Smithsonian Learning Lab

 

Smithsonian Learning Lab Playlist

The Smithsonian Learning Lab is a free, interactive platform allowing educators to discover over a million digital resources—images, recordings, and texts—to create, customize, and share interactive learning experiences. Teachers can build, annotate, and publish collections, track student responses, and foster critical thinking through in-depth analysis of art, history, and science, making it a versatile tool for both in-person and remote instruction. 

One Word to Rule Them All - Welcome to 2026 Student Activity

  

"History repeats itself, and that's one of the things that's wrong with history." - Clarence Darrow

Success and failure should never be an endpoint. The best learning happens when we build on what we know and reflect on what we need to still learn and explore. 

I always like to welcome my students back after the holiday break with a bit of reflection on the year that was. It is also important to revisit successes and failures to help reset goals for the new year. 

A few years ago, I read a post about most New Year's resolutions failing too often before we flip the calendars to February. For this reason, I decided to scrap the long list of resolutions I won’t remember a few weeks from now anyway! The focus is now on choosing just one word as a foundation for the new year.

One word you can focus on every day, all year long… One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your one word will shape not only your year, but also you. It will become the compass that directs your decisions and guides your steps. (OneWord365)

Today I wanted to share an activity template designed to help students set goals for the 2024 year with a focus on "one word". This activity is inspired by Mike Ashcraft's and Rachel Olsen's book My One Word: Change Your Life With Just One Word. 

2025 Year in Review - A Collection of Resources to Explore and Reflect on the Year

 

I'm back to start 2026. It's been too long since I've posted. Sorry if you've followed my blog and wondered what happened to my sharing of learning. 2025 was a challenging year, and I am not sorry to see it go.

I'm looking forward to a reset in 2026, and I wanted to start sharing again. I am starting today with this collection of resources to reflect on 2025. In the next several days, I will also share my "One Word Student Activity" and some additional resources to revisit the year that was and look ahead to 2026. 

I hope everyone has a great year!

The Joy of Not Knowing! - Unanswered Questions

Educators spend countless hours preparing lessons, crafting explanations, and striving to impart knowledge. We often aim to be the source of all answers, guiding our students through the complex topics and ideas. But what if the true measure of our success isn't when a student perfectly recites a fact, but when they ask a question that leaves us momentarily stumped?

"The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask which he finds it hard to answer." — Alice Wellington Rollins

This quote perfectly encapsulates the idea that our role isn't just to provide answers, but to ignite a thirst for knowledge that leads students to uncharted territory. 

It might sound counterintuitive, but for many teachers, the greatest joy is when kids ask us questions we don't know the answer to. This isn't a moment of inadequacy; it's a profound indicator that something truly remarkable is happening in the classroom.

Summer Reading for Teachers - Articles to Grow as Teachers and Learners

In past years, I've ambitiously published a long list of summer learning opportunities for educators. (Last year, I never quite got anything published.)

This summer, I will start by focusing on the stories and articles I added to my Chrome reading list over the past year. In the rush of a school year, there are just too many that I never found the time to explore. Time to remedy that!

To help me hold myself accountable, I will explore one or two articles each week and add any that I find valuable to this post. Stop by weekly or wait until the end of the summer to be part of my learning experience.