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January 2025
A monthly newsletter from ESC Region 11 providing you with timely, curated resources from the Discovery Education Experience and information about training and support.
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🎉New Year's Resolutions
Happy New Year!
The New Year's holiday contains many traditions you know, such as celebrating at midnight, eating blackeyed peas and cabbage, and the ball dropping in Times Square, but it also has lesser known traditions, such as eating 12 grapes at midnight (Spain), shaking the President's hand at the White House, and dropping 200 pounds of bologna at midnight (Lebanon, Pennsylvania).
New Year's resolutions date back to the ancient Babylonians and still provide an opportunity for people to reflect and set goals. The New Year's lesson below includes background information about the holiday (around the world) and resolution planning.
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January Resources
Every month, Discovery Ed publishes a calendar of daily activities for grades K-2 and 3-5. These simple, powerful activities can be assigned to students or used as a presentation.
Check the most recent calendars out here:
Together with the activity calendars, help students practice literacy using the daily sentence fix-its: January Daily Sentence Fix-Its.
In addition, look below to find learning activities for grade levels and special days in January! 🎆
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January 8
Typing Day
Typing is a part of so much of our lives, and Discovery Ed has some wonderful tools to help grow your typing muscles. Check out the typing exercises from Arcademics for an engaging workout!
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January 9
Word Nerd Day
Vocabulary is a universal need across all subject areas, and why not use Word Nerd Day as an excuse to build vocabulary skills?
Vocabulary Quadrants is a teaching strategy that follows Frayer's model for vocabulary acquisition and requires students to consider one word in several different areas. By completing a vocabulary map, students become familiar with various angles of new vocabulary.
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January 17
Benjamin Franklin Day
Look deeper at Benjamin Franklin, who left home at a young age and became a printer, a scientist, an inventor, an author, a postmaster general, a firefighter, and a statesman. He published his own newspaper, invented bifocal glasses, opened a library, and loved to experiment with electricity! A man of many talents, Franklin not only helped establish the nation but also shaped and embodied many of its founding principles.
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January 20
Inauguration Day
This behind-the-scenes Virtual Field Trip features Inauguration Day questions from real students and answers from real experts. Spark student interest and dive deeper into Inauguration Day topics, including what it is like to be present during a presidential inauguration, the purpose of inaugurations, why inaugurations happen on January 20 in the United States, why the inauguration is held at the Capitol, and what it is like to move into the White House.
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January 24-28
Data Privacy Week
 The theme for Data Privacy Week 2025 is "Take control of your data." This theme emphasizes empowering individuals to manage their personal information and make informed decisions about data sharing. It also underscores the growing need to be proactive in safeguarding personal information in an increasingly digital world.
The following resources create opportunities for discussion and exploration about data privacy:
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January 27
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
As part of this day of remembrance for the victims and survivors of The Holocaust, Discovery has curated a channel of resources for all grade levels. The resources in this collection are powerful evidence that awareness of the past is a crucial element of active citizenship. These resources provide a living record of the dangers of intolerance and the importance of people from diverse backgrounds learning to live together. This curated collection includes resources created in collaboration with the USC Shoah Foundation.
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👨💻Professional Learning Designed for Your Needs
Districts and charters that contract with ESC Region 11 for Discovery Education have access to professional learning. Need ideas? Check out the list below for possible professional learning topics:
- Getting Started with Discovery Education Experience (DEX)
- Designing Instruction Using Discovery Education
- Going Deeper with DEX
- What's New in Discovery Education
- Discovery Education Resources to Support Families
- DE at Home Resources
- Discovery Ed Does Dig Cit!
- Discovery Education Resources for Counselors
- Post-Secondary Success with Discovery Education
- Discover the New Tech Apps TEKS
- Supporting xxxxx with Discovery Education Experience
- *or whatever we can dream up!
Contact Andy Simpson to discuss your training needs and reserve a date.
⭐Become a DEN STAR in the Discovery Education Community!
DEN STARs are knowledgeable about using digital resources and want to continue learning about the most effective ways to use Discovery Education (DE).
They’re educators from all roles and backgrounds who receive custom resources and access to professional learning opportunities. They are also part of a like-minded community interested in using DE to reach all learners. To learn more, click the button!
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