Instructor (1990) articles from January 2007

Instructor (1990) archives from January 2007

Five reasons to visit ...(teacher.scholastic.com)(Website overview)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... teacher.scholastic.com 1. Hunt down your next teaching gig on our new job site. Find out about the latest third-grade openings in Nashville and middle-school math jobs in Minneapolis. Go to www.scholastic.com/schooljobsnow. ...

Happy anniversary.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your "blast from the past" ("115 Years of Ideas," Nov/Dec 2006). Kudos to Ms. Chanko and her research, and especially your archives! It is interesting that as much as teaching has changed, it has remained...

Frida Kahlo fan.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... Thank you for your article and poster on Frida Kahlo (October 2006). At our school it inspired colorful artwork and one of our best-ever celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month. Your background on Frida's life was a great start for the project....

Christmas isn't about trees.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I enjoyed reading your holiday book suggestions ("Time to Celebrate," Nov/Dec 2006). However, I was disappointed by the choice of Daniel Foley's The Christmas Tree as the Christmas book pick. It appears that we readily preach embracing...

Three cheers for Grant Wood.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I found the American Gothic activity and poster (Nov/Dec 2006), along with the quick facts that were provided, very interesting. My college-age son saw the poster lying on a table, and I taught him a three-minute lesson on Grant Wood that would...

Thanksgiving comes to life.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... I loved the online activity "The First Thanksgiving" (teacher.scholastic.com). My students and I had a blast. We especially enjoyed listening to the sounds and voices. Thanks and keep up the great work! Have something to share? We'd love...

Pretzel math.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... Here's an idea to share with your readers: I use pretzels to teach geometry to my third graders. We use them to construct rays, lines, segments, right angles, and parallel lines. Then we eat the pretzels or glue them onto construction paper to...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
January 1, 2007... The kit for Debra Frasier's A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake ("Free Stuff," October 2006) is available online at www.harcourtbooks.com/instructormag.

Corrections.(Correction notice)
January 1, 2007... Prizes for our "Making a Difference Award" (Nov/Dec 2006) are provided by OfficeMax and Scholastic.

Emergency helpline.(student dicipline)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... My fourth-graders talk whenever they feel like it. What do I do? * TRY MOVING DESKS AROUND. Are your students currently sitting in groups facing one another? If so, this may be contributing to the talking. You might want to try separating...

Psst ... listen up.(from the editors)(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... This issue is packed with teaching secrets and "been there, done that" advice we all love to hear--like Nancie Atwell's list of rules that good readers break in "The Pleasure Principle," page 44. (If you've ever peeked at the ending or skipped...

Steal these ideas! Winning activities from real teachers: will the real Abe Lincoln please stand up?(idea swap)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... We made Lincoln costumes to celebrate the end of our President study. They're easy: The kids traced a hat shape onto black construction paper and cut it out. Then we stapled a long curve to either side for the beard and a strip across the back...

School outside all day, every day?(teachers' lounge)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A new publicly funded kindergarten in Scotland has taken a novel approach to the school room. There isn't one. At the Secret Garden nursery, kindergartners do their learning in a wood--whatever the weather. Their curriculum is devoted to nature...

Are kids slipping through? Teachers say yes, administrators say no.(teachers' lounge)(Public Agenda survey)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A new study from Public Agenda suggests that superintendents' perspectives are vastly different from teachers on key issues. Where 62% of teachers say kids are slipping through the system without learning, only 27% of superintendents think so....

Extreme science gets the grade.(Delaware Science Coalition)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... How do you make science truly exciting? How about dropping a junked car from a crane to teach about gravity and acceleration? An effort by the Delaware Science Coalition to bring hands-on, high-interest science to all grades is showing results...

Lunch time marathon.(Stoneman Elementary School)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A new "Get Fit" program at Stoneman Elementary School in Pittsburg, California, has kids walking a marathon a day at a time. About 200 youngsters spend most of their 50-minute lunch period circling the track together. Each step brings them...

More kids eat free breakfast.(NEWS to KNOW)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Students from low-income families are eating more free and reduced-price school breakfasts, says a report from the anti-hunger group. The Food Research and Action Group. While the federal breakfast program feeds only two in five who need it....

Banned Books, take two.(The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Fahrenheit 451, and The Diary of Anne Frank)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... During the ALA's Banned Books Week, the superintendent of Virginia's Harrisonburg High School ordered a display of banned or "challenged" books--including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Fahrenheit 451, and The Diary of Anne Frank--removed. The...

Kid journalists hit the beat.(Jones Elementary School)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... When Nancy Mead, a veteran teacher at Jones Elementary School in Gladstone, Michigan, started a class newsletter, little did she know her kid reporters would go national. Mead's students chronicle school activities on AlphaSmart Neos, a...

My student, my hero: we asked teachers to share stories of student superheroes. Read on to get inspired!(contest winners)
January 1, 2007... For the first time ever, Instructor invited teachers to nominate a student who is a hero in his or her school and community. Wow, what a response! The winner and runners-up are some amazing kids. OUR COVER KID: A COOL SCHOOL SAVER! ...

Share this page! Freebies and grants just for you.(free stuff)
January 1, 2007... COOL CONTESTS Honor A Creative Kid Submit students' work to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for grades 7-12. Past winners include Andy Warhol, Joyce Maynard, Robert McCloskey, and Truman Capote. DEADLINE: Varies by region...

Inspire all your little artists with these great finds!(PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2007... * BEST FOR THE TINIEST TALENTS Teachers love the be-be line because of its easy-to-use size and bright colors. "It's great for young kids. The paints come with nice big brushes, and I love the finger-paint sponges in fun shapes."...

BOOKS.(Recommended readings)
January 1, 2007... 5 BEST FOR BLACK HISTORY February is Black History Month, but these must-reads will grab attention all year long. This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt, illustrated by R. G. Roth. $16. In the spirit of the knick-knack-paddywhack classic,...

BOOKS.(views of Mary Lee Hahn and Frankie Sibberson)(Interview)
January 1, 2007... 12 ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PROFESSIONAL BOOKS What's the best way to find books? You know it. Word of mouth. That's why we asked Mary Lee Hahn and Frankie Sibberson, veteran teachers, authors, and bloggers, to share their top professional book...

Lessons on character: kids here used to get into fistfights. Now the school culture embraces learning.(best practice)
January 1, 2007... In 1999, things were dismal at Lebanon, Pennsylvania's Harding Elementary School. Many kids in this former coal town started at a disadvantage and never seemed to catch up. They were bored with books about "frogs on logs," says then-new...

Faith Ringgold: Wanted.(masterpiece poster)
January 1, 2007... WANTED The title of this piece, Wanted: Douglass, Tubman, and Truth, refers to three notable figures: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth (from left to right). All three were former slaves who, once free, went on to...

Sniff sniff ...: studies show that teaching is the germiest job. Here's how to deal.(expert advice)
January 1, 2007... My first two years of teaching were filled with read alouds, eager faces, a-ha moments, and weekends stuck at home with cold after cold. No matter how quickly I bolted from students' incoming coughs and sneezes, come winter, I always seemed to...

Meet the author Katherine Paterson: we talk with her about her years as a teacher and the story behind Bridge to Terabithia.(Interview)
January 1, 2007... If you have the chance to talk with Katherine Paterson, you drop your tattered copy of Bridge to Terabithia and go! That's how I recently found myself in a cozy Vermont bed and breakfast, sitting across from the author of Bridge, The Great...

The pleasure principle: throw out the test-driven comprehension questions. The way to get kids to read and love it is to let them choose their own books.
January 1, 2007... Here's a first look at Nancie Atwell's new book, The Reading Zone, out this month: Peek in the door of an American elementary classroom during reading time, or a high school English class at any time, in search of the authentic pleasures...

Fall in love all over again: Valentine's Day ideas.(grades k-2)
January 1, 2007... With teaching, of course! Let these inspired reading, math, science, and social studies activities guide the way. IN LANGUAGE ARTS, TRY... We Are Family Word Sort Put away the flash cards and practice word families with this fun...

Great Web sites for little ones: happy New Year!(grades k-2)(Website list)
January 1, 2007... Is one of your New Year's resolutions to get kids on that classroom computer? It's tough to find the best Web sites for grades K-2. Here Scholastic.com advisor Ruth Manna shares a few of her favorites for this time of year. Go to...

Heat things up with fun, easy food science: feeling chilly?(grades 3-5)
January 1, 2007... New Orleans teachers Jennifer Williams and Sandra Cvitanovic call on their stash of quick, inexpensive experiments on cold February afternoons. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DO THE SALSA WHAT IT TEACHES: Acids and bases, culinary prowess...

4 projects for President's Day (and beyond): no more boring reports.(grades 3-5)
January 1, 2007... Elementary teacher Trina Gunzel loves brainstorming creative ways for her students to share what they've learned. Here are a few of her favorite ideas, plus ways to use them right now. INSTEAD OF PAPER TIME LINES, TRY: Walking, Talking...

Do mean girls rule your school? Character education.(grades 6-8)
January 1, 2007... Backstabbing and cruel jokes are all too common among middle-school girls and boys, say the experts behind The Ophelia Project, dedicated to stopping "relational aggression" in schools. Here's their advice for reforming Heathers-esque tweens...

Discovering the "story" in nonfiction: teaching writing.(grades 6-8)
January 1, 2007... Wait! Before kids turn in that report on cell structure or that Underground Railroad research paper, try some of these ideas to help them think more creatively about factual topics. TO INSPIRE CREATIVE RESEARCH, TRY... The Most Boring...

Henry Winkler: we knew him as "The Fonz." Kids today know him as the creator of the delightful and dyslexic Hank Zipzer.(pop quiz)(Interview)
January 1, 2007... The series features a boy--much like Winkler himself--who finds resourceful ways to cope with his dyslexia. The actor-turned-author talks about his personal struggle through school and his take on education. * What was school like for you?...