Strategy Share: Support Classroom Discussion by Incorporating Students’ Culture

Student discourse is a major component of any classroom. Teachers work to create a learning environment that fosters critical thought and provides a safe space for new ideas. There are a wide range of facilitation techniques designed to support classroom discussion, but they don’t always allow students to voice ideas based on their own understanding of the world. When we facilitate dialogue that feels separate from students’ lives, we limit the connections they can build. Continue reading Strategy Share: Support Classroom Discussion by Incorporating Students’ Culture

Educator Spotlight: Chronicling Ancestral Stories with Puppets

Kaitlyn Purvis designed a third-grade unit that helped students make personal connections to the lives of Canada’s early settlers and indigenous people. Students explored their own heritage and mapped the resulting data, learning how their classmates’ families came to Canada. After researching what life was like for both settlers and indigenous people, students created puppet videos to share what they learned. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Chronicling Ancestral Stories with Puppets

Isolated Tribes and Forests Threatened by New Amazon Road

ENVIRONMENT Communities in Peru are opposing a major development project approved by their central government. (National Geographic) Use our inquiry-based lesson plan to help students analyze the impact of building a road in the Amazon. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Use these questions to start student inquiry. Then, use our lesson to help explore … Continue reading Isolated Tribes and Forests Threatened by New Amazon Road

Is This Bird an Arsonist?

SCIENCE The indigenous peoples of northern Australia have long told tales about raptors intentionally starting fires in order to lure their prey into the open. Now, a scientific study has documented these “firehawks.” (International Business Times) It’s the Year of the Bird, and that apparently includes fire-starting raptors. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas A … Continue reading Is This Bird an Arsonist?

Generation Gaps, Social Studies, and Learning Through Language

Sandhya Narayanan is just one of the women speaking at our Expand the Field event on Tuesday, February 11, 2019. Learn more about the events and get tickets here! National Geographic Explorer Sandhya Narayanan grew up hearing five different languages spoken at home (Malayalam, Hindi, English, Tamil, and Bengali) and many more spoken around her in the international city of Toronto. This multilingual environment made … Continue reading Generation Gaps, Social Studies, and Learning Through Language