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This week's newsletter is sponsored by Creativity Workshop.

Creativity Workshop.
Learn, Travel and Earn 3 Professional Development Credits.
Summer Workshops in New York, Barcelona, Crete, and Florence.
Credits are from the University of Iowa and University of Arizona.
Workshop dedicated to helping educators discover and nurture creativity in all fields.
Explore your creative potential, meet like- minded people, and see some of the most beautiful places in the world.
Attendees are from many professions and nationalities.
Many teachers taking the workshop get credits and receive educational grants or financial aid from their schools.
Contact: Creativity Workshop
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Volume 7 Issue 46
November 17, 2009

Principal's Tough Stand Turns School Around
Frustrated by what he considered low expectations and minimal structure at American Indian Public Charter School, Dr. Ben Chavis set out to reform the school instituting no-nonsense policies regarding attendance, appearance, and instruction. And it worked.

A Blog for School Leaders
Have you seen the latest blog entries?
Cuts, Cuts, Everywhere: Even Principals Get the Ax
Just when we thought that budget cuts could not cut deeper, our hurting economy is forcing schools and districts to dig deeper for line items to chop. Some of the cuts we have read about recently make sense in trying times, but others verge on the absurd.
Students' Hard Work Educates Community About Recycling

From Our Leadership Library

From Our Admin Feature Archive Principal Ideas #44 The Starfish Award, private pool party, Principal Bucks store, more... Pawlas on PR No news is bad news, so be sure to trumpet your school's good news. Take Five for... Developing school-business partnerships in your community. (Part 2) Exceptional Event Literature Night How I Handled... Working with a substitute who was getting poor reviews from teachers. Instant Meeting #34 Use this BINGO activity to break the ice in a new group. Morning Math Questions for Week #13 More Features Turnaround Tales School Grants Administrators Message Board

Partners for Student Success
Feeding a Community
Part of the mission at Scott Elementary School (Naperville, Illinois) is to educate students to be "community contributors." The school's food drives involve students in each step of the process -- from visiting the food pantry to reporting results.

Focus On...
Teacher Evaluations
Evaluating teachers is one of a principal's most important -- and time-consuming -- tasks. But taking the time to do it right is the key to helping your staff and school achieve its potential. The articles in this archive share practical tips to help you plan, carry out, and get the most out of the evaluation process.

Education World's
Administrator's Desk Columnists

Pete Hall's Always Strive To Be a Better You
Before "Lightning" Strikes
Around and around we go with the Frequent Fliers. The Detention Crew. The kids who have difficulty staying out of trouble. They are the Lightning Club. Lightning can strike at any time, without warning. Included: Start a Lightning Club in your school.

Diane Hodges' Looking Forward to Monday Morning
Monday Morning Archive
An award-winning educator, highly acclaimed speaker, and bestselling author, Dr. Diane Hodges' weekly Monday Morning columns present a wealth of ideas administrators can use to drive staff members happy.

Education Humor With Regina Barreca
Laughter Is a Class Act
"Ami is a brilliant teacher and a wonderful woman. It turns out, however, that she is not the world's best proofreader. Based on the prototype she handed to the printers, Ami wound up with 200 buttons declaring...‘Teachers Are My Hepoes.'"

Peek's Perspective on Grant Writing with Don Peek
Are You Filling Out Your Grant Applications Properly?
You may think that since you have a college degree -- or two, or three -- that you should be able to fill out a grant application properly. For the most part, I agree. But it's not really the application itself that trips most people up. It's their approach to the application.

Carlton Ashby's The Power Is In You
We Can Be the "Miracles" in Our Students' Lives
A Whitney Houston video and a couple events from this week at school have me thinking about how many times we teachers go the extra mile for our students. We are empowered to make a difference in their lives in so many ways because that is part of the "calling" we feel.

Mr. Ivan:
The Principal Poet
"The Mouse in School"
Education World's resident poet, Mr. Ivan, presents a poem that is sure to bring grins to school leaders everywhere. This week's poem is "The Mouse in School."
"Vermin! Vermin!" Our
Teacher's voice was shrill!
And that much exuberance
Gave us kids a thrill...
Read more...

Meet the other members of Education World's columnist team:
Larry Bell
Evelyn Cortez-Ford
Leah Davies
Sandra Harris
George Pawlas
Paul Young

More from the Administrator's Desk

Wire Side Chat
Students Revel in Lessons from Storyteller Bill Harley
Bill Harley is a popular children's musician and storyteller. Hook students on the power of Bill's "every kid" stories and songs -- and watch them write and tell stories of their own.

Last Week's Featured Article
Applying High Expectations to Everyone
Principal Dr. Gerald Gary knew his students could do better -- he just had to convince them and their families. He improved student achievement and changed the school's culture by setting high expectations for everyone in the building. Included: How high expectations are implemented.

Newsletters 'R Us
Copy and paste this free content into your teacher or school newsletters.
The ABCs of Student Success N is for Nothing
Caught on the Web Native American Language (Grades 3-up)
Newsletter Clipart Library Thanksgiving.
Fun Facts Volume #8
Parent Newsletter Template December Holidays
Math @ Home You're Gonna Flip
Parent Pointers Improving Time Management

Best Books for School Leaders The Bully Free Classroom Subtitled "Over 100 Tips and Strategies for Teachers K-8," this useful volume provides well over 100 bite-sized ideas that are quick to read and common-sensical. Bullying, of course, is a terrible phenomenon in schools and famously hard to deal with effectively. So, a relatively brief (166 pages) resource that offers a wide variety of ideas and approaches is probably one of the most valuable items you can have on hand as a teacher in the modern classroom. Click to learn more or to purchase this book.

From the Principal Files
Hiring Teachers
A recent news article discussed what school principals look for in the new teachers they hire. The article identified 15 traits that are most important. Which of those 15 "can-do" characteristics is number one on the list? Education World asked our Principal Files principals that question. Included: Our P-Files team ranks the top qualities of new teachers.

Education World's Work Sheet Library includes hundreds of free printables for use across the grades and across the curriculum. You will find a sampling of our printables below. Visit our Work Sheet Library for a complete selection. Math Fact Practice Math Fact Practice Work Sheets Use these printables for addition, subtraction, and multiplication math fact practice. Coming soon: division. Free Work Sheets From TLS Books Synonym Practice Circle the word that is a synonym for the underlined word in each sentence. Every-Day Edits Primary Edits Animals A to Z: Jaguar. Ele-Middle Edits Marie Curie, Oklahoma, Macy's Parade... Writing Bug Story Starter Each Person Is... One Native American proverb says, "Each person is his own judge." What does that proverb mean to you? Hunt the Fact Monster Primary Hunt November hunt #4 Ele-Middle Hunt Hunt #12 Build a Fab Vocab Vocab-u-lous! Activity Words that begin with L.

Geography Awareness Week

Bullying Awareness Week
For many years, bullying was seen as a necessary evil -- an unpleasant, but unavoidable, rite of childhood. Ignore it, we thought, and it would go away. The problem hasn't gone away, though, and educators can't ignore it. Included: Ten special activities for Bullying Awareness Week (November 15-21) -- activities for teaching kids about empathy, anger management, and effective conflict resolution.

The Great American Smokeout (November 20)
Use these activities to help you impart the "stamp out smoking" message.

Lesson Plan of the Day
Click the link above to see dozens of recent Lesson Plans of the Day, including the lessons below that were posted last week.
Thanksgiving Placemats - A community service project. (Grades PK-12)
Be an Historian - Learn the truth about the "First Thanksgiving." (3-8)
Thanksgiving Feast - Learn where Thanksgiving foods are grown. (3-8)
Annual Food Drive - Graph the amount of food that comes in. (K-12)
Anti-Smoking Letters - Celebrate the Smokeout (November 19). (3-12)

News for Kids
Which Animal Is the Weirdest in the World?
Learn about five very weird-looking animals. Vote for the one you think is weirdest.

Friday Fun
Create a favorite book on tape so others might enjoy it too.

Learning Game of the Week
"Read the Teacher's Mind" game reinforces vocabulary, more.

Vicki Cobb's Show-Biz Science
Kids use their tongues to test pain endurance.

Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks Math Games With Joanne and Jane
This week: "Fishing for Division Facts."

From Our Early Childhood Activity Bank
Special Activities for This Week
Turkey, Turkey (Art)
Turkey Hide and Seek
Thanks for the Corn (Math)
Cookin' Up Thanksgiving Words
Giving Thanks
A Harvest Snack
The Wampanoags

From the Learning Machine
Explore the coolest resources on the Web.
From the Math Machine
Time to Move is a fun Web site for teaching measurement and sorting. (Grades 1-2)
From the Science Machine
Use Energy Vampires to explore the topics of energy and electricity. (Grades 2-6)
From the Reading Machine
I Spy City reinforces vocabulary. (Grades K-4)

Ken Shore: The ABCs of Bullying Prevention
Dealing With Bullying Victims
Your success in counseling bullying victims depends largely on your ability to establish trust in the face of embarrassment and reluctance to talk about it.

Ruth Sidney Charney: The Responsive Classroom
Logical Consequences Teach Important Lessons
Logical consequences reinforce the limits of the classroom, the accountability of each individual, and the belief that we can take better care of ourselves, one another, and our environment.

Fred Jones's Tools for Teaching
Follow Through and Pseudo-Compliance
In the body language poker game, teachers fold when they turn a way from a situation before students have folded. Students fold when they abandon pseudo-compliance and get back to work.

Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
Managing Student Talking
With the onset of collaborative learning groups and hands-on learning activities, the lines of when students can and cannot talk have become blurred. So, how do you manage the talking going on your classroom without stifling creativity and learning?

Eric Baylin's Songs to Brighten a Teacher's Day
The Curriculum Mapping Song
Yes, curriculum mapping can be a little tedious, and -- by the way -- where do we find the time? But it makes good sense...doesn't it? So, if curriculum mapping sometimes gets you down, just sing your mapping woes away.

Teacher Feature
What We're Grateful For
Nicole Nelson's kindergartners use technology to express appreciation at Thanksgiving.

Wire Side Chat
Okay, Grammar Still Isn't Fun, But Everyone Can Master It
Veteran English teacher Marian Anders wants people to know that when it comes to grammar, making the right choice needn't be an ordeal.

A Parent Engagement Model That Works
Parent "engagement" can offer a superior opportunity for schools to work with families to improve their communities and the academic achievement and futures of their children.

Classroom Management Article of the Week
Creating a Climate for Learning
In Positive Classroom Discipline, Fred Jones states, "The most widespread management technique at home and in the classroom is nag, nag, nag." It's also probably the least effective. Learn how to stop nagging and start teaching.

A Thanksgiving WebQuest
The U.S. Congress has decided to change the name of Thanksgiving. Your team will help Congress decide what the new name should be.

Meeler's Weblog Class
Hillary Meeler's students blog their way to better writing skills.

What's the Point of PowerPoint?
PowerPoint can be a powerful tool, but its bells and whistles can distract students from the importance of content. How can you rein in the PowerPoint beast?

From Our Classroom Tips Library
Classroom Management: Be Kind to Substitutes
Behavior Management: School Allowance, Service, Certificates
Motivating Kids: Minimize Downtime
Book Report Makeover: Describe It!
Homework Tips: Participation Guide
Best Idea Ever: The Importance of Listening
Testing Tips: A Test Tour

Education World Reviews the Best of the Web
Check out this week's site reviews:
Animal Bytes
Animal facts, photos, Webcams, more.

Get Body Smart
An eBook about human anatomy and physiology.

Amazon Interactive
Explore the Amazon Rainforest -- without getting muddy.

Explore our Site Review Archives for more great sites. You also can keep up with our latest reviews by signing up for our Site Review Newsletter.

A Healthy School Lunch
A middle school in Berkeley, California, serves up nutritious grub kids love.

What can you do with SchoolNotes? Check out The Redding Report.

Education World Introduces RSS! Want to be alerted whenever Education World updates one of your favorite Channels or adds content related to a subject of interest? Subscribe today to our RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to get new content delivered directly to your desktop! Learn about the latest new content posted to our Lesson Planning, Professional Development, Administrator's Desk, or Technology Integration Channels. Be notified when we add new content related to the teaching of Reading, Math, Writing, or Science. Be the first to see new Classroom Management resources. Sign up for a special RSS feed especially created for New Teachers. See new content related to Parent Involvement. Let us inform you when we add new resources to our Tools & Templates area. Sign up today for one or more of Education World's RSS alerts Learn more about RSS

Ed Heads: News from Around the Education World

Education World shares education headlines in the news.

This Week's Survey Question Does your school have a formal plan for dealing with H1N1? Last Week's Survey Results Has NCLB changed proficiency standards in your state?

See more education news headlines in our EDscoops Archive.

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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Are you looking for a nice holiday gift for colleagues?
Our Best of... booklets might just fill the bill!

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:

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:

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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.

A Frog's Fate

When a lonely frog consults a fortune-teller, he's told not to worry. "You are going to meet a beautiful young girl," she says, "and she will want to know everything about you."

"That's great!" says the excited frog. "When will I meet her?"

"Next semester," says the psychic, "in biology class."

Handwriting Counts

The professor had just handed back the term's final exams. As I looked over the comments the professor had written, it was clear that he was reading papers late into the night. His tired scrawl was unreadable. I went up to him after class, eager to know what one particular comment said. "Professor Greene," I said, "I can't make out this comment you wrote on my paper."

The professor took a close look and, after studying it, sheepishly replied, "It says that you should write more legibly."

Computer Talk

Sally: What did the computer do at lunchtime?
Martin: I don't know. What did he do?
Sally: Had a byte!

Little Johnny Strikes Again

Father: Johnny, why are you doing your math homework on the floor?
Little Johnny: Because the teacher told me to do it without using tables!

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