The First Five is an SEL Gamechanger!

Although many of us see the value of building relationships with our students, researching, planning, and implementing Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) activities can be time-consuming. 

The First Five is a daily resource designed to make educators' lives easier! Just sign up, and it will be delivered to your email inbox, filled with practical ideas that can be implemented in the first five minutes of class. Whether you are a primary or secondary educator, you will receive 18 new activities and ideas daily that focus on connecting with students, self-care, and character development.

Still not sure? You can take a look at today's First 5 for yourself. Simply choose whether you are a primary or secondary teacher to see! 

Each First Five contains nine vetted SEL activities. Simply select the best option in your classroom that day and go! It's literally that easy. For example, check out today's check-in activity: 

Check out the video below for more information: 

Quillbot: An Amazing AI Tool for Writing Support and Paraphrasing

Quillbot is an artificial intelligence tool aimed at helping users improve their writing. Unlike generative AI tools like Chat GPT, users provide the original text to Quillbot, and it supplies suggestions, much like spelling and grammar checkers in word processing tools. However, QuillBot can be used to help users with a variety of tasks, such as paraphrasing, grammar and plagiarism checking, summarizing, and translating.


Writing is a valuable exercise in translating thoughts and ideas into language; however, many of our students struggle with writing because they are intimidated, uncertain, and confused about the writing process. Quillbot is designed to provide students with helpful suggestions aimed at refining their original ideas.

In addition, Quillbot can be used to rephrase reading passages that students have difficulties understanding. For instance, imagine that students are struggling with understanding a particular reading passage. They could use Quillbot to rewrite content in a way that makes sense.

Audio Note: Using AI to Organize Your Notes and Ideas!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is more than Chat GPT writing prompts, driverless cars, and chatbots. In fact, one of the biggest benefits of AI is that it can help us organize our thoughts more effectively. Take for instance a new AI application I recently came across called Audio Note. 

What is Audio Note? 

Audio Note allows you a place to record voice notes (up to one minute on the free version) or provide text notes (unlimited in the free version), then use AI to rewrite in whatever format you need. You can currently use AI to rewrite your thoughts as a(n):

• Note
• List
• Email
• Journal
• Tweet 
• Linked In

How to Use it With Students? 

When I look at Audio Note, I see endless possibilities for helping students. Imagine a student who vigorously typed and copied down your class notes from a recent lecture, but they are still struggling with everything or trying to put it all together. With Audio Note, they could use AI to organize and rewrite their notes, making studying a breeze.