Instructor (1990) articles from March 2007

Instructor (1990) archives from March 2007

Five reasons to visit ...(teacher.scholastic.com)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... teacher.scholastic.com 1. Meet Rosa Parks, Sally Ride, and Amelia Earhart. Kids can get to know these amazing women as part of our interactive online activities for March's Women's History Month. 2. Grow a plant, pick a flower, or...

Ideas when you need them.(from the editors)
March 1, 2007... Just this morning, a new reader wrote to say thanks for a lesson idea that was a huge success in her mixed-ability classroom. "I'm hooked until I retire," she told us. (Aw, now the whole staff is blushing.) We know it's sometimes hard to find...

We hear from a hero.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... Thank you for choosing me as a runner-up in the "My Student, My Hero" contest (Jan/Feb 2007)! Now that you have put me in your magazine, more people are asking to sponsor and to walk with me in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Walk. I...

Mean Girls start young.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... The focus of "Do Mean Girls Rule Your School?" (Jan/Feb 2007) was on middle school students, but as a preschool teacher for over 25 years, I've witnessed firsthand how cattiness, verbal abuse, and manipulation can start as soon as girls acquire...

Cheers for terabithia.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I loved your interview with Katherine Paterson (Jan/Feb 2007). Although I've heard of Katherine's books, I've never read any. Your piece makes me want to check out her work. In fact, I'm headed to the library this afternoon. --Ron Fink,...

It's a tropical teach wave.(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... After reading about the teacher conferences at The Island School in Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas, in "Amazing Teacher Trips" (Nov/Dec 2006), I applied for the scholarship for Instructor readers. Recently, I was delighted to learn that I had been...

Homework wars rage on.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... I wish I could photocopy "Down With Homework" (September 2006) and send it to every educator I've ever met. Homework has sucked the joy of learning from my son, who has ADHD. Not to mention that it holds our home captive every night. I'm the...

A timeless idea.(letter writing teaching)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... One of my former teachers, Helen Ruebner, may be 97 years old, but she still inspires my teaching and my life. I wanted to share one of her ideas with you. Every year, she had her students write down compliments for one another, which she then...

Corrections.(letters)(Correction notice)
March 1, 2007... Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. ("Great Web Sites for Little Kids," Jan/Feb 2007). DROP US A LINE. We'd love to hear from you. E-mail instructor@scholastic.com or write to Instructor, P.O. Box 713, New York, NY 10013.

Emergency helpline.(tips to teach spanish language)(www.readinga-z.com)(Brief article)(Column)
March 1, 2007... I have a new third grader who speaks only Spanish. I don't. What can I do? * SEND HOME BILINGUAL BOOKS. The site www.readinga-z.com has bilingual books you can download, print, and copy. (Some are free.) Try sending home one a week...

From Kansas to Africa: Carol Spangler and her students are helping to ease world hunger.(making a difference)(Grains for Hope)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... How can kids from Sabetha, Kansas, begin to understand world hunger? Teacher Carol Spangler believes it's by working to end it. What started as a simple lesson on hunger is now a nonprofit organization, Grains for Hope, that sends fortified...

The best ideas come from teachers like you!(noise monitor for maintaining silence in the class)(tips on how to teach music and earth sciences)
March 1, 2007... We combine science and art for a great Earth-Day craft. After learning about the layers of the Earth, we depict them on a picture frame! I purchase a paintable wooden frame for each child (they are very inexpensive at craft-supply stores)....

Classroom resources.(web services)(Website list)
March 1, 2007... It's National Poetry Month... Give your class the gift of poetry for April's National Poetry Month. Your free classroom kit for grades 2-5 includes a poster from Douglas Florian's new Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars, poetry pencils, and...

Great grants.(free stuff)
March 1, 2007... Reinvent Your Classroom Apply for a grant with IBM's Reinventing Education program and you could win more than just big bucks: Selected schools also benefit from IBM's technology- and education-consulting expertise. DEADLINE: Rolling...

teachers' picks.(Bibliography)
March 1, 2007... 4 BEST DOG AND CAT CAPERS Who let the cats and dogs out? Springtime shelves are bursting with delightful new stories starring man's best friends. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] My Cat Copies Me By Yoon-duck Kwon. $15.95. Anyone with a...

Cool robots, giant germs, and fast cars! What you liked best.(SCIENCE)
March 1, 2007... BEST FOR SCIENCE CENTERS CenterStage grade-level kits contain all you need to build robotic cars, ant farms, and more. "Kids can reinforce concepts," says one tester. "Plus, setup and storage are simple." www.etacuisenaire.com; $595 per...

Teachers' picks.(online educational resources)
March 1, 2007... Use that computer lab to liven up your math lessons. We had real teachers test the latest online activities, learning games, and DVD offerings. Here are their favorites. * BEST STASH OF ONLINE LESSONS Hotmath.com has pumped up its site...

New Orleans needs teachers!(teachers' lounge)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Though over a year and a half has passed since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans schools are still far from recovered. The state-run Recovery Schools District has over 8,500 students and only 540 teachers, a shortage that is forcing students onto...

Get the message?(informal shorthand is accepted for writing exams)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The language of text messaging--a kind of informal shorthand--may be a writing teacher's worst nightmare. But like it or not, this generation's lingua franca may soon creep into your classroom: This year, students in New Zealand may use text...

Is the autism epidemic really just a myth?(services for children suffering from development disorders)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Yes, says author Roy Richard Grinker in a Time magazine article. So why the huge spike in diagnoses? The definition of autism is continually revised, which contributes to the increase, says Grinker. Families of autistic children have more...

Spare the rod?(Kansas proposed a bill to prevent corporal punishment in schools)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A proposed bill in Kansas would shield schools where students are spanked from lawsuits if the local school board has adopted a policy of corporal punishment. The controversial bill has its share of opponents: Some school officials argue that...

The price of pop.(soda machines in schools)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... With obesity increasing among U.S. students and a growing push to serve healthier school lunches, surely districts maintain soda machines in schools because the revenue is too great to sacrifice. Or is it? A recent study on school beverage...

Performance pay enacted in Houston.(bonuses for teachers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Houston Independent School District has instituted performance pay, with bonuses as high as $7K going to teachers who boost student test scores, and plans to expand bonuses to $10K. The bonuses are meant to reward a job well done, but some...

How teachers fare in $$.(salaries)(Statistical table)
March 1, 2007... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] How Teachers Fare in $$ The AFT reports that the average teacher salary increased by only $1K between 1994 and 2004, much less than other professionals' increase. We think teachers' raises should reflect the job's...

Girls & ADHD: are you missing the signs?(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
March 1, 2007... WHEN YOU THINK ADHD, DO YOU THINK BOY? You're not alone. Boys are three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, even though they're no more likely to have it. Too many young girls are not getting the help they need. That's why...

Hokusai: red Fuji: one of the artist's 36 depictions of a famous Japanese mountain.(masterpiece poster)
March 1, 2007... SIGNATURE STAMP The rectangle in the top left corner contains Hokusai's signature stamp, made by carving into a wooden block. Ask students: How does Hokusai's signature differ from those we usually see on art? Does its top left position...

Playing favorites? Even occasional favoritism can hurt your students. Here's how to spot it and stop it.(tough topic)
March 1, 2007... Charlotte * always thought she treated every student in her Highland, New Jersey, classroom equally. Now she's not so sure. Last year, she taught a little boy whom she describes as "brilliant." He was working on his own in math, but, to push...

10 podcasts for teachers & kids: fun learning for kids, plus tips and talk for you. All free! Listen up.(classroom resources)
March 1, 2007... What! A podcast? I know what you're thinking. Sounds complicated. Sounds expensive. Sounds, well, technical. The truth is, listening to podcasts or watching videocasts in your classroom couldn't be easier--or cheaper. If you have a computer and...

Build trust, banish fear: in his new book Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire, Rafe Esquith shares the most essential teaching tool.(a teacher's story)(Reprint)
March 1, 2007... When we think of teachers who exemplify the profession, who not only have the respect of their students and school community, but also their colleagues across the nation, Rafe Esquith is at the top of the list. Esquith has taught for 23...

Marilyn Burns: mental math: figuring out answers in our heads is an important skill. Give it a starring role in your math teaching.(Column)
March 1, 2007... Every day in the grown-up world, we face situations that call for adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing. We figure tips in restaurants, decide when to leave home to get to the movies on time, estimate the price of a sale item, keep...

Dig into springtime science: six easy experiments from teachers Sandra Cvitanovic and Jennifer Williams.(Squishy, Squirmy Worms ...)
March 1, 2007... WORM WATCH WHAT IT TEACHES: Habitats, anatomy, invertebrates, qualitative data--and that worms are our friends! WHAT YOU NEED: Worms (from a sporting goods, pet, or bait shop), flashlights, paper towels, hole puncher, index cards ...

5 fun ideas for poetry month.(Writers' Workshop)
March 1, 2007... RHYME TWISTER HELP KIDS IDENTIFY RHYME THROUGH MOVEMENT. First read aloud several poems and point out rhyming patterns. (Simple nursery rhymes like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" work well.) When the class is familiar with different patterns,...

Math games for every sport: celebrate spring's big days in sports with slam-dunk-home-run-ace-in-the-hole classroom games.(Five-Minute Activities)
March 1, 2007... March Madness by the Numbers Enjoy the NCAA basketball tournament and math practice all March long! Give each student 24 small pieces of paper and 12 plastic cups. Invite students to put the name of a different college team on each...

Great stories for women's history month: kids will love these page-turning biographies and cool comprehension activities.(Teaching Comprehension)
March 1, 2007... THANK YOU, SARAH Read: Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving, by Laurie Halse Anderson. An entertaining, exuberant account of Sarah Hale's campaign for our national holiday. Then try: Talk together about Sarah Hale's...

Introducing the Holocaust: Jennifer Roy, author of the award-winning Yellow Star shares books and activities to help students begin to understand a painful part of human history.(Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 25)
March 1, 2007... "The Holocaust is one of the most significant and horrible events in human history," writes Jennifer Roy, "and also one of the most difficult to teach." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] How do you teach such a difficult topic sensitively,...

5 vocab games kids love: veteran sixth-grade teacher Gail Hennessey shares some of her favorite ways to introduce or review new vocabulary words.(Fast Fun)
March 1, 2007... 1. BLUFF This game keeps students on their toes. Divide students into two teams. On the chalkboard, make two columns labeled Team A and Team B. For each turn, you give either Team A or Team B a word. All those on the team who know the...

Todd Parr: from underwear dos and don'ts to it's Okay to be different, Parr knows how to talk to kids.(pop quiz)(Interview)
March 1, 2007... * You have such a great voice for kids. Did you always know you would do children's books? Honestly, no. It never even crossed my mind. My editor--well, she wasn't my editor yet--saw my art, with its bright colors and messages, and asked...