Education World Lesson Planning Newsletter -- Volume 10, Issue 41

Dear Education Leaders, Welcome! This free weekly Lesson Planning newsletter features summaries of lesson plans recently published on 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 at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. To unsubscribe, see instructions at the bottom of this newsletter. 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 week's newsletter is sponsored by Argosy University. At Argosy University, we believe learning is a lifetime pursuit.  With this in mind, we've developed a distinctive degree program for working teachers and administrators like you. Our Master's, Specialist and Doctorate degree programs in education are designed with your family, work and scholastic responsibilities in mind.  Visit our website www.argosy.edu  to learn more about Argosy University's advanced degrees for education professionals.    ============================================================================ This week's newsletter is sponsored by Explorica. Explorica is the low-price, high-quality leader in teacher-led educational travel.  Join over 100,000 participants who have planned spectacular tours throughout the world.   Explorica's veteran Program Consultants will guide you through every step of the process—from choosing an itinerary to recruiting students—and expert Tour Directors will accompany your group during every day of your tour, whether you're in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, or beyond. For more information on Explorica's diverse portfolio of educational travel programs, visit Explorica.com or call 1.888.310.7120 ============================================================================ = Volume 10, Issue 41 October 8, 2008 Election 2008 The primaries and the political conventions are behind us now. The election campaign and the vote lie ahead. The lessons in this Education World resource are aimed at helping teachers capitalize on this once-every-four-years "teachable moment." Included: Lessons for teaching about the Electoral College and the importance of voting; a unique approach to staging a classroom debate about election issues; plus dozens more lesson ideas for teaching about the 2008 elections. http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/election.shtml Also: Check out Education World's co-publication with the NEA Professional Library, "Finding 44: the 2008 Presidential Election," a handbook for secondary teachers available in limited release at http://store.nea.org/NEABookstore/control/productdetails?item_id=2042100 Celebrate Dictionary Day Dictionary Day commemorates the birth of Noah Webster (October 16, 1758), who was the "father of the American dictionary." Celebrate the day by planning a dictionary scavenger hunt, playing Scrabble, creating a classroom dictionary, or any of the dozens of other ideas presented on this special Lesson Planning page from Education World. http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/words.shtml   Lesson Plan of the Day Click the link above to see dozens of recent Lesson Plans of the Day, including the five lessons below that were posted last week. Egypt Idea - Learn to draw like an Egyptian. (Grades K-12) Saying No! - Celebrate Red Ribbon Week (October 18-26). (3-12) Halloween Alternative - Service-learning ideas from UNICEF. (K-12) Hispanic Heritage Fun - Teach about fire safety. (PreK-2) Mystery in the Bag - Build a story around a bag of evidence. (K-12) http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/dailylp.shtml   News for Kids Four new designs for the back of the penny reflect stages in Abraham Lincoln's life. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/newsforyou/newsforyou102.shtml Learning Game of the Week Review knowledge as you run the bases in "Play Ball" game. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/learninggame/learninggame017.shtml Sign Up for Our Newest Newsletter! Education World has introduced another free newsletter for the education community. In each biweekly edition of the Education World Grants Newsletter, grants expert Don Peek provides a brief article for grant seekers, a tool for grant writers, and at least five current grants of interest to educators. Don't miss the next edition -- Sign Up Now! Friday Fun This art activity offers monstrous Halloween fun. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/friday/friday008.shtml Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks Math Games With Joanne and Jane This week: "Place Value Snap" teaches math facts. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/boxcars/boxcars004.shtml Vicki Cobb's Show-Biz Science Discover secret markings on license plates. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/showbiz_science/showbiz_science031.shtml *Early Childhood Center* Rhyme Time This week's poem for Early Childhood educators: Mr. Scarecrow Early Childhood Teaching Themes Pumpkin Power Colors Around You http://www.educationworld.com/a_earlychildhood/newsletters/ Reader's Theater Dancing With the Nursery Rhyme Stars Popular nursery rhyme characters face off in the final round of a dance contest as contestants vie for a pot of gold. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater008.shtml From the Writing Center Kids Can W.R.I.T.E. (Write, Revise, Inform, Think, and Edit) How can you make writing an exercise in personal expression, not drudgery? One key to better writing is better writing assignments -- and the Internet has them. Let's tour a few of the finest writing activities the Web has to offer. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson126.shtml Letters to Home Alicia Harman's letter-writing lesson opens lines of communication. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature132.shtml Go Figure The Bird or the Egg? How many birds can you hatch from just one egg? http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/math/go_figure/go_figure009.shtml Chemistry Comes Alive Sixteen quick chemistry demonstrations from The Journal of Chemical Education. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/archives/videooftheweek.shtml Tech Lesson of the Week Get Animated About Chemistry Students learn about the elements of the Periodic Table and create an animation to represent one of the elements. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techlp/techlp061.shtml Apple and Pumpkin PIE Discover how one teacher's successful "Apple a Day" Internet project spawned a new project and a love of poetry in students around the world. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr090.shtml Teacher-Submitted Lesson Plans Teacher-Submitted Lesson #1 Learn foreign language vocabulary with this "In the Pumpkin" lesson. Teacher-Submitted Lesson #2 Fun activity teaches importance of continuity in writing. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/index.shtml From the Math Machine Reaction Math is a fun Web site for teaching addition, subtraction, or multiplication. (Grades 1-12) http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/mathmachine/mathmachine021.shtml Bulletin Boards That Teach Batty About... What are your students batty about? Create a showcase for their work. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bullboard/bullboard002.shtml Writing Bug I ran down the street, my Halloween candy flying in every direction. You will never believe what had just happened to me... http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing_bug/writingbug053.shtml 5-Minute Fillers Volume #16 http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/fillers.shtml Fact Monster Hunts Primary Hunt October Hunt #2 Ele-Middle Hunt Hunt #6 http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/factmonster.shtml Every-Day Edits Primary Edits Animals A to Z: Flamingo Ele-Middle Edits Gandhi, 1929 Stock Market crash… http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/animalsAtoZ.shtml http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/edit.shtml Vocab-ulous! Halloween words. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/vocabulous/vocabulous044.shtml Work Sheet of the Week "Adjectives" -- circle the adjectives. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/TCM/lang_arts_3_5.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... Weather The Life Cycle http://www.educationworld.com/a_bestbooks/archives/students.shtml FROM OUR PRINTABLES LIBRARY Animals A to Z Reinforce capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar skills. (Grades 2-4) http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/animalsAtoZ.shtml Highlights for Children® Hidden Pictures® puzzles, rebus stories, crafts, and more from the folks at Highlights. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/Highlights/index.shtml Phonics Word Search Puzzles Thirty-six puzzles teach and reinforce phonics and spelling skills. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/wordsearch.shtml#phonics Calculator Lessons Twenty lessons to engage students as they use their TI-73 Explorer™ calculators. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/calculator_lessons.shtml Just for This Month! See our September Month of Fun, September Word Search, and September Coloring Calendar. PLUS: Create-your-own work sheet templates.   Education Humor With Regina Barreca Why We All Need to Appreciate the Gravity of Transitions "When something terrifies you to the bottoms of your socks, it's difficult to regard the experience as a privilege. One of the best kids I've ever met just recently started college and she's scared." http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/columnists/barreca/barreca033.shtml Lorrie Jackson's Techtorial Excel for Beginners Learn how to create a basic Excel spreadsheet and how to use it to record, average, graph, and print students' grades. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial009.shtml Eric Baylin's Songs to Brighten a Teacher's Day Oops! Lunch Is Over This song is dedicated to those few precious pressure-releasing moments in the faculty lounge. "Oops! I have to run. My class is waiting." http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/baylin/baylin035.shtml Dr. Fred Jones: Tools for Teaching Escaping the Paper-Grading Trap The more adept you become at building work check into teaching, the more responsibility students take for quality control, and the more your evenings are freed up for lesson planning. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones008.shtml Doug Johnson's Tech Proof Disappointed Again This Year The datasphere is getting bigger all the time. Our school libraries, study halls areas, and most classrooms now have wireless connectivity. And yet, there still isn't a computing device available that's right for kids and schools. Is anybody working on it? http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson012.shtml Alma Row's Gadget of the Week Convert Tube Save your favorite online videos to your PC, iPod, PSP, or mobile. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/gadget/gadget008.shtml The Principal Poet Mr. Ivan presents "Taking Tests On Mondays." Taking tests on Mondays Ought to be against the law Because it forces me to think Before my brain can thaw… http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/ivan/ivan005.shtml Fifty Great Things About Middle Schoolers Why do middle school teachers love what they do? Here, in honor of October, the Month of the Young Adolescent, are the top fifty reasons. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr097.shtml Partners for Student Success Adult 'Buddies' Boost Confidence, Skills Today, when teachers at Barnum School find a student who is struggling, they ask the coordinator of the school's "Barnum Buddy" program to find an adult buddy for that child. The one-on-one attention has proven very successful in boosting students' skills. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/partners/partners015.shtml Wire Side Chat Authors Make Case For Longer School Day The common cry from many teachers these days is they need more time. For two authors, the solution is simple: Give teachers more time. Extending the school day will allow students to master academic subjects and spend time on enrichment programs, they say. http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat231.shtml Newsletters 'R Us Copy and paste this free content into your teacher or school newsletters. The ABCs of Student Success I is for Independence Caught on the Web Math Baseball (All grades) Newsletter Clipart Library Columbus Day, Halloween… Parent Newsletter Template Halloween Math @ Home Money's Worth quotED "A word of praise is a 'verbal trophy' for a child." http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/archives/newsletters.shtml   ========================================================================== Sign Up for Our FREE Newsletters Did you know that Education World has twelve free newsletters for educators? You're sure to find one or two just right for you! It's easy to sign up (and just as easy to unsubscribe if you don't find valuable ideas each week). Click here for a list of newsletters. http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml#profdev ==========================================================================   This week, Education World reviewed three Web sites of interest to educators. Workshop Exercises Professional development activities contributed by PD trainers. http://educationworld.com/awards/2008/r1008-03.shtml ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Curriculum Connections A vital and important wealth of ethics and current-events topics on bias. http://educationworld.com/awards/2008/r1008-01.shtml EMBARK Useful college-application site for parents, students, teachers. http://educationworld.com/awards/2008/r0908-29.shtml   Each week, we ask readers to cast their votes in The Weekly Survey. Cast your vote in this week's question of interest to all educators. This Week's Survey Question How much time each week is a nurse on duty in your school building? http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/survey/survey186.shtml Last Week's Survey Results Should states grant teachers immunity from lawsuits for taking action to maintain order, such as restraining a student during a fight? http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/survey/survey185.shtml   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." What Great Teachers Do Differently: Fourteen Things That Matter Most Todd Whitaker is one of the prolific education writers who continually remind us that teaching is primariliy an art, though it is surrounded by a lot of science (and pseudo-science). As such, Whitaker looks at great practitioners and focuses on what they do that distinguishes them from less-than-great teachers. Among the intriguing chapter headings are: "Restoring Trust," "The Angry Parent," "Handling the High Achievers," and "Treat Everyone As If They Were Good." Click to learn more or to purchase this book. The Elementary Math Teacher's Book of Lists Subtitled, "with Ready-to-Use Patterns Worksheets," this book brings list-mania to math. We often forget, in thinking about math as driven by the familiar symbols for operations, that learning math is as much about learning the meaning of a universe of concepts as it is about learning specific operational skills. This approach offers the practicality of worksheets and activities along with the more conceptual value of covering the major groups of concept words in elementary math. 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. ========================================================================== SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS 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 JOBS NEWSLETTER? For those searching for a job in the education field, you will find new listings of teaching and administration jobs that have been submitted to Education World. Administrators, if you would like to post a position opening, submit it to: http://www.educationworld.com/jobs/submit_job.shtml Would you like to see a sample of the Education World Jobs Newsletter? 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