Author: sanjay

contributed by Alan Davson ‘Anyone who has visited my classroom knows how much I love words. I teach multimedia arts, but I talk about words so much that most people assume I must be an English teacher. Over the years, no matter what subject I taught, I kept noticing the same pattern. My studentswere bright, creative, and capable, but they were often easily thrown when they encounteredunfamiliar words. Sometimes it only took one word to derail them. Some students could sound things out, but when asked to explain what the word meant, they would shut down. Some students could sound…

Designing for Depth: When High Achievement Isn’t the Whole Story  contributed by Laura Mukerji, InterestEd Educational Solutions  In most classrooms, we rely on visible indicators like grades, accuracy, and finished work to tell us whether learning is happening. While those measures are useful, they do not always show how students are actually thinking.  Many students become very good at ‘doing school.’ They learn how to meet expectations, follow directions, and produce the right answers, often without needing to extend their thinking in meaningful ways. As this pattern develops, efficiency can begin to replace curiosity, and correctness can take the place…

I teach high school, so when I get a gift from a student and their family, I’m fully screaming, crying, throwing up (as the kids say). I know that it sounds cliché, but I really mean it when I say that the handwritten notes that I’ve received from students are my most cherished gifts. I’d always recommend a handwritten card for your teacher. No matter which grade they teach, I know they’ll appreciate it. We spoke with 120 teachers from around the country to learn what makes the best teacher gifts for every style and price range. Here’s what we…

Connectivity is everything—both in and out of the classroom. Looking for the right phone plan to ensure you receive every family text while at school? Perhaps exploring other home internet options to speed up your Pinterest surfing sessions? Either way, the right provider needs to come with the right price. That’s why you might want to check out the Verizon teacher discount. Teachers can get up to $25 off with Verizon If your chosen phone and/or internet provider is Verizon, we’ve got good news: Educators are eligible to receive monthly discounts on select plans! You can expect this to vary…

There’s no doubt about it: Teachers and school staff are some of the hardest-working people around—they basically all deserve awards every day! If you’re getting ready to give out end-of-the-year teacher awards, you’re going to want this huge printable bundle. It includes silly and funny teacher awards, as well as those that recognize the more serious efforts these heroes make on a daily basis. Take a look at what’s included in our huge roundup, then download it for free! We Are Teachers FREE PRINTABLES Teacher and School Staff Awards Celebrate a fellow teacher or staff member with our free printable,…

With misinformation, viral stories, and AI‑generated content showing up everywhere students turn, teaching news literacy can feel both urgent and overwhelming. That’s where Checkology® from the News Literacy Project comes in. This engaging, expert‑developed digital platform helps students learn how to evaluate information, understand algorithms, and think critically, without telling them what to think. Checkology combines interactive lessons, real‑world videos, posters, quizzes, and classroom slides to make news literacy feel relevant and accessible for today’s students. We asked Amy Brownlee, a middle school reading teacher and librarian from Kansas, to try Checkology with her students and see how it works…

Graduation season is here and it’s time for even the youngest graduates to walk across the stage, receive their diplomas, and toss those caps in the air! Designing their own graduate caps is a great way to end the year for pre-kinder, kindergarten, and even 5th grade graduates. This free printable graduation cap is flexible and easy to print, cut, and decorate.  How To Use the Graduation Cap Printable Courtesy of Adrienne Hathaway Printing the cap is just the beginning. Here’s how to turn this graduation cap into a memento of the year:  Create one-of-a-kind mortarboards: Give students time to decorate…

Learning Japanese can be an exciting journey, full of new sounds, characters, and cultural insights. Whether you are starting from scratch or aiming to improve your fluency, finding the right approach makes all the difference. From understanding the writing system to improving your listening skills, every aspect of language learning requires guidance and practice. Choosing a supportive environment with experienced instructors can accelerate your progress while keeping the process enjoyable. Courses designed for every learner Japanese courses are crafted to meet diverse learning goals. Some focus on daily conversation, others on reading and writing, and some on business communication. A…

Teaching Students to Navigate Common Digital File Challenges In today’s learning area, working with digital files is an integral part of the educational process. Students create, save, share, and edit various documents every day. They can range from simple text files to complex multimedia projects. Meanwhile, with technological progress, many students face challenges that hinder effective learning. That’s why the skill to navigate the digital space is no longer just an extra one.  It must now be a core competency. Teaching students to overcome these challenges means not only improving their academic performance. It is also about preparing them for…

contributed by Tulika Samal In today’s rapidly changing world, the ability to think critically is more valuable than ever. Mathematics, often perceived as a subject of numbers and formulas, is in fact one of the most powerful tools for developing critical thinking. At the heart of meaningful mathematics lies the ability to analyze, interpret, and justify reasoning. Why Mathematical Reasoning Matters More Than Memorization For many learners, mathematics becomes a set of procedures to memorize; apply a formula, follow steps, and arrive at an answer. While this approach may produce correct results in familiar situations, it often falls short when…