Instructor (1990) articles from September 2001

Instructor (1990) archives from September 2001

Letters.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... YOUR COMMENTS, IDEAS, AND THOUGHTS We Love Math Murals! I read your article "We Love Math" (April 2001) and enjoyed the overall content. I would like to know a nitty-gritty answer. On page 27, there is a teaser picture of a wall mural...

ANOTHER FRESH START.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... "FOR US, NEW YEAR'S isn't in January. It's at the beginning of school," commented Denise Bryan, the South Dakota Teacher of the Year. She told me that the fall represents a fresh start, an opportunity to improve on last year's teaching, a time...

PBS School Series.(Public Broadcasting Service)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... From rustic one-room schoolhouses to today's bold experiments with charter schools and vouchers, PBS's new documentary School showcases the ever-changing history of public schools in the U.S. Airing from 9 to 11 p.m. on September 3-4 (check...

Eager to Teach.(Teach for Georgia program)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... More than 2,000 aspiring teachers poured into an Atlanta-area university recently, eager to apply for a special teacher-preparation program created to transform lawyers, business executives, and stay-at-home moms into certified educators. The...

More Time = More Pay?(teachers' salaries)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Teachers in the U.S. spend far more hours in front of the classroom than their peers in other countries, but that isn't translating into higher pay. A recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stated that...

Adopt a Street.(first-grade class civic lesson)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Shelley Erb was looking for a community project that would give her first-grade class a sense of ownership and pride. She also wanted her students to learn a few lessons. The answer turned out to be right outside her school's front door. Erb...

Fascinating Journeys.(Houghton Mifflin history books)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Imagine drawing your students into history lessons with tales of Venture Smith's sorrowful journey in 1735 to a new country, the 1849 trek of Louise Clappe (aka Dame Shirley) from New York to "Gold Rush" California by boat, and Bui Huu Phong's...

Caring Students.(Caring Institute)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The Caring Institute is seeking nominations of students 18 years and younger who have demonstrated extraordinary compassion, caring, and selflessness. Five winners will each receive a $2,000 college scholarship, an all-expenses-paid trip to...

Poetry Winners.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... In the September 2000 issue of Instructor, we announced a poetry contest sponsored by Lulu Delacre, the author of Salsa Stones. Now, we are proud to announce the grand prize winner of the contest: Aliz Gerena, 14, of Peck Middle School in...

Smaller May Be Better.(class size)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Children assigned to classrooms with smaller numbers of students in kindergarten through third grade scored higher in math than their peers, who were in larger classes, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chicago and...

Foreign Language Boom.(elementary schools' classes)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Elementary schools are booming with a growing demand for foreign-language classes, according to a recently released report from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Services. The report stated that foreign-language classes have...

Innovation Grants.(National Education Association)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The NEA Foundation is offering grants of $2,000 to teachers with novel ideas about improving student learning. The "Innovation Grants" will reward two or more public-school teachers who collaborate to develop and implement innovative ideas that...

Library Grants.(Ezra Jack Keats Foundation)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation offers grants of $350 to school and public libraries for programs that encourage literacy and creativity in children. Programs can include innovative or noteworthy workshops, lectures and festivals, or programs...

ASKMARY.(Brief Article)(Column)
September 1, 2001... EVERY ADVISE FROM A VETERAN TEACHER Retention For Younger Kids Q I have a child in my first-grade class who is significantly younger than most of my other students. He is clearly bright, but very immature compared with his classmates....

Correct Test Taking.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Take time to really listen to how kids think about tests Kids think about tests very differently than teachers do. As we've listened over the years to kids talk about how they reasoned their way through standardized-test questions, we've...

I Have a Student Who Can't Sit Still.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Q It's only the beginning of the year and James can't sit still. He gets up out of his seat all the time: to sharpen his pencil; to throw something in the wastebasket; or just to wander around the room. And he is always asking to go to the...

BEWARE OF THE STORYBOOK WOLVES (PRIMARY).(a book by Lauren Child)(Brief Article)(Children's Review)
September 1, 2001... By Lauren Child. Scholastic, 2001; 32 pages; $15.95 (K-3). Every night, after Herb's mother reads him a bedtime story, he insists his mother take the book with her. Why? "Because there's a wolf in it, of course," Herb tells her. One night,...

AND THE DISH RAN AWAY WITH THE SPOON.(Primary)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel; illustrated by Janet Stevens. Harcourt, 2001; 48 pages; $17 (K-3). After their performance of "Hey, diddle, diddle," Dish and Spoon don't come back. Cat, Dog, and Cow set off to find them, with...

HUMPTY DUMPTY EGG-SPLODES.(Primary)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Kevin O'Malley. Walker, 2001; 32 pages; $15.95 (K-3). Mild-mannered Mr. Hatchery visits his son's class and reads aloud from a Mother Goose book. The class is terribly bored until their teacher leaves the room. As soon as she is out the...

THE THREE PIGS.(Primary)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By David Wiesner. Clarion, 2001; 40 pages; $16 (K-6). Take an unexpected romp through what seems to be, at least on the cover and first page, a traditional telling of the classic folktale. On page three, when the wolf blows in the house of...

THE TALE OF TRICKY FOX: A NEW ENGLAND TRICKSTER TALE.(Primary)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Jim Aylesworth; illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Scholastic, 2001; 32 pages; $15.95 (K-3). Fox boasts to Brother Fox that he can fool a human into putting a fat pig into Fox's sack. He almost succeeds, parlaying a simple log into a...

ANANSI AND THE MAGIC STICK.(Primary)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Eric A. Kimmel; illustrated by Janet Stevens. Holiday House, 2001; 36 pages; $16.95 (K-2). Anansi, that lazy, greedy, lovable spider from West Africa, is back in another boisterous trickster tale. Anansi spies on Hyena to learn how...

THE FROG PRINCIPAL.(Primary)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Stephanie Calmenson; illustrated by Denise Brunkus. Scholastic, 2001; 32 pages; $15.95 (K-A). In a rollicking, riotous sequel to the Hans Christian Andersen parody, The Principal's New Clothes (Scholastic, 1989), hardworking principal...

BALONEY HENRY P.(Primary)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Jon Scieszka; illustrated by Lane Smith. Viking, 2001, 40 pages; $15.99 (K-4). "That's it," says Miss Bugscuffle when little green alien Henry P. comes to school late once too often. "Permanent Lifelong Detention... unless you have one very...

A GIFT OF THE CROCODILE: A CINDERELLA STORY.(Intermediate)(Review)
September 1, 2001... By Judy Sierra; illustrated by Reynold Ruffins. Simon & Schuster, 2000; 40 pages; $17 (K-5). In the Moluccas or Spice Islands, young Damura becomes the servant for her new stepmother and stepsister. When her ragged old sarong gets swept...

KATE AND THE BEANSTALK (INTERMEDIATE).(Brief Article)(Review)(Children's Review)
September 1, 2001... By Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by Giselle Potter. Atheneum, 2000; 40 pages; $16 (K-5). Inspired by Andrew Lang's version of "Jack and the Beanstalk," published in 1890, Mary Pope Osborne has reworked the familiar tale to give us a...

LIVING LEGENDS: THE JACK TALES.(Intermediate)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Ray Hicks as told to Lynn Salsi; illustrated by Owen Smith. Callaway, 2000; 40 pages; $24.95 (2-7). Speaking of Jack, here's a brandnew/old version to use with Kate and the Beanstalk. Jack has always been a trickster, a bit of a fool, a...

GOOSE CHASE.(Intermediate)(Review)(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... By Patrice Kindl. Houghton Muffin, 2001; 224 pages; $15 (4-8). Shut up in a tower for the past six months, a poor orphan Goose Girl with tart tongue and boundless wit must figure out a way to avoid marriage with either the deadly King...

ODYSSEUS IN THE SERPENT MAZE (INTERMEDIATE).(Brief Article)(Review)(Children's Review)
September 1, 2001... By Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris. HarperCollins, 2001; 248 pages; $15.95 (4-7). Thirteen-year-old Odysseus, Prince of Ithaca, longs to be regarded as a hero. While visiting his grandfather, he sets out to slay the deadly Boar of...

MASTER MAN: A TALL TALE OF NIGERIA (INTERMEDIATE).(Brief Article)(Review)(Children's Review)
September 1, 2001... By Aaron Shepard; illustrated by David Wisniewski. HarperCollins, 2001; 32 pages; $15.89 (K-5). Impressed with his own muscles, Shadusa decides to call himself Master Man. The next day, when his wife, Shettu, can't pull the bucket out of the...

Balancing.
September 1, 2001... Caring for your students starts with caring for yourself Every summer, about a month before the students return to school, we start to get organized for the new year. We plan curriculum. We update our libraries. We think about how to...

Talk in the Classroom.
September 1, 2001... Using encouraging talk can make a BIG difference in student achievement There's a Cuban proverb that says, "Listening looks easy, but it is not simple. Every head is a world." At the start of a school year, it's tough to slow down and...

The "All About Us" Bulletin Board.
September 1, 2001... At the beginning of the school year, I construct an "All About Us" display by dividing a large bulletin board with string into as many sections as there are students, plus myself. During the summer, I send letters asking students to bring in...

SPACE THAT WORKS.
September 1, 2001... Looking for a way to set up a classroom that's organized, efficient, and welcoming? A veteran teacher shows how she makes her classroom a "teaching partner" -one that reflects her beliefs and helps her accomplish her goals CONFERENCE TABLE...

Say Cheese, Please!
September 1, 2001... Cross-curricular activities that put back-to-school smiles in the spotlight Snapshots of your new students are great for labeling cubbies and for using in a community-building bulletin board display. But don't stop there. You can use those...

Brain Boosters.
September 1, 2001... Give your class a brain booster as a quick morning wake-up activity, during a transition time, or as a cool-down activity to prompt meaningful discussions September 4 In 1882, the first electric power station is built in New York City...

Create a Memory Tree.
September 1, 2001... Encourage children to recall and celebrate special times spent with a grandparent or other elder by making a Memory Tree. Begin by asking students to cut out leaves in fall colors of orange, red, and yellow. On each leaf, the children record a...

Grandparents' Day.
September 1, 2001... Activities to make connections across the generations How Many Ways Can You Say "Grandma"? Grandparents are known by many different names. Design your own bingo game to share the special nicknames for grandparents in different families...

Talking about Toys--Grandparent Interviews.
September 1, 2001... Spark a dialogue between children and their grandparents, or an elder family member, with this playful writing assignment. Encourage students to interview their grandparents and to write down what toys they played with and how they spent their...

Words of Wisdom.
September 1, 2001... Create a wonderful class book that draws upon the life experiences of grandparents. Send this starter home for grandparents to complete: "The Best Advice I Ever Heard Was..." Parents can also record a piece of advice they remember from their...

Charles Demuth.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Meet the Artist * Charles Demuth was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and traveled and lived in Europe and New York City. An accomplished painter with both watercolors and oil, Demuth helped to found Precisionism, a powerful though short-lived...

LEARNING ABOUT: William Carlos Williams.
September 1, 2001... William Carlos Williams, the kindly doctor from New Jersey, was a poetic innovator. Along with Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell, he was part of the Imagist movement that flourished in the first two decades of the 20th century. Imagist poets were...

THE WELCOMING CLASSROOM.(teaching techniques and information)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Dress up your classroom with teacher-tested ideas A Ceiling of Names Before school starts, I decorate my first grade classroom by hanging the children's names from the ceiling. It's a great way to welcome each child and give each one a...

Special Days, Special Ways.(birthday celebration techniques for teachers)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Rituals help make your class a community Like a family, your class can create special rituals to recognize individual achievements and milestones. Here are some fun and unique ways to celebrate birthdays, welcome new students, and more! ...

Sunflower.(classroom decoration ideas)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... BRINGING NATURE INTO THE CLASSROOM Sunflowers, growing in a nearby garden or purchased from a nearby garden store, can be an incredible science and art learning laboratory for your students. This year, as my class studied sunflowers, each...

Three CHEERS for Winnie-the-Pooh.(teaching ideas and techniques)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood have lived in the hearts and minds of readers for 75 years. Celebrate Pooh's birthday (Oct. 14th) with a "smackerel" of activities that are bound to leave you humming! The Thoughtful Spot ...

Telling Our Own Stories.(teaching ideas using autobiographies)
September 1, 2001... Autobiographies--the stories individuals tell about their own lives--can be powerful teaching tools, and September is the perfect time to read and write them! Children's autobiographies are a wonderful way to introduce new classmates to one...

Exploring America with TALL TALES.(reading teaching techniques and ideas)
September 1, 2001... Introduce the art of storytelling with this super-fun theme unit! Plus: Two reading comp reproducibles, on pages 74 and 76. Before You Start Set up a reading display using as many tall tale books as you can find, as well as books about...

Spotlight: CD Student Portfolios.(teaching technique)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Portable E-portfolios are the newest way to give students a virtual folder of all their work, burned onto a CD, that they can take home to treasure. These portfolios can be a comprehensive tool for student assessment to share with parents....

How Are Kids Using Computers?(survey results)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Students know what a powerful resource school computers can be--they use them to do research, homework, classwork review, and also to email their teachers and friends. Computer skills and digital literacy are part of the new 21st century...

Kids Are Tech Teachers.(technology teaching program)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Students are helping top administrators take charge of new technology. Over the next three years, Nebraska's 900 principals and superintendents will each receive a laptop and handheld computer, such as a Palm Pilot. The expert students will...

Free Software Reading Help.(Scan and Read product information)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Steve Timmer, who is legally blind and has a learning disabled son, invented Scan and Read--a software program that translates written text into spoken language. The software (for Windows 98 and up) is able to read print from books, magazines,...

TIP: Start Them Up!(computer technique)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Computers can take a while to start up. Save class time by starting the computers as soon as you come in. Use the tool bar at the top of the screen to set the computer to Sleep mode. Then, later, wake up the computer with a touch of a key.

Starting Students On The Net.(internet teaching techniques)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... You can be the guide to wonderful, educational research projects on the Internet by showing your students that you're a Web "pro." First, choose a specific research topic. Then visit several Internet sites and make a list of ones that are...

Rules From The Start.(computer teaching techniques)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Make the most of kids' computer experiences by setting clear limits. For many students, the first contact with a computer is at school. It's an exciting time--but also a time when students need the most guidance. Establish a few friendly rules...

The Webby Awards.(FactMonster.com award information)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... FactMonster.com (formerly known as Infopleasekids.com) has won the Webby Award (the leading international honor for achievement in technology and creativity) for best Kids Web Site. FactMonster.com, launched in August 2000, has great reference...

Digi-Block[R] Math Contest!(educational software product information)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Looking for a fun, interactive way for your students to build base 10 understanding, number sense, and more? Visit www.scholastic.com/instructor and sign up to get a free Digi-Block Math Discovery Kit for grades K-4, including a Block-of-100,...

Weaving in Technology.
September 1, 2001... Integrating technology into your lessons will grow more valuable with each step Many teachers find the world of computer technology uncharted territory. The step they find hardest to take is blending technology into lessons every day....

Math 1, 2, and 3(Grades 1-3).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... School Zone Interactive, Win/Mac, $19.99 www.schoolzone.com For students in need of extra math practice, these fun and affordable programs can be a lifesaver. Each program comes with a CD and a workbook. After signing in, students jump to...

Math Blaster (Grades K-3).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Knowledge Adventure, Win/Mac, $25 www.knowledgeadventure.com Underneath the noisy animation of the Math Blaster programs lie some of the best math pedagogy ever to appear on a computer. Children first sign in and select an activity. Besides...

Math Shop Deluxe (Grades 3-7).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Scholastic Consumer Software, Win 95/Mac OS (CD-ROM) $49 www.scholastic.com This combination of eight enjoyable math activities provides practice with mental math, fractions, measurement, graphs, decimals, and much more. The activities are...

Ten Tricky Tiles (Grades 3-9).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Sunburst Communicatians, Inc., Win/Mac $79.95 www.sunburst.com If you know what a Magic Square puzzle is, these puzzles will seem familiar to you. The object is to make all of the equations work out correctly. Students accomplish this by...

Math Mysteries: Whole Numbers and Math Mysteries (Grades 4-6).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Math Mysteries: Whole Numbers and Math Mysteries (Grades 4-6) Tom Snyder Productions, Win/Mac $79.95 www.tomsnyder.com These two CDs come with an adventure for the whole class to play together-a nice opportunity for guided instruction...

Math Arena (Grades 4-6).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Sunburst Communications, Inc., Win/ Mac, $89.95 www.sunburst.com Math Arena is one of the best elementary math programs to come along in several years. It is an aesthetically pleasing quiz game that focuses on geometry, money, probability,...

Tessellation Exploration (Grades 4-8).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Tom Snyder Productions, Win/Mac $79.95 www.tomsnyder.com Creativity and geometry collide in this powerful, yet very easy-to-use program that introduces children to the world of two-dimensional tessellations. The program starts with the...

Tenth Planet's Comparing With Ratios (Grades 5-8).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Sunburst Communications, Inc., Win/Mac OS $99.95 www.sunburst.com Ratios, or the comparison of two quantities by multiplication or division, can be a tough concept for students. That's where a program like this can work magic. By combining...

Geometry World and Algebra World (Grades 6-9).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Cognitive Technologies Corporation Win/Mac, $39.95 www.cogtech.com The design isn't flashy, but the content is extensive and the lessons excellent in these all-purpose tutorials. After signing in (progress is saved), a student can select...

TEACHER'S TOOL (Grades K-6).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... MathGen, Garner Systems, Win, $32, www.MathGen.com Worth every penny for its usefulness and ease of operation, this worksheet generator is about as simple a program as you can get. With a few mouse clicks, you can make math-problem practice...

Magic Tree House.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... www.randomhouse.com/kids/ma gictreehouse/books/books.html Need an interesting way to tie in Science or Social Studies to reading? This Web site lists all the books in the fantastic Magic Tree House series and includes an entire section just...

Lemony Snicket.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... www.lemonysnicket.com This site warns from the beginning, "ATTENTION: Please run for your life!" The sometimes sarcastic, perplexing, often depressing, but endlessly popular A Series of Unfortunate Events author's Web site begins just as...

Roald Dahl.(roalddahl.com)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... www.roalddahl.com The whimsical, wacky world of Roald Dahl is perfectly captured on this site-complete with flying chickens and creeping spiders. You will find an author biography, teacher tools, lesson ideas for favorites such as The...

Children's Literature.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Web Guide www.ucalgary.ca/[sim]dkbrown/authors.html With the ease and finesse of a research expert, you can find links to dozens of authors and illustrators through this site. Some of the links are official sites while others were created...

Robert Munsch.
September 1, 2001... www.robertmunsch.com Delve into the mind of the author of Stephanie's Ponytail and countless other books. There is a biography, book list, and sound bytes of Mr. Munsch reading his stories. One endearing feature is Something Special, which...

Beverly Cleary.
September 1, 2001... www.beverlycleary.com Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins are two of the many delightful characters from Beverly Cleary. See how her ideas for Henry and Ribsy came to be, and find interesting facts about Mrs. Cleary. Go to Teaching Resources...

Park Time Lines.
September 1, 2001... Introduce your students to the wonders of America's national parks while beautifying your classroom. Divide the class into research groups to find out about a national park, using the National Park Service Web site (www.nps.gov/parks.html)....

Redwood Tree Challenge.
September 1, 2001... Give your students the irresistible challenge to form a ring of people as wide as the diameter of a Redwood tree. By studying the size and beauty of the trees in the Redwood Forest, your students will gain a new understanding and appreciation...

Dig Into the Grand Canyon.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Continue the tour and dig into the history of the Grand Canyon and its earliest inhabitants! Invite your students to become reporters on some of America's first peoples and an important energy resource. Divide your students into five groups,...

Five Hot Spots.(in Yellowstone National park)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Yellowstone National Park is truly a great natural hot spot. Show your, students part of the inner workings of our planet by looking at how certain substances emerge from the surface. Start with a virtual class trip to Yellowstone Park through...

Native American Inspirations.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Capture your students' curiosity with Native American legends. The tales make wonderful connections, explaining why natural phenomena and landmarks hold special cultural and spiritual significance. Start by reading Legends of Landforms: Native...

Barlow's Unfamiliar Quotations.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Advice from colleagues can be pearls of wisdom I'm an avid collector--but probably not the kind you're thinking of. There are no shelves lined with beer stems in my house, nor walls covered in antique license plates. What I collect are...