Instructor (1990) articles from August 2007

Instructor (1990) archives from August 2007

Picturing ADHD girls.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... Thank you so much for Caralee Adams's "Girls & ADHD" (March/April 2007). I have a girl in my second-grade class with ADHD symptoms, and your article described her to a "T." Before teaching, I was a behavioral health counselor. Now that I am in...

Time for a new job.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I read your recent article on schools that are unhealthy work environments ("Not Getting Along?" May/June 2007) with all too much recognition. The school in which I have worked for the last two years was such a dysfunctional place to be that it...

What foster kids need.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I recently came across Kathy Harrison's great article "What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Foster Kids" (August 2006) online and found it so helpful. I work with a volunteer project assisting foster parents with their many tasks in caring...

Bring back themes.(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I love your magazine--it has so many great ideas and articles. Recently, I was reading through some issues from 10 years ago and found the theme units amazing. Any chance that future issues might have more theme units? It would be so...

What's your best advice for first year teachers?(WE ASKED YOU)
August 1, 2007... GET YOUR ROOM READY. Set up all the decorations and necessities as soon as you can. Then, take the week before school off and just hang out at home. You'll need a couple of days to breathe and just be. The first year is stressful. Having that...

Nurturing that creative spark.(from the editors)(Editorial)
August 1, 2007... This past July, I visited a teacher friend in Pennsylvania and found myself volunteering to help her repaint her classroom wall. The colors? Aptly-named Cloudess Blue and Folksy Gold. "My kids are going to love this," she told me. "Color keeps...

Enter our classroom photo contest.(QUICK, TAKE A PIC)
August 1, 2007... First day of school, Kevin Henkes puppet shows, fall leaf collections--for classroom activities and inspiration, a picture is truly worth a thousand words. That's why we want to see what's going on behind your classroom door. Send us your...

Teacher dress code?(your career)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... You've heard of dress codes for kids, but schools in the U.S. have instituted a list of fashion dos and don'ts for teachers. Earlier this year, teachers in Corsicana, Texas, were prohibited from donning flip-flops, sleeveless shirts, hospital...

Make the most of your mentor.(your career)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... First-year teacher Molly Clark was excited about her upcoming research paper unit. Clark's mentor-teacher wasn't. "She wanted me to do subject/verb lessons instead," says Clark. "We got into a huge fight, and so we ended it." Yikes! Of course,...

Read this month.
August 1, 2007... The Tech-Savvy Educator www.techsavvyed.net We like to check up on the TSE because, while it's about technology, the focus is on strategies for helping kids. For example, a recent post discussed how one teacher used an online baseball game...

The teachers' lounge meets the office.(Chris Mass and Mike Akel's film Chalk)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Chris Mass and Mike Akel were teaching at high schools in Austin, Texas, when it hit them: There were lots of movies about teachers, but none captured the new-teacher experience. "There are superhero teacher films--Freedom Writers, Stand and...

Great ideas from teachers--including photo contest winners!(ideaswap)
August 1, 2007... KEEPING THE COMMUNITY WARM Here my special needs students proudly display the flannel baby blankets that we created with the help of a sewing machine. This project helped us to practice measuring and use fine motor skills. We took the...

5 School stories: each year, we look for stories about first-day jitters and new friends. Here's what's worth adding to your shelf.(Bibliography)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? By Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. $16.99. Yolen and Teague illuminate once more the logistics of dinosaur life, this time with an eye toward the classroom. Teague's smart illustrations make this series, and kids will...

4 Books you can count on: fun story lines plus a dose of 123s equals a back-to-school review that's tops.(Bibliography)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The Wishing Club: A Story About Fractions By Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Anna Currey. $16.95. When a lively group of siblings wish upon a star, everyone receives only part of what he or she wanted. Napoli cleverly explains fractions as her...

4 Books in Spanish: resources for Spanish/English-speaking students keep getting better and better.(Bibliography)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Beauty and the Beast Adapted by Roser Ros, illustrated by Cristina Losantos. $14.95. The story of la bella y la bestia joins this series of bilingual fairy tales, each of which offers expert translation and gorgeous illustrations. Spanish and...

5 Treats from old friends: is there anything better than discovering that your favorite author has a new book? We didn't think so.(Bibliography)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle. $16.95. Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle again bring a cast of wild animals to life using simple rhyming text and colorful illustrations. Readers will meet a...

Cool gadgets reviewed by teachers like you.(teachers' picks)
August 1, 2007... BEST FOR LISTENING AND MOUSING JUNGLE STYLE Califone's Listening First Stereo Headphones come in animal themes sure to inspire wild little learners. "The adorable designs are perfect for motivating kids," says our teacher tester. "Plus,...

Back-to-school supplies to organize and brighten your classroom.(teachers' picks)
August 1, 2007... BEST FOR POSTING LESSONS Who knew those little sticky notes could teach, too? Post-it Notes now offers a line of educational products perfect for posting reading and math facts around the classroom. "Wow!" raves our tester. "These are...

Start the new year right ... with classroom freebies.(free stuff)(grants and contests)(Website list)
August 1, 2007... Great contests and grants will help keep your fall fresh and exciting. Access all sites below through www.scholastic.com/instructor. COOL CONTESTS Extreme Classroom Makeover Looking to overhaul your classroom? EXPO is teaming up...

Ask a psychologist.
August 1, 2007... Q We're holding lockdown drills this year, and I'm concerned that this will frighten my first graders. What should I say if a child asks me what the drills are for? A Be calm and matter-of-fact. Introduce the drill as just another school...

What happened to kindergarten? Are academic pressures stealing childhood?(Cover story)
August 1, 2007... It's a 21st-century truism that in order for the United States to get ahead in the global economy, we need to upgrade our public schools. Ideally, that should mean ensuring that every child receives an education of the best possible quality....

The rise of transitional kindergarten: "young fives" may be old enough for kindergarten, but are they developmentally ready?(hot topic)
August 1, 2007... It was a classic case: a five-year-old boy with a summer birthday. Born just eight weeks before his state's kindergarten cutoff date, his academic skills and physical abilities were on par with those of his peers. But was he socially and...

11 "magic" tricks for new teachers: got new teacher panic? Eleven instant organizers and magic tricks from the experts.(timesavers)
August 1, 2007... Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could stroll the aisles of your local covenience store and stack your cart high with all the tricks of the teaching trade? In her first year of teaching, Katie Joseph wished for such a simple solution. Daydreams...

You can start your own school! what do you do when you're a teacher with entrepreneurial spirit? Open your own place. Meet five teachers who did.(teacher leaders)(Kevin Sved, Ron Clark and Mercedes Ricon)
August 1, 2007... Do you have your own vision of what a school could be? Want something better for students? For these and other reasons, many teachers, fueled by their passion, classroom experience, and entrepreneurial verve, start their own schools. With the...

Welcome: by drawing on ELL students' first languages, you can help make learning English easier--and a little less scary.(best practice)(English language learners)
August 1, 2007... ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LEARNERS, according to research, learn best through instruction that draws upon their strength in their first language. But it's unlikely that any teacher would have knowledge of even a fraction of the languages that are spoken...

How to welcome every child: the transition to preschool and kindergarten can be exciting, traumatic, frustrating, or joyous--or some combination of the above. Here's what you can do to put all of your kids (and their parents) at ease.(First Day Ideas)
August 1, 2007... THE TOWN CRIER MEET SARAH: Sarah starts every morning in tears and has to be physically dragged into the classroom by her equally uneasy parent. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT TO DO: Often young children are anxious about all of the...

Six smooth-transition tips: get from A to Z (or from story time to math) with these simple routines.(Time's Up!)
August 1, 2007... 1 SING A SONG. Christine Waddell, a kindergarten teacher in Abbott, Texas, recommends the CDs put out by Dr. Jean (www.drjean.org). Waddell also plays songs from favorite movies, such as Lilo and Stitch or Cars. Don't forget to boogie!...

Focus on friendship; Boost social skills with these dynamic center activities.(Back-to-School Centers)
August 1, 2007... 1 FRIENDSHIP PLEDGE WHAT IT TEACHES: Friendship, creative expression, writing WHAT TO DO: At the art center, invite kids to draw a picture of themselves. Then ask them to think about different ways they can show friendship. Challenge them...

First-Day Math Games: get to know your new students and their number sense with these quick, fresh activities.(Number Sense)
August 1, 2007... GUESS MY NUMBERS KIDS WILL LEARN: Counting, calendar skills, higher/lower HOW TO PLAY: Pick pairs of students and take turns letting one try to guess the other's address number, number of siblings, birthday month and day, the number of...

On-your-feet icebreakers: help students get to know each other with these action-packed activities.(Motivation Builders)
August 1, 2007... MYSTERY CLASSMATES What you need: Paper, pencils, index cards, tape What to do: Set up a quiet corner in which students can draw or paint self-portraits. Display them on a wall or bulletin board--but don't include students' names....

Back-to-school bulletin boards: teacher and consultant Trina Gunzel shares ideas and easy how-tos for learning-filled boards.(Your Classroom)
August 1, 2007... 1 SUMMER NEWS BEAT Start a news beat board that will be a touchstone for your class all year. To begin, designate student reporters to select news stories from the past summer to be placed on the Classroom News Board--a bulletin board with...

Lesson plans feeling a little tired? Fess up. have you been doing the same first-week essay since the '90s? Borrow one of these five excellent and easy lesson plan makeovers.(Language Arts)
August 1, 2007... INSTEAD OF 25 BOOK REPORTS ON ASSIGNED SUMMER READING TRY AMERICAN IDOL-STYLE BOOK TALKS. Here's how it works: One can just see students' eyes glaze over when they're forced to listen to similar, consecutive presentations on the same...

Best books on Friendship for Tweens: it's a sticky issue in the middle school years. These recent books and accompanying activities can spark important conversations about friendship.(Independent Reading)(Bibliography)
August 1, 2007... THE WEDNESDAY WARS, by Gary D. Schmidt Why we like it: Seventh grader Holling Hoodhood is convinced his teacher Mrs. Baker has it out for him--until he's forced to spend every Wednesday afternoon with her. The two slowly build a friendship...

Shaquille O'Neal: what's NBA superstar Shaq's newest challenge? Fighting for healthy school lunches and more gym time.(pop quiz)
August 1, 2007... This summer, Shaquille O'Neal, center for the Miami Heat, got a crash course in teaching middle school--with his get-fit reality program for kids, Shaq's Big Challenge (ABC). Shaq and a "dream team" of experts worked with six Florida kids to...