Oakland Schools Digital Learning
January 2023 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
Welcome Back! we hope you had a nice holiday break and are looking forward to starting the second semester of the school year later this month.
In this issue you will find:
- resources to help you with lessons about Martin Luther King Jr.
- a safe search engine for young students
- information about a career exploration resource
- "The Kid Should See This" curated video collection
- a link to videos about how things are made
- a FREE, project-based, self-paced digital curriculum from Google
- information about "Reimagine Education," a free virtual event from Microsoft Education
- free professional learning and coaching from Apple
- 25 ideas for cardboard construction
- information about the AEIOU teaching strategy from Discovery Streaming
- current lessons from Michigan Learning Channel
- digital resources for winter-themed learning from the Michigan eLibrary
- a link to register for the upcoming MACUL Conference being held in Detroit on March 16-17
Please reach out if you have questions about any of the information in this newsletter.
Dr. Martin King Luther Jr. Day
The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.
This article, "The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.," was published in the Seattle Times a few years ago but it is filled with useful information for learning about ML King Jr. and remains relevant. It contains a short biography of his life accompanied by photos, texts, audio excerpts, and a timeline of key events.
Free "Teachers Pay Teachers" Resources about Martin Luther King Jr.
This link will take you to a search on Teachers Pay Teachers for free resources about Martin Luther King Jr. The lessons and activities are searchable by grade, standard, rating, subject, and activity type. With dozens to choose from, sort by rating to quickly find the most popular lessons and activities.
Note: You will need a Teachers Pay Teachers login to download these resources.
"Martin Luther King Jr. Books" YouTube Playlist
This is a YouTube Playlist of videos of people reading aloud books, or portions of books about Martin Luther King Jr. There are 57 videos on the playlist that include many of the best picture books and some chapters from other very good books about his life. Use these as part of a listening center, a Cyber Sandwich EduProtocol, opening for a lesson on his life, and more.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
An audio recording of Dr. King Jr. reading his influential “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is available on YouTube. Older students can listen to this civil rights classic, learn about the issues of the day, and note his skillful use of persuasive rhetoric. Challenge: Ask your students to determine which of Dr. King’s concerns are still a problem today, 59 years later.
Resources for Elementary
Kiddle
Kiddle is a kid-friendly, safe visual search engine designed with young students in mind.
Be confident in knowing that your students' search results will only produce appropriate content that is hand-picked by Kiddle editors and recommended by educators, librarians and parents. Students enter a keyword and can search for websites, facts, or images about their topic. All images and facts from Kiddle Encyclopedia can be freely used for personal and educational purposes under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise.
Resources for Secondary
Time for Kids Career Development
Time for Kids has launched a new free digital platform that introduces kids ages 8-14 to the expanding world of careers. Your Job is a digital tool that helps teachers encourage students to tap into their strengths and imagine what careers are possible. This platform will help students discover what they enjoy doing, who they are as individuals, and how they can use their talents to find work that makes them happy! Students will need to create an account and complete a research=backed Skills Explorer survey to have unique content tailored to their results.
Digital Resources
Mathigon
Mathigon provides manipulatives, activities, resources and lessons for mathematics instruction. All of the materials are completely free to use and accounts are optional, but needed for saving progress in longer activities or courses. Quickly get started by using a Teaching Idea or by looking at one or two of the resources on the Tutorials and PD page.
The Kid Should See This
"The Kid Should See This" is a curated collection of 5,000+ kid-friendly videos from all around the Internet. Main topics on the site include science, tech, space, animals, nature, food, DIY, music, history, art, animation, storytelling and so much more. The videos are free to view, have additional helpful information posted below the video, and include links to related videos. The video below is a clip from the BBC's "A Perfect Planet" and is about hidden volcanoes and superheated deep-sea vents. Use their search feature to find equally powerful content that will work for your upcoming lessons.
"Nature at School" Virtual Field Trips by Michigan DNR
Winter is an excellent time to take your class on a Virtual Field Trip. Through their "Nature at School" programs the Michigan Department of Natural Resources connects virtually with classrooms from key locations around our state. Check out the different programs that are available and use the links to schedule a FREE 30-minute live, interactive experience with a DNR educator. Lessons are available for all grade levels, are aligned to standards, and include pre and post trip activities.
Brain Breaks
How Things are Made
Fascinate your students with videos about how things are made and possibly encourage them to see themselves as engineers, designers and much more. We are Teachers has chosen 16 of their favorite videos for kids, which one will be your favorite? Check out the video about how crayons are made.
Google Workspace
Google Applied Digital Skills
Google Applied Digital Skills is a FREE curriculum created by Google to help build life and job skills. Students will learn to use the free Google Workspace tools to research, plan, and complete real-world projects. The lessons are self-paced and include step-by-step videos with examples.
Bonus, Applied Digital Skills also works seamlessly with Google Classroom making them easy for you to assign to your students!
Apple
Free Learning & Coaching Sessions from Apple
The Apple Professional Learning Team continues to offer FREE virtual learning sessions and one to one virtual coaching to support leaders, educators, and IT.
- Apple Professional Learning Live - January 2023 - These live virtual events offer educators a chance to explore resources, practice new skills, and reflect on ways Apple technology can support learning and teaching. All sessions are offered twice daily, Mondays and Thursdays
- Virtual Coaching - Leaders, educators, and IT are invited to schedule a one-to-one or small group coaching session. These personalized sessions provide an opportunity to learn new skills and ask questions of an Apple Professional Learning Specialist.
Microsoft 365
"Reimage Education" 2023
"Reimagine Education" by Microsoft Education is being held on February 9 with two options to join in, one at 12 PM and one at 9 PM. You are invited to tune in, free of charge, for inspiring stories from the education community and gain insight into the latest updates for your favorite classroom tools. You will hear from innovative schools and educators around the globe, along with Microsoft leaders.
Click here to learn more and add a reminder to your calendar.
Makerspace
STEAM Resources from Erik Murray
Erik Murray shares his experiences and ideas for engaging everyone in STEAM via his Twitter account. Below is a resource he shared recently with 25 ideas for cardboard construction. Please share photos if you use any of these ideas with your students. 😃
Discovery Streaming
Note: Discovery Streaming subscription and login required to access the resources in this section. If you do not know if your school has a subscription please email laura.cummings@oakland.k12.mi.us.
AEIOU Stragegy
AEIOU is a teaching strategy that asks students to interpret information from images or videos they have viewed and write down their thoughts next to five descriptive categories. The categories are adjective, emotion, interesting, oh, and um.
- Watch this video and skim through the companion teacher guide to familiarize yourself with how the strategy works.
- Use this video to introduce your students to the AEIOU strategy.
- Open a printable graphic organizer to use with AEIOU.
Michigan Learning Channel
- Read, Write, ROAR: "Floods and the Letter F"
- Math Mights: "Put Shapes Together"
- ArchiTreks: "How Cities Change over Time"
- InPACT at Home: "Cardio Kickboxing 1"
- Read, Write, ROAR!: "It Came From Outer Space."
- Math Mights: "Near Doubles."
- ArchiTreks: "Sustainable Building."
- InPACT at Home: "Cardio Kickboxing 2."
- Read Write ROAR!: "Text Features and -ough- Words."
- Math Mights: "Story Problems About Length."
- ArchiTreks: "Preservation."
- InPACT at Home: "Cardio Kickboxing 3."
- Read, Write, ROAR!: "Mystery Word and Opinion Writing."
- Math Mights: "Learning About Rounding."
- ArchiTreks: "Structures."
- Live from the Opera House: "The Land You Live On: Local Culture and Traditions."
Fourth-Sixth Grade Lessons
- Extra Credit: "Literature."
- DIY Science Time: "Surface Tension."
Michigan eLibrary (MeL)
K-8 Resources for Winter-Themed Instruction
With winter in full swing, there is no better time to explore a variety of winter-related resources in the Michigan eLibrary (MeL) for students and teachers. These resources were curated by Ann Kaskinen from the MeL team.
Blizzards & Snowflakes
- Two great video clips to get the snow flying are from Britannica School. One helps students understand how snow crystals form, and the other explains why snow crunches when we walk through it. Also from Britannica School are articles, images, and additional video clips to help students understand snow. FYI, Britannica offers leveled content. Although the article opens at the middle school level (2), it can be changed to elementary (1) or high school (3) reading levels as well.
- In the eBook K-8 Collection searching the keyword blizzard brings back a mixture of fiction and nonfiction titles, including a title for early learners: How to Survive a Blizzard. eBooks from this collection can be shared with multiple users on multiple devices simultaneously; there are no holds or wait times!
- Precipitation Matters, an article from Science & Children, a publication in Education Source, offers hands-on lesson ideas for examining snowflakes.
Hibernation
- To get the earliest learners thinking about animal behavior this winter, Science Spin K-1 from Primary Search has Ready, Set, Snooze! article and activity about groundhog behavior. The corresponding article from the Science Spin K-1 (Teacher’s Guide) can be found in Education Source.
- A keyword search of hibernation in the eBook K-8 Collection garners 14 results, including titles on bears, insects and frogs.
- Scholastic News (Edition 5/6) has a fun, yet informative article, Heavyweight Champ, from Middle Search Plus that describes the Alaskan Brown Bear packing on the pounds for winter.
If you are having any issues linking to items on this page, please explore the MeL eResource Access Page. Contact melerhelp@mcls.org for help.
MACUL Conference - March 16-17, 2023
Registration is now open for the 2023 MACUL Conference to be held on March 16th & 17th at Huntington Place in Detroit. Visit maculconference.org for more information, including pre-conference workshops and a virtual track option.
Oakland Schools Digital Learning Team Information
Oakland Schools Digital Learning Consultants
Laura Cummings
Laura.Cummings@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2283
Vinos Kassab
Vinos.Kassab@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2229
Previous Editions of our Newsletter
Links to all previous editions of the Oakland Schools Digital Learning news can be found on our website.
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