Dive into December with resources from Discovery Education to honor December holidays, explore digital citizenship, and keep students engaged as you head toward winter break!
Pop of Professional Learning
How do you explain the mitochondria to someone who doesn’t speak English? DEN STAR and Pennsylvania high school science teacher Sean O’Brien has ideas that might help! In a new DE blog post, Sean offers his advice for helping students master domain-specific scientific vocabulary while they also learn the English language.
What's New
This December, Discovery Education has new resources to help students explore digital citizenship, career preparation, important moments in history, and more!
Cheddar Ready4Work
Grades 6-12
With two brand-new episodes of the Cheddar Ready4Work series, students in grades 9-12 can explore ways to prepare for their future careers.CheddarK-12 explores, examines, and explains answers to the questions you and your students may be curious about, and the Ready4Work series focuses specifically on preparing for work and finding the right career.
Cram Jams
Grades 2-6
The Cram Jams educational, animated music videos make learning Language Arts fun and unforgettable! With new videos and PDFs, this series of catchy and informative tunes transforms Main Ideas and Details, Text Features, and Cause and Effect into something to sing about!
Digital Respons-Ability
Grades K-5
It’s never too early to learn about digital citizenship! The brand-new Digital Respons-Ability video series introduces students in grades K-5 to digital citizenship, digital safety, intellectual property, and cyberbullying. This series also includes a video for families and caretakers with five things to know about digital citizenship to help reinforce digital citizenship at home!
Discovery Educator Network Workshop Series
This Day in History
Grades 6-12
Every day is a chance to make history. In the This Day in History Channel, you can revisit historically significant events dating back to the 19th century. Explore technological breakthroughs, political developments, record-breaking achievements, and much more! With new videos on the airplane’s first flight, the day America abolished slavery, and the First World War Christmas truce, your students can look back on big days in December history!
On-Demand Virtual Field Trips (VFT)
Grades K-12
In case you missed any of DE’s new Virtual Field Trips, check out the Virtual Field Trip Channel! With newly released, on-demand VFTs exploring safe driving, polar bears, making healthy choices, and extended reality, easily take a fun field trip just before winter break without ever leaving your classroom! If you did participate in the Arctic Adventures: Polar Bears at Play Virtual Field Trip, we’d love to hear from you in our feedback survey!
Trending Topics
December is full of exciting moments to celebrate in your classroom, and Discovery Education has resources to help you make every learning moment count before winter break!
- Computer Science Education Week is December 6-12 and is a great chance to help your students explore coding and careers that use computer science skills. Looking for ideas for teaching during CSEdWeek? Check out DEN STAR Suzanne Casey’s ideas in her article on the DE Blog!
- Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 7 and finishes the evening of December 15. One of the most joyous holidays celebrated in the Jewish community, Hanukkah marks the time when ancient Jewish people recovered their temple and religious freedom!
- Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is observed annually on December 7. Explore this moment in history with your students with resources from Discovery Education.
- Honor Human Rights Day on December 10 and Bill of Rights Day on December 15 with lessons that commemorate fundamental human rights.
- December 21 marks the Winter Solstice, which is the official start of winter! Celebrate the start of a new season by looking into the creation of the solstices and equinoxes because of the earth tilting along its axis.
- Christmas is December 25! Learn about the history of Christmas, explore the diverse ways we celebrate, and get into the spirit with holiday-themed activities.
- Kwanzaa begins on December 26 and ends on January 1! During this seven-day cultural festival, Black Americans center Kwanzaa activities around Nguzo Saba, The Seven Principles, and end the time with a communal feast.
Magic Moment
Keep making magic in your classroom all the way until that final bell rings for winter break! An approaching school break brings celebrations, report cards, and anticipation for time with friends and family, but all of these can easily become distractions for your students DEN STAR Leann Rains-Sharma shares her ideas for keeping students engaged in learning, even during exciting times like the weeks leading into winter break!
If you’re inspired to check out Discovery Education’s Interactives, you’re in luck! This month, 15 brand new PhET Interactive Simulations were released for grades K-12, including the first ever K-5 interactives! These simulations can help students explore volume, mass, numbers, quantities, and more, all through engaging, hands-on learning.
2023 is almost finished, and DE is here to help you keep the learning going until it’s time to turn the calendar to 2024!
