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Welcome! This free weekly Lesson Planning newsletter features summaries of lesson plans recently published on Education World^®, the largest free, independent resource on the Web for educators. If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to others. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. To unsubscribe, see instructions at the bottom of this newsletter. Education World remains a free resource thanks to the support of our advertisers -- so please click on ads of interest and visit our advertisers' sites. Thank you.

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This week's newsletter is sponsored by
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American Public University, regionally accredited as a member institution of APUS, offers a variety of M.Ed. and other programs suitable for educators at the Certificate, Associate, Bachelor's, and Master's levels. All courses are online, affordable, and conveniently schedule for the working professional.
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Volume 11, Issue 18
May 6, 2009

News for Kids
Kids Can Lower Their Flu Risk
The flu is in the news. As the flu spreads, healthcare workers have two simple pieces of advice for kids and others who want to prevent the spread of flu germs: wash your hands and cover your coughs. This week’s “News for Kids” article explains why those two things are so important in stemming the spread of the flu. Included: More flu facts.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/newsforyou/newsforyou123.shtml

Children's Book Week
Celebrate Book Week (May 9-17) with these activities, crafts, projects, much more.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/book_week.shtml

A Puzzle a Day Provides Practice That Pays
Puzzles exercise students' critical thinking skills while providing needed practice in math, spelling, and other areas of the curriculum. Why not introduce a puzzle a day? Puzzles make great "bellringer" activities. A puzzle a day provides practice that pays. Included: A year of puzzles.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson336.shtml

Celebrating Asian and Pacific-Island Heritage
Each May -- during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month -- we take time to recognize the special contributions of people of Asian and Pacific-Island heritage. The lessons here introduce students to famous Asian Americans and explore their origins and their literature. Included: Five lessons and worksheets.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson340.shtml

Fitness Month Fun
May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, but kids need physical education all year long. Education World offers a full roster of stories, lessons, resources, and activities focused on PE. So take a look at the ideas here for including sports and physical education in the curriculum and helping your students be physically fit.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/physical_fitness.shtml

More Timely Lessons
Just the Facts: Five Games for Teaching Math Facts
Pet Week: May 3-9
The Civil War
Mother's Day Is May 10
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson339.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson311.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/civil_war.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/holidays/archives/mothersday.shtml

Lesson Plan of the Day
Click the link above to see dozens of recent Lesson Plans of the Day, including the five lessons below that were posted last week.
"Concentration" - A review game for any subject. (Grades K-12)
If the World Were a Village - A multicultural lesson. (K-12)
Try a Money Bee - A different kind of bee for a "change!" (K-12)
Price Comparison - Compare the cost of gas to other liquids. (3-12)
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall - A fun math bulletin board. (PK-12)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/dailylp.shtml

Best Books for Teaching About... Click the links below for some great books for teaching about these timely topics. Best Books for Teaching About... Asian Heritage Best Books for Teaching About... Field Day Thank you for buying your books at the discounted rates offered in the EducationWorld/ SchoolNotes Book Store, powered by Amazon. Buying books from our bookstore helps us maintain Education World as a free resource for educators. See more great books for students and classroom teaching themes.

Friday Fun
The "Four Corners” game is a nice reward for a week of hard work.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/friday/friday010.shtml

Learning Game of the Week
Reinforce vocabulary skills with the "Secret Word” game.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/learninggame/learninggame010.shtml

Vicki Cobb's Show-Biz Science
Touch two noses on your own face and discover something about perception.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/showbiz_science/showbiz_science058.shtml

Tech Lesson of the Week
A Picture's Worth 1000 Words
Students interpret what a set of pictographs means and "write" a few sentences using their own pictograph system.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techlp/techlp051.shtml

Early Childhood Center
* Rhyme Time
This week's poem for Early Childhood educators:
May's Rainbow
* Early Childhood Teaching Themes
Water
Teach about one of Earth’s most valuable resources.
Mother's Day
Ideas for Mothers Day 2009, May 10.
We Love Trees
Arbor Day is right around the corner.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_earlychildhood/newsletters/

Reader's Theater
A Mother's Day Surprise
Two siblings go to the mall to find a special Mother's Day gift for their mom.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater010

From the Reading Machine
Rooting Out Words
Students read about prefixes, suffixes, and root words, and select correct combinations to answer a question. (Grades 3-8)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/
readingmachine/readingmachine030.shtml

Total Reader
How Cool Is That!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev149.shtml

From the Writing Center

How to Write a Five-Paragraph Essay
Step-by-step instructions for planning, outlining, and writing
a five-paragraph essay.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev109.shtml
A+ Ideas for Creative Writing
Susan Schweiker has a unique approach to building creative, confident writers: She promises all her students A's.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature025.shtml

Writing Lessons
Write a Teacher-Appreciation Letter
Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week by having students write a letter to a former teacher.
(Grades 3-12)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/dailylp/dailylp/dailylp089.shtml
Invent a Holiday
Students create a new holiday worth celebrating. (Grades 3-12)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/04-1/lesson020.shtml

Writing Bugs
Not Your Average Grandmother
Describe the world’s most unique grandmother.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug025.shtml
Super Hero
You’re a new super hero. What are your special powers?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug022.shtml
Foreign Change
If I could live in another country for one year…
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug121.shtml

From the Math Corner

Twenty Questions
This word-on-the-back version of Twenty Questions is a great way to review and synthesize new math vocabulary and concepts at the end of a unit.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mathchat/mathchat013.shtml

Math Mnemonics
Isosceles Triangles
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mnemonics/mnemonics029.shtml

Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks
Math Games With Joanne and Jane
This week: "Junior Star Traveler” teaches adding, subtracting to 10.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/boxcars/boxcars033.shtml

Math Feature
Linear Equations Game
Students practice solving linear equations for one variable.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/07-1/lesson016.shtml

Bulletin Boards That Teach
"Wall of Thanks" -- Remember those who died serving their country.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bullboard/bullboard009.shtml

Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans
Teacher Lesson #1
A Jane Yolen dinosaur story motivates this tech integration activity.
Teacher Lesson #2
This game teaches coordinate plane algebra.
Teacher Lesson #3
Students develop a biography for a Beanie Baby.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/index.shtml

Every-Day Edits
Primary Edits Edit info about animals from A to Z.
Ele-Middle Edits New editing activities month by month.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/animalsAtoZ.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/edit.shtml

Fact Monster Hunts
Primary Hunt May Hunt #2
Ele-Middle Hunt Hunt #32
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/factmonster.shtml

Work Sheet of the Week
"Stock Market” -- teaches economics, math.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/TCM/soc_sci_3_5.shtml

5-Minute Fillers
Volume 3
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/fillers.shtml

Vocab-ulous!
Words that begin with -ch blends.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/vocabulous/vocabulous027.shtml

FROM OUR PRINTABLES LIBRARY

Hunt the Fact Monster
Build reading comprehension and Internet searching skills. Two levels: primary and ele-middle. (Grades 3-9)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/factmonster.shtml

Geography A to Z
Learn about world geography one letter at a time. (Grades 4-8)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/geography_az.shtml

Make Your Own Holiday Work Sheets
Use these holiday templates to make your own activities for any subject. (Grades Pre-K - 5)
http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/index.shtml#holiday_editable

Sudoku Puzzles
These popular puzzles build critical thinking skills. Thirty-six puzzles in all. (Grades 3-12)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/sudoku.shtml

Just for This Month!
See our May Month of Fun, May Word Search, and May Coloring Calendar. PLUS: Create-your-own holiday work sheet templates for Spring Flowers, Memorial Day….

Teaching With Rap
Educators from California to New York say that rap's lively lyrics, meaningful messages, and familiar beat can be powerful tools for learning.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev161_a.shtml

From the Administrator's Desk
Plan a College Day for Kids
Every student may not be bound for a university, but there is no reason that any child -- particularly in the elementary school years -- shouldn't at least consider it. Planting that “college seed” is the philosophy behind College Day, an activity that takes many forms but always focuses on making college more familiar and accessible to students. Included: Three elementary schools share their unique approaches to College Day.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin564.shtml

Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
The Hiring Process: Questions! Questions!
Get ready for job interviews by preparing answers to the questions you might be asked, and practicing how to ask the questions that will give you a realistic picture of the job.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald033.shtml

Eric Baylin's Songs to Brighten a Teacher's Day
Committee Work
This song allows us to give voice to all committees -- and to honor that rare committee that can work it out.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/baylin/baylin039.shtml

Cathy Puett Miller: The Reading Coach
Creating a Reading Community
Make it your goal to transform your classroom by declaring reading an empowering, engaging, life-enhancing experience.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadingCoach/ReadingCoach010.shtml

Brenda Dyck's Blog
Using YouTube in the Classroom
The power of YouTube only is activated when the teacher has a clear idea of how a specific video clip can be used to introduce a concept or theme, instigate a discussion, or serve as a writing prompt.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck016.shtml

Bernie Poole
What Every Teacher Should Know About Technology
Technology must be integrated effectively if it is to make a difference in the way teachers teach and students learn. Six of the essential technology-related skills every teacher should possess are...
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/poole/poole015.shtml

Doug Johnson's Tech Proof
Living in the Cloud
Cloud computing relies on applications and file storage that reside only on the Internet, with little on the local computer's hard drive except a Web browser.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson035.shtml

Alma Row's Gadget of the Week
Jotit
If your instructional focus is content, Jotit is the perfect site for student-created wikis.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/gadget/gadget037.shtml

Leah Davies, The Teacher Counselor
52 Character Building Thoughts for Children
These character-building statements may be used in a variety of ways. Teachers might post a new statement each week and give students daily opportunities to share ways in which the thought applies to their lives. Included: A statement a week.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/davies/davies005.shtml

The Principal Poet
Mr. Ivan, Education World's Principal Poet, presents this week’s poem, “School Bus.”
The yellow bus holds children,
And I ride it every day.
In morning, it heads off to school.
At night it goes the other way… http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/ivan/index

Vigorous Exercise Can Lead to Academic Gains
A group of researchers found that exercise -- when it is vigorous enough -- can help improve students’ academic performance. While not all kids break a sweat every day, even some activity during the school day can help students focus, says one of the authors of this recent study. (May is Fitness Month)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat207.shtml

Classroom Management Articles
Quick Ideas for Clean-Up Activities
More than a dozen ideas to make class cleanup both fun and productive.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev106.shtml

Exploring the Second R: To Remind
The second structure teachers use to support encouraging and empowering language is “to remind."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/charney/charney004c.shtml

Strategy of the Week
Brag Phone Calls
Many teachers see the value in calling parents to report good news.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy039.shtml

Sites to See
Sports and Fitness
May is Sports and Fitness Month. These sites offer lesson plans, fitness information, tips about playing sports safely, and answers to questions about health.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/sites/sites005.shtml

Template of the Week
Bank Check
Students learn how to write a check with this realistic Education World version.
http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/template_kid_check.doc

Free Online Teacher Tools
Bernie Poole describes a few of his favorite online teacher tools -- including RubiStar, BlogMeister, Survey Builder, and Web Collaborator.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/poole/poole016.shtml

Games in Education
The experts talk about the value of video games in the classroom.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/archives/videooftheweek.shtml
Do you have a comment about this video -- or a favorite online video you'd like to recommend to other educators? Click here to let us know about it.

Tips Library
Classroom Management: Projects, Assignments, and Seatwork
Behavior Management: Tardiness, Neatness, Rewards
Motivating Kids: Publish Their Work Online
Book Report Makeover: Story Maps and Boxes
Homework Tips: H-O-M-E-W-O-R-K Spells Fun
Best Idea Ever: You've Got Mail
Testing Tips: Rubric Aid
EdTech Tips:Quick Tech Help Online
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/management_tips/management_tips037
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/behaviortips/behaviortips029.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/motivation/motivation029.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bookreport/bookreport037.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/homeworktips/homeworktips029.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bestidea/bestidea037.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/testing/testing029.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech_tips/tech_tips037.shtml

Each week, we ask readers to cast their votes in The Weekly Survey. Cast your vote in this week's question of interest to all educators.

This Week’s Survey Question
What best describes your views on the fate of the NCLB law under the Obama administration?  

Last Week’s Survey Results
Do you agree with President Obama’s comment that less successful teachers have to be removed from classrooms in order for U.S. schools to improve?

Each week, Education World spotlights books of interest to educators. This week, read a brief summary of two more of our "top 50 books for educators."

The First Six Weeks of School
The critical first six weeks of school is the focus of this practical book, aimed at building a strong foundation in terms of motivation, cooperation, responsibility and self-control. The book, published by the Responsive Classroom folks, includes daily plans along with commentary for K-2, 3-4, and 5-6, and adds an extensive collection of games, activities, greetings, songs, read-alouds, and other resources that can help make the goal of starting the year strong a reality.
Click to learn more or to purchase this book.

Educational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms
This is a big Prentice-Hall textbook that comes packaged with an access code to a teacher prep Web site -- just in case the 672 pages leave you wanting more! The Web site includes more than 150 video clips and more than 200 "artifacts," as well as 500 plus research papers. If you really want to own a truly comprehensive resource on educational psychology, then, this $115 paperback could actually be a bargain. In its 7th edition, no doubt, it's the book you'd be assigned by many courses in this field.
Click to learn more or to purchase this book.

Click the icon to the right to see more books and many other products that are available in the Education World MarketPlace.

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The Best of LEARNING GAMES

If you enjoy Education World's weekly LEARNING GAMES feature, you'll love this book! Education World and the National Education Association (NEA) have joined forces to create a handy, pocket-size booklet of more than 30 of our most popular learning games. PLUS an extra bonus -- ten more games for classroom fun!

These classroom games span the grades and the major subject areas -- and inject a healthy dose of fun into the serious business of teaching and learning. Looking to fill the end of a hectic day with something fun and educational? Looking for a great reward for students that will make valuable use of free time? Looking to reinforce basic skills with a fun activity? These games will fill the bill!

Included in this 80-page booklet you'll find these games and more:

• Math Facts Race (Math, grades K-8)
• You Can Count on Spelling (Math and Language Arts, grades K-12)
• Find It... Fast! (All Subjects, grades K-12)
• Concentration Review Game (All Subjects, grades K-12)
• The Dictionary Game (Language Arts, grades 3-8)
• Play Ball: A Major League Review Game (All Subjects, grades K-12)
• Friendly Feud (All Subjects, grades K-12)
• Plus 35 more games!

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Education World now incorporates www.SchoolNotes.com ~ "everybody on the same page!" The leading school-to-home communications platform, with FREE pages for teachers and automatic notification of parents and students when new homework is posted!

For a modest $24.95 PER YEAR, upgrade to Personal Edition, "Super SchoolNotes," with thousands of resources linked to your state's standards.

Click here for more information.

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MORE FEATURES OF INTEREST
Reader’s Theater More than two dozen scripts, perfect for the classroom.
Best Books for Teaching About… Booklists for 30 popular teaching themes.
Sign Up for Our Newsletters Ten free newsletters full of practical ideas.
Special Education Center Tools for the special education community.
Techtorials Tutorials take the terror out of tech.

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LEAVE 'EM LAUGHING
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Psychology Book for Sale

Cards offering used textbooks for sale are posted on the college notice board at the beginning of each semester. One such note read:

Introduction to Psychology, $8, never used. Must sell.

The next day a note had been added:
Good price. Are you sure it's never been used?
Prospective buyer

Below in a different hand was:
Positive!
Professor who graded his exam.

"You Were in My Class!"

How many times do we see someone our age and wonder why we look so much better than they do? We all see ourselves so differently than others do…

While waiting for my first appointment in the reception room of a new dentist, I noticed his certificate, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered that a tall, handsome boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 45 years ago. Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was too old to have been my classmate.

After he had examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended the local high school. "Yes," he replied.

"When did you graduate?" I asked.

He answered, "In 1957."

"Why, you were in my class!" I exclaimed.

He looked at me closely and then asked, "What did you teach?"

Old-Fashioned Discipline

Father (to a friend): When I was a youngster, I was disciplined by being sent to my room without supper. But in my son's room, he has his own color TV, telephone, computer, and CD player.

Friend: So what do you do when you have to discipline your son?

Father: I send him to my room!

Little Johnny Strikes Again

Teacher: This question was designed to make you think.
Little Johnny: Trick question!

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