For thousands of years, the turning of the seasons has prompted communities around the world to ponder their mortality. In ancient Ireland, Celts lit towering bonfires for Samhain, believing the flames would guide ancestral spirits home and keep harmful ones away. In China and parts of East Asia, the Hungry Ghost Festival calls for burning … Read more
| J. Robert Parks | Through the benefit of hindsight, historic events can look much different for generations far removed from the time in which those events occurred. Teachers can readily give examples of that for every era. The Compromise of 1850 is a particularly notable instance in U.S. history, however. Although the legislation was … Read more
October’s second Monday marks the shared observance of Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day, providing elementary students an opportunity to examine both the spirit of exploration and the cultures that long predated it. Teaching these histories side by side gives students an early framework for understanding how the same moment in time can mean different … Read more
Each year, nearly one in three US students between the ages of 12 and 17 reports being bullied. Of those, rates are significantly higher for girls (38.3%), students with a developmental disability (44.4%), and LGBTQ+ students (47.1%). National Bullying Prevention Month in October encourages educators, caregivers, and parents to take a closer look at how … Read more
Across the United States, an estimated 15.5 million adults and 7 million children live with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This condition causes differences in how the brain is wired to respond to time, tasks, and rewards. Symptoms often resemble behavioral or motivational issues, such as daydreaming, forgetfulness, restlessness, impulsivity, and difficulty completing tasks. To the outside … Read more
| By Chilton Staff | “A lot of my family worked on cars and seeing them do that—it is something I just grew to love. I feel like it’s not work anymore and it’s not school, it’s just something that I love to do.” —Samuel Villaseñor, Cuyamaca College1 Many students are drawn to working in … Read more
World Animal Day on October 4 offers an irresistible excuse to fill your classroom with the sounds, sights, and science of the animal kingdom. But with an estimated 8.7 million species across land and sea, narrowing down which ones to feature—and doing so in a way that’s developmentally appropriate and pedagogically meaningful—can be a challenge. … Read more
| J. Robert Parks | Fifty years ago this week, on September 6, 1975, one of the greatest tennis players of all time defected from Czechoslovakia to the United States. In 1975, Martina Navratilova was only 18 years old, and she had begun to make her mark in women’s tennis, although she wasn’t yet a … Read more
| By Gale Staff | August 30 is National Grief Awareness Day, a day intended to recognize the enormous impact of loss, deepen our collective understanding of grief, and reduce stigma around grief and grieving. Because while grief is a universal human experience, it is deeply personal, and too often misunderstood or even stigmatized. This annual … Read more
| By Gale Staff | Through the Gale ecosystem, students have access to more than 100 databases, putting an extraordinary range of compelling research at their fingertips across a multitude of disciplines. To take full advantage of those resources, students need to understand how to use the tools at their disposal. Often, this means turning … Read more