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Volume 2, Issue 10
May 19, 2008
Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
Closure Activities for the End of the School Year
“By the time May rolls around, everyone is looking forward to the end of the school year. Still, it can be hard for many students to leave their teachers and friends behind. Closure activities provide everyone with a chance to say goodbye."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald026.shtml
Cathy Puett Miller: The Reading Coach
Using Micro-Text to Teach Writing
"In education, micro-texts refer to small, targeted bits of a book, essay, poem.... A micro-text can be a single phrase, sentence, or paragraph. Its selection for teaching writing depends not only on brevity, but also on its content."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/miller/miller024.shtml
Brenda Dyck
Is "Teacher-Leader" an Oxymoron?
“Do today’s classroom teachers have a shelf life? Is teacher 'restlessness' a natural consequence of embracing life-long learning? Could it be that being on a constant learning curve has altered the persona of our profession?"
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck014.shtml
Dr. Fred Jones: Tools for Teaching
Preferred Activity Time: Having Fun With Responsibility Training
“These examples of PAT games are meant to whet your appetite. As your repertoire of PATs grows, you will find that the notion of having fun with learning increasingly permeates your teaching."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones036.shtml
No Joy, No Work
“Incentives answer the question, ‘Why should I?’ The principle that ties incentives and motivation together is, ’No joy, no work.’"
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones023.shtml
Dr. Ken Shore
Ask Dr. Shore About...A Student With a Speech Impediment
“Dear Dr. Shore, A student in my classroom has a very noticeable speech impediment. What can I do to help her feel less self-conscious about it?"
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore089.shtml
The Perfectionist
“Students who are perfectionists set impossibly high standards for themselves and become frustrated when they fail to meet them. According to the perfectionist's code, failure is simply not an option."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore008.shtml
 Angela Powell: Getting It Together
Organize Reading Materials by Story
"A great way to keep reading materials easily accessible is to invest in enough 3-drawer organizers to have one drawer for each story in the reading series."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/organization/organization030.shtml
Organize Math Materials by Chapter
"Keep all your centers, games, manipulatives, and photo copies for math in one place. Using shelves or plastic containers, label a section for each math chapter in the text."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/organization/organization031.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."
The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher
Harry and Rosemary Wong are, of course, among the deans of education writing in America, and this book is evidence of why. In addition to providing a lot of practical advice -- brought to life with more than 300 photos and illustrations -- the book focuses on three essential characteristics of a successful teacher, namely, positive expectations, classroom management, and lesson mastery, as well as on basic and future "understandings" that are part of the teaching life.
Click to learn more or to purchase this book.
How We Think
John Dewey's classic treatise on what exactly "thinking" means, and how, starting from that definition, it makes sense to educate students to actually do it, is not light beach reading, but this relatively brief book is well worth a rainy weekend. Together with Dewey's "Democracy and Education," "How We Think" provides the modern reader with a clear understanding of the foundations of American educational thought.
 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
Figureheads of Speech
Will a pun-loving king stop confounding his simple subjects?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater027.shtml
Dancing With the Nursery Rhyme Stars
Popular nursery rhyme characters face-off in the final round of a dance contest.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater008.shtml
Reading Review
SSR Helps Develop Independent Readers
Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) -- or Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) -- can be one more tool for developing lifelong readers.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr038.shtml
Make a Memorial Day Book
This 8-page mini book for primary-grade students to color, cut, and fold tells of the origins and celebrations of Memorial Day.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/TCM/pdfs/020524pt.pdf
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... Plants
Best Books for Teaching About... Tornadoes
Total Reader
How Cool Is That!
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev149.shtml
Wendy Petti's "Math Cats Math Chat"
Math Heroes
How much richer an appreciation our students might have for mathematics as a living science if we share with them the budding of new ideas in math heroes past and present! It all begins with "I wonder…."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mathchat/mathchat007.shtml
Go Figure
The Bird or the Egg?
How many birds can you hatch from just one egg?
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/math/go_figure/go_figure009.shtml
Explain That!
Place Value
Place value means that the value of a digit is determined by its position in the entire number.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/explainthat/explainthat001.shtml
Math Mnemonics
Learn to Count
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mnemonics/mnemonics003.shtml
Math Worth Repeating
The Slinky Paradigm
“I didn’t think we’d be playing with toys when I walked into my first physics class. Yet there was Mr. N. holding a giant Slinky®, welcoming us into room 32."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/columnists/barreca/barreca028.shtml
Math and Literature
If you're looking for a new way to add relevancy to your classroom math activities, the answer might be right in your school library.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr249.shtml
Disguise Combos
Students have fun using tables or lists to find combinations and solve math problems. (Grades 2-5) http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/mathmachine/mathmachine036.shtml
Strategies of the Week
Pretzels
Pretzels -- an activity from the creators of the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning -- is a primary-grade strategy that focuses on students' kindnesses and results in improved classroom behavior.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy029.shtml
Reader's Theater
Repeated reading of Reader's Theater scripts builds students' comprehension and fluency as it improves their self-esteem and reading confidence.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy006.shtml
Stress Relief
The Ed World Stress Reduction Kit
Too much to do? Too little time? Have those apparently endless end-of-year chores got you down? Check out our Stress Relief Kit for ideas and resources for calming the frenzied beast within -- and those without.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/archives/stresskit.shtml
 Backpacktivities
How Long Is the Line?
Students learn about estimation.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/homework/pdfs/backpacktivity_005.pdf
Across the United States
Students learn about the geography of the United States.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/homework/pdfs/backpacktivity_007.pdf
Teacher Feature
HOWL for Service Learning
Warren Phillips’ "gifted and talented" students learn while helping others.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature180.shtml
Befriending "The Bard"
Andrea LoCastro’s sixth graders prove they're not too young for Shakespeare.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature167.shtml
Voice of Experience
"Fabulous Friday" Sparks Creativity and Learning
Would her new lesson help teacher Susan Lovelace give up the stage of the sage? Or would it fall flat on its face? The learning and creativity Lovelace saw -- and the confidence boost it gave students -- made "Fabulous Friday" the ultimate literature lesson.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/voice/voice095.shtml
I Never Knew I Could Be a Hero: Thoughts on Service Learning
To educator Kathie Marshall, service learning is an effective strategy for engaging students' interest in the curriculum and in their community.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/voice/voice112.shtml
Classroom Management Tips
More Positive Reinforcement
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/management_tips/management_tips056.shtml
Parent Partners
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/management_tips/management_tips057.shtml
Bulletin Boards That Teach
Wow! Watermelon
A fun end-of-year bulletin board gets students thinking about summer.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bullboard/bullboard020.shtml
From Our Archives
Favorite End-of-Year Activities
Members of the Education World Teacher Team share the activities, lessons, projects, games, and so on that they save for the end of the year, to use either as a culminating activity or to create a memory of the year for their students.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev136.shtml
Ten Teacher-Tested Classroom Management Tips
Hallway conferences, pasta discipline, buddy rooms, bell work: Find those and six other ideas for dealing with classroom disruptions and discipline.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr261.shtml
Dealing With a Perfectionist
Students who are perfectionists set impossibly high standards for themselves and become frustrated when they fail to meet them. According to the perfectionist's code, failure is simply not an option.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore008.shtml
Teaching Citizenship's Five Themes
Memorial Day is a perfect opportunity to teach about citizenship. These activities, from the editors of Weekly Reader, highlight each of the five citizenship themes.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr008.shtml
Put the Memory Back in Memorial Day
Some teachers, concerned about students' ignorance of the origin and meaning of Memorial Day, have created programs that stress the importance of remembering and honoring U.S. war veterans.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev075.shtml
Celebrating Memorial Day
Why is Memorial Day so important? Your students will learn the significance of this very special day with this exclusive Education World lesson plan.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson119.shtml
Contests and Competitions
Samsung's Hope for Education Essay Contest
The Ultimate Science Fair Sweepstakes
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/archives/contests.shtml
Tips Library
Classroom Management: Managing With Technology
Behavior Management: Encouraging Good Behavior
Motivating Kids: Morning Meetings
Book Report Makeover: On the Installment Plan
Homework Tips: Keep It Covered
Best Idea Ever: Student Researchers
Testing Tips: You Are What You Eat
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/management_tips/management_tips040.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/behaviortips/behaviortips006.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/motivation/motivation004.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bookreport/bookreport009.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/homeworktips/homeworktips040.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bestidea/bestidea038.shtml
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/testing/testing004.shtml
 Education Humor With Regina Barreca
Prescient Report Cards
"…It's hard to write sincerely interested, personally invested, and seriously detailed evaluations of kids who, by this point in the school year, we most sincerely, personally, and seriously want to lock in the supply cabinet until the final bell rings."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/columnists/barreca/barreca030.shtml
 The Principal Poet
Mr. Ivan, Education World's Principal Poet, presents this week’s poem, “Excuses.”
"My dog ate my homework,"
Is so, s-o-o-o-o 5th grade.
I think it's time that some
Better excuses were made…
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/ivan/ivan019.shtml
Brenda Dyck's Blog
Giving Lip Service to Technology Integration
"The mode of instruction needed to facilitate a technology-rich learning environment demands both a significant financial commitment and a need to revisit what educators believe about teaching and learning."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck029.shtml
Doug Johnson's Tech Proof
Fair Use of Fair Use
"Copyright instruction and enforcement needs to change from describing narrow limits to emphasizing how educators and students can fully -- and legally -- use copyrighted materials."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson027.shtml
Lorrie Jackson's Techtorials
Making Trading Cards With Word
"Using trading cards to teach subject-area facts can engage students' interest and spark their enthusiasm. Having students make their own educational trading cards can result in an activity -- and a database of information -- they'll be sure to remember."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial054.shtml
Summer-ize Your Computer
"Before you lock up your classroom for the summer break, be sure to also get your computer ready for vacation. These five simple tips will ensure that your computer -- like you -- will be in tip-top shape in the fall."
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial040.shtml
Tech Team
What Do You Do on Your Summer Vacation?
Find out what techies do during the summer -- and learn how you can use your vacation time to improve your computer skills and build your tech confidence.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech219.shtml
Templates of the Week
Student of the Year
Reward your "students of the year."
http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/certificate_student_of_the_year.doc
World's Best Father
Don't forget Father's Day!
http://www.educationworld.com/tools_templates/certificate_best_father.doc
School Doodle
What I Meant to Say Is…Thanks
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/school_doodles/school_doodles08.shtml
Have you seen Education World's new TGIF feature? Each Friday, TGIF rewards you for making it through another week. Take a deep breath, enjoy some cool ideas and resources, and get your weekend off to a great start!
Watch for all new content this Friday in TGIF!
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