Instructor (1990) articles from March 2008

Instructor (1990) archives from March 2008

Each child, every day.(from the editors)(Editorial)
March 1, 2008... Every teacher has that rare student who finishes an assignment before you've finished handing it out, who somehow knows more about dinosaurs or Abraham Lincoln than you do, and who never fails to have the answer to every question all year long....

4 reasons to visit teacher.scholastic.com.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... 1. 100 Ways to Act Green Discover 100 ways your students can help save the environment and green themselves, their school, and their home. Plus, kids can log onto the Greenerator and receive their own customized conservation action plans....

Are you biased?(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... What a juxtaposition--the powerful cover art with its question, "Are you biased?" (Jan./Feb. 2008), and the statistic cited in the same issue ("Your Career") that 70 percent of teachers believe that homosexuality is wrong. Statistics tell us...

Where is part II?(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Although your article "What Are Your Expectations?" really got my attention, it bothered me that the article focused almost exclusively on African-American students. Where are the Hispanic or Asian students? The Native American students? I...

Wise words.(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I have been a reader since I started teaching in 1947, but I have never written to you. However, I just reread the August 2007 issue and feel compelled to applaud you for your excellent lead article, "What Happened to Kindergarten?" I have...

Oreo error.(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Using Oreo cookies to show the phases of the moon is a yummy idea ("Idea Swap," Sept./Oct. 2007), but we noticed an error in your article. In the accompanying picture, the quarter moons are incorrectly labeled: The first quarter moon is waxing,...

No, thank you!(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I recently retired after 33 years of teaching. I just have to thank Instructor' for helping me be a better teacher all of those years! What incredible ideas I gathered, and how many professional articles and helpful theme units I used! As all...

An exclusive offer for Instructor readers.(discount coupons)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Dear Readers, At Instructor, we understand how busy teachers are. Because you face new challenges and experiences every day, it may sometimes be difficult to put together a professional wardrobe that fits the way you live and work....

Feel like venting?(your career)(teachers and blogs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... "Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but sometimes a girl has gotta vent," writes the serious, thoughtful, and downright funny teacher who blogs at "It's Not All Flowers and Sausages" (http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com). And...

Bring on the brainiacs.(your career)(beginning teachers' academic qualifications)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Does succeeding at schoolwork mean you will be more effective as a teacher in the classroom? We'll soon find out. A recent study released by the Educational Testing Service found that today's beginning teachers have higher academic...

How to thrive on a Teacher's Salary.(your career)(How to Survive (and Perhaps Thrive) on a Teacher's Salary)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... No matter how hard you pinch your pennies, do you still feel strapped for cash? Teachers' salaries may not be as high as we'd all like, but, argues author Danny Kofke, this doesn't mean you can't live the way you want. In his new book, How to...

Q&A I'm swamped with grading and planning. I've been asked to join three committees--help!(your career)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... "Just say no," advises teacher Jennifer Scoggin. When you do: 1) Keep it simple. If you give reasons, people will try to resolve them for you. 2) Buy some time before answering. We often say yes without thinking. Ask for a minute--or a day--to...

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday (also known as Read Across America Day), each of my students chooses his or her favorite Seuss book and makes it its own supersized book cover. They learn the parts of a book by making sure to include the title,...

Dinosaur Easter.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Instead of making Easter eggs, we hatch dinosaur eggs! We place the eggs in water, and after 24 hours, they hatch baby dinos. The product, "Hatch 'em Growing Pets," is inexpensive. The kids all choose names for their dinosaurs--some favorites...

Pi day is march 14th!(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... 3.14--Get it? In honor of pi, we make bracelets in which colored beads represent numbers. For example, red beads represent 1, blue beads represent 2, green beads represent 3, and so on. Students can follow pi up to the 30th place to make a...

Go inside the solar system.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... We make a solar system "museum" from a refrigerator box. After painting the box black inside and out, we decorate it with glow-in-the-dark stars and set it on its side. As students study the solar system, I have small groups create models of...

Inside the shark.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... My students were sad to leave the shark-infested waters at the Virginia Marine Science Museum, but the experience really jump started their thinking about our ocean unit. What I learned? Finding the time and money for field trips is always...

Leapin' leprechauns!(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Our class had a great time making leprechaun hats to wear for our St. Patrick's Day party. Since we made them out of paper cylinders, circles, and squares, I got a chance to sneak in a little practice in measurement and geometry! The hats are...

An apple-pie welcome.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... This year for our Open House, my students rolled out the red carpet for their parents. They all brought in favorite recipes from home and put them together into a class recipe book. We also chose a few recipes to cook in class, including...

A long day on the farm.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Caption: Each year, I take my incredible group of students on an "Ag on the Farm" field trip. They learn all about daily life on the farm and the process of growing the food that ends up in our grocery stores. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Give the homework to parents instead of kids.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Every few weeks I send home a homework assignment for parents and caregivers and give kids the night off. The assignments are usually small, on-the-spot activities; for instance, "Discuss with your child your favorite figure in history" or...

Mary had a little ... continent.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I teach the continents using these lyrics sung to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Here are the words: There are seven continents, continents, continents. There are seven continents, I can name them all. North and South America, Eu-rope,...

Hands-on heart lesson.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... The best way to truly understand the circulatory system is to look at the heart up close. But how many students are lucky enough to get the opportunity? My fourth graders were studying a unit on the human body and completed a lesson on the...

What's the time in Taiwan?(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... We celebrate our multicultural curriculum with a time zone clock display. I bought six inexpensive analog wall clocks to represent six countries, each in different time zones. We created a background for each clock, using art to represent the...

Mind your manners, por favor!(idea swap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I choose a new country each week and teach students to say "please" and "thank you" in its primary language. I encourage students to practice "international diplomacy" by using the words all week. The next week, it's time to travel somewhere...

I'd like to buy a vowel.(idea swap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Reviewing spelling words is a lot more fun when we play "Wheel of Fortune." We write blank boxes on the board to represent a word's letters and then divide the class into three teams. On each team's turn, a student rolls a number cube and...

Model kits = motivation.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I found a great way to get my reluctant readers motivated--with construction kits! I buy inexpensive kits (such as those for model planes or cars) and encourage kids to use them during free time. To build the model, they need to read the (often...

Pizza portfolios.(ideaswap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I've discovered a great new way to store students' work: pizza boxes! I get a supply from our local pizza shop and attach each student's photo to the top of a box to cover any logo. The boxes are perfect for oversized creations, and the kids...

Get students writing poetry.(idea swap)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Here's what I do to get my kids motivated to write poetry. I bring in music boxes with simple tunes and have students work in small groups to write their own lyrics. Song lyrics are much like poems. It's a great exercise in creativity, writing,...

3 books about differences; Three stories to help kids understand physical, family, and learning differences.(teachers' picks [BOOKS])(A Day with Dad)(Owning It: Stories About Teens with Disabilities)(My Travelin' Eye)(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... A Day With Dad By Bo R. Holmberg, illustrated by Eva Eriksson. $15.99. Tim's dad lives in another town, so when he comes to visit, even ordinary, everyday things like going to the movies or the library become special. Holmberg makes Tim's...

5 "Hey, I like poetry" books; these new volumes are a great way to celebrate April's National Poetry Month.(teachers' picks [BOOKS])(children's literature)(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat By Gerda Rovetch, illustrated by Lissa Rovetch. $14.99. The titular verse and the "other vile little poems" in this book will appeal to the 9-year-old gross-out crowd while teaching them about limericks and other...

4 great women's history books; stories about suffragists, daredevils, and a president's daughter for March's women's history month--or any other time of year.(teachers' picks [BOOKS])(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Elizabeth Leads the Way By Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. $16.95. Stone, who's penned knockout biographies about Abraham Lincoln and Ella Fitzgerald, now lends grace and humor to the life of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a...

5 Baseball stories; keep wiggly kids hooked with books about America's favorite sport.(teachers' picks [BOOKS])(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... The Big Field By Mike Lupica. $17.99. Kid-and teacher-favorite Lupica is back with a brand-new baseball novel, this one about the son of a professional leaguer who's bumped from his spot at shortstop by the new kid in town. Grades 3-7. ...

These goodies will have you hooked on science!(teachers' picks)(instructional materials)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... BEST FOR ON-THE-GO EXPERIMENTS Kids will love peering through this super-powered microscope! "The SmartLab Indoor/Outdoor Microscope is easy to use outside," says our teacher tester. "Students can see a blade of grass or clothing fibers...

Best for big counting.(Cool Tools for Teaching Math)(The Place Values Chart)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... This chart lets students see place values from zero to one billion. "The Place Values Chart is a convenient, low-tech way of visualizing place value," says our tester. "The chart comes with games that reinforce the concept of place value: I...

Best for video game lovers.(Cool Tools for Teaching Math)(Numberball)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... With Numberball, a pinball-themed software game, students practice math and critical thinking. They use gadgets, blowers, and fireballs to direct numbers and symbols through the pipe system to complete equations. This new version features 3-D...

Best for math facts.(Cool Tools for Teaching Math)(FASTT Math Enterprise Edition)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... FASTT Math Enterprise Edition helps students become fluent with math facts. "It was fun to play with," says our tester. "The program gives students math assessments that are useful to me as well as to the student. The reinforcement is great. If...

Best to learn by touch.(Cool Tools for Teaching Math)(TouchMath)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... These new math activities from TouchMath are designed specifically for motor, cognitive, and developmental abilities of preschoolers. "I never thought kids at this age could comprehend this information," raves our tester. "From greater...

Best for making fun activities.(Cool Tools for Teaching Math)(Activity Builder)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Spend hours making classroom activities? Activity Builder is a Web-based resource that can help. Our tester says, "Use this extremely helpful product to create class exercises, homework, tests, and more. Not all states' standards are listed,...

Ask a child psychologist.(bullying)
March 1, 2008... Q A child in my fifth-grade homeroom is a frequent victim of bullying and teasing. I know it's important to enforce a rule of zero-tolerance for bullying. But at the same time, is there a way I can help this boy get free of his role as the...

Where to find what you need.(free stuff)
March 1, 2008... GREAT GRANTS Get Adopted Don't have a rich uncle? Then find a patron online. Adopt-a-Classroom lets people sponsor individual classrooms. "Adopted" teachers receive $500 worth of credit to purchase classroom resources. Solicit more...

Are we failing our high achievers?(SMART & BORED)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Back when I taught a mixed-ability group of fourth through sixth graders, I dreaded hearing the words "I'm finished" from my top students. They would speed through their work, turning in their essays or math...

Teach to the top; how to keep high achievers engaged and motivated.(cover story)
March 1, 2008... "You can challenge your academically talented, advanced students to keep them both engaged and motivated within the regular classroom," says Joseph Renzulli, director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University...

Bad behaviors; and how to turn them around.(best practice)
March 1, 2008... Have you ever had one of those days when a student is misbehaving and your only response is a sigh? By the time March comes around, students are anticipating spring break and warmer weather--not to mention the rapidly approaching end of the...

3 new books on behavior; research reveals that students really are learning something when they play.(Building Emotional Intelligence: Techiques to Cultivate Inner Strength in Children)(Positive Teacher Talk for Better Classroom Management)(What to Do with a Kid Who...)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... * BUILDING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE by Linda Lantieri and Daniel Goleman (Sounds True, 2008). Educator Linda Lantieri joins forces with psychologist Daniel Goleman to offer a guide for helping children quiet their minds, calm their bodies,...

Want to meet your favorite author? Here's how to plan a memorable and successful visit from an inspirational children's author.(best practice)(Daniel Pinkwater)
March 1, 2008... Daniel Pinkwater is a beloved author of more than 100 children's books and a popular NPR commentator. But he met his most memorable audience on an elementary school visit. "When we pulled into the parking lot," says Pinkwater, "a bunch of fifth...

Look for authors here!(searching for authors in the internet)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A good way to begin your exploration is to search the Internet for your favorite author's personal Web site or the publisher's. If you prefer one-stop shopping, try these resources. * AUTHORS IN SCHOOLS Find more than 40 authors,...

How I spent my summer vacation; amazing opportunities for teachers.
March 1, 2008... From summer programs in archaeology or Russian to teaching abroad for a year or more, there are so many opportunities available to you as a teacher this year. So get out your pen and circle your favorites, whether you plan to order that...

Meet 4 teachers who lived the dream.(I Did It!)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... "I love teaching at the Department of Defense schools--the military community is incredibly close-knit and supportive." --Wendy Smith, Naples, Italy [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "As a Teacher at Sea, I was actually able to collect data...

Boat floats and bubbles; Splish, splash! grab those smocks and roll up your sleeves for these learning-packed water table activities.(At the Water Table)
March 1, 2008... CREATING COLORS WHAT KIDS PRACTICE: Primary and secondary colors WHAT YOU'LL NEED: Washable tempera paint (blue, yellow, and red), clear plastic cups, paint brushes, paint palette (plastic coffee can lid), water, crushed ice, ice cube...

6 springtime ideas for beginning writers: quick activities to practice letter formation and simple sentences.(Writing Workshop)
March 1, 2008... 1. SPRINGTIME FROM A TO Z On a balmy afternoon, take kids on a walk around your school or neighborhood. Give partners a clipboard and piece of paper to share. Work as a group to spot items that begin with each letter of the alphabet, such...

Fun for April Fools' Day; These cross-curricular activities are just the trick for April 1.(Holiday Learning)
March 1, 2008... CAN'T FOOL ME WHAT IT TEACHES: Camouflage, observation, adaptation WHAT YOU NEED: Colored toothpicks (25 each of green, red, yellow, blue) WHAT TO DO: As a class, read What Color is Camouflage by Carolyn B. Otto and Megan Lloyd....

Five take-home games.(Holiday Learning)
March 1, 2008... Put the materials for these math activities into sturdy canvas totes. Then invite students to take turns bringing them home to share with their families. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1 MEASURE UP! WHAT GOES IN THE TOTE: The book How Big...

How's the weather? The forecast calls for oohs and ahhs with these simple experiments.(Easy Experiments)
March 1, 2008... WHAT MAKES THUNDER? WHAT YOU'LL NEED: An empty aquarium, warm water, ice cubes tinted with blue food coloring, red food coloring WHAT TO DO: Fill the aquarium with warm water. Add a few drops of red food coloring to the water at one...

7 quick computer lab activities.(Easy Experiments)
March 1, 2008... All wired up with no place to go? Here are seven great ways to use that weekly computer time that plug into students' curiosity and creativity. Find more in the Student Activities section of www.scholastic.com. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

This kid could be a poet: April is poetry month, but not all students jump up and down about writing poetry. To help all students find their voices, try these fresh activities.(Believe It!)
March 1, 2008... 1 DOORWAY POETRY A nice way to begin a poetry unit is by asking students to draw a doorway and then write a poem in response. First, ask students to imagine that they are walking down a street and they come to a door. Does it have windows?...

Research in the online age: the volume of information available today means we must provide kids with strategies for thinking critically. Here are some guidelines to follow.(Critical Thinking)
March 1, 2008... MAKE THINKING VISIBLE When reading in a content area. break the thinking process down into manageable steps and make each step explicit for creating understanding. THINK-ALOUDS To introduce a cognitive strategy (such as predicting)...

Lois Lowry.(pop quiz)(interview)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... The Newbery Award winner (twice!) talks teaching, The Giver, and the truth about childhood. * What memories do you have of teachers growing up? My favorite elementary school teacher was Mrs. Grace O'Hara, in fifth grade. I'm not sure...