about Wampanoag traditions of giving thanks, and visit Pilgrim Mary Allerton’s home. As a final activity, kids can design and print their own Thanksgiving exhibit panel."

Becoming a history detective with this interactive was a great learning experience. Plus it was fun for me and the kids to do together. There was analysis involved, determining fact from fiction and the teacher's guide gave me a path to use with them. I could see doing this in small groups or even as a whole group on an interactive whiteboard in the classroom.

Great activity/resource. Check it out!

Free Teacher Resource

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NASA Content for STEM

While browsing through the Marketplace on Learning.com today, I was reminded of one of the great free resources available for teaching STEM...NASA. Ok, I know I live just down the road from NASA, but sometimes you forget about the resources that are in your backyard. Good thing that Learning.com has this free resource posted to remind me. If you haven't logged in lately to check out what is available in the Marketplace, you should do it now. When you visit the Marketplace, search by providers and you will find the NASA icon that is filled with resources for bringing to life the principles of engineering for students (K-8). Let students bring their problem solving skills to life by using their own creativity and innovation.

Microsoft in Education Teacher Guides

Do you need resources related to the Microsoft Office suite of products to assist you in the classrom? Take a look at these great Teacher Guides to get started. They contain teaching tips and step-by-step guides for popular teacher tasks, plus they are easy to use and are free. The Microsoft in Education site suggests using these teacher guides to learn ways to inspire your students and to better use new tools and technologies in class.

Digital Learning Day

This is such a great idea for the ed tech community.

From the Digital Learning Day site, "The first national Digital Learning Day is Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Join the Alliance and our more than 20 nationally recognized core education partners as we work together to rally support and action to enable digital learning everywhere. The Alliance for Excellent Education invites you – teachers, students, parents, principals, district administrators, as well as state and national education leaders – to engage in Digital Learning Day, a year-long campaign to celebrate bold, creative innovative teachers in classrooms across this nation."

Check out the Digital Learning Day site and be sure to sign up to participate.