Learning Science

Just found another great site, this time science related.  There are links to many interactive lesson sites and virtual labs, divided by grade levels.  The site is divided into different areas of science; science inquiry, physical science, life science, earth science, science and technology, science and society, and history and nature of science.   There are some really useful tools that can be found here, from a virtual microscope, to building electrical circuits, to short videos from NOAA on tidal movement or the water cycle.  You can find Learning Science by clicking here . Check it out.

Cobblestone Online

     Nathan has provided us with a great resource of online articles for our classrooms.  We now have a subscription to Cobblestone Online, a database of archived articles from the magazines Appleseeds, CAChronicles, Calliope, Classical Calliope, Cobblestone, Dig, Face, Footsteps, and Odyssey.  These are entertaining and educational, ad-free kids' magazines.  There are great articles and stories that are available for you to pull up on your computer, which you can print out.  If you are really enamored with any of the articles, you can order the issue of the magazine it first appeared in (one or a class set).  Students can also submit their own work, to be published if chosen.  This is a fine resource for expanding your social studies or science curriculum with literature.  Or even to give you more reading material for reading class, fiction and non-fiction.
   There will be a introduction to Cobblestone Online during our January inservice meeting.  You will get account information and user name and password at that time.
     If you are interested in learning more about the magazines offered by Cobblestone Publishing, you can find info at http://www.cobblestonepub.com/index.html

Technology to Motivate and Differentiate

     Another webcast from Scholastic will be presented in  computer lab B this Thursday at 3:00pm.  David Rose, Ed.D., who is the founder of CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) is the speaker. He is a proponent of UDL (Universal Design for Learning). 
Taken from the CAST website:
"Universal Design for Learning (UDL) recognizes that every learner is unique and processes information differently. UDL provides a framework to create and implement lessons with flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that support learning for all students."  This link will take you to a short video explaining briefly what UDL is
      Dr. Rose is new to me, so I don't have a lot of info on him, but you can check out the CAST website at http://cast.org/ . 

Siemens Science Site

     Just came across a site that I have an account for, but have not visited in a while.  It is from Discovery Education, called Siemens Science Day.  There are great activities, videos, and lessons to be found here. You must register, but it is free.  I'm all about free! 
    The site has a lots of useful "stuff".  What's nice about the activities is that they are rated by difficulty.  In the videos, the teacher talks about the experiment and results, but the students add to the discussion, too.  I think you'll find some very useable resources here. 

http://siemensscienceday.com/ 

Reading Fluency

     Looking for something to do after the New Year?  There will be a webinar broadcast in computer lab B on Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 3:00pm.  The "Teacher Talk" from Scholastic will be given by Tim Rasinksi, a professor of literacy education at Kent State University.  He is the author of over 150 articles and over 15 books or curriculum programs on reading education.  You can read his bio here. 
     When I asked Dorothy whether or not she had heard of him, she said, " He's a guru of reading!", and she has a number of his books. Her reaction to who he was, led me to believe this webinar would be useful.  If you'd like further information about Dr. Rasinksi, he has a website with presentation materials, resources, and of course his books. Check it out prior to the webinar, then please join us on Thursday, January 13, 2011, at 3:00pm.  If you have a conflict with duty, please talk to Nathan.
     I think we will be able to ask questions  at the end of the presentation, but they are also taking questions prior to the presentation.  If you have any questions you'd like answered, send them to me and I will pass them along.

Want to make your flipchart sparkle?

     Just came across some fun sites that allow you to create some great graphics for your flipcharts (or any other project you're working on), thanks to Lisa Dubernard of Promethean Planet.
     Sometimes you find a really cool font, but it is not universal and doesn't show up the way you expect if that font is not available on the computer you're working on. Here are some fun sites that allow you to create your own graphics to be added to your flipchart.  You can create these and then put them in your resource library for use in future flipcharts as well.  They do take a little time, so you probably want to use them for titles, headings, and the like.  I wouldn't create an entire page of text this way.
     You can animate your text at the Create Glitter Text site or create 3-D text at Background City. There is also a site called Cool Text that has some pretty interesting options.  Don't forget about Word Art, too. 

I'll present a coaching session in the coming weeks on how to create these to add to your flipchart.

Spelling City and new handwriting and writing activities

     Looking for a way to get some handwriting lessons into your curriculum?  Use your spelling or vocabulary words and www.Spellingcity.com . Spelling City has a handwriting worksheet that you can create. Start with a list, then choose handwriting and print worksheet. There are options for type size and style.  Two birds with one stone, handwriting and spelling.
     There are also new writing features on Spelling City.  You can have your students write sentences using a list of words.  Or, you can require that they write a paragraph using all the words from a list.  You can also write your own directions; ie: have students write definitions for each word in the list.  These can be printed out or emailed to the teacher.  If you have the premium ($) version you can save and score student work online.  Here are links to two short videos demonstrating the possibilities. 

	Handwriting Worksheets for younger students
	Writing Practice Activities for older students