| By Gale Staff | Earth Day lands on April 22 each year. With your students undoubtedly daydreaming about summer plans, Earth Day is a chance to reinvigorate learning and prepare your students to end the year on a high note. Education about our natural environment is a fun topic—and a powerful catalyst for positive … Read more
| By Gale Staff | Food is a fundamental part of life. In the United States, food production and consumption significantly influence the economy, the environment, and society. Yet the social issues related to food and eating aren’t always the first topics that come to mind when people are interacting with food on a daily … Read more
| By Gale Staff | The American Civil War is a tragic chapter of our country’s history. Beginning on April 12, 1861, and ending nearly four years later in 1865, the Civil War claimed the lives of more than half a million Americans. More Americans died in the Civil War than in World War I … Read more
A Pew Research study found that 61% of people under 40 have an immediate family member who currently serves or has served in the military. Of those, 1.6 million children have a parent who is either an active duty serviceperson or in a reserve unit. Yet, many elementary students don’t understand why the last Monday … Read more
| By Carol Brennan | The month of March is now upon us, providing us with the annual opportunity to ponder the conundrum of being invited to celebrate a group that makes up roughly 50 percent of the population and yet is accorded exactly 8.5 percent of the calendar year in which to be accorded … Read more
| By Gale Staff | When Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror Alien hit theaters in 1979, audiences were horrified by the dripping maws and reproductive process of the Xenomorph. However, the depiction of Ash, an android loyal to the Wayland-Yutani Corporation at the expense of the rest of the crew, truly sent a shiver down our … Read more
| By J. Robert Parks | A Raisin in the Sun was one of the most significant American plays of the twentieth century. Written by Lorraine Hansberry, it portrays a multigenerational, working-class Black family living in a cramped home in Chicago, Illinois, but dreaming of something more. It received its Broadway premiere 65 years ago … Read more
| By Elizabeth Mohn | Americans celebrate Black History Month each February. Every year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) selects a theme on which Americans can focus their research and attention during the monthlong celebration. (Find out more about annual themes at the ASALH website.) In 2024, the theme … Read more
| By Gale Staff | Falling on April 1 each year, April Fools’ Day is a playful occasion for harmless pranks and hijinks. Elementary educators no doubt have a little something up their sleeves already, but why not build a themed lesson plan around the holiday as well? April Fools’ Day is celebrated worldwide, with … Read more
| By Gale Staff | It can be particularly tough to be an educator between winter and spring break. Students are restless, the days are still bitterly cold, and there are far too few hours of sunshine, leaving everyone with a shortage of vitamin D and in serious need of some positive vibes. Teachers set … Read more