Dear Education Leaders,

Welcome! This free newsletter is published biweekly by Education WorldŽ, 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 below. 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.

============================================================================

This week's newsletter is sponsored by University of New England.

Earn Your Master’s in Education Completely Online! University of New England offers four innovative Master of Science in Education programs completely online in the following concentrations: Curriculum & Instruction Strategies, Literacy (K-12), Educational Leadership, and Inclusion Education.

• Receive personalized support throughout the entire program from a dedicated advisor
• Graduate in 18 months by taking one class at a time
• Delivers the most up-to-date instruction on current practices for educators
• Build skills for implementing solutions beyond the classroom

Call 1-800-994-2804 or click here for more information. 

============================================================================

Volume 2, Issue 17
August 25, 2008

Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
Forming Good Habits
It takes 27 days -- and lots of practice -- to form a habit. Start off the year right by making expectations clear and practicing correct behaviors daily. Soon good behavior could become a habit for your students.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald002.shtml

Setting the Tone
How do you set just the right tone from day one? The key is in your body language, eye contact, and tone of voice.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald027.shtml

Cathy Puett Miller: The Reading Coach
Setting the Tone: Creating a Reading Community
Make it your goal this year to transform your classroom into one that has positive assessments, and strong and engaged learners -- by declaring reading an empowering, engaging, life-enhancing experience.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadingCoach/ReadingCoach010.shtml

Getting Parents Involved
Highlight the power of reading at home with your parents and students by setting up your own "Is Your Home Reader Friendly?" program.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/miller/miller010.shtml

Dr. Fred Jones: Tools for Teaching
Working the Crowd
Look around a typical classroom and you'll see a whole room full of obstacles. The biggest impediment to "working the crowd" is typically the arrangement of the furniture.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones001.shtml

Brenda Dyck
Each Student Is Someone's Special Child
Parenting has made me a better teacher by helping me realize that every student is someone’s special child.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/voice/voice030.shtml

Angela Powell: Getting It Together
Track Parent Correspondance
Use a simple accordion expanding-file system to keep track of parent correspondence.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/organization/organization002.shtml


Make Fewer Trips to the Office
Use a four-section expanding file folder to hold papers that need to be taken to the school office.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/organization/organization003.shtml

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."

Montessori in the Classroom: A Teacher's Account of How Children Really Learn
Montessori is one of those words in education that evokes a little mystery, especially for those of us who haven't really been immersed in the theories or practice associated with the name. This book takes an unusual approach to introducing us to Montessori: It is really a teacher's first-person account of the experience of teaching using Montessori methods, together with enough theory and practice to make it possible for other teachers to pick and choose those concepts that seem most applicable to their own "non-Montessori" classrooms.
Click to learn more or to purchase this book.

Case Studies for Teacher Problem Solving
With 37 detailed case studies, this book takes almost a Harvard Business School approach to illuminating the problems teachers must solve in classrooms every day. Certainly, reading this book would present a classroom teacher with a number of situations that, even if he or she might never encounter those situations exactly, should open up new avenues of thought concerning situations indeed faced regularly. An advantage to this approach is its open-endedness; the reader is inspired to think independently rather than prescribed definite solutions.
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.

Reader's Theater
How the Elephant Got Its Trunk
Long ago in Africa, a curious little elephant asked a crocodile a question. The result was a new nose for Little Elephant -- and for elephants everywhere.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater028.shtml
Will the Music Play?
To mark the 50th anniversary of Symphony Land's world-famous Classical Music Festival, some musicians want to play modern music; others want to stick with the traditional. Will the dispute stop the music?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater012.shtml

Reading Features
Checkpoints in Reading
Help parents better understand their child's reading development with these reading checkpoints for Kindergarten and grades 3, 6, 9, and 12.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr009.shtml
Reading Aloud: Is It Worth It?
Why do teachers read aloud to their students? Are the benefits of reading aloud worth the time? Many teachers believe reading aloud enhances classroom instruction and improves academic achievement --- and research supports their belief.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr213.shtml

Best Books for Teaching About…
Each week, Education World presents our Editors’ Choices for the best books for teaching about popular classroom themes. Check out our choices and add your own recommendations to the Readers’ Voices section of this week’s themed booklists:
Best Books for Teaching About...
Grammar
Human Body
http://www.educationworld.com/a_bestbooks/archives/students.shtml

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

From the Writing Center
Journal Writing Really Works
One of the best things about journal writing is that it can take so many forms. Discover some of those forms as teachers who use daily journal writing in their classrooms share their successes.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr144.shtml
Reading Response Journals
In an effort to encourage students to think and share more about what they read, some teachers have turned to reading response journals -- notebooks reserved for writing in response to literature -- and are gaining new insights.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev085.shtml

Write Your Own Life
Sue Flaherty's sixth graders contemplate their hopes and dreams as they write their own futures.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature002.shtml

Writing Lessons
Getting to Know You
Students write "Getting-to-Know-You" list poems. (Grades 6-8)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/02-1/lesson026.shtml
Be on the Lookout!
Create “Wanted" posters for destructive bugs. (Grades 3-8)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2065.shtml
What Happened?
Explore legends surrounding volcanoes, write your own legend. (Grades 3-12)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2038.shtml
Create a Word
Have fun making up new words, writing definitions for them. (Grades 3-12)
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/00-2/lp2182.shtml

Writing Bugs
A Foreign Change
If I could live in another country for one year…
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug121.shtml
The Best Day of the Week
The best day of the week is…
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug046.shtml

Featured Articles
A Teacher's Back-to-School Supply List
Noted educator Howard Seeman's back-to-school list of twenty-seven must-have items for the well-equipped teacher.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev098.shtml
Back-to-School Checklist
Are you ready for the first day of school? These twenty Education World resources can take you from the first day of school to the last.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev081.shtml
Build Communication Before School Starts
Many teachers and administrators introduce themselves to parents and students before school starts with welcome letters and survival kits. Learn how you can do it too.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr358.shtml
Advice for First-Year Teachers
Education World asked the "sophomores" who faced -- and survived -- their dreaded first year of teaching to offer their best advice for this year’s “freshman" class.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr152.shtml

Go Figure
What Color Is Your Balloon?
How many balloons of each color does Jeremy have to sell?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/math/go_figure/go_figure002.shtml
What's for Lunch?
Can students figure out which meal goes to which restaurant customer?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/math/go_figure/go_figure003.shtml

Get Real: Math in Everyday Life
How many times have your students asked "When are we ever going to use this in real life?" Discover more than a dozen answers -- great Web sites for teaching real-world math.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr148.shtml

Math Sites to Count On
Dozens of math-related Internet sites that will add to your lessons and multiply your effectiveness, including sites for teachers of K-3, 4-6, and 7-12, games for math whizzes, and more.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson061.shtml

Math Mnemonics
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mnemonics/mnemonics002.shtml
Learn to Count
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mnemonics/mnemonics003.shtml

Strategies of the Week
Classroom Management
Effective classroom management creates an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning. It is the most important -- and the most difficult -- skill a teacher must master.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy047.shtml
Rules
Learn how to develop and implement effective classroom rules from some of education's most respected classroom management experts.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy040.shtml

Tips Library
Classroom Management: Bulletin Board Basics
Behavior Management: Rewards, Rubrics, Time Savers
Motivating Kids: Engage Students With Yearlong Projects
Book Report Makeover: Book Report Bingo
Homework Tips: Exit Slips
Best Idea: Capture Classroom Memories
Testing Tips: Anxiety Attack
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/management_tips/management_tips003.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/behaviortips/behaviortips003.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/motivation/motivation003.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bookreport/bookreport003.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/homeworktips/homeworktips003.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bestidea/bestidea003.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/testing/testing003.shtml

============================================================================

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

Education Humor With Regina Barreca
Who's at a New School This Year?
"Neither the fancy new credential nor the well-rehearsed script…necessarily prepare you for the 'blind date' quality of that first meeting with this year's new students. Your new class will be -- shockingly enough -- new. And you'll be a new teacher."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/columnists/barreca/barreca021.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/ivan033.shtml

Alma Row's Gadget of the Week
CamStudio
This open-source program allows you to create videos of what you’re doing on your computer -- and add narration. Great for making ‘how to’ vignettes!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/gadget/gadget003.shtml

Bernie Poole
What Every Teacher Should Know About Technology
There's no getting away from it; technology in schools is here to stay. But technology must be integrated effectively if it is to make a difference in the way teachers teach and students learn.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/poole/poole015.shtml

Featured Articles
Recess Before Lunch Can Mean Happier, Healthier Kids
Recess follows lunch almost as predictably as four follows three, because it always has been that way. Principals who have put recess first, though, have noticed children eat more and behave better after lunch. Included: Ideas for making the change to recess before lunch. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin389.shtml

Practical Advice for Coping With Difficult Kids, Parents
You've all experienced them -- the student or parent who not only pushes your buttons but leans on them until relief seems impossible. Building relationships with students and keeping yourself calm when issues arise can mean fewer conflicts. Included: Practical strategies for dealing with difficult kids, parents.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin531.shtml

Templates of the Week
Name Tags and Information Forms
http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/index.shtml#backToSchool
2008-2009 School-Year Calendar
http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/school_calendar_template_08_09.doc

Techtorials of the Week
Create a Seating Chart With Excel
From targeting students with specific behavior issues to enabling substitute teachers to quickly identify students, seating charts can be a great help in the K-12 classroom.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial085.shtml
Create a Grade Book in Excel
You can keep your grades organized and correctly averaged using Microsoft Excel. Just follow the four easy steps in this techtorial and within minutes you'll be recording grades like a tech wizard.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial064.shtml

We Didn't Start the Fire
A video of recent historical events set to Billy Joel's popular song.
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.

Wire Side Chat
Offering Teens Shoulders to Stand On
Teenagers confronting adult-world issues probably wish there was simple advice for their grown-up questions. Retired educator William Lee Swisher has put together a short guide for adolescents that touches on finances, relationships, and responsibilities.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat229.shtml

School Doodle
Guess Which Teacher Had the Most Extreme Summer
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/school_doodles/images/schooldoodlesmall69.gif

Have you signed up to receive the...
Education World ADMINISTRATORS DESK NEWSLETTER?

Each week, Education World's Administrators Desk Newsletter shares with school leaders all the new content of interest posted to Education World in the previous week. You will find news articles on wide-ranging topics; the weekly How I Handled… feature, in which a principal shares a recently solved problem; a new or archived "Principal Files" article in which principals share practical ideas about real issues; a principal profile; and much, much more.

Would you like to see a sample of the Education World Administrators Desk Newsletter? If so, simply click the link below:
http://www.educationworld.com/newsletters_images/admin_sample.shtml

If you would like to subscribe to the Education World Administrators Desk Newsletter, simply click the following link:
http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml#admin

If the Administrators Desk Newsletter is not of interest to you, do you know somebody else who might benefit from it? Perhaps you could pass this information along to that person.

If you enjoy this What's New This Week at Education World Newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other teachers! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up for it -- and any of the other Education World newsletters -- at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml.

********************************************************************

If you enjoy this Education World Professional Development Newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other teachers. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up for it -- and any of the other Education World newsletters -- at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml.

===================================
Education World®
http://www.educationworld.com/
profdevnewsletter@educationworld.com
===================================
Education World
1062 Barnes Road Suite 205
Wallingford, CT 06492
================================