December 14, 2023
The resources that make our top list of the year are selected by you, our 2.1 million members. From lessons on Barbie to Taylor Swift, ChatGPT to disinformation, and climate education to CTE resources, this year did not disappoint.
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You know that scene in the movie Elf, where Buddy (played by Will Ferrell) jumps up and down with excitement when he sees Santa, screaming “Santa! I know him!”
I mimic that excitement at this time each year as I discover what rose to the top of our Best of Share My Lesson list, internally screaming in delight on behalf of our many authors and contributors who made our top list of the year (side note: any Share My Lesson member who shares on SML is eligible for this award).
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Fortunately, my colleagues tolerate me at this time each year as I send updates on resources that made our Share My Lesson top list at all hours of the evening as they do their own internal Taylor Swift Eras Tour countdown for the end of the year.
Each year, I painstakingly crunch data on Share My Lesson to see what educators found valuable for that particular year and what themes emerged. The resources that make our top list of the year are selected by you, our 2.1 million members. From bookmarks and views to shares and reviews, you tell us which of our 420,000 resources were just what you needed this year. And did you tell us! From lessons on Barbie to Taylor Swift, ChatGPT to disinformation, and climate education to CTE resources, this year did not disappoint.
For the first year ever, resources on career exploration and CTE rose to the top on Share My Lesson, with our Career Exploration collection coming in at No. 3 in our collections, with additional CTE resources making the list. CTE is a big focus area for the AFT and AFT President Randi Weingarten. We were thrilled to see our Share My Lesson members sharing this focus.
Article, Handout | Grades 9-12, Higher Education, Adult Education, Professional Development
Oh, and where can we start on AI? With ChatGPT and OpenAI being a little over a year old now and new AI tools emerging daily, educators and school divisions are interested in learning more about the role of the K-12 teacher in the age of AI. With the emergence of AI, the challenge of equipping students with the critical-thinking skills to understand and identify disinformation becomes even more important. Our No. 1 lesson this year comes directly from AFT members who created a toolkit on how to teach critical-thinking skills around disinformation.
I asked ChatGPT to rewrite my paragraph from above. Who wrote it better?
The rapid evolution of AI, exemplified by tools like ChatGPT and OpenAI, has sparked a shift in K-12 education. Educators and school systems are adapting to integrate AI into teaching, emphasizing the importance of critical-thinking skills, especially in recognizing disinformation. A standout resource this year is a toolkit developed by AFT members, aimed at teaching these essential skills, reflecting the growing need for educational strategies in an AI-influenced era.
On Oct. 7, I, along with so many of you, watched horrific footage from the Hamas attack on Israeli citizens. The very long history between Israel and Palestine is incredibly complicated to begin with, even without a terrorist attack. Since Oct. 7, we have seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in the United States. We continue to build our resources on Share My Lesson for educators, trying to find the right balance in sharing content on the history of Israel and Palestine and on the current war. These resources made our No. 2 spot for blogs and news stories this year.
As Taylor Swift said (not about climate): “I don’t know about you. I’m feeling 22.” Let me amend this to say, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling VERY HOT, and no it’s not just perimenopause. 2023 was the hottest year on our planet on record, and we are seeing more frequent and more aggressive storms as our climate shifts. This year, several lessons, blogs, news stories and collections made our top list, which tells us that teaching about the climate is a collective concern of the Share My Lesson community.
Hello, Barbie. Hi, Ken. Barbie occupied our summers. And now that it’s streaming, it’s occupying my home TV from my 11-year-old who trades off between Barbie and Taylor Swift (who also made our top list!). While I thought Barbie would be a fun and feel-good movie, it turns out that there are a lot of powerful lessons to learn and share.
In July, I was able to catch up with our AFT member, author and Share My Lesson contributor Amber Chandler. We talked about the Barbie movie that just came out in theaters that neither of us had seen. I encouraged her to watch the movie, suggesting that it could provide a good blog or lesson, or maybe nothing more than some popcorn and entertainment. Amber went to watch the movie the next day and later flooded my phone with her thoughts and excitement for a lesson. This was another Buddy/Will Ferrell excitement moment that I received from Amber: “Barbie. I know her!”
And guess what? Her blog AND lesson on Barbie are both No. 1 this year!
Activity, Interactive | Grades 8-12, Higher Education, Adult Education
As we close out 2023, what were your favorite resources or go-to content? What do you predict will make our 2024 list? I’ll start: Elections & Democracy. And on a fun note, what will be your Buddy/Will Ferrell meme?
“Democracy, I know her!”
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From all of us at the AFT's Share My Lesson, we wish you a restful and well-deserved break. And we hope this list may help with some of your lesson planning in 2024.
The resources that make our top list of the year are selected by you, our 2.1 million members. From lessons on Barbie to Taylor Swift, ChatGPT to disinformation, and climate education to CTE resources, this year did not disappoint. Reflect on the year that was and use it as a time-saver for planning for the year ahead.
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Kelly Carmichael Booz oversees the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) PreK-12 online resources serving 2.1 million educators on the AFT's ShareMyLesson.com, the AFT's E-Learning professional development platform, and the production and dissemination of PreK-12 publication for the AFT's 1.7 millio
