Non-fiction narratives in particular can inspire children by highlighting the accomplishments of historically oppressed groups. As an Asian-American, I enjoyed the inspiring true underdog story We Sing From the Heart: How The Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court by Mia Wenjen, from Red Comet Press. It tells an empowering story of reappropriation through a punk rock First Amendment legal battle.

Read Your World is a non-profit that supports multicultural children’s literature. Parents and educators understand that multilingualism is an asset for young learners. This year, I was gifted the bilingual Mandarin-English book Ge Ge and Di Di's Big Day with Elephant by Karen Yee, from Green Cows Books. It is an excellent resource to introduce young children to Chinese language.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day raises awareness for representation in children’s literature. As a part of their annual celebration, this year I reviewed Tofu Takes Time. Its central message is patience and relishing time together, while exploring intergenerational customs and making food from scratch.

Students participated in an interdisciplinary citizen science experiment by planting two sets of tomato seeds: one that had traveled on the International Space Station and one that had stayed earthbound.

By sharing unsolved, unlikely, or controversial stories of our past, students can deepen their understanding of history and record-keeping. These memorable history mysteries invite them to contribute to our collective body of knowledge.

Create whole-body immersive experiences for your students by increasing the scale of your lesson and materials! Use National Geographic giant maps, sidewalk chalk, shower curtains, butcher paper, and more to create engaging, active learning experiences.

Bringing teaching outdoors increases student engagement, employs multiple learning modalities, and builds connections. In the spring of 2018, students wrote nature-inspired poems and practiced math in the fresh air.

Students can learn about a topic using videos, texts, online databases, and virtual “field” research. By rotating in groups, you can break away from whole group instruction and stretch a smaller number of resources.

And so begins my Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship! With two months left in the school year and five months left before my Galápagos voyage, I'm armed with new geographic tools to try in my classroom!

Create immersive virtual reality experiences within your classroom through three easy steps. This will connect students of all ages to the places you teach about in an engaging, personal way.