What a busy two weeks we had launching distance learning for the foreseeable future! This new adventure brings unique challenges for teaching and learning. When regular classroom activities are grounded in a philosophy of collaboration, connection, and conversation,...

PNA’s project-based learning environment seeks to develop creativity and communication skills in our young learners, who are growing up in a technology and media-rich environment. Unlike previous generations, our students have instant access to an abundance of...

The last couple of weeks before a well deserved rest over spring break have been busy to say the least. The holiday breaks allow a natural end point to current units of study. 4th grade has been working hard to finish our work on Christopher Columbus. This unit...

We read, read, read across the day in 5th grade. We read to prepare our Morning Announcements; we read to learn about our various units of study; we read novels and articles and short stories and directions and websites. We read to learn, laugh, cry, and wonder....

We've been graphing our hours of daylight each week since August.... As the sun starts to appear earlier each day and stays later each afternoon, our school year feels like it is speeding up and hurtling down the road at light speed! We’ve been busy here at PNA, as...

As temperatures in Anchorage hit the negative single digits for a full week, PNA fifth graders headed back to school after a relaxing winter break! The best way to sum up our week is… BRRRRR!Being in school full time after two weeks of late nights and sleeping in...

Though we often think of smart phones and laptops when we hear the word “technology,” that term is more broadly defined than that. In fact, technology is any application scientific knowledge for practical purposes. It includes machines, but it also includes techniques...

As I continue my life-long journey as a teacher, I am always looking to improve my practice. These past couple of years, my newest learning has been in the area of PBL. Though most of the elements of PBL have been a part of my practice throughout the years, it’s a new...

  Our social studies standards are ambitious; built around the National Council for the Social Studies C3 Frameworks, they include standards for content and skills, but also standards for developing questions, planning inquiry, evaluating sources, using evidence,...

After two weeks of unusual school scheduling, it was important for us to settle back into familiar instructional routines, especially as we approached the excitement of Halloween!  Our class readily embraced the work of digging into studies of colonial America,...