Book - You can't say you can't play

You Can't Say You Can't Play

by Vivian Gussin Paley

I picked up this book at my daughters' school parent lending library- a school that works hard to implement policies like 'you can't say you can't play' (YCSYCP) and it often works. It certainly works inter-age but problems remain between age-mates. I, too, was a rejected child many times and hate to see any child rejected.

... more

Flawed Assumptions Undergird the Program at the Partnership for 21st-Century Skills

Posted: 01 Mar 2009 09:42 PM PST

At the forefront is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (hereafter, P21), a group that seeks to serve as a catalyst for educators, business leaders, and government seeking to change the curricula, teaching methods, and assessments used in K-12 schools. Ten states have joined the effort, agreeing to design new standards, assessments, and professional development programs in line with the P21 goals.

read more ...

Free Microsoft curriculum encourages students to be good 'digital citizens'

"Students interact with music, movies, software, and other digital content every day—but many don’t fully understand the rules surrounding the appropriate use of these materials, or why this should even matter. To help teach students about intellectual property rights and encourage them to become good “digitalcitizens,” software giant Microsoft Corp. has unveiled a free curriculum that offers cross-curricular classroom activities aligned with national standards."

http://digitalcitizenshiped.com/

WI Schools Ban Facebook, IM Fraternizing Between Staff, Students

A student calling her teacher to check in about a field trip? Not a problem. The two friending one another on Facebook is another story. Per new policy, the School District of Elmbrook in Brookfield, WI, has banned all chatter between Elmbrook staff and students on instant messaging or social networking applications not sponsored by the district. The policy, approved by the school board on February 10, stipulated a range of “practices considered irresponsible,” including personal communication between staff and students via social networking and IM. more » » »

Code of silence: students who alert teachers of student behavious

Students who feel connected to their peers and teachers are more inclined to alert a teacher or principal if they hear a fellow student “wants to do something dangerous,” according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. http://adjix.com/4wx9

Bullying among young children

Bullying Among Young Children - A Guide for Parents - PDF


Bullying Among Young Children - A Guide for Teachers and Carers - PDF


The guides provide useful advice to parents, teachers and other carers on recognising changes in moods and behaviours that are associated with bullying. They also provide strategies to help children who bully and those who are bullied.

Quote for the day

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."
-- Marilyn vos Savant

Resources for teachers

Teachnology - providing free and easy to use resources for teachers dedicated to improving the education of today's generation of students.

FREE access to 28,500 lesson plans, Teaching tips and themes, 7,500 free printable worksheets, games and donload, read-to-use rubrics, reviews sites, printable genertors and webquests.

Teachnology

AASL Releases 'Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action'

For those of you wondering how the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) new learning standards are being incorporated into school library programs, the wait is over.

AASL has just released Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action, which takes an in-depth look at Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and examines how the skills in it relate to each other.

Accompanied by colorful pages and graphics, the publication provides benchmarks along with examples that show how to put the learning standards into action at different grade levels.

A glossary is also provided to define key concepts found throughout the book.

more » » »

John Butler - fun page

http://www.johnbutlerart.com/pages/fun.asp

Children's illustrator and writer John Butler provides two interactive stories for very young children: Whose nose and toes? and Whose baby am I? Children move the mouse to find the matching animal. The simple easy to read text is displayed alongside.

Disrupting the educational status quo

[Via Durff's blog]

"How do we move to a student centric system?" asked Michael Horn : http://maestro.sevenstaracademy.org/aventacontent/Video/2009-01-14%2016.03%20Coming%20Changes%20in%20Education_%20Implications%20for%20Christian%20School%20Leaders.wmv

A Vision of Students today - a Michael Wesch update

What went wrong?


How did institutions designed for learning become so widely hated by people who love learning?


The video seemed to represent what so many were already feeling, and it became the focal point for many theories. While some simply blamed the problems on the students themselves, others recognized a broader pattern. Most blamed technology, though for very different reasons. Some simply suggested that new technologies are too distracting and superficial and that they should be banned from the classroom. Others suggested that students are now “wired” differently. Created in the image of these technologies, luddites imagine students to be distracted and superficial while techno-optimists see a new generation of hyper-thinkers bored with old school ways.

LBJ & Gene Simmons of Kiss? (Ten Teachers Who Made a Mark in Another Field)

Everyone is concerned about the number of teachers leaving the profession. These ten individuals left teaching and went on to achieve greatness in their chosen fields. For some, you might think it possible that they would have done still more good remaining in the classroom. For others (#1, #9) most would agree that it’s just as well that students learned from someone else.

... more

Video - The Road to Meaning

The process of reading is very like that of driving a car. As readers, it is our charge to "navigate" our way to meaning as we enter nonfiction texts and tasks. For students the, road to meaning in informational text is one paved with challenge and complexity. This presentation explores what great "drivers" need to do before, during, and after reading to successfully arrive at their final destination...UNDERSTANDING THE BIG IDEA!

Quotation for the week

Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.

Abraham Flexner

More quotations about education and teaching ...

Graphic Novels Come Out From Under the Desk at Fordham University

On January 31st, FordhamUniversity’s Graduate School of Education (GSE) hosted Graphica in Education: Graphic Novels come out from under the Desk, a conference to discuss a pedagogical approach to the use of graphic novels and graphica in K-12 classrooms.

...more

Impatience with Bad Teaching

I am sick to death of all the people who come here and say they’re going to make this school better but nothing happens. It’s a disgrace.”

That’s what a young woman said to me the other day as I sat with her in her art class.

... more

Lincoln - resources

In this bicentennial year for Abraham Lincoln, we have a chance to examine the man, his life and his place in history.

Share the resources, the activities and lesson plans with children and students and encourage them to evaluate Lincoln.

Visit the booklist and let the kids learn about who Lincoln was, his ideas, his influences and his life. There is values education here as well as history lessons, and research skills development.

The Digital Library for Earth System Education

The Digital Library for Earth System Education Provides Individualized Reports for Teachers on the Effectiveness of Educational Resources in Their Own Classrooms

Abstract

We have developed and tested a system in which teachers and their students who have used an educational resource in the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) both submit on-line reviews of that resource using DLESE's Community Review System.

We aggregate the students' reviews and generate an individualized report for the instructor on how his or her own students view the resource. The report for science teachers is formatted to show how well, on several dimensions, the resource worked.

The report for science education professors is formatted to highlight how well students reflect on their own learning processes and identify what makes an educational resource effective.

Read the whole article

10 Digital Writing Opportunities You Probably Know and 10 You Probably Don’t

http://tbarrett.edublogs.org/2008/12/12/10-digital-writing-opportunities-you-probably-know-and-10-you-probably-dont/

ways that technology could support the process of writing and drive the eventual outcomes in the classroom - interesting reading and some tools

The Presidential Inauguration - booklists, the speech, teacher resources and activities

This is such a significant event in history, and in the social arena for Americans and for the world
Download the Inaugural speech here
Find lesson plans and teacher resources here
Use the booklists of kids books - Inauguration Booklist, and The Road to the White House Booklist

Comics in the Classroom

Long ghettoized in the U.S. as puerile, comics are now showing up in grade school classes and college courses

read more

A Science of Education Requires Explicit Goals for Education

In the world of education, science is in fashion.

When people debate policy you don’t often hear them say “everyone knows that thus and so is true” but you frequently hear them say “the data indicate . . .”

Although Americans are boosters of the scientific method, we are missing an essential component of a coherent scientific research program of education — a definition of our goals for schooling. Without that, science applied to education will be inefficient at best, and more likely will be misleading because education research will be guided not by the goals set for the field but more likely by expedience.

If that happens — and it may already be happening — we all get a warped view of what schooling is and of which outcomes of education are important.

more...

New year

I have just completed a page of resources for "New Year". There are lesson plans, crafts and material for other cultures' new years.

You can access it here.

Bringing the Power of Education to Children around the World

Room to Read's John Wood:

After a trek in the Himalayas brought him face-to-face with extreme poverty and illiteracy, John Wood left his position as a director of business development at Microsoft to found Room to Read, an award-winning international education organization.

Under his leadership, more than 1.7 million children in the developing world now have access to enhanced educational opportunities. Room to Read to date has opened 725 schools and 7,000 bilingual libraries, and funded more than 7,000 scholarships for girls. Wood talked with Knowledge@Wharton about the launch of Room to Read, the book he wrote called Leaving Microsoft to Change the World and his personal definition of success.

http://adjix.com/hrvn

Global Learning Objects Brokered Exchange: GLOBE

A search engine for online learning resources.
http://adjix.com/46up

search engine tutorial

a short and easy search engine tutorial http://adjix.com/d36t

Interactive online games for kids and students

A collection of educational free interactive computer based for students.
http://adjix.com/tmg

Ideas for using powerpoint in the classroom

http://www.actden.com/pp/
Also http://web.archive.org/web/20050808083149/rcs.rcps.k12.va.us/creativeways/pptlist.htm templates
http://web.archive.org/web/20050612083532/www.paducah.k12.ky.us/curriculum/PPoint/

A charming story of unlikely heroes whose destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution.

Read more

plus lesson plans and classroom resources

plus how to get the book for free

dreams

"Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away."
Tom Clancy

AccessED

AccessED
http://educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/573

accessED is a tool that allows you to test your website, intranet or learning management system content for conformance to W3C accessibility guidelines. More information and links to the toolbar can be found through the education.au website.

Bananas in Pyjamas

Bananas in pyjamas
http://www.abc.net.au/children/bananas/default.htm
From the ABC, this website has a collection of interactive games, stories, music, and craft projects related to the Bananas in Pyjamas. Songtime is at http://www.abc.net.au/children/bananas/games/songtime/default.htm Children can select the musician and musical instrument for each section of the song then at the end, it is all played together.

Charter on primary schooling

The Charter on Primary Schooling sets out the Australian Primary Principals Association's views on the nature and purposes of primary schooling in Australia. It aims to be a foundational document during policy deliberations about the role of primary schools, their curriculum and the level of support that they require to achieve high standards. The core learning areas are presented as: English literacy, Mathematics (including numeracy), Science, and Social Education.

http://www.appa.asn.au/cms/uploads/news/charter20071001.pdf

Fair trade for all education kit

http://adjix.com/3eb

This resource is suitable for students aged 10 - 13 years of age and covers topics such as world trade, coffee trade, cocoa trade and sweatshops.

TEaching nutrition

Teaching nutrition?

Consider these posters...




Catch a Rainbow poster PosterBuy at AllPosters.com



A Healthy Habit: Read Food LabelsPoster

Buy at AllPosters.com






Portion Distortion

Poster

Dean, Lee


Buy at AllPosters.com

Discovery Channel - Space

http://www.discoverychannel.com.au/space/index.shtml

This website has a collection of information on outer space. Including an interactive game, information on our solar system, space exploration and comets, meteors and asteroids.

Quotation for the Day - Who dares to teach

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." -- John Cotton Dana

Unruly pupils to get foot massage

Disruptive pupils are to be given foot massages in a bid to curb their unruly behaviour.
Lambeth Council in south London is to spend £90,000 next year on sending reflexologists into schools.
The team is from Bud-Umbrella, a London-based charity which offers complementary therapies to adults and children.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Unruly_pupils_to_get_foot_massage&in_article_id=386587&in_page_id=2

Baby Karaoke

http://www.abc.net.au/parents/baby_karaoke/
This ABC site provides simple songs for singing to young children. The songs are provided as animations with sound, and subtitled with words highlighted as they are sung. So they can be used as a reading exercise as well.

Planets - acrostic poem

research project on the planets with second graders ... . The end product was an acrostic poem on one of the planets... a webquest format for their research ... : it's here online

Debunking the Myth about Girls and Math

The myth that girls aren’t good at math must be put to rest—otherwise it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, says a new report.

Many people still hold the belief that females intrinsically have less aptitude than males to excel in math at the very highest levels. Even former Harvard University President Lawrence Summers gave credence to this notion in 2005, suggesting that it might explain the shortage of women mathematicians among the tenured faculty of elite American research universities. more » » »

Philly Event to Consider News Literacy

As Americans continue to lose faith in the fourth estate, Temple University’s Media Education Lab hopes to bring some thoughtful engagement to the topic—especially for those who work with our youngest citizens.For three days this week, Oct. 23–25, educators, journalists, researchers, and all those interested are invited to Philadelphia for “Rebooting the News: Reconsidering an Agenda for American Civic Education.” The goal? To finds ways to bring young people back into a civic mindset—helping them learn how to navigate the news in ways that make them feel more connected to their world. read more...

Patnership Lists Geography as a Critical 21st Century skill

[Via mywonderfulworld]

A report from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills addresses the need for new competencies among American students, highlighting geography and geographic themes such as global awareness, social and cross-cultural skills, and civic literacy. The Partnership proposes a solution with (surprise, surprise) educational reform.

Songs for teaching

http://songsforteaching.com/

"The Definitive Source for Educational Music"

Resources for Halloween

Looking for lesson plans and resources for Halloween? I've just put together a page for you. You can check it out here. http://www.consultpivotal.om/halloween_teachers.htm

The is also a list of books and poems to share, and a page of activities to support fiction about Halloween.

Follow the links from those pages for ideas for costumes, parties, craft activities and colouring pages.

Simple science

Middle-school science teachers have a new resource at their disposal: SIMPLE Science, an online collection of science activities created by Tucson, Ariz.-based education company Science Approach with funding from the National Science Foundation.

SIMPLE Science lets students explore X-rays of animal skeletons, measure snow and ice cover over time, explore bipedal locomotion, manipulate photographs, diagnose lung disease, and much more. Each topic can be covered in a 50-minute class session.

The site is free and is available to anyone with high-speed internet access and a Java-enabled browser.

The site's goal is to help overcome barriers to the use of image processing and analysis in K-12 classrooms by giving educators access to extensive, updatable archives of imaging data, while designing a pedagogical structure that helps teachers use imaging data in a way that supports middle-school science standards.

SIMPLE Science consists of a three-tired structure that scaffolds students’ use of image processing and analysis, from basic explorations of how imaging is used in various fields of science, to lessons developed from an archive of images and data housed on the site's server.

Quote for the week

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car;

but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.

-- Theodore Roosevelt

GIS and Geographic Inquiry

"Geospatial" technologies--which include geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing (RS) tools--are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. These technologies use "smart" maps that can display, query, and analyze geographic databases; receivers that provide location and navigation; and global-to-local imagery and tools that provide context and analysis.

More here ...

Reale Books

RealeBooks (“Really Books”) are picture books created with RealeWriter (“Really Writer”) software. (which is free).

You can read RealeBooks in your web browser or download them with RealeWriter to print or modify.

RealeLibraries (“Really Libraries”) are websites where schools, organizations, and businesses share their RealeBooks.

2 fruits and 5 vegetables - Kids only

http://www.gofor2and5.com.au/article.aspx?c=7&a=136&n=1

This website outlines the benefits of fruit and vegetables, suggests ways of increasing fruit and vegetable intake and provides easy recipes. The Kids Only section provides activities designated lower primary, middle primary, and upper primary.

Multimedia / Video Tools

From data projectors and digital video to interactive whiteboards, educators today have a wide array of multimedia presentation tools at their disposal to enhance visual instruction--allowing them to share ideas, information, charts, images, animations, audio, and video more effectively.

... more

Video - 21st Century Decision-Making

Author James Surowiecki explains how the decision-making ability of a diverse group of people is more effective than that of individuals.

Video - Online Safety - "Growing up online"

[From ITmadesimple.com]
"a must watch for all teachers, parents and anyone involved with students or children going online. The video was released in the US on the PBS network as part of the Frontline program. Growing Up Online explores a large number of issues about students growing up online and the challenges that everyone face from parents to teachers and most importantly students.

There are teacher notes and these should be useful, the website as a whole has lots of information and links and provides a lot of good useful information. It is important to note that the show does focus on the negative side of going online, and that anyone using or showing clips need to ensure audiences know that going online has a lot of advantages and positives - we just need to get a balance and educate our children and their parents and teachers."

Watch the video

Teacher's Guide

Typing Games

http://www.freetypinggame.net/play.asp

A collection of interactive free online typing games for beginner touch typists.

Food time line

Via Gary Price's Resourceshelf:

The Food Timeline <http://www.foodtimeline.org/>

Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream?

What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip,and why?

Welcome to the Food Timeline! Food history presents a fascinating buffet of popular lore and contradictory facts. Some people will tell you it's impossible to express this topic in exact timeline format. They are correct. Most foods we eat are not invented; they evolve.

This site is the work of Lynne Olver, "(a) reference librarian with apassion for food history."

There is a section of this site that covers Historic Food Prices. Seems like somebody always wants to know what a gallon of milk cost Back In The Day <http://digbig.com/4xfxq>(PDF; 2.2 MB; scroll downto page 31). Some data from other countries can be found here as well.

A Vision of Students Today

List of Films Based on Poems - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_poems

And far more of them than you would ever guess. It's not just Beowulf and Dr. Seuss books that have inspired moviemakers, but also Gunga Din, The Raven, Jabberwocky, The Cremation of Sam McGee and many others.

Third World Farmer

Third World Farmer is an online simulation game which gives insight into the real-world mechanisms that cause and sustain poverty in developing countries. Players have to manage issues that arise from drought and illness as they try to make ends meet on their African farm. It challenges them to think more deeply about the difficult choices that poverty and conflict necessitate. http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com

BugWise

http://www.bugwise.net.au/

The BugWise program has been designed by the Australian Museum Online to enable schools and other groups to get involved in ecological research. Here you will find out what invertebrates are, what they do, their incredible diversity and why they are vitally important to a healthy planet. The Invertebrate Guide provides a fact page with image of each insect.

EducaPoles: Pictures

http://www.educapoles.org/index.php?/fun_zone/pictures_galleries/&amp;s=7&amp;rs=14&amp;lg=en
The International Polar Foundation provides this collection of photographs free for educational use. Included are: whales and dolphins (cetaceans), Antarctic marine biology (scientific activities), Antarctic marine biology (flora and fauna), marine mammals from Antarctica, a colony of emperor penguins, sea ice and icebergs, sailing through Antarctic ice, birds of the Antarctic and the South Atlantic, Polar scientific activities, ice coring, polar bears, types of ice, Arctic and Antarctic fauna.

Simple 3D Drawing [Macromedia Flash Player]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008. http://scout.wisc.edu/


Developed by Barbara Kaskosz of the University of Rhode Island and Doug Ensley of Shippensburg University, this resource from The Mathematical Association of America's Digital Classroom Resources collection will prove quite valuable for educators and anyone with an interest in computer graphics or geometry. Through this resource, visitors will learn how to draw and rotate 3D objects via a series of short tutorials. Along the way, users will learn about the mathematics behind manipulating cubes, the geometry involved with the manipulation of cubes, and they will also get a chance to work on their own structures. Overall, it's a fine resource and it offers insights for students in several different disciplines

http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/3/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1674

ABS brings data to life in the classroom

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has launched a new set of web pages designed for use by both teachers and students. Developed by the Education Services unit within the ABS, these new pages aim to assist educators to bring data and statistics to life in the classroom. The pages offer a range of learning resources, including classroom activities, games, professional development materials and specially selected ABS publications.

... more

Project targets new teachers' tech use

National study to examine best ways to prepare new teachers to use technology

How best to prepare new teachers to use technology is the focus of new federal research

Indiana University’s School of Education is embarking on a $3.1 million study of how current and emerging technologies are being used most effectively in classrooms—and how best to prepare new teachers to use these tools.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=50618;_hbguid=f18205f9-07a5-4617-8d7d-04b1b7df8abc

Children's early academic and attention skills best predict school success

Children entering kindergarten with elementary math and reading skills are the most likely to do well in school later, even if they have various social and emotional problems, say US researchers who examined data from six studies of close to 36,000 preschoolers. Children's attention-related skills also mattered, the researchers found. The findings are reported on in the November issue of Developmental Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.
Read on ...

National Geographic animal photo galleries

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/siteindex/photogallery/animals.html

This collection of photographs of animals around the world includes birds, some insects, spiders, land mammals e.g. bears and apes, reptiles, underwater animals, and some habitats.

Parents, kids don't see need for math, science skills

With lawmakers and school leaders alike stressing the importance of math, science, and technology (MST) education in preparing students for 21st-century jobs and careers, one might... Full Story

Converged Wireless

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7155

Two technology trends that have been taking place separately in K-12 and higher-education institutions across the country are now beginning to come together: (1) the proliferation of wireless networks, and (2) the convergence of voice, video, and data on a single network infrastructure.... Full Story

Top 10 Social Skills Students Need to Succeed

Reading, writing, ‘rithmetic and… good manners? Researchers have found that 10 basic social skills such as taking turns, listening and simply being nice are just as important to children’s academic success as the subjects they study, and that students can and should be learning these skills in the classroom.

Read on ...

Teachers urged to save voice with a mic

Teachers are being advised to use microphones, loudspeakers, and other techniques to save their vocal cords. A team of scientists issued the recommendations after a study... Full Story

Visiting the Museum: Activities to download and print out

http://www.amonline.net.au/visiting/general/activities_download.htm

This page from the Australian Museum Online presents a range of activity sheets and booklets for young children on the topics of: thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, marsupial lion, dinosaurs, frog, skull, bird, bone, fish, fairy penguin, bug with wings, freshwater habitat, mangrove habitat, scorpion. Activities include colouring in, dot-to-dot, cut out and make, make a booklet, picture spinners.

My Wonderful World

[Macromedia Flash Player] From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/

National Geographic has been keeping tabs on the geographic literacy of Americans young and old for decades.

Some of their findings are a bit depressing, but they've always believed in well-thought out outreach programs, and this website is just one such program. The "My Wonderful World" site is intended for young people, but anyone will benefit from the numerous interactive activities, quizzes, and such offered here.

Visitors can start by taking the National Geographic Roper Survey, and then take a look through the "Games & Cool Stuff" area. Here, they can take a look through the world of map "mashups", learn about wayfaring, and even take an aural trip around the globe.

Additionally, there are sections designed specifically for parents, educators, and teens. Overall, it's a delight and for those yet unconverted to the importance of geography, this site will likely win over a new cadre of budding geographers.

Art Education 2.0

http://arted20.ning.com/
Craig Roland created this site for fellow travelers and art educators in order to help colleagues find out how to use new technologies in their classrooms.

First-time visitors will need to start out by signing up for a free account, and after that they are most welcome to participate in forums, groups, blogs, RSS feeds, and photo and video sharing. Some of the groups include "Art Partners", "Students of Art Education 2.0", and "First Year Art Teachers".

The forums are quite useful, and recently they have included discussions on summer research opportunities, arts censuses, and the use of streaming video in the classroom.

For art educators, this site is quite a find, and others who are interested in art and technology more generally will also find it useful.

Bouncing Balls and Geometric Series

[Real Player, Windows Media Player]

http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/4/pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1550

The introduction to this intriguing exercise and article begins "If a ball bounces an infinite number of times, it must take an infinite amount of time to finish bouncing!" This piece appeared in The Journal of Online Mathematics and Its Applications in May 2007, and it was authored by Robert Styer and Morgan Besson of Villanova University. This particular article and its accompanying teaching module "explore the time and distance of a bouncing ball and leads to a study of the geometric series." Along with the actual article, this site also includes a video clip and several interactive Flash mathlets. It's a fun way to get students thinking about geometric series, and mathematics educators will definitely want to tell colleagues about the site as well

[From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/]

Acting out the Water Cycle

http://www.nrw.qld.gov.au/education/teachers/water/activities/activity03.html
This activity reinforces student’s understanding of the water cycle through the use of a role play. It will reinforce the concepts of evaporation, condensation and precipitation and provides the option of introducing the concepts of run-off, transpiration and groundwater.

Artificial Boy’ to be a learning companion

‘At 17 inches tall and 6 pounds, the artificial Zeno is the culmination of five years of work by a small group of engineers, designers and programmers at Hanson Robotics. They believe... Full Story

Animals of Antarctica

http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/jmresources
A page of links to animals that live on and around the Antarctic continent.

Minimizing Classroom Disruptions

Computers and the internet have become welcome instructional tools in most schools, ushering a wealth of additional resources into today’s classrooms. Unfortunately, they also bring with them the potential for unwanted distractions—such as online content that ranges from off-target, to inappropriate, material.With the generous support of Faronics, a maker of solutions that help manage, simplify, and secure complex IT environments, we’ve assembled this collection of stories and columns from the eSchool News archives to help you leverage technology’s potential for education, while minimizing classroom disruptions. We hope you’ll find these resources helpful as you seek an appropriate balance in your own institutions..

Minimizing Classroom Disruptions

Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson:

For an inspirational moment, find 20 mins of peace to view this comment on education. Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online. A typical review: "If you have not yet seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk, please stop whatever you're doing and watch it now."

NASA: Rocket Activities

[pdf]
http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/TRCRocket/RocketActivitiesHome2.html
There are many things in this world that are described as not being as difficult as rocket science. Then, of course, there is the actual science behind rockets. Understandably, this can be difficult for budding space scientists to grasp. Fortunately, NASA has created these fun and interactive activities which relate both to the science and math of rocketry. These particular activities are taken from the "Rocket Educators Guide", and they include activities related to altitude tracking, the world of pinwheels, balloon staging, and of course the construction of an actual paper rocket. Each activity comes complete with instructions, diagrams, and information on the necessary materials. Taken as a whole, these activities could be equally fun whether outside on a brisk fall day as in a classroom setting
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

The Song Room

http://www.songroom.org.au/

The Song Room is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing music and arts programs in Australian schools and communities. The Song Room provides a range of free programs to schools and communities that otherwise would not have access to such opportunities.

Scaffolding Literacy in the Middle Years

http://www.dest.gov.au/literacynumeracy/innovativeprojects/pdf/oakley_scaffolding.pdf

This report was written in conjunction with the Department of Education, Science and Technology and Deakin University with the aim of improving the literacy outcomes of educationally disadvantaged students in the middle years of schooling.

ThinkQuest International 2008

http://www.thinkquest.org/

ThinkQuest inspires students to think, connect, create, and share. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. Along the way, they learn research, writing, teamwork, and technology skills and compete for exciting prizes. Entry submission closes April 2, 2008.

NASA images to be archived online

NEW YORK - NASA's images from the Apollo moon landings, the Voyager planetary flybys and the many space shuttle missions will be accessible through a central, searchable Web site under a partnership between the space agency and the nonprofit Internet Archive. Read on ...

Find latitude and longitude

http://perso.orange.fr/universimmedia/geo/loc.htm

An online tool to locate latitude and longitude of specific destinations. A useful tool to use with online maps.

AccessArt

http://www.accessart.org.uk

AccessArt is a charity employing new and creative approaches to teaching and learning particularly for those who learn best visually, spatially and kinaesthetically. The AccessArt web site is a richly textured, dynamic and inspirational resource bank aimed at pupils, students and life-long-learners, as well as teachers, gallery educators and artists.

Visit online workshops and the AccessArt forum to explore sculpture, drawing, photography, installation art, colour and the 'Immersive Learning Space' which celebrates teenage creativity.

Download pdf's which enable an exploration of materials, techniques and ideas.

sites for new teachers

Over 125 sites, categorized and briefly described. http://tinyurl.com/zp4ee

Maths Hangman

http://www.subtangent.com/maths/hangman.php

An interactive version of this old fashioned game. It would be great to use with an interactive whiteboard and is suitable for upper primary age. It has a collection of math related words, but also allows user input on the word.

The Universe in the Classroom [pdf]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

From dark matter to the transit of Venus, "The University in the Classroom" has all the astronomical bases covered for educators. This electronic educational newsletter is published by The Astronomical Society of the Pacific and has been published since 1984. Each issue is designed to help teachers learn more about astronomy themselves, and then they can bring this new knowledge into their classroom. On the newsletter's homepage, visitors can read the current issue, subscribe to receive updates, and also browse through the archives, which stretch back to late 1984. Within each issue, visitors can read an in-depth exploration of a certain astronomical subject, complete with classroom activities and links to other related resources.

http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/tnl.html

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

http://www.olympics.com.au/Education/

The Australian Olympic Committee has produced a national primary resource containing over 60 primary cross-curriculum lessons themed around the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The resource is available to download for free from olympics.com.au by joining the a.s.p.i.r.e. school network. It is available from 8 November 2007.

Film Australia Digital Learning's Digital Resource Finder

http://www.filmaust.com.au/learning

The Digital Resource finder is a quick and easy-to-use search engine for teachers and educators that features over 1000 free Australian video clips to view or download, combined with dedicated curriculum-based notes and class activities utilising its extraordinary 60 years of documentary archives.

Slide rule for a good night's sleep

http://www.unisa.edu.au/news/2007/190707.asp

Researchers at the University of South Australia have found that a general lack of awareness about the amount of sleep that children need at different ages is a contributing factor to sleep loss. As part of a broader public health strategy addressing sleep, health and learning in children, they have developed the Sleep Slide Rule for use in the classroom to illustrate the relationship between children's age and their sleep needs.

Free Resources: Teaching Tools from the National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum offers a variety of classroom resources, including online activities and teaching materials, designed for use in learning across the curriculum.
The museum’s online activities include:
-Airplane Anatomy – A curriculum program focused on the Wright brothers and the first airplane.
-Black Wings – A curriculum program built around the stories of African-American aviation pioneers.
-CyberCenter – A simulated research center at the National Air and Space Museum. Students can try on the role of an intern (level one), a research assistant (level two) and a principal investigator (level three).
-Geography from Space - An online quiz that tests geography knowledge. The Geography from Space 2007 contest begins in the fall.
The Air and Space Museum also offers electronic field trips available via the Apple Learning Exchange, interactive videoconferenced lessons and professional development workshops.
In addition, free posters and classroom materials are available online.
National Air and Space Museum, http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/index.cfm.

Reading for Junior Primary

Here's a great reading website for JP students. The Starfall learn-to-read website is offered free as a public service.

It is US based and 4 sections from ABC to learn to read and I'm reading.

www.starfall.com

It has some thematic sections as well. A good addition to a book-based reading program!

Could be used at home.

Earthquake Science Explained

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

-A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families [pdf]

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2006/21/gip-21.pdf

That swirling bard of American letters and transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once opined “We learn geology the morning after the earthquake.” This need never be the case for educators and members of the general public who give careful consideration to this excellent pamphlet created by the United States Geological Survey. Compiled by Matthew A. D’Alessio, this document contains ten short articles on earthquakes designed for classroom use. The articles originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, and they include such titles as “Find the Fault: Recognizing Active Faults”, “Looking into the past with earthquake trenches”, and “How do we make buildings and roads safer?”. Additionally, each article contains helpful graphics, illustrations, and photographs.

Videos show how math, science relate to real-world applications and careers

Math and science educators will find free video resources that can help connect their lessons to real-world applications at TheFuturesChannel.com. The site produces short documentary-style videos that take students behind the scenes with professionals from a wide range of careers. As the subjects of these video clips discuss why math and science are so important in their respective fields, they help answer the common question, "Why do I need to learn this?" The site's Hand-On Math section features movies on counting numbers and integers, algebra, fractions, geometry, measurement, and statistics. One clip incorporates measurement into a video about college students who must measure food for animal feedings. Teachers can download classroom activities based on the video content. All videos and classroom activities are available free of charge. http://www.thefutureschannel.com/index.php

The Effects of Project Work in a First-Grade Classroom

A Little Goes a Long Way
This article discusses how a brief project-based unit promoted the learning of children in a first-grade classroom. The children attended a public elementary school located in a southeastern university town in the United States. Approximately 94% of the students in the school were from economically disadvantaged families. No children in this classroom were Caucasian, and most of them came from single-parent households. We compared the children’s learning and performance in a teacher-directed science unit on animals versus a project-based unit on chicks. Results revealed that more state-mandated objectives were covered during the project-based unit than during the teacher-directed unit and that children had “more to say” by using more words and expressing more specific and accurate ideas after the project-based instruction. The project also provided more enriched learning opportunities than the traditional teacher-directed unit. Implications for early childhood teacher education are included.
Read on ...

Virtual staffroom

: conversations with leading teachers about technology in the classroom

http://www.virtualstaffroom.net/wordpress/

Virtual Staffroom is run as a community podcasting project by Chris Betcher. The site provides educators of young people with the opportunity to engage in conversation and dialogue which explores the impacts that new technologies will have on classrooms. By providing a communication channel for leading teachers to voice their ideas about 21st century classrooms, it hopes to enable others to tap into that collective wisdom and make the classrooms of tomorrow the best possible experiences for our students.

What Explains Toddlers' Linguistic Leap? Math

Simple math may explain why toddlers experience a sudden burst of words—and why some talk earlier and more than others.
Read on ...

The Water Cycle and Global Warming [pdf]

[From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/ ]

The Baylor University College of Medicine continues to work at a furious pace on their delightful BioEd Online site, and educators everywhere love them for their work and dedication. Recently, they placed this “ready-to-go” lessson on the water cycle and global warming online, and it’s a true delight. As with the other lessons in this series, the materials here include a brief description of the lesson’s objective, along with information on the intended audience, the materials required to complete the lesson, and so on. Teachers will note that they will need to download a slide set, several activity sheets, and a “State of the Climate Report” offered from the National Climatic Data Center

http://www.bioedonline.org/lessons/water-cycle.cfm