Instructor (1990) articles from November 2002

Instructor (1990) archives from November 2002

A world of discovery. (Editor's Note).
November 1, 2002... EACH ADVENTURE, EACH RISK THAT WE TAKE--no matter how small--teaches us something new: about ourselves, about what we're exploring, about the people we encounter. One of my best learning adventures was when I hiked the Grand Canyon. With...

Kids can lend a helping hand. (News & Trends).(President Bush is calling on kids across the country to work for their communities)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Everyone can do something to help others in need. With that theme in mind, President Bush is calling on kids across the country to work for their communities. "Young people have the energy and determination to do important work, and...

It's time to Read for 2003. (News & Trends).(The annual global classroom read-a-thon on December 6)
November 1, 2002... Mark your calendars! It's time for Read for 2003, the annual global classroom read-a-thon. On December 6, millions of kids, teachers, and parents around the world will stop at noon in their time zones to read together for 2,003 seconds (about...

Kids honored for remembering America. (News & Trends).
November 1, 2002... These second graders from H. Byron Masterson Elementary in Kennett, Missouri, had some special time with Clifford during a visit to Scholastic's New York headquarters to celebrate their selection as recipients of the America Remembers award....

You want me to eat that?? (News & Trends).(Repoert of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine)
November 1, 2002... Nine of the nation's largest school districts do not provide the type of healthful lunches that would prevent childhood obesity, according to the annual report, "School Lunch Report Card," produced by the Physicians Committee for Responsible...

Advice on...how to help a child who turns inward.
November 1, 2002... Jane Lierman, Oak Creek Elementary, OR, Grades 1 & 2 A withdrawn child whom I had taught had academic difficulties and other possible sources of anxiety that had been mounting for years. To help her, I moved her to the front of the class...

Marilyn Burns answers your math questions.(Column)
November 1, 2002... Q I am a first-grade teacher with 20 lively students. How can I incorporate math-center activities into my schedule?--Jennifer Nelson, Detroit, MI MARILYN ANSWERS: Spend sufficient time to establish routines so that children know what's...

Special-needs solutions: use technology to reach every learner in your classroom. (Electronic Learning).
November 1, 2002... Our work as educators requires us to be flexible in order to meet many students' learning needs. Our goal is to make sure every student receives the information we present in a way that mobilizes their best strategy for learning and applying...

Learning with Lewis & Clark: teachers share exciting ideas for building interactive, cross-curricular activities around the bicentennial of the famous 1803 expedition.
November 1, 2002... At first glance, astronauts driving land rovers across the remote soil of Mars might seem light-years away from the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition, but Donald Scott, the NASA aerospace education specialist for Montana, doesn't think so....

Instructor talks to Rod Paige: the U.S. Secretary of Education discusses the role of a teacher and what brings him joy.(Interview)
November 1, 2002... Leading the charge for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige wants to hold schools and teachers accountable in helping children succeed. And he believes that children will succeed. He recently sat down with...

Money matters! It's never too early to begin saving for your retirement. Here's some advice to get you started.
November 1, 2002... When it comes to saving for retirement, the future is now. It may not seem that way, however, especially if you have just started teaching. Molding young minds and stretching a paycheck week to week are enough to think about. Retirement may be...

Congressional mobiles. (November-December Activities: From our Readers).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... To help students learn about our two-chamber legislative branch of government, give groups each a wire hanger. Ask each group to label two tagboard shapes "Senate" and "House of Representatives," and use colored string to affix to its hanger....

Postmark graphing. (November-December Activities: From our Readers).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... For a fun math and geography review during the fall and winter holiday seasons, start a class postmark collection. Display a large wall map of the United States, and encourage students to bring in as many postmarks as they can find. Have them...

Campfire tales. (November-December Activities: From our Readers).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Make the diversity of the American West come alive by inviting students to develop their own characters from history to share at a classroom "camp-fire" party. To begin, excerpts from books on the 1800s. Have students each choose a fictional or...

Lego[R] Archaeology. (November-December Activities: From our Readers).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Just because something is in print does not make it accurate. Ideas change as new information is uncovered, and different people may interpret the same information in different ways. To reinforce these concepts with your older students, try a...

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. (Masterpiece of the Month).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Meet the Artist * Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was born in 1940 and is a member of the Flathead Salish--a tribe that resides in northwestern Montana. Her art is a blend of traditional Native American symbols, representational imagery, and design...

Say thanks with a poem. (Poetry Workshop).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Ring in Thanksgiving with this playful piece by beloved poet Patricia Hubbell, who wrote this list poem especially for Instructor to give thanks for her favorite season. Reading the Poem Read the poem aloud slowly, pausing to showcase...

Keepsake box. (Patchwork Gifts).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... These stylish holiday gift boxes, covered with a simple geometric grid pattern, will be instant winners with family members. Begin by distributing boxes, scrapbook paper, and old holiday greeting cards to students, then guide them through these...

Shimmering wrapping paper. (Patchwork Gifts).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... A tessellation is a pattern that can be made when a single geometric shape is repeated to fill a space. Introduce this concept to your students by inviting them to design tessellated gift wrap. First, give each child a sheet of aluminum foil...

Patchwork coupon book. (Patchwork Gifts).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Gear up to make these clever coupon books by asking your class to brainstorm specific chores that they could perform at home to help out family members. Then give students each three pieces of 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" white paper and a 9" x 12" piece of...

Symmetry star. (Patchwork Gifts).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Let students experiment with symmetry as they color these fancy star ornaments, perfect for decorating holiday trees and seasonal parties. Begin by distributing the Star Grid Reproducible on page 38. Invite children to color the triangle shapes...

Patchwork Shopping List. (Patchwork Gifts).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Extend students' study of symmetry with these magnet-backed shopping lists, just right for attaching to their home refrigerators. After distributing the Shopping List Grid Reproducible on page 38, ask students to color in the triangles to...

Patchwork Pencil can. (Patchwork Gifts).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Many patchwork designs that seem complex are created by arrangements of only two geometric shapes. Share examples of this with your students in the form of these decorated pencil cans. Begin by giving each child an empty soup can and a copy of...

Holiday card holder. (Patchwork Gifts).
November 1, 2002... Keep your holiday correspondence in style with tessellated card holders. After students each select a piece of bright construction paper, show them how to fold one edge over to create a 3" pocket and staple the edges. Then have students trace...

Winter holidays: teach tolerance with these fun, collaborative projects that bring families together.
November 1, 2002... At the heart of all holiday celebrations is family! Help students honor these connections during the winter season--and celebrate the diversity in your classroom--with easy projects that families can do together. Handmade Greeting Cards...

A-maize-ing popcorn: serve up science learning with these corn-popping activities.
November 1, 2002... Popcorn isn't just for cinema studies--its unique properties make it explosive fodder for a variety of science-related classroom activities! Pop-Up Fact: Popcorn kernels are seeds. You can sprout kernels, then put them in soil to grow a...

King Tut's tomb unearthed. (The Winter Times).
November 1, 2002... In Egypt on November 4, 1922, archaeologists discovered the ancient royal tomb of Tutankhamen. "King Tut" became Egypt's pharaoh at the age of nine in 1333 B.C. (more than 3,000 years ago!). The relics of this find are kept in Egypt's National...

USS Monitor sinks. (The Winter Times).
November 1, 2002... On December 30, 1862, the huge waves and high winds of a storm sunk the USS Monitor. It was a Union ship made of iron--described as ironclad--known for its Civil War battle with the Confederate ship the Merrimac. The Monitor was the first ship...

First human heart transplant. (The Winter Times).
November 1, 2002... On December 3, 1967, South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant on a human. Although his patient died 18 days after the surgery, this milestone led to many medical advancements. Today heart transplants are...

A time to sleep: explore the strange and secret worlds of animals' winter habitats with activities that reinforce skills across the curriculum.
November 1, 2002... Why do some animals sleep through the winter? Let students in on the wonders of dormancy and hibernation, beginning with "Hibernation Resources," page 51. Hibernation KWL Start off your unit with a clever version of a KWL chart. Draw a...

On the trial of Lewis & Clark: encourage students to form their own Corps of Discovery with these Internet-based activities. (CyberHunt Activities).
November 1, 2002... Bring the thrill of the expedition into your middle- or upper-grade classroom! Begin by distributing the CyberHunt Reproducible, opposite. Mapping the Journey As they explored the vast lands of the West, Lewis and Clark had no maps to...

The Declaration of Independence: The Words That Made America. (History Comes to Life).(By Thomas Jefferson)(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Review)
November 1, 2002... By Thomas Jefferson; illustrated by Sam Fink. Scholastic, 2002; 160 Pages; $19.95 (Gr. 4-12). Pen-and-ink drawings illustrate Jefferson's text--helping to explain each phrase. The back of the book provides a chronology of events leading to...

They Called Her Molly Pitcher. (History Comes to Life).(By Anne Rockwell)(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... By Anne Rockwell; illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler. Knopf, 2002; 40 pages; $15.95 (Gr. 3-6). In 1777, Molly Hays earned her place in American history by bringing water in a pewter pitcher to American soldiers fighting the British....

The Great Horse-Less Carriage Race. (History Comes to Life).(By Michael Dooling)(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... By Michael Dooling. Holiday House, 2002; 32 pages; $16.95 (Gr. 2-6). In 1895, a Chicago newspaper sponsored a 52-mile horseless carriage race to show the superiority of the new machines to the horse-drawn carriage. Three of the six...

Brain Juice: American History Fresh Squeezed! (History Comes to Life).(Book Review)
November 1, 2002... By Carol Diggory Shields; illustrated by Richard Thompson. Hand print Books, 2002; 80 pages; $14.95 (Gr. 3-6). Each of these 41 verses looks at a notable historical moment. Starting with the dinosaurs and ending with a poignant poem about...

When Marian Sang. (History Comes to Life).(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... By Pam Manuoz Ryan; illustrated by Brian Selznick. Scholastic, 2002; 36 pages: $16.95 (Gr. 2-6). In the 1920s and 30s, African-American singer Marian Anderson was restricted to segregated audiences and often could not find a hotel that would...

Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt. (History Comes to Life).(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Review)
November 1, 2002... By Joanna Cole; illustrated by Bruce Degen. Scholastic, 2001; 48 pages; $15.95 (K-5). Ms. Frizzle diverts her traveling tour group to ancient Egypt to visit a marketplace, a school, and a farm. They swim down the Nile, lug stones to a...

Togo. (History Comes to Life).(Book Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Review)
November 1, 2002... By Robert J. Blake. Philomel, 2002; 44 pages; $16.99 (Gr. 1-4). Blake's vivid picture book commemorates lead sled-dog Togo, who in 1925 ran 350 miles to relay a serum to fight a deadly outbreak of diphtheria in snowbound Nome, Alaska. Togo...

The serious side. (Books About...Thanksgiving Tales).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Tattered Sails By Verla Kay; illustrated by Dan Andreasen. Putnam, 2001 (PreK-2). Three children and their parents leave London behind for a difficult journey to the New World. The First Thanksgiving By Jean Craighead George; illustrated by...

The lighter side. (Books About...Thanksgiving Tales).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving By Day Pilkey. Orchard, 1990 (K-3). On a trip to a turkey farm, the children realize that eight tiny turkeys are to meet their ends as Thanksgiving dinners. Can they smuggle them out without getting caught?...

Activities to enjoy.(suggestions for teaching children about Thanksgiving)
November 1, 2002... * Ask your students to interview parents and grandparents to find out the story of how their families came to America. Chart each family's country of origin on a map. * Show the film version of Molly's Pilgrim. Use the book and film to...

"Mrs. Crowley believed". (End of the Day).(fond remembrances of fifth-grade teacher)
November 1, 2002... There was who seemed vision for my Mrs. Crowley never a teacher to posses the success that held. I was the tall, gangly kid who, for practical purposes, should have sat at the back of the class. But I was nearsighted, in a state of...

Flipper Flash Cards. (The Ellison Educator).
November 1, 2002... Whether your students are learning multiplication facts, upper and lower case alphabet or state capitals, they will love practicing with Flipper Flash Cards. Cut, fold and fill in the questions and answers and let the practice begin.

Ho Ho holiday sweats. (The Ellison Educator).
November 1, 2002... Die-cut our Iron-On Fabric to decorate t-shirts and sweat shirts for the holidays. Or use your favorite iron-on adhesive to decorate shirts with patterned fabrics.

Math manipulative flip books. (The Ellison Educator).
November 1, 2002... The Rollabind[R] Binding System and our new 4-up Rectangle Die make quick work of place value practice. Colorful rectangles are labeled with 1 1/4" Block Numbers for a math manipulative that looks great and works wonderfully. Label each column...

Turkey day reports. (The Ellison Educator).
November 1, 2002... Cut two of Accordion Fold #2 and overlap the ends to create a little book that's perfect for writing a holiday report. Feature die-cuts, punches, stickers or student art on each inside pleat, leaving the inside front and back covers for the...