Whiteside: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

National Poetry Month- Wait there's more

Why is it I always find more after I've posted?
Here are more sites to visit:
National Writing Project
Via Thinkfinity, Edsitement has links to world poetry. venture outside the box
I love Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac and here he is with Poetry Everywhere from PBS, Robert Frost reads his Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Library of Congress loves poetry too. Poetry 180- poems for everyday of the school year
Favorite Poem project
Poem in your pocket is a fun way to help your students celebrate National Poetry Month.

thanks to Betty Ray from Edutopia for all these resources.

April is Poetry Month

Celebrate National Poetry Month by having your students create poetry no matter what subject you're teaching.
You can let them be creative by writing poetry in science: The Chromosome Poem

or use riddles in math for problem solving: Greg Tang's spring math riddles
Here's a silly IWB activity to introduce various styles of poetry: Poetry Idea Engine
Writing with Writers offers some great step by step workshop ideas and means for publishing student work.

Scholastic site has these and other great ideas.
Read Write Think also offers great lessons and links to other great poetry sites
Eduplace has lots of resources as well.
More lesson plans for poetry month from Education World
Check out the NEA Curriculum ideas for National Poetry Month

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Common Core Standards

Since IL has adopted the Common Core standards, this will be a great resource for you to use in helping to rebuild our curriculum. NSDL.org (National Science Digital Library) is an excellent site where you can find resources for STEM (science technology engineering math). The page I have linked for you has great lessons that align with Common Core math standards. It looks easy enough to navigate and it seems to be growing with more lessons all the time. Check back often.

Black History Month

Have you added anything to your curriculum for Black History Month? Here are a couple of resources you might find useful.

Explore Turning Points in the Civil Rights Movement
Voices of Civil Rights documents the civil rights movement in the U.S. Nearly 50 photos, posters and descriptions depict important events and individuals: school integration in Little Rock (1957), the lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro (1960), the memorial service for Medgar Evers (1963), the March on Washington (1963), the Selma-to-Montgomery March (1965), the Voting Rights Act (1965) and others.
Click Here to Access Free Resources

Plus: From History.com, Save Our History: Voices of Civil Rights is a free, downloadable teacher’s guide to the thousands of stories from individuals who lived during the civil rights era from the 1940s through the 1960s.
Click Here to Access Free Teacher’s Guide

Friday, March 11, 2011

Technology and the brain

Just read an interesting article from KQED in San Fransisco. The article "How Technology Wires the Learning Brain" by Tina Barseghian talks about a study done by a neuroscientist and UCLA professor Dr. Gary Small. Essentially he looks at your brain on Google with interesting results of brain activity.
“Young people are born into technology, and they’re used to using it 24/7,” Small said. “Their brains are wired to use it elegantly.” I think that it is imperative that we include technology in our curriculum. We are not properly preparing our kids for the world if we leave that piece out. By the same token, it is our job to keep the old "technologies" of personal communication; speaking and listening skills, reading, etc. as well. The brain is like a muscle in that if you don't use it, you lose it. The neuro-pathways that are created in activities, whether it be reading a book, or using a computer to play a game, need to be exercised so as to strengthen them. And different pathways are created for different activities. Just another reason why differentiation is so important.

BBC schools-Rock cycle

I just love the BBC schools site. There are so many good interactive links available. Here's one from Bite size science. ROCKS AND WEATHERING It's a nice little explanatory video of the rock cycle, cartoon images, not photos, but a nice explanation. The Bite Size sites on the BBC are great for use with your IWB. Check them out. BBC- Schools (many of the videos will not play, but the activities work just fine)

Friday, March 4, 2011

QUIZLET

Found another great website. I love that there are so many free resources for education! This one is called Quizlet. You can create your own flashcards or use pre-made ones for tons of subjects. There are practice games and tests that students can "play" with. As with most of these types of sites, there is a free version and a premium version. The cost for the premium version is only $10/year, though.
Having just shared some interactive vocabulary activities in my latest coaching session, I'm sorry I didn't have this website to share. I will definitely add it to my flipchart.
One of the great things about these interactive sites is that it provides opportunity for learning to take place outside the classroom. They can take the day's lesson and in a fun way continue learning at home and share what they are doing in class with Mom and Dad.