Education World Administrator's Desk Volume 6, Issue 28

Dear Education Leaders, This free Administrator's Desk newsletter is published weekly by Education World®, the largest free, independent resource on the Web for educators. If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to others. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up to receive it at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. To unsubscribe, see instructions at the bottom of this email. Education World remains a free resource thanks to the support of our advertisers -- so please click on ads of interest and visit our advertisers' sites. Thank you. ============================================================================ This month's newsletter sponsored by Journey to the Center of the Earth. An exciting adventure inspired by the classic Jules Verne novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth stars Brendan Fraser as a professor whose unconventional hypotheses have made him the laughing stock of the academic community.  But on an expedition to Iceland, he and his nephew (Josh Hutcherson) stumble upon a major discovery that launches them on a thrilling journey deep beneath Earth's surface.  Their best chance at escape?  Improbably, it lies within the worn pages of Verne's classic.  Experience Walden Media's latest in RealD 3D (where available) with your whole family on JULY 11.  In the meantime, check out walden.com/journey for free downloadable activities an d other fun stuff. ============================================================================ Volume 6 Issue 28 July 8, 2008 From Our Leadership Archive Math Night Tips for setting up a Math Night for students, parents. More Fundraising Fun Fifteen more tried, tested fundraising ideas. Improving Reading Thirteen strategies to improve reading performance. Looping A look at the research, kids' comments. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/archives/leadership.shtml   Sandra Harris's BRAVO Principals BRAVO Principals... Help Staffs and Students Cope With Stress Sandra Harris has seen firsthand how principals have handled the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But not all disasters are natural ones. In the event of job loss, illness, death, and divorce BRAVO principals do all that they can to help faculty and students cope. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/BRAVO/BRAVO007.shtml Larry Bell's Somebody Needs You! Prepare Students for Long, Dull Tests If educators know that at the end of the year their students are going to need to sit for 3-hour blocks of testing, why on Earth would they give tests throughout the year that last 15, 20, or 25 minutes? By giving short tests, we are training our students to fail. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/bell/bell002.shtml The Principal Poet Mr. Ivan, Education World's Principal Poet, presents this week's poem, "The Mouse in School." "Vermin! Vermin!" Our Teacher's voice was shrill! And that much exuberance Gave us kids a thrill… http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/ivan/ivan026.shtml Meet the other members of Education World's Columnist Team. Partners for Student Success Year-Long Literacy For one middle school, a continuous focus on student and family literacy makes the grade. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/partners/partners022.shtml Take Five for… Reflecting on what makes your school a great school. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/takefive/takefive023.shtml Principal Ideas Teacher's lounge monthly question, good behavior STARS, more... http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/ideas/ideas018.shtml Pawlas on PR A great use for old ties: use them as student incentives. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/pawlasPR/pawlasPR010.shtml Instant Meeting #4 Use FISH! to create a positive atmosphere in your school. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/meetingidea/meetingideas004.shtml Grant of the Week New grants added every month. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/grants/additional_grants.shtml Conventions & Conferences What's coming up? http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/archives/conventions.shtml Join the Conversation On our "School Administrators" message board. http://forums.educationworld.com/ Newsletters 'R Us Copy and paste this free content into your teacher or school newsletters. The ABCs of Student Success Helping students achieve from A to Z. Caught on the Web Sites to share with parents. Clipart Library Free art to liven up newsletters. Fun Facts Fun and educational content. Parent Newsletter Templates A different template for each month. Math @ Home Math activities for parents and kids. "QuotED" Educational quotes to inspire. Parent Pointers Ponder these themed parenting tips. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/archives/newsletters.shtml   From the Principal Files Back to School Will you hold a traditional open house before school opens? How about an ice cream social? A scavenger hunt for new students? A meet-the-principal lunch? Principals understand that strong home-school connections impact student achievement, so they have created many fun ways to forge strong relationships during the opening weeks of the school year. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin319.shtml   Phone Book Math Did the phone company just deliver new phone books to your door? Don't throw out the old ones -- ask students to bring them to school. Those old phone books offer opportunities for lots of valuable math practice; they're a great teaching tool! Included: Links to additional math lessons and resources. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson270.shtml Hold a Read-In Teachers share their favorite reading activity ideas. Included: Theme ideas for reading fun. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson057.shtml Don't Waste a Minute: Quick-Tivities for Awkward Moments So much to do! So little time! You can't afford to waste a minute. What do you do when every day is interrupted by at least a few transitions that never seem to fit into the natural rhythm of your lessons. Fill those minutes with real learning by introducing your students to one of these valuable mini lessons. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson220.shtml Harry Potter Haiku Use the book or movies as an opportunity to write Harry Potter haiku. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson180.shtml Lesson Plan of the Day Click the link above to see dozens of recent Lesson Plans of the Day, including the lessons below that were posted last week. Just four lessons last week, due to the Independence Day (U.S.) holiday. You Be the Editor - A fast-paced team activity. (Grades K-12) A Better Class of Journal-ists - Reflecting on the news. (K-12) Experiencing Slavery - Write a slave's account of freedom. (3-12) Dead Word Wall - "Kill" words overused in student writing. (K-12) http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/dailylp.shtml From the Math Machine Cookie Dough is a fun Web site for teaching place value and the spelling of number words. (Grades K-5) http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/mathmachine/mathmachine008.shtml Learning Game of the Week "Find It Fast!" is a fast-paced review game. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/learninggame/learninggame004.shtml 5-Minute Fillers Forty volumes of activities -- for turning transition times into into meaningful moments. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/fillers.shtml Vicki Cobb's Show-Biz Science Play with static electricity. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/showbiz_science/showbiz_science018.shtml Best Books for Teaching About… Each week, Education World presents our Editors' Choices for the best books for teaching about popular classroom themes. Check out our choices and add your own recommendations to the Readers' Voices section of this week's themed booklists: Best Books for Teaching About... Games Oceans http://www.educationworld.com/a_bestbooks/archives/students.shtml MORE LESSON PLANNING FEATURES FOR ALL YEAR LONG Bulletin Boards That Teach Check out our featured bulletin board ideas organized by month. Vocab-u-lous! Build a fab vocab from A to Z. Weekly printable work sheets for students grades 5-up. Early Childhood Teaching Themes See our library of activity ideas for dozens of teaching themes. Plus sign up for our Early Childhood Newsletter.   Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor Be a Task Master As a new teacher, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the number of activities and tasks that fill your time. That's where time management comes in. Strive to be a task master -- the master of your own time. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald019.shtml Dr. Fred Jones: Tools for Teaching Meaning Business Consistency is all or nothing. You are either consistent, or you are inconsistent. Being consistent lays the foundation for "meaning business." If your mindset is wishy-washy, you haven't a chance. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones026.shtml Dr. Ken Shore: Classroom Problem Solver Dealing With Bullying Incidents No matter how diligent you are in trying to prevent bullying, incidents are likely to occur. Discover some steps you can take to deal with those incidents and avoid their spinning out of control. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore074.shtml Professor Joe Martin: The Educator Motivator What Are You Paying Attention To? I tell my friends when they question my ability to maintain a positive attitude, "I have a simple choice: I either can focus on whining about teaching or I can focus on winning as a teacher." http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/martin/martin006.shtml Cathy Puett Miller: The Reading Coach Understanding and Teaching Revision Revision is the second most important part of writing (after the idea). http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/miller/miller020.shtml Reader's Theater The Incredible Animal Race Two animal teams to compete in the Animal Kingdom's annual race. To many, the outcome for the contest seems obvious. But a surprising twist brings an amazing finish. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater014.shtml Featured Article A Teacher's Back-to-School Supply List Noted educator Howard Seeman shares his back-to-school list for the well-equipped teacher. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev098.shtml From the Math Corner Wendy Petti's "Math Cats Math Chat" A Math Toolbox in Every Home Extend a sense of discovery into students' homes by helping them assemble math toolboxes to be enjoyed by the whole family. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/mathchat/mathchat001.shtml Teacher Feature Grammar Slammer Erin Farley's grammar activity fosters independent and cooperative learning. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature018.shtml Strategy of the Week Literature Circles Learn how literature circles can help your students apply and improve their literacy skills while motivating them to read. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy060.shtml Newsletters 'R Us Copy and paste this free content into your teacher or school newsletters. The ABCs of Student Success Helping students achieve from A to Z. Caught on the Web Sites to share with parents. Clipart Library Free art to liven up newsletters. Fun Facts Fun and educational content. Parent Newsletter Templates A different template for each month. Math @ Home Math activities for parents and kids. "QuotED" Educational quotes to inspire. Parent Pointers Ponder these themed parenting tips. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/archives/newsletters.shtml How Cool Is That! http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev149.shtml   This Week's Survey Question How satisfied are you with the level of security in your school building? http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/survey/survey136.shtml Last Week's Survey Results Do you think parents give you the respect you deserve? http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/survey/survey081.shtml   The Ordeal of Trying to Fire Bad Tenured Teachers The mounting legal costs and years of effort needed to dismiss bad tenured teachers -- even those who have broken the law -- forces many administrators to tolerate poor teacher performance, some experts say. 07/03/08 Source: The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/28/AR2008062801323.html School Districts Root Out Energy 'Hogs' Texas school administrators are scouring their districts to find ways to save energy to meet a state mandate to reduce energy consumption 5 percent each year from now through 2013. Some districts already have energy plans. 07/02/08 Source: The Galveston Daily News http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=16768f086afb5297 Study: Children Still Love Books Despite their interest in all things digital, children between the ages of 5 and 17 still want to read books, a study says. The study also noted that the amount of time kids spend reading for fun declines after age 8. 07/01/08 Source: School Library Journal http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6569300.html Parents Want to See More Math Instruction More than one-third of U.S. parents said in an AP poll that they want their children to receive more math instruction in school. A majority also said schools are doing just a fair job in preparing children for the work force. 06/30/08 Source: The Associated Press http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080627/D91ID52G7.html   Each week, Education World spotlights books of interest to educators. This week, read a brief summary of two more of our "top 50 books for educators." Nonfiction Matters: Reading, Writing, and Research This is an important book for several reasons: one, nonfiction reading, writing, and research is a relatively new emphasis in elementary school, and in turn, nonfiction seems to be an important key in retaining boys' interest in reading. The appendixes in this book include various forms, reading logs, and so on, and a set of extremely valuable bibliographies of well-crafted nonfiction books in various categories. Written by Stephanie Harvey. Happy reading! Click to learn more or to purchase this book. Understanding By Design Grant Wiggins is one of the most important education thinkers, with a unique and logical point of view on a fundamental aspect of school -- assessment. In this expanded second edition, Wiggins and co-author Jay McTighe convincingly turn the traditional assessment model on its head. Instead of creating curriculum and then figuring out assessment, they argue that we first determine what kids should learn, second how we're going to assess that learning, and only then design curriculum to enable students to pass. Not many education books crack the top 1,000 in Amazon sales, but this one does. Enjoy! Click to learn more or to purchase this book. Click the icon to the right to see more books and many other products that are available in the Education World MarketPlace. ========================================================================== The Best of the WRITING BUG If you enjoy Education World's weekly WRITING BUG feature, you'll love this book! Education World and the National Education Association (NEA) have joined forces to create a handy, pocket-size booklet with 44 of the most popular Writing Bug story starters. Use these Writing Bug activities to engage your students in effective writing. Each writing prompt will spark students' imaginations, tickle their funny bones, and motivate their pencils. Included: In this booklet you'll find these Writing Bug titles and many more: If I Could Interview Any U.S. President... The Best Lesson I Ever Learned I Got a Postcard from Another Planet A Week Without TV The Best Invention Ever/The Worst Invention Ever Plus 39 more Writing Bug writing prompts! The Best of WRITING BUG is part of the Teacher Treasure Series, an NEA Professional Library Publication. http://store.nea.org/NEABookstore/control/productdetails?&item_id=0695X00 ========================================================================== Education World now incorporates www.SchoolNotes.com ~ "everybody on the same page!" The leading school-to-home communications platform, with FREE pages for teachers and automatic notification of parents and students when new homework is posted! For a modest $24.95 PER YEAR, upgrade to Personal Edition, "Super SchoolNotes," with thousands of resources linked to your state's standards. Click here for more information. ========================================================================== MORE FEATURES OF INTEREST! Reader's Theater More than two dozen scripts, perfect for the classroom. Best Books for Teaching About… Booklists for 30 popular teaching themes. Sign Up for Our Newsletters Ten free newsletters full of practical ideas. Special Education Center Tools for the special education community. TGIF Kick back and start your weekend off on a light note. Education World Techtorials Our tutorials take the terror out of technology. The Template Library A wide variety of templates to meet educators' needs. Wire Side Chats Each week, Education World chats with an expert in the field. Printables Library You're sure to find great resources here. Hundreds of printables! Meet Our Columnists Meet our team of columnists from many corners of the "education world." Teaching Themes for Early Childhood Sue LaBella offers teaching ideas for popular EC themes. Stress Relief Kit Take a deep breath. Then take a look here for great reading. Classroom Management 101 Real teachers share what they are doing to manage real classrooms. News for Kids News of our world written with kids in mind. Teacher's Guide included. ========================================================================== We hope you enjoy receiving this Education World e-newsletter. Did you know that Education World offers eight other FREE weekly newsletters? Have you signed up to receive the... Education World LESSON PLANNING NEWSLETTER? The weekly Lesson Planning Newsletter offers links to all new lesson plan content posted to the Education World Web site in the previous week. You will find all our regular features there, as well as links to new tutorials, timely holiday lesson planning ideas, and great lesson plans from our archives. Would you like to see a sample of the Lesson Planning Newsletter? If so, simply click the link below: http://www.educationworld.com/newsletters_images/lp_sample.shtml If you would like to subscribe to the Lesson Planning Newsletter, please click this link: http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml#lessons If the Lesson Planning Newsletter is not of interest to you, do you know somebody else who might benefit from it? Perhaps you could pass this information along to that person. ========================================================================== If you enjoy this Education World Administrators Desk Newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other teachers! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up for it -- and any of the other Education World newsletters -- at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. ========================================================================== Education World® http://www.educationworld.com/ newsletter-admin@educationworld.com Education World 1062 Barnes Road Suite 205 Wallingford, CT 06492 ==========================================================================