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This week's newsletter is sponsored by Crayola.
Wake up your whiteboard! Crayola Dry-Erase markers deliver bold colors and low odor. They won't squeak and erase easily. Crayola Dry-Erase is perfect for classroom use by teachers and students. The extended ventilated cap is designed for the safety of young children. See all Crayola Dry-Erase products at Crayola.com/DryErase.
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Volume 11, Issue 19
May 13, 2009
End-of-Year Projects #1
"No more pencils, no more books, no more...” No more time? The last days of school soon will be upon us, and your students may already be chanting the traditional end-of-school cheer, but that doesn't mean that you have to succumb to the temptation to start summer early. Why throw away the last few precious days? Instead, blow your students away with some cool end-of-year activities that combine fun and learning. Included: Links to dozens of additional activities to fill the final days.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson268.shtml
A Puzzle a Day Provides Practice That Pays
A complete year of puzzles to exercise students’ critical thinking skills as they practice math, spelling, more…
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson336.shtml
Memorial Day
What does Memorial Day mean to your students? Do they grasp its significance? Or the sheer number of American men and women who have died serving their country so the rest of us might enjoy freedom? Included: Five lessons help students understand the meaning of Memorial Day -- plus links to more than 2 dozen more lessons.
http://www.educationworld.com/holidays/archives/memorial_day.shtml
Fantastic Field Days
May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. It’s also the time of year when many schools hold their annual field days. That's why Ed World's editors decided to leap in with dozens of great activities that are sure to make your field day the best one ever. Included: Five new lesson plans plus links to many more.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson315.shtml
More Timely Lessons
Children's Book Week (May 9-17)
Celebrating Asian and Pacific-Island Heritage Month
Fitness Month Fun
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/book_week.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson340.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/physical_fitness.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.
Idioms Are a Piece of Cake - Teaching idioms is fun. (Grades 3-12)
Letters to Veterans - Eve Bunting's The Wall inspires students. (K-12)
Creating Energy from Water - Learn about hydroelectricity. (3-8)
A Lesson in "Comma Sense" - Commas can transform meaning. (6-12)
"The King's Choice" - Use a fairy tale to teach making predictions. (K-8)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/dailylp.shtml
News for Kids
Student Author Sells Thousands of Books
Ten-year-old Alec Greven is the author of several best-selling advice books for kids.
Kids Can Lower Their Flu Risk
Two simple pieces of advice can go a long way to preventing the spread of flu viruses.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/newsforyou.shtml
Friday Fun
"Get the ball rolling” with this idiom activity.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/friday/friday011.shtml
Learning Game of the Week
"Math BINGO” reinforces essential skills.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/learninggame/learninggame011.shtml
Vicki Cobb's Show-Biz Science
How can you speed up (and slow down) the way bananas ripen?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/
showbiz_science/showbiz_science059.shtml
Tech Lesson of the Week
Digitizing History
Students create a home page or small Web site based on a theme related to a recent history or social studies lessons.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techlp/techlp066.shtml
Early Childhood Center
* Rhyme Time
This week's poem for Early Childhood educators:
What a Bug!
* Early Childhood Teaching Themes
May Flowers and the Five Senses
Integrate the senses as spring sprouts.
Water
Teach about one of Earth’s most valuable resources.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_earlychildhood/newsletters/
Reader's Theater
Ace Spelling, Spelling Ace
When a fifth grader has an unusual event with alphabet soup, he becomes a "spelling ace." But is his "spelling spell" a blessing or a curse?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/
reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater002.shtml
From the Writing Center
Picture This
Students write text for wordless picture books. (Grades K-8)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/04-1/lesson003.shtml
Amusing Animal Adaptations
Animal adaptations spur creative writing. (Grades 3-5)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/04-1/lesson031.shtml
From the Math Corner
The Math Machine
Time Travelin'
Students must locate the objects pictured on their dashboard and reset the ship's clock by entering the time shown on an analog display. (Grades 2-4)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/mathmachine/mathmachine030.shtml
Math Feature
Math Online
Duane Habecker’s math Web site is a resource of assignments, homework tips, practice quizzes, and helpful advice for parents who want their children to succeed in math.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature083.shtml
From the Math Machine
Follow the Stars is a fun Web site for teaching about patterns. (Grades PreK-2)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/mathmachine/mathmachine015.shtml
Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks Math Games With Joanne and Jane
This week: "Tic Tac Toe” teaches adding 3-digit numbers.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/boxcars/boxcars034.shtml
Writing Bug
Before this year, which teacher was your favorite teacher? Write a short letter to that teacher.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug078.shtml
Bulletin Boards That Teach
"The End!" -- End the year by encouraging summer reading.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bullboard/bullboard010.shtml
Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans
Teacher Lesson #1
For Memorial Day, students' essays build a classroom Wall of Peace.
Teacher Lesson #2
Learn about history by creating back-in-time travel brochures.
Teacher Lesson #3
Elaborate ruse teaches kids about good writing.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/index.shtml
Fact Monster Hunts
Primary Hunt May Hunt #3
Ele-Middle Hunt Hunt #33
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/factmonster.shtml
Every-Day Edits
Primary Edits Animals A to Z: Yak
Ele-Middle Edits Curious George, Minnesota, Florence Nightingale…
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/animalsAtoZ.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/edit.shtml
Work Sheet of the Week
"Memorial Day Activities” -- make a book or a windsock.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/TCM/soc_sci_3_5.shtml
5-Minute Fillers
Volume 4
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/fillers.shtml
Vocab-ulous!
Memorial Day words.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/vocabulous/vocabulous042.shtml
FROM OUR PRINTABLES LIBRARY
Animals A to Z
Reinforce capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar skills. (Grades 2-4)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/animalsAtoZ.shtml
Highlights for Children®
Hidden Pictures® puzzles, rebus stories, crafts, and more from the folks at Highlights.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/Highlights/index.shtml
Phonics Word Search Puzzles
Thirty-six puzzles teach and reinforce phonics and spelling skills.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/wordsearch.shtml#phonics
Calculator Lessons
Twenty lessons to engage students as they use their TI-73 Explorer™ calculators.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/calculator_lessons.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….
Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
The Hiring Process:
How to Answer the Tough Questions
Some interview questions are more difficult to answer than others. I’ll address a few of those questions -- and the best answers -- here.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald034.shtml
Ask Dr. Shore About...
Peer Pressure
My son is about to enter middle school, and I'm less worried about the peer pressure he'll face. What can I do to help him avoid succumbing to that pressure?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore111.shtml
Dr. Fred Jones: Tools for Teaching
Escaping the Paper Grading Trap
The more adept you become at building work check into teaching, the more your evenings are freed up for lesson planning.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones008.shtml
Angela Powell: Getting It Together
Organize Reading Materials by Story
Invest in enough 3-drawer organizers to have one drawer for each story in a reading series.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/organization/organization030.shtml
Miguel Guhlin: The IT Crowd
Practical Moodle Tips for Technology Administrators
How Moodle is used depends on your expertise in setting up Moodle for maximum educational use. Discover practical tips for enhancing Moodle for K-12 district use.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/guhlin/guhlin013.shtml
Bernie Poole
Creating Your Own Web Site
Eleven handouts designed to lead you step-by-step through the process of creating a content-rich education-oriented Web site.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/poole/poole002.shtml
Alma Row's Gadget of the Week
VisibleBody
Created to allow medical students to explore the human body in 3D, VisibleBody is a fantastic tool for K-12 students as well.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/gadget/gadget038.shtml
Lorrie Jackson's Techtorial
Summer-ize Your Computer
Learn how to prepare your computer and files for the upcoming summer break.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial040.shtml
Leah Davies, The Teacher Counselor
Perfectionism in Children
Some children with perfectionist tendencies set standards so high that they are unable to glean satisfaction from their efforts. Teachers can help perfectionists (and their parents) understand their perfectionism and put it in a more realistic perspective.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/davies/davies008.shtml
The Principal Poet
Mr. Ivan, Education World's Principal Poet, presents this week’s poem, “Recipe for Trouble.”
Eighteen boys in a classroom
Is "trouble served on toast."
Or, if you were a doctor,
It'd be bad news to diagnose…
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/ivan/index
Ten Tools for Reducing Paperwork
Ten online tools to help you reduce paperwork and have more time to teach.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev069.shtml
Sites to See
Family Fun Sites
These sites offer parents an opportunity to get involved in their child's learning as they guide their online activities.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/sites/sites015.shtml
Strategy of the Week
Debates
Debates help students develop skills in critical thinking, public speaking, organization, persuasion, research, teamwork and cooperation, etiquette, and more.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy012.shtml
From the Administrator's Desk
Principals Make Reading a School-Wide Goal
Students pledge to read thousands of pages… First- and fifth-graders buddy up for reading… Those events and others are part of school-wide reading programs at two Minnesota schools. Included: Additional activities to help make reading a school-wide goal.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin565.shtml
Newsletters 'R Us
Copy and paste this free content into your teacher or school newsletters.
Caught on the Web Word Mine Puzzles (Grades 2-up)
Newsletter Clipart Library Fitness Month, Teacher Appreciation Week…
Parent Newsletter Template Memorial Day
Math @ Home Pretzel & Pasta Math
Parent Pointers Praising Your Children
quotED "Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/archives/newsletters.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
Do you think that today's society places less value on spelling skills?
This Week’s Survey Question
What best describes your views on the fate of the NCLB law under the Obama administration?
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."
Teaching Outside the Box
Subtitled, "How to grab your students by their brains," this paperback edition of LouAnne Johnson's well-reviewed book promises a lot of practical guidance for today's classroom teacher. Including a step-by-step plan to make the first week of school a success, the book's advice ranges across classroom management and motivational topics to strategies for teaching the reluctant reader. This is a book not only to read, but also to share with colleagues.
Click to learn more or to purchase this book.
Education: The Practice and Profession of Teaching
Yes, this is a textbook, costing $100 in paperback, not counting a companion book you can get by adding $20 and a package of online resources you can get from www.mylabschool.com. However, the book's fans claim its comprehensiveness and readability make it a worthwhile investment even outside the context of education courses. Case studies that start each chapter, a feature called "teachers and the law," and a guide to certification, are all special features of this most recent edition.
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 the WRITING BUG
If you enjoy Education World's weekly WRITING BUG feature, you'll love this book! Education World and the National Education Association (NEA) have joined forces to create a handy, pocket-size booklet with 44 of the most popular Writing Bug story starters. Use these Writing Bug activities to engage your students in effective writing. Each writing prompt will spark students' imaginations, tickle their funny bones, and motivate their pencils.
Included: In this booklet you'll find these Writing Bug titles and many more:
If I Could Interview Any U.S. President...
The Best Lesson I Ever Learned
I Got a Postcard from Another Planet
A Week Without TV
The Best Invention Ever/The Worst Invention Ever
Plus 39 more Writing Bug writing prompts!
The Best of WRITING BUG is part of the Teacher Treasure Series, an NEA Professional Library Publication.
http://store.nea.org/NEABookstore/control/productdetails?&item_id=0695X00
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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.
Template Library Explore dozens of templates to meet your every need.
Wire Side Chats Ed World chats with experts from the "education world."
Printables Library 100s of printables!
Meet Our Columnists From across the "education world."
Early Childhood Themes From Sue LaBella.
Stress Kit Tools for catching your breath.
Classroom Management 101 Real tips from real teachers.
News for Kids World news with kids in mind.
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Fair Play
One morning I was called to pick up my son at the school nurse's office. When I walked through the main entrance, I noticed a woman, curlers in her hair, wearing pajamas.
"Why are you dressed like that?" I asked her.
"I told my son," she explained, "that if he ever did anything to embarrass me, I would embarrass him back. He was caught cutting school. So now I've come to spend the day with him!"
Car Trip to Canada
Friends took their first-grader on a car trip to Canada. To help pass the time, the boy practiced his new reading skills by calling out road signs. He fell asleep just before they entered Quebec. When he awoke he saw the French highway signs and said in a worried tone, "I think I forgot how to read while I was asleep."
Dividing 8
Math Teacher: How much is half of 8?
Student: Up and down or across?
Teacher: What do you mean?
Student: Well, up and down makes a 3 and across the middle leaves a 0!
Little Johnny Strikes Again
Father: How do you like going to school?
Little Johnny: The going is fine. So is the coming home. I'm just not too excited about the time in between!
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