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FEATURES FOR TEACHERS |
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Ideas and
Features For New Teachers |
Volume 3, Issue 1 January 2007 |
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Crossword puzzles are said to be the most popular and widespread word game in the world. However, according to George Elliott of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, http://www.crosswordtournament.com/more/wynne.html, this serious adult pastime has a relatively short history. To paraphrase Elliott, “The first crosswords appeared in England during the 19th century. The first known, published crossword (December 21, 1913 in the Sunday newspaper the New York World) was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne, who is usually credited as the inventor of the popular word game. Wynne based his crossword on a similar, though much older game (played in ancient Pompeii) called Magic Squares or word square, which was a group of words arranged so the letters read alike vertically and horizontally. These word squares were printed in children's puzzle books and other periodicals. During the early 1920's other newspapers picked up the newly discovered pastime and within a decade crossword puzzles were featured in almost all American newspapers.” Crossword puzzles require two fundamental vocabulary skills, 1) knowing the definition of the word and 2) knowing how to spell the word correctly. This can be a great way to review important terms and words for any class, from foreign languages, to math, to science, to language arts. By varying the number of words, and the size of the letter boxes, crosswords can be used at any grade level. Even lower elementary students can fill in these puzzles, and many children love the interesting shapes and connections between words. Crosswords are not difficult to create, especially with the help of your handy computer. There are several on-line websites that allow you to input your vocabulary word list and definitions (clues). Good programs also allow you to customize the puzzle, changing the puzzle’s overall dimensions, box sizes, title, and even colors. One easy to use puzzle making website is located at http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/ Once there, you simply choose the type of puzzle you wish (you can even see examples of the different types of puzzles, including math puzzles, mazes, and word searches among others) Crossword puzzles are fun for students, and they provide a welcomed break from finishing review worksheets, studying vocabulary lists, and answering questions from the textbook.
Visual media used to be solely the product of movie producers and large corporations. Today, a person can take their digital video camera and film their project. They can then load it into their computer and use an inexpensive program, such as iMovie, to edit their film and add effects. For more extensive changes there are other applications available for use at a higher cost, but still within the everyday person's budget. Upon completion, they can take their movie and upload it to YouTube.com for everyone to view. So what does this mean to education? In the past, a student wrote an assignment for the teacher to look at and grade. No one else would see it, so the whole goal would be for a grade. Making movies was unheard of. Becoming a published author was reserved for only those lucky enough to catch someone's attention and interest that had the power to publish. Now all that has changed and is available to everyone. Classblogmeister.com, gaggle.net, or epals.com provide safe places for teachers and students to go and speak their mind and yet allow it to be under the teacher's control. If we, as teachers, continue to do writing the old way it doesn't reach today's students. This isn't how the real world works. If our goal is to get students to become better writers and get excited about writing, we need to provide real world experiences for them. Your students will thank you, as mine have.
Your office secretary is vital to the running of your school. Not only does your secretary handle office duties including answering the phone, typing reports, memos, and newsletters, and keeping & organizing supplies, but also may have responsibility for handling minor discipline problems, watching students in the office, scheduling students & classes, first aid & nursing, attendance, and dealing with parents. This is the first representative of your school to all visitors, and the secretary essentially sets the attitude of the office. To students, they can be a counselor or advisor; to parents, they can be a welcoming committee. To teachers, the secretary can be a helpful hand. Your office secretary is the communications hub of the school, responsible in many cases for every detail in running a school. They often set up meetings, make the important phone calls, and schedule events. It is very important for you as a new teacher to develop and keep a positive relationship with your office secretaries. They keep you up on events and important information around the school. Many times they will do office tasks for you if you ask them nicely. Most secretaries do far more in a school than they could ever get paid for. They do their job with little thanks, and yet most don’t show they like the attention of appreciation. It is very important to remember them on holidays (such as Secretaries Day) and other special occasions.
KidsDinos is an interactive website for students to learn all about dinosaurs. A 'friendly' dinosaur roar greets visitors to the site, and excellent graphics lure students into the various activities. A section on Dino Data shares valuable information on a large variety of dinosaurs. "Dinorize It" provides a flash-card like activity to help kids memorize facts about dinosaurs. The Palentology section gives scientific data and information about the land and time periods of the dinosaurs. There are also links to other dinosaur sites and activities around the web. The dinosaur games section in particular is quite excellent. There are several game/activities for students to try out. These include flashcards and hangman, classification, and other games. One I liked in particular was the dinosaur mutation, where you are able to mutate the looks of a given dinosaur. It was quite cool. Mostly, the games are aimed at an elementary school level.
This is a user-friendly website with quick links to the various parts of the site. It is a great resource for elementary teachers. Check this site out, you'll be glad you did. Simply click the link below:
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one. So, stop waiting --until your car or home is paid off There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So -- work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching. Hope for the best and never forget that anything is possible as long as you remain dedicated to the task See more of our Freebies as well as Special Reports on our website by clicking the quick link below: http://www.starteaching.com/free.htm Make sure to BOOKMARK our website so you can keep up with more changes and additions through the year. And feel free to share our site by EMAILING it to a friend.
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In This Week's Issue Crosswords
and Word Puzzles: Tech Corner: Communication is Changing New
Teacher's Niche: Themes
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