Thursday, December 23, 2004

Educational Hotlists from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Great links to many content sites.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Microsoft Users rejoice. A new piece of software entitled, Scholastic Keys, provides the user with a template for Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The template has large buttons and simple methods for importing pictures and other graphics. Of course, you already have to have the Microsoft Office programs and it's only available for Windows XP.

Read Kimberly Keith's review in Parenting of K-6 Children.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

The National Center for Technology Planning provides links to state, district, and building level technology plans.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Tale of Despereaux


Tale of Despereaux
Originally uploaded by ShelleyAistrup.



The Tale of Desperaux is a delightful tale of a mouse, a rat, and a serving girl. Listen to this blurb!!

"Desperaux's brothers and sisters stepped back, away from the new mouse.

'This is the last,' proclaimed Antoinette from her bed. 'I will have no more mice babies. They are such the disappointment. They are hard on my beauty. They ruin for me, my looks. This is the last one. No more.'

'The last one,' said the father. 'And he'll be dead soon. He can't live. Not with his eyes open like that.'

But reader, he did live.

This is his story."


It's a great read aloud and has a powerful message about seeking one's dreams.

Friday, December 10, 2004

Expand your knowledge of how to teach reading. These books have fabulous tips and strategies for stretching your students and finding a myraid of ways to ensure they are comprehending what they read.

Good-bye Round Robin: 25 Effective Oral Reading Strategies by Michael F. Opitz and Timothy Rasinski is a quick read. Opitz and Rasinski provide research based reasons for why teachers should abandon the practice of round robin reading. The strategies included in the book are familiar, but written in a very accessible style.

Janet Allen's book, Tools for Teaching Content Literacy, provides the reader with strategies for building, monitoring, and extending content knowledge. Easy-to-follow descriptions of the strategies explain the nuts and bolts of how to use them successfully in the classroom. The book has great blackline masters as well.



Sunday, December 05, 2004

There are always new sites to explore. This one, eMINTS National Center, has thematic topics with links to related websites, lesson plans, assessment ideas, and more. It's definitely worth your time. Be sure to look at the calendar. The eMINTS staff highlights a lesson a day. Have fun!