Instructor (1990) articles from September 2005

Instructor (1990) archives from September 2005

Standards.
September 1, 2005... Use this at-a-glance guide to help meet the standards in every subject area. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] READING AND WRITING Gr. K-2 Make a Tasty Word Wall Uses basic elements of phonetic analysis to decode unknown words Page 55...

3 things you may not know about Instructor.
September 1, 2005... 1 We write to order. Is there a teaching question you'd like to pose to an expert? A topic you'd like us to cover? A poster you're dying to see? E-mail us and we'll do our best to fit it in. 2 Our articles are online. Looking for...

Ask us over for a visit, and we might stay all day.
September 1, 2005... It's been a busy summer--what with Bernadette off to Washington to meet up with Margaret Spellings, and Dana and Hannah visiting schools in Plainsboro, New Jersey. The schools blew us away with their creativity and positive energy. We also got...

Great teaching defined.(your say)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... I have just finished reading your August 2005 issue from cover to cover and now have great hope for the future of education in this country. During my professional education, over 40 years ago, I vowed to always address the individual needs of...

Picture perfect ideas.(your say)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... It was great to see your article on using kids' photos ("Take a Photo, Make a Friend," August 2005). I find that my students love seeing pictures of themselves, and they learn from pictures and picture clues. I photograph the students in groups...

A makeover story.(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... When I first heard that Instructor was getting a new look, I thought, "Oh no! I like it just as it is!" But, I must admit that it's fabulous, fun to read, and very easy on the eyes. I love the "On the Cover" box on the table of contents...

We asked you.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The best thing about September is... "A fresh start. I'm so wiped out by June. I look forward to starting the new year with renewed energy." --Jessica Hughes "Seeing my coworkers again. I miss them over the summer." --Judy Atwood...

Carol Anne McGuire's class makes music with the world.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... In fifteen years of teaching the blind and visually impaired, Carol Anne McGuire has learned that it's not enough to tell her students what the world is like. They need to experience it firsthand. That's meant filling her classroom with nearly...

Why you hear growling at 10a.m.(food habits)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Despite the success of free breakfast programs--the Camden, New Jersey, schools alone feed more than 19,000 children each day--a new study from Nickelodeon shows that only 50% of kids take in this all-essential meal. You face the consequences...

What you can always expect.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... ... that kids will grab the shortest pencil in the pencil box because it is more fun to write with a pencil that is one-inch long. ... that if it is your birthday, they will guess you are older than you are. They will guess that you are a...

Teaching with tourette's.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... While he's sometimes tossed out of movie theaters and restaurants, Brad Cohen is always in his element in his second-grade classroom in Marietta, Georgia. Cohen lives with Tourette Syndrome, a disorder that causes involuntary muscular twitches...

Decoding kids.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A helpful, up-to-the-minute guide to students' ever-changing slang. Fire (adj) in style. Ex.: "Yo, that shirt you've got is on fire!" Flame (adj) potent, powerful. Ex: "This drink is flame." Geeked (adj) excited. Ex.: "I am so...

Fifty, nifty united states--our favorite geography tools.(Buyers Guide)
September 1, 2005... ONE NATION, IN A BOX The colorful pieces in this puzzle-to-go are large and sturdy enough for even the youngest geographers. www.mudpuppy.com; $9. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A CUT-UP CONTINENT Kids can quiz themselves on the...

Food for thought.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... A new video game from the United Nations World Food Program aims to educate students about world hunger. Developed for 8-13 year olds, Food Force (whose motto is "Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger") teaches kids about this global crisis by...

Professional development at the right price: free!(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... 1 INCREASE YOUR SKILLS. Bone up on basics, from developing algebraic thinking to building reading fluency. www.paec.org/teacher2teacher 2 SEEK UNITY. Correlating teacher quality with student achievement, this online community gives members...

Teaching from afar.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Ever wished you could work from home? Three teachers who've made the switch to online teaching insist that the classroom bond can be just as strong without face-to-face interaction. Lisa Hendrickson, who taught in a traditional classroom for...

7 stories about the ups & downs of family life.(Squashed in the Middle)(Bad Baby)(Each Little Bird That Sings)(Out of Order)(Harry Sue)(My Brother's Keeper)(The Cloud Chamber)(Brief Article)(Children's Review)
September 1, 2005... Squashed in the Middle (Gr. K-2) By Elizabeth Winthrop, illustrated by Pat Cummings. Henry Holt, 2005; 32 pages; $16.95. Everyone assumes they know what Daisy wants until she makes her intentions impossible to ignore. Share this plight of...

Earn Garden bragging rights.(cool contests)
September 1, 2005... Show off your school garden by entering it in Rodale Institute's 2005 Organic School Garden Awards. PRIZES: Three projects will win from $250 to $1,000. DEADLINE: October 31, 2005 HERE'S HOW: Go online to www.kidsregen.org/gardens. ...

Bag $1,000 for you or your class.(cool contests)
September 1, 2005... Enter one of Scholastic Book Clubs' giveaways for teachers and you could win a $1,000 shopping spree or $1,000 to use toward professional development. PRIZES: Trumpet and Troll Carnival Book Clubs will award a total of $22,000 in prizes to 31...

Win a visit from Rosemary Wells.(cool contests)
September 1, 2005... Use Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers' McDuff series as inspiration to write a class tale for publisher Hyperion's contest. PRIZES: The authors will visit the grand-prize winner's school. DEADLINE: December 31, 2005 HERE'S HOW: Submit your...

Write away.(cool contests)
September 1, 2005... Do some of your students have stellar handwriting? Enter them in the National Handwriting Contest, sponsored by Zaner-Bloser Educational Publishers. PRIZES: One grand champion will receive more than $1,500 in prizes and a computer for his or...

Free school supplies.(classroom resources)
September 1, 2005... Include two Sanford products on your supply list and receive $40 of free classroom tools. DEADLINE: September 30, 2005 HERE'S HOW: Go to www.schoolsupplies2005.com.

Lettering help.(classroom resources)
September 1, 2005... Dazzle visitors with the help of Speedball's handy lettering charts, which will help you cap bulletin boards with Gothic and Old English scripts. HERE'S HOW: Go to www.speedballart.com.

Art appreciation materials.(classroom resources)
September 1, 2005... Take advantage of The National Gallery Art's loan program, which circulates movies, slides, and more to schools. HERE'S HOW: Visit www.nga.gov/education.

Nutrition lessons.(classroom resources)
September 1, 2005... Download a teaching kit from the USDA's "Team Nutrition" site to get helpful, hands-on ideas for health class. HERE'S HOW: Go to www.fns.usda.gov/tn/educators/index.htm.

Leafy classroom kit.(classroom resources)
September 1, 2005... Celebrate fall with a classroom kit for Lois Ehlert's new book Leaf Man. The kit includes a poster, curriculum ideas, and a coloring page. HERE'S HOW: Send a self-addressed mailing label to Leaf Man Kit, Instructor Offer, Harcourt Children's...

Ideas for LEGOS.(classroom resources)
September 1, 2005... Check out LEGO Education's teacher Web site, featuring math and science connections, as well as free activities to download. HERE'S HOW: Go to www.LEGOeducation.com.

Deadlines to watch.(classroom resources)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... 9/30 SMARTER KIDS GRANTS: Awards available for purchasing both SMART and elnstruction products. www.smarterkids.org/k12 10/1 TOSHIBA AMERICA FOUNDATION GRANTS: Honors K-6 science and math education programs. www.toshiba.com/taf 10/14...

Papier-mache me.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... We start the year with this fun project, which builds fine motor and listening skills. First we cover balloons with papier-mache. Then the children paint the balloons to resemble themselves. Finally we attach inexpensive dowels from the...

Read and quilt together.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Literacy Coach Wendi Keir from Frank D. Parent Elementary in Inglewood, Calif., promotes kids' favorite reads: At our Fall Family Literacy Night, I invite students from all grade levels to create quilt squares, each one representing a favorite...

Back-to-school box.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Madeline Spurek, a second-grade teacher from Richton Park, Ill., has an organized way to begin the school year: Collect and purchase inexpensive gift boxes (measuring 8" by 11"), and place your supply list, class rules, class pledge, and...

Design a dream house.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Fifth-grade teacher Peter Barnes of Williamsburg, Va., fulfills state math objectives with this fun project: To practice geometry, area, and perimeter, I ask students to design their own dream house on graph paper. There are no budget...

Spelling hats.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... First-grade teacher Susan Burke from Minneapolis puts spelling on top: On Monday I have each of my students design a special construction-paper hat that has one of our spelling words written in the middle. We wear our hats for the rest of the...

Leafy animals.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Stephanie Winkler, a fourth-grade teacher from Richmond, Ky., likes to combine science and art requirements: Using Morteza E. Sohi's Look What I Did With a Leaf! (Walker Books, 1995) as inspiration, I have my students gather autumn leaves from...

Reading pioneers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Here my student Alaina and her little sister take a pioneer-style spin at a celebration for our school's Early American Book Club. The club meets weekly to read and discuss stories from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, the American...

Classroom expectations.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Heidi Willard of Alexandria, Va., has a useful system for managing her middle schoolers' behavior: I write misbe-having students a letter addressing their behavior and detailing my concerns. Next I ask them to refer to my classroom...

License to learn.(driver's license )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Kathy Mockensturm of Toledo, Ohio, shares her idea for addressing the state's fourth-grade standards for math: I combine the benchmark for metric and standard measurements with the one for driving safety by having my students make their own...

Beanies and books.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Mary Gollakner from Garden, Mich., was looking for a way to boost interest in nonfiction when she had this idea: I matched several donated bean animals with a related informational text--a frog beanie paired with Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld's...

Welcome to the colony.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Sara Foster, a first- and second-grade teacher in South Portland, Me., shares her buggy idea for welcoming students: Our first unit is on insects, so I create a bulletin board relating our classroom community to a hardworking ant colony. I cut...

Get crafty contest.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Instructor and Elmer's asked for your best craft projects. Here's the honor roll! * BOX REPORT Runner-up Jodi Beavers and her students from Marshall, Tex., created tiny museums containing photos, maps, and "primary sources" created by the...

10 ways to ... welcome a new teacher: it's rookie season and the newbies are dazed. Here's how to help them out.
September 1, 2005... As a two-year "veteran," I remember well how much a little moral support and a smile can mean for a newly-minted teacher. It kept me going in those first few exhausting, confusing weeks. Building those connections is vital both for new teachers...

U.S. Secretary of Education: Margaret Spellings; frank talk on testing, thoughts on merit pay, and even a few tears from this Texas mom.
September 1, 2005... This summer, Instructor's Editor in Chief, Bernadette Grey, traveled from our New York offices to Washington, D.C., for an exclusive one-on-one meeting with the U.S. Department of Education's high-profile leader, Secretary of Education Margaret...

Teaching evolution: your guide to understanding the debate--and what it means for your classroom.
September 1, 2005... After years of teaching science at Crestview Middle School in Columbus, Ohio, Sharon Higgins knows to approach today's topic--the origins of life on earth--with caution. As her seventh graders file into the classroom. Higgins takes a brief look...

Order in the court! How the Supreme Court confirmation process can help students make sense of civics and the law.
September 1, 2005... This fall teachers will have the infrequent but valuable opportunity to teach children about the Supreme Court and its confirmation process. The appointment of a new Justice lets students witness the Court's role and how the three branches of...

Getting along with the grown-ups: expert ideas for solving your toughest parent problems.
September 1, 2005... Let's face it--getting along with parents can sometimes be tough. But a little tact can go a long way. Good communication skills are important in any profession, but for the successful teacher, they're essential. Drawn from our new book,...

34 ideas to use now! Have kids create memory boxes.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Memory Box For a sweet getting-to-know-you craft, invite children to create their own mini-museums. Turn the page for our tips on what to include. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. There's no need to buy expensive craft materials to make...

Make a tasty word wall: plus, other fun ways to get families on board with reading!(activities: grades k-2)(Column)
September 1, 2005... During my first year of teaching, I quickly learned what a difference at-home learning makes in the life of the classroom. One day my students and I were talking about our favorite wild animals. Gracie piped up with "ocelot." I'm no zoologist...

Getting organized for math: expert advice on setting up a filing system that will give you a record of each student's progress.(activities: grades 3-5)(Column)
September 1, 2005... What is the best way to save and manage math work so that you can take a meaningful look at an individual child's strengths and weaknesses--or those of the entire class? I've used many different systems over the years, so when third-grade...

Tickets, please: plug in the DVD player--watching movies in class can improve kids' reading and writing skills in some surprising ways.(activities: grades 6-8)(Column)
September 1, 2005... It's true. Movies are a great tool--and a great motivator--for the middle-school classroom, no matter what subject you teach. We all worry about our weaker readers. Showing films as a way to introduce or reinforce new material can help...

Teaching the Constitution: on September 17, everybody is teaching it. Here are some activities to get you started.(activities: grades k-8)
September 1, 2005... Most days, the lesson plans of a first-grade reading specialist, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, and a university professor don't have much in common. But this fall, all three will have lessons on the Constitution penciled into their...

Let's read together!(Instructor Reproducible)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Reading with your child at home is key to his or her success. Together, read the poem aloud several times. Then try the activities below. Best Deal in Town I go to the library after school And find myself a book that's cool....

Preamble puzzle.(Instructor Reproducible)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Directions: Be a Constitution sleuth! First read the preamble. Then match each of the definitions below to one of the preamble's underlined words. You'll uncover where the Constitution was signed! We the people of the United States, in...

More than $2,300 worth of prizes this month!(giveaway info)
September 1, 2005... SEPTEMBER SWEEPSTAKES RULES How to Enter Send a postcard with your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address to Instructor September Sweepstakes (Page #), P.O. Box 713, New York, NY 10013. The page number should correspond with...

Instructor[R] catalog showcase: a showcase for your catalogs, products and brochures.
September 1, 2005... ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR SCIENCE AND MATH! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * 450+ new and exciting products to supplement your science and math curriculum! * Complete learning systems that offer a hands-on approach to teaching science! *...

Carl Hiaasen: he tells us about having a teacher mom and why you should never underestimate kids.(pop quiz)(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 1, 2005... What led you to writing? My mother was a teacher, so around our house the written word was something to be appreciated. I was also fortunate to have teachers all through school who made us read, because reading is what made me want to be a...