Science, Social Studies and Brain Building Sites to Enhance Classroom Instruction
“Little Fish in a Big Pond” Written by an 8th Grader and an Inspiration to us All
I am thrilled that a parent of a former student and an 8th grader who is now a published author of many poems, has sent us one of the latest published works for us to display here on our blog. Congratulation J’Laina on your recent success and we think you are an inspiration to students and adults alike!
May we ALL continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
Little Fish in a Big Pond
Written by: J’Laina Brown
(c) 2012
As I prepare to leave what once was familiar and safe,
I now find myself in a big unfamiliar place.
The security I once knew,
has become something that I must bid a final adieu.
I feel so small in such a big school;
however, I know I’m equipped with the most important tool.
I was once a big fish,
now it seems as if I fit in a Petri dish.
To me it seems so surreal,
but I know that I have no choice but to deal.
I have to assimilate to my new pond,
By saying good-bye and breaking a familiar bond.
How quickly I’ll have to swim and learn,
the new place and the trust of new friends I hope to earn.
I’m both sad and curious, but
becoming a big fish is serious.
I’m a little fish in a big pond.
Making waves and exiting with leaps for the great beyond.
I hope that my little friends miss me like I will them,
we can always get together and sing our old school hymn.
Filed under Student Writing Submissions
Educational Websites to Utilize in the Classroom for Grades 4-12
At a recent principal’s meeting, the Web 2.0 presenter showcased some fabulous online resources that any 21st century educator could utilize to enhance classroom instruction.
This site includes multimedia components and visual displays for presentations. *Very user-friendly.
Present information to students integrating a multimedia format.
Identify real-life connections between words and their use. *This is a great tool…words with videos!
This is a site where students can retell stories to demonstrate an understanding of concepts.
This is an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G site for teachers to utilize really grades 2 on up. Students can create animated cartoon strips by utilizing a combination of drawing, dictating and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events. This site also has a homework component…great vocabulary builder and speaks to the visual learner.
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings or events in a story or drama. *neat site
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Great virtual dissects to utilize in class with students.
Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
Add drawings to displays and stories.
This is just a few of the many resources available online.
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
Themed Lessons Online for F-R-E-E…When we Share the Good in Education, we ALL Benefit
Given all the many online resources available to both educators and parents alike, one can spend a whole week educating our youth on days like today…President’s Day and answering the who, what, where and why questions that arise.
The Teacher’s Guide is a fabulous resource site, that provides lesson plans, tips on integrating technology, White Board lessons and so much more.
Hot Chalk is another amazing online resource. This site is broken down by Classroom, Community and Lesson Plans. One can even sign up for a free eNewsletter too.
A to Z Teacher Stuff is a neat site that has theme-based puzzles, lesson plans and great educational resources to utilize at home or in the classroom.
Education World is one of our favorite online resources. This site offers lessons broken down by discipline and has a wealth of lessons to choose from.
When we share the good in education, we all benefit!
May we continue to see knowledge in all things,
Denise
March is National Reading Month…Here are some Great Books to Review for Classroom Reading
A Collection of Recommended Books for Children Grades 1-3
GRADE 1
Agee, Jon – Milo’s Hat Trick
Bruchac, Joseph – How Chipmunk got his Stripes : A Tale of Bragging and Teasing
Choi, Yangsook – The Name Jar
Eastman, P. D. (Philip D.) – Are you my Mother?
Jenkins, Emily – Five Creatures
Johnson, Crockett – Harold and the Purple Crayon
Kellogg, Steven – A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton
Kimmel, Eric A – Anansi and the Magic Stick
LeSieg, Theo. – Ten Apples up on Top!
Long, Melinda – When Papa Snores
Look, Lenore – Henry’s First-Moon Birthday
Mayer, Mercer – There’s an Alligator Under my Bed (both my son and daughter loved this one 🙂
McCloskey, Robert – Make way for Ducklings
Middleton, Charlotte – Tabitha’s Terrifically Tough Tooth
Pattou, Edith – Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden
Piper, Watty – The Little Engine that Could
Rey, Margret – The Complete Adventures of Curious George
Rylant, Cynthia – The Great Gracie Chase : Stop that Dog!
Shaw, Nancy (Nancy E.) – Sheep in a Jeep
Showers, Paul – The Listening Walk
Smith, Charles R., Jr – Loki & Alex : The Adventures of a Dog and his Best Friend
Stevens, Janet – And the dish Ran Away with the Spoon
Stewart, Sarah – The Journey
Suen, Anastasia – Hamster Chase
Watt, Melanie – Leon the Chameleon
Wick, Walter – Walter Wick’s Optical Tricks
Winthrop, Elizabeth – Dumpy La Rue
Wood, Audrey – The Napping House
Wood, Audrey – Quick as a Cricket
Recommended authors for Grade 1
Eric Carl ; P. D. Eastman; Dr. Seuss; Kevin Henkes; Laura Joffe Numeroff; Rosemary Wells
Recommended Series for Grade 1
Capucilli, Alyssa Satin – Biscuit
Gantos, Jack – Rotten Ralph
Lobel, Arnold – Frog and Toad All Year
Minarik, Else Holmelund – Little Bear. Pictures by Maurice Sendak (A family favorite!)
Rey, H. A. (Hans Augusto) – Curious George
Rylant, Cynthia – Henry and Mudge
GRADE 2
Allard, Harry – Miss Nelson is Back
Allard, Harry – Miss Nelson is Missing!
Arnold, Tedd – No More Water in the Tub!
Arnold, Tedd – The Signmaker’s Assistant
Bercaw, Edna Coe – Halmoni’s Day
Brown, Jeff – Flat Stanley
Cannon, Janell – Stellaluna
Creech, Sharon – Fishing in the Air
Ehlert, Lois – Waiting for Wings
Finchler, Judy – Miss Malarkey Doesn’t Live in Room 10
Guarino, Deborah – Is Your Mama a llama?
Hale, Bruce – The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse
Kvasnosky, Laura McGee – Zelda and Ivy
Leedy, Loreen – Mapping Penny’s World
Lester, Helen – Tacky the Penguin
Markle, Sandra – Outside and Inside Dinosaurs
Palatini, Margie – The Web Files
Prelutsky, Jack – It’s Raining Pigs & Noodles : Poems
Seeger, Pete – Abiyoyo
Silverstein, Shel – The Giving Tree
Simont, Marc – The Stray Dog : From a True Story by Reiko Sassa
Wood, Audrey – King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub
Recommended series for Grade 2
Barrows, Annie – Ivy + Bean
Danziger, Paula – Amber Brown is not a Crayon
Gantos, Jack – Rotten Ralph
Hoban, Russell – Bedtime for Frances
Lobel, Arnold – Frog and Toad are Friends
McDonald, Megan – Judy Moody ( A funny series! 🙂 )
Meadows, Daisy – The Rainbow Magic Collection. Volume 1 , Books 1-4
Meddaugh, Susan – Martha Speaks
Minarik, Else Holmelund – Little Bear. Pictures by Maurice Sendak
Osborne, Mary Pope – Dinosaurs Before Dark
Parish, Peggy – Amelia Bedelia
Park, Barbara – Junie B. Jones and the stupid Smelly Bus
Preller, James – The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster
Rylant, Cynthia – Henry and Mudge
Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman – Nate the Great
Zion, Gene – Harry, the Dirty Dog
Grade 3
Allard, Harry – Miss Nelson is Missing!
Artell, Mike – Petite Rouge : a Cajun Red Riding Hood
Barrett, Judi – Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Blume, Judy – Freckle Juice
Cameron, Ann – The Stories Julian Tells
Cherry, Lynne – The Great Kapok Tree : A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest
Cole, Joanna – Bony-legs
Dahl, Roald – Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ernst, Lisa Campbell – Little Red Riding Hood : A Newfangled Prairie Tale
Etra, Jonathan – Aliens for Breakfast
Ferris, Jeri – Go Free or Die : A Story about Harriet Tubman
Ferris, Jeri – What are you Figuring Now?
Ferris, Jeri – Walking the Road to Freedom : A Story about Sojourner Truth
Fleming, Denise – Where Once there was a Wood
Frasier, Debra – Miss Alaineus : A Vocabulary Disaster
George, Jean Craighead – Look to the North : A Wolf Pup Diary
Giff, Patricia Reilly – Oh Boy, Boston!
Hopkins, Lee Bennett – Sports! Sports! Sports! : A Poetry Collection
Kline, Suzy – Horrible Harry and the Dungeon
Krull, Kathleen – Wilma Unlimited : How Wilma Rudolph became the World’s Fastest Woman
MacLachlan, Patricia – Sarah, Plain and Tall
McGill, Alice – Molly Bannaky
Polacco, Patricia – The Keeping Quilt
Polacco, Patricia – The Bee Tree
Robinson, Barbara – The Best School Year Ever
Rockwell, Thomas – How to Eat Fried Worms
Rodowsky, Colby F – Not my Dog
Seattle, Chief – Brother Eagle, Sister Sky : A Message from Chief Seattle
White, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks) – Charlotte’s wWb
Yolen, Jane – Letting Swift River Go
Recommended series for Grade 3
Adler, David A – Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds
Dadey, Debbie – Monsters don’t Scuba Dive
Danziger, Paula – Amber Brown is not a Crayon
Landon, Lucinda – Meg Mackintosh and the Case of the Missing Babe Ruth Baseball : A Solve-it-Yourself Mystery
Osborne, Mary Pope – Dinosaurs before Dark
Peterson, John Lawrence – The Littles
Preller, James – The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster
Roy, Ron – The Absent Author
Sachar, Louis – Marvin Redpost : Kidnapped at Birth?
Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman – Nate the Great
Sobol, Donald J. – Encyclopedia Brown- Boy Detective
Warner, Gertrude Chandler – The Boxcar Children
Recommended authors for Grade 3
Matt Christopher, Beverly Cleary, Barbara Cooney, Robert McCloskey, Patricia McKissack, Allen Say, Jon Scieszka, William Steig, and Chris Van Allsburg.
GRADE 4
Barasch, Lynne – Radio Rescue
Blume, Judy – Fudge-a-Mania
Coville, Bruce – My Teacher is an Alien
Dahl, Roald – James and the Giant Peach
Erickson, John R. – The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog
Howe, Deborah – Bunnicula : A Rabbit Tale of Mystery
Lowry, Lois – Anastasia Krupnik
MacLachlan, Patricia – Caleb’s Story
O’Brien, Patrick – The Hindenburg
O’Brien, Robert C – Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Richler, Mordecai – Jacob Two-Two meets the Hooded Fang
Sachar, Louis – Sideways Stories from Wayside School
St. George, Judith – So you want to be President?
Tang, Greg – The Grapes of Math : Mind Stretching Math Riddles
Thayer, Ernest Lawrence – Casey at the Bat
Recommended Series for Grade 4
Abbott, Tony – The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet
Gutman, Dan – Jim & Me : A Baseball Card Adventure
Gutman, Dan – My Weird School Daze!
Osborne, Mary Pope – Dinosaurs before Dark
Scieszka, Jon – Knights of the Kitchen Table
Snicket, Lemony – The Bad Beginning
Wilder, Laura Ingalls – Little House on the Prairie
Grade 5
■Avi – Never Mind! : A Twin Novel
Berlin, Eric – The Puzzling World of Winston Breen
Birdsall, Jeanne – The Penderwicks : A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
Bosch, Pseudonymous – The Name of this Book is Secret
Broach, Elise – Masterpiece
Clements, Andrew – No Talking
Codell, Esme Raji – Vive la Paris
Davies, Nicola – Extreme Animals : The Toughest Creatures on Earth
Erdrich, Louise – The Birchbark House
Fleischman, Sid – Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini
Going, K. L. (Kelly L.) – The Liberation of Gabriel King
Gutman, Dan – The Kid who ran for President
Haven, Paul – Two Hot Dogs with Everything
Ibbotson, Eva – The Haunting of Granite Falls
Janeczko, Paul B – A Kick in the Head: an Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms
Juster, Norton – The Phantom Tollbooth
Lange, Karen E – 1607 : A New Look at Jamestown
Lowry, Lois – The Willoughbys
Mercado, Nancy E. – Tripping over the Lunch Lady : and other school stories
Park, Linda Sue – Project Mulberry : A Novel
Yue, Guo – Little Leap Forward : A Boy in Beijing
Educational Webinars from an Administrator Tool Kit to STEM Focused Schools
Educational Webinars
Great resources for teachers…
Administrator Tool Kit~As an administrator, you no doubt wear many hats and do many jobs. Given this, having the right tool for the right job is critical – not only can it make your job easier, but the right tool can help you accomplish tasks faster and often better. Join Steven Anderson @web20classroom as he shares his favorite, must-have Web tools for administrators.
http://simplek12.com/tlc/on-demand/administrator-communication-tools/
Cooking with Bill Nye~Watch Bill Nye boil water. Really. In the process, you may learn something about energy conservation that comes in handy next time you make pasta.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7761/preview/
Hurricanes~Video, Teacher Guide and so much more. This is a great tool!
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/506/preview/
A New Wave of STEM Focused Schools ~Register for this FREE webinar today!
A Fresh Look at Teaching the Diary of Anne Frank~ This webinar includes a complimentary teacher’s guide created with the Holocaust Education Organization Facing History & Ourselves and special Resources for Youth. We highly recommend this one! www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar/archive.html
Helping Kids Understand Viruses and Vaccinations with Sid the Science Kid ~This free webinar provides information and strategies for helping students understand viruses and vaccinations. The website also offers a complimentary resource package. www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar/archive.html
Exploring the Faces of America by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar/archive.html
Media Literacy: 21st Century Skills All Students Need ~Frank Baker
www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/frank-baker-webinar.aspx
How to Promote a Learning-Receptive Emotional State ~Judy Willis
www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/judy-willis-brain-and-learning-webinar.aspx
Getting to “Got It!” ~Betty Garner
www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/betty-garner-webinar.aspx
Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom ~ Carol Tomlinson and Marcia Imbeau
www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/tomlinson-imbeau-webinar.aspx
Motivating Students to Achieve Their Highest Potential ~Judy Willis
www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/judy-willis-brain-and-learning-webinar.aspx
School Administrators: Leading with Verizon Thinkfinity
http://www.community.thinkfinity.org
Think Quest Free Educational Webinars : check out Denise Hobb’s “Innovative Learning”
www.webinarreviews.org/thinkquest-free-educational-webinar/
Education Week (one of my personal favorites) offers many enlightening webinars. Check out “E-educators’ Evolving Skills”…talk about relevant!
www.edweek.org/ew/marketplace/webinars/webinars.html
American Statistical Association offers various webinars…currently hosting a K-12 “Meeting within a Meeting” for Science and Math Teachers
www.amstat.org/education/webinars/
Exploring Middle School MiddleWeb is a blog powered by Typepad. They are a promoter of 21st Century Learning and offer live and archived webinars. Check out the latest webinar: The National Middle School Association is teaming up with the NSF-funded Middle School Portal to offer “Free math and Science Webinars”…the goal was to not only make the training affordable but user-friendly; teachers could watch from home.
http://tln.typepad.com/middleweb/2009/05/free-math-science-webinars-for-teacher.html
OneNote and Education: This MSDN blog was created to have a dialog about OneNote and education, including sharing ideas, resources, and building community with teachers, students and faculty.
These favorite webinars are pulled from the following sites. We recommend these sites as great educational tools and resources:
- PBS Teachers
- ASCD
- Verizon’s Thinkfinity Website
If you have a great webinar to recommend or a site that is indeed a teacher resource, please share it here and we will check it out and give it a “shout”!
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
Great Writing Website Resources for Writers Young and Old for 2012
Happy New Year! 2012 is sure to be a fabulous year chuck full of amazing new discoveries. If you are thinking of writing, like to write or have a child or classroom of students who like to write, here are some sites we recommend that provide advice on writing, pay for writing and stand as a good educational resource for writers young and old.
- Jane Friedmanfor ALL things writing (great tips and suggestions)
- “Promptly” Writer’s Digest Weekly Writing Prompt Contests
- Visit www.writersdigest.com …explore and great ideas
- TEEN INK~ www.teenink.com
- WeBook~ A resource for young writers~ http://www.webook.com
- KidPub~ A site written for kids by kids ~www.kidpub.com
- eBooks~ A site to publish and purchase eBooks ~www.ebooks.com
- Stone Soup~ A kid and teen site…written for kids by kids~ www.stonesoup.com
- A comparison on the various eBook formats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats
- Suite 101~ An online magazine ~www.suite101.com
If you have a site that you like or follow an agent who is super fabulous and blogs about writing, please share. It is in this collaboration and sharing of knowledge that we all grow and learn.
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
Math Games to Utilize at Home or in the Classroom…and Math Chimp~a Great Math Resource Aligned to the Common Core
Math Chimp
A wonderful resource for parents and teachers…and fun for children of all ages. This interactive site engages the brain through math games aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Check it out and let us know your thoughts.
Sheppards Software
This is a great site for ages 5-16. It offers everything from basic addition to algebraic problems to solve.
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm
The Math Games
This is a great fraction enhancing website. It offers simple games like matching to help young minds grasp fraction strategies.
This is a F-U-N site! It offers games like “Escape from Fraction Manor” and “Project T.R.I.G” A great mental workout for even my old mind 😉
http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html
Math-Play
This site offers games for elementary and middle school students.
Play Kids Games
This is a great classroom resource too! This site offers classroom to create and upload math games. Sounds like a Best Practice to me…math and fun!
http://www.playkidsgames.com/mathGames.htm
As always, if you find these websites helpful, then we are thrilled. However, if these websites end up being less than expected, please let us know so we can remove them from our recommended lists.
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
Teen Ink…a Wonderful Resource Site for Parents, Students and Teachers
I wanted to share a great resource site to get your child/student excited about writing. This site is a wonderful teen site, where all the articles are written by teenagers. I encourage you to check it out and let us know your thoughts. We need to speak their language (perhaps not agree with it) bu t try to understand it, if we hope to take them to new heights in the classroom. TEENInk~ A wonderful magazine for teens written by teens.
Books, Magazine and Website Designed for Teens
by Teens since 1989
- Teen INK is a site where young writers can write and submit poetry, fiction and non-fiction to be critiqued and reviewed by other teens
- Teen INK pays teens for articles written by teens for teens and host various writing contest throughout the year
- Read current news articles from Around the World, written by teens
- A plethora of writing samples to read, get ideas from and increase your lexicon
May we continue to seek knowledge in all things,
Denise
Making Science Fun with Science Competitions that Promote “Out-of-the-Box” Thinking
It is almost January, and educators and parents start the “Science Fair” discussion with children and students. This year, there are some cool science contests out there and Google Science tops my list.
Regardless if Science was your thing or not, if asked, we all could probably pull forward one science fair memory from the recesses of our minds. Volcano eruptions, eye ball blinks, inertia, plant growth with various musical tunes you name it, science fair time can be an exciting time of discovery or a mad dash to finish a deadline imposed by the ominous science teacher.
The Important Role of the Science Teacher
Given the teacher and they way material is presented, science can be fun! The world of science can open many doors for children. Doors to worlds that can increase awareness of saving our planet, living a healthy life, or even saving a life one day, by creating a cancer-saving cure…imagine. Many children in this country have limitations on travel and are limited to specific environments and economic resources. However, science is that one area where it is “cool” to recycle, utilize imagination and create! Memories of utilizing paper towel and toilet roll holders to demonstrate magnetic pull, keeps bubbling up to remind me that in science, the sky is the limit on creativity and ingenuity.
Science Fair Contests
*Google Science Fair 2012
- Children must be 13-18 years old
- Individual or groups allowed; groups can consist of two or three teams only
- Children “Scientists” must create a Google account and submit a Sign-Up form online
- Once confirmation is given, plan, execute and cite results, remembering to follow directions given and complete all sections outlined on the Google Section Submission Site
- A two minute video or 20 page slide presentation giving an overview of project are required to enter contest…entries are due by April 4th with submission form
This is a great contest that can allow educators to collaborate from various schools to come together with “Science Teams”, churches and or youth groups to utilize science as a way to spark the imagination of our children and enhancing team building while instilling (hopefully) a love of science.
*International Online Science Contest
The International Online Science Contest website has a wealth of resources for teachers and parents. This site offers a variety of science contest that run all year. Students can visit this site to view other science projects and read judging tips to get an overall appreciation for the “Science Fair” process. Parents can visit site to read and download a Parent Guide that provides step-by-step instructions, parent testimonials and defines the roles of parents throughout the “Science Fair” process. This is a one-stop shop for learning all about Science Fairs and a great resource for classroom teachers as well.
Science Buddies website is an all encompassing site that provides its reader with a list of various science competitions. Competitions are broken down by grade levels, format, eligibility and if teams are allowed. This is a great site for young people who might be interested at ages eight or nine in science and can watch some “advanced” science fair project videos on various projects to plant a seed for the future. For schools who do not have a “gifted” or advanced science program, this might be the site for you.
“Out of the Box” Teaching
A school, with a very creative, “out of the box” science teacher, could utilize the contest found here or at any of the mentioned websites, and take students who demonstrate an aptitude for science to the next level. Teachers who are looking to collaborate or parents who want to take more of an active role in this process can find science community blogs as well at http://www.sciencebuddies.org to glean insight and support throughout the Science Fair process or to even supplement or increase the love of science in the life of a child.
Science Fair Project Ideas
Happy creating and for additional science fair project ideas, check out the following sites to ignite the imagination:
- http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/ ~a complete “How To” guide
- http://www.sciencebob.com/sciencefair/ideas.php ~fun for all ages
- http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml ~ideas broken down by topic
- http://scienceclub.org/scifair.html ~from beginner to advanced science project ideas
Imagine if we could ignite the imagination, plant a love of learning for science via writing, creating, utilizing music, labs, nature and utilize all the other multiple intelligences, there is nothing we could not accomplish or overcome.
May we seek knowledge in all things,
Denise

