The 100th day of school is an exciting time for many primary students. Use your VariQuest Visual Learning Tools to enhance the celebration!

Open Educational Resources, or OERs, have been around since the 1990s, however current technology has propelled OERs to the mainstream. Because the structure of the educational system is by nature exclusive, the ultimate goal of open educational resources is to make high-quality education available for any person to access at no cost. Because of revolutionary technologies of knowledge delivery, the world is closer to this point than at any other time.

Looking for resources for the 2020 Chinese New Year? Check out our blog post here. The Chinese New Year falls on February 19, 2015. In this lesson, students will read about Chinese New Year traditions, compare them to American traditions, then celebrate by practicing one of the Chinese New Year traditions.

April 11, 1965. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965:

Subjects: Arts & Humanities, Civics, Holidays, Language Arts, Social Studies, U.S. History Grades: 3-5, 6-8 In this lesson, adapted from an activity on Education World, students will reinforce their understanding of fact and opinion while learning about the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Students with dyslexia are highly visual learners who benefit from multi-sensory learning environments. Because dyslexic students have a dominant right brain, it takes strategic effort and care to engage the left side of the brain. Engaging multiple sensory experiences into instruction will then engage multiple areas of the brain. This helps dyslexic students make connections, strengthen their left brain, and better retain information. (source) Students with dyslexia tend to be more visual in learning, therefore, visual tools are vital to their success in grasping concepts and problem solving. Here are three visual tools that can help students with dyslexia make connections, retain information, and deepen learning:

Republished with permission from Melissa Hughes, Ph.D. Original article posted on December 2, 2014 There has been a lot of buzz lately around the maker movement. Recent brain-based research support the notion that hands-on making, building, and creating not only nurture creativity, but also impact cognition, working memory, and innovative problem solving. While we don’t have to have the working knowledge of neuroscientists, if we're going to improve our practice of teaching it's important to understand how the brain learns.

The weeks leading up to winter break can be chaotic in any classroom. Here are 8 teacher-created ecards for a bit of comedic relief:

Reposted from Edutopia.org--original article (found here) by Patrick Waters Maker education is a new school of educational thought which strives to deliver constructivist, project-based learning curriculum and instructional units. Makerspaces can be full high school workshops with a bevy of high-tech tools, or as small and low tech as one corner of an elementary classroom. What defines a makerspace isn't just the tools and equipment, but the learning that happens as students begin making and creating projects. Educators need to design these spaces to reach a diverse set of learners, particularly populations underserved in STEM subjects, and students with neurological differences, learning differences, and special needs. Makerspaces provide a number of benefits and opportunities for typical students. It just so happens that the type of learning Makerspaces promote best is also the type of learning that students with learning challenges need most.

'Tis the season! If you're like us, you have no idea where the year went. If you're feeling a little short on classroom ideas to fill out the weeks leading up to winter break, don't worry! We've compiled some great activities and lessons from teachers just like you, spanning subject and ages. Enjoy!