Strategy Share: Cultivating a Sense of Wonder with Early Elementary Students

After ten years in the classroom, I can attest that children have a natural propensity for wonder. At the same time, I wholeheartedly believe it’s my responsibility to cultivate their curiosity and wonder. I do this by deliberately employing strategies and designing experiences that celebrate an inquisitive nature and build students’ confidence in wondering about the world. Below are two practical strategies I encourage you to try. Continue reading Strategy Share: Cultivating a Sense of Wonder with Early Elementary Students

Strategy Share: Exploring Climate Change with Google Earth

I circumnavigated Iceland on expedition as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow in July 2017, not long after the announcement that the United States planned to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation. Back home in the U.S. at that time, there was a lot of political debate about involvement in the agreement and the value of combating global warming at home. Meanwhile in Iceland, I came face to face with the effects of global warming as we visited spectacular landscapes threatened by the warming climate. Continue reading Strategy Share: Exploring Climate Change with Google Earth

Strategy Share: Engaging the Five Senses for Lasting Impact

Snap. Crackle. Pop. After the first few weeks of class, I was sitting on my couch enjoying a lazy Saturday. The morning news was playing in the background and the porch door open. I could feel the balminess of a typical New Orleans day settle its way into the living room. Continue reading Strategy Share: Engaging the Five Senses for Lasting Impact

Niagara Falls Never Freezes Over

ENVIRONMENT Despite sensational media reports, the falls aren’t going to freeze solid. (National Geographic) Download and print your own coloring page of Niagara Falls. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including today’s MapMaker Interactive map. Discussion Ideas What is Niagara Falls? Take a look at today’s MapMaker Interactive map, as well as the “case study” in our … Continue reading Niagara Falls Never Freezes Over

11 Things We Learned This Week

What did you learn this week? We learned … … what the best new maps are, according to cartographers. Zoom in on one of the best maps of the year, from National Geographic magazine’s May issue.   … Pluto’s heavy heart may have turned the world upside-down. How did NASA get close enough to peer into Pluto’s pretty heart?   … bird poop may keep … Continue reading 11 Things We Learned This Week