Vol.2 no.2 
October,
1999
REACH-OUT
Vol.2 no.2 October,
1999
Oh, what a year! : Have you
heard the expression "between a rock and a hard
place"? There are several contexts where this expression
seems to characterize the situation.
Meetings
I have suggested the 8th of October and the 25th of
April as dates for general meetings of all teachers, in the morning for
elementary and in the afternoon for the secondary teachers.
Training And
Professional Development
Training And Professional
Development
I've applied to a MEQ
programme that subsidizes training and professional development for second
language teaching and set up two (2) different sessions of two days, one on strategic teaching and the other on cooperative learning, both to
be given by Jacquelyne Lord who was
president of SPEAQ, who works as a consultant on the MEQ exams and who is a
well-known and appreciated presenter. The workshops were to be given on a
planning day and a class day each. Dates to be determined.
Student Exchanges
Besides SEVEC school year exchanges, there is a government programme for exchanges between Francophone and Anglophone classes within Québec. Transportation and $10 per student for activities is offered. Contact me for more information.
New Teacher's Kit
The New
Teacher's Kit was sent out at the beginning of September with the information
and resources that teachers suggested last year.
Any
additional suggestions are welcome.
$ Teaching ESL courses $
The same government organization that oversees
the perfectionnement collective also offers two other programmes
of interest to teachers. The Programme de bourses individuelles de
perfectionnement offers $70 to ESL teachers taking ESL courses towards
a diploma or certificate as well as $70 for travelling 80km and more. There are
also Stages d’immersion en anglais in Charlottetown and
Halifax during the summer costing $1650 and $1995 respectively with bursaries
of $1500 offered.
Contact me or:
Madame Nathalie Daigle
Direction de la formation et de la titularisation du personnel scolaire
Ministère de l'Éducation
1035, rue De La Chevrotière, 28e étage
Québec (Québec)
G1R 5A5
ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONS
ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONS
A new oral production guide to
complement a new evaluation grid for written production in secondary 4
and 5 introduced last year by the MEQ will be delayed until next year.
However, the MEQ will introduce English
instructions only for the secondary 4 and 5 exams this year. A lexical
guide and practice exams translated from the 1999 exams will be made
available later on in during this year.
Coming
soon:
The 1999 SPEAQ Convention will be held at the Hôtel Sheraton
Laval
28, 29, 30
octobre / October 28, 29, 30
Perspectives
de perfectionnement professionnel
Perspectives of professional development
Internet
address:
http://station05.qc.ca/Partenaires/speaq/
SOCIÉTÉ
POUR LA PROMOTION DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT DE L'ANGLAIS, LANGUE SECONDE, AU QUÉBEC
7400, boul. Saint-Laurent, #530, Montréal, Qc H2R 2Y1
Telephone: (514) 271-3700
Fax (514) 271-4587
Her Idea: Book Report Sandwiches!
Book In
… A Bag, An Envelope, An Oatmeal Box …
Idioms: It's Raining Cats And Dogs
Confusing Words #2 Quiz
Links ___________________________ 19
PPAALS Info_____________________ 36
RESCOL projects $$ ______________ 41
MAKE A BOOK REPORT
SANDWICH!
In a recent posting
to the TeachTalk Mailing List, one teacher shared an idea that incorporates
some of the basic ingredients of a good book report and sandwiches in a lot
more fun!
The teacher
commissioned a friend to draw slices of ham, tomato, and Swiss cheese; lettuce
leaves; a layer of mayonnaise, and a couple of slices of bread. Then she photocopied the drawings onto
appropriately colored sheets of paper (ham on pink, tomato on red, Swiss cheese
on yellow …). The sheets served as the ingredients for her students’ book
report sandwiches.
On the top slice of
bread, each student wrote the title and the author of the book the student had
just finished reading. On the lettuce,
the student wrote a brief summary of the book.
·
Students stapled
together their sandwich layers, then slapped their concoctions up on a bulletin
board headlined “We’re Hungry for Good Books!”
The project made fun
out of what can be a pretty humdrum activity, but even better, the bulletin
board served as a menu for students who were ravenous for a good read. All they
had to do was grab a sandwich to learn whether or not a particular book might
satisfy their appetites!
BOOK IN … A BAG, AN ENVELOPE, AN OATMEAL BOX …
Laura Hayden was
looking for something to liven up book report writing for her students at Derby
(Kansas) Middle School. One day, while exploring postings to the Middle-L list
serve, Hayden found an idea that filled the bill! Hayden challenged her students to be creative with the Book in a
… idea, which she posted to her school’s Web page.
After choosing and
reading a book, each student selected a book report container. The container
could be a plastic bag, a manila envelope, a can, or anything else that might
be appropriate for the book they read. Students decorated their containers to
convey some of the major details, elements, or themes found in the book.
When the containers
had been completed, students went to work on the contents of their containers.
They were instructed to include the following:
Questions. Write ten
questions based on the book. Five of the questions can be about general
content, but the other five must require more thinking.
Vocabulary. Create a
ten-word glossary of unfamiliar words from the book.
Things. Include five
things that have a connection to your story.
The third and final
part of the project was the student presentation. Each student presented a
“Book in a…” project to the class. In the presentations, the student had to
explain the connection of the container to the story, show and tell about the
five things, and then share information about three of the book’s literary
elements—setting, characters, conflicts, climax, or resolution.
If you’ve been
working on other literary elements with your students—foreshadowing,
personification, or flashbacks, for example—you might give extra credit to
students for pointing out those elements in their books.
“I’m amazed at
students’ creativity in choosing a container and the 3-D objects they place
inside,” Hayden told Education World.
Why not challenge
your students’ creativity? Adapt Hayden’s idea to fit your students’ needs and
skills!
Are you worried that
some of the ideas that follow will be too much fun? that there will be too
little emphasis on writing? Take a look!
The ideas appeal to
many different learning styles. Many of
the ideas involve making choices, organizing information— and writing!
Most of the ideas
will provide teachers with a clear idea about whether students actually read
the book.
And all the ideas
will engage students, help make books come alive for them, and challenge them
to think in different ways about the books they read!
Where an idea
doesn’t include enough writing, creative (sneaky!) teachers will usually find a
way to work it in! Or they can just use the ideas to supplement or replace
parts of favorite book report formats.
Descriptive
writing. (Use this activity to
supplement a class lesson in descriptive prose writing.) Have each student read
aloud the best example of descriptive prose found in the book he or she is
currently reading. The student should write a paragraph explaining why the
excerpt is a particularly good example of descriptive prose. The paragraph
might include some of the adjectives the author used to set the scene.
Thumbs up, thumbs
down! Each student writes a
review of the book he or she just finished reading—in the style of movie
reviewers Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. The student concludes by awarding a
thumbs up or thumbs down on the book. This activity could be even more fun if
two students read the same book. They could plan a lively interaction (à la
Siskel and Ebert) about the book, which could be videotaped for all to see!
Character trait diagram. Each student creates
a Venn diagram to illustrate similarities and differences in the traits of two
of the main characters in a book just completed. (Or the student can elect to
create a Venn diagram showing similarities and differences between the book’s
main character and the student!)
Surfing the Net. Where did the story take place? When did it
take place? Each student surfs the Net
to find five Internet sites that others might check out before they read the
book so they will know more about the book’s setting or time period.
Write a letter to
the author. After reading a
book, each student shares reactions to the book in a letter written to its
author. If a student writes to an author who is still alive, you might actually
mail the letter.
Sell it! Each student pretends to be a publicist for
the book that’s just been read. The student writes and then delivers a
60-second persuasive speech that will convince other students that they should
read the book. (Writing and speaking persuasively will be especially difficult
if the student didn’t like the book. If that’s the case, the student can share
that fact after completing the speech.)
Create a card
catalog. After reading a book,
a student completes an index card with information about the book. The front of
the card includes details such as title, author, and date published along with
a two- to three-sentence synopsis of the book. On the back of the card, the
student writes a paragraph critiquing the book. (Students might even rate the
book using a teacher-created five-star rating system; for example, a five-star
book is “highly recommended; a book you can’t put down.”) Completed cards are
kept in a card file near the classroom bookshelf or in the school library.
Interview a
character. Each student
composes six to eight questions to ask a main character in a book just
completed. The student also writes the character’s response to each question.
The questions and answers should provide information that shows the student
read the book without giving away the most significant details.
Ten facts. Each student creates a “Ten Facts About [book
title]” sheet that lists ten facts he or she learned from reading the book. The
facts, written in complete sentences, must include details the student didn’t
know before reading the book.
Script it! Each student writes a movie script for a
favorite scene in a book just read. At the top of the script, the student can
assign real-life TV or movie stars to play each role. The student might also
work with classmates to perform the favorite scene.
Concentration. Each student will need 30 index cards to
create a game of Concentration related to a book just finished. The student
chooses 14 things, characters, or events that played a part in the book and
creates two cards that have identical pictures of each of those things. The two
remaining cards are marked Wild Card! Then the student turns all 30 cards facedown
and mixes them up. Each student can choose a partner with whom to play
according to the rules of Concentration.
What did you
learn? Each student writes a
summary of what he or she learned from a book just completed. The summary might
include factual information, something learned about people in general, or
something the student learned about himself or herself.
Glossary and word
search. Each student creates a
glossary of ten or more words that are specific to a book’s tone, setting, or
characters. The student defines each word and writes a sentence from the book
that includes that word. Then the student creates a word search puzzle that
includes the glossary words. Students can exchange their glossaries and word
searches with others in the class.
In the news! Each student creates the front page of a
newspaper that tells about events and characters in a book just read. The
newspaper page might include weather reports, an editorial or editorial
cartoon, ads. … The title of the newspaper should be something appropriate to
the book.
Create a comic
book. Each student can turn a
book, or part of it, into a comic book, complete with comic-style illustrations
and dialogue bubbles.
Characters come
to life! Each student creates
life-size “portraits” of one of the characters from a book just read. The
portrait should include a written piece that tells about the character. The
piece might also include information about events, traits, or conflicts in the
book that involve that character. Hang the students’ portraits in a class
gallery.
Prove it in five
minutes! Each student gives a
150-second (2½ minute) oral presentation in which he or she shares information
about a book’s plot and characters. The student closes the presentation by
offering an opinion and recommendation about the book. Then students in the
audience have 150 seconds to question the presenter about the book. If the
presenter is able to prove in five minutes that he or she read the book, the
student is excused from filing a written report about it.
Picture book
authors. After reading a book,
each student creates a picture book version of the story that would appeal to
younger students. The students can then share the picture books with a group of
young students.
Resume writing. As a tie-in to your career education program,
challenge each student to create a resume for a book character. The student
should include in the resume a statement of the applicant’s goals and a
detailed account of his or her experience and outside interests.
Character trait chart. Each student creates a chart with three
columns. Each column is headed with the name of one of the book’s characters.
As the student reads the book, he or she can keep a record of the traits each
character possesses and include an incident that supports each trait.
Theme report. Challenge each student to select a concept or
a thing from the book just finished and to use library or Internet resources to
explore it further. The student then
writes a two-page report that shares information about the topic.
Setting. To learn more about the setting of a book,
each student writes a one-page report explaining how that setting was important
to the story.
“Dear diary.” Invite each student to create a diary or a
journal and to write in it at least five entries that might have been written
by a character in a book just read. The entries should share details about the
story that will prove the student read the book.
Halloween
http://www.billybear4kids.com/games/games.htm
Halloween
Card Collection
http://blackdog.net/postcards/cardrack13.html
Halloween Monster & Fairy List
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1502/ftoc.html#top
Other sites:
BOO! from Bonus.com Super!
Online Quizzes, etc.
Ben and Jerry's Halloween Page 
Happy Halloween at Bry-Back Manor
The Why Files -- things that go bump in the
night...
MidLink's Halloween Haunted House
Links to Internet
resources
14 ACTIVITIES FOR THE FIRST DAY OF
SCHOOL:
1ST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR
GRADES 7 - 12:
LITTLE EXPLORERS PICTURE DICTIONARY:
KINDERART LITTLES LESSONS & ACTIVITIES:
FunBrain http://www.funbrain.com
EFL/ESL Teachers’ Room: Handouts,
Activities, Workshops
Outta Ray’s Head Literature Lessons
Computer-Enhanced Language Learning
(CELL) (theory)
SPELLING & VOCABULARY LESSONS:
The
Franklin Institute Spotlight topics for projects
GRAMMAR WORKSHEETS & EXERCISES:
TEST JUNKIE: Older Student Site:
Intermediate interactive projects
The Linguist List of ESL/EFL
resources
TEACHERS’ NET READING & WRITING
LESSONS:
Sec 4 Tut module: Internet resources example
ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN CULTURE EXHIBIT:
MARK MILLMORE’S ANCIENT EGYPT:
CREATE A SARCOPHAGUS & MUMMY
LESSONS:
GAMES, GAMES, &
GAMES.........EGYPTIAN STYLE!
SEND A CYBER EGYPTIAN POSTCARD:
ARCHITECTURE OF ANCIENT EGYPT:
ANCIENT
EGYPT: IMAGES & HISTORY:
Homework Center at Infoplease.com!
Guide to grammar and writing (ESL-LA
with quizzes)
Specialized Search Engines and
Directories
MERRIAM -WEBSTER WORD OF THE DAY:
A NEW TEACHER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE:
INNOVATIVE CLASSROOM’S CLASS
MANAGEMENT:
11 TECHNIQUES FOR BETTER
CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE:
EFFECTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES:
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH
PARENTS:
GUIDELINES FOR PARENT/TEACHER
CONFERENCES:
COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY WITH
PARENTS:
FIRST YEAR TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
SUGGESTIONS:
École secondaire La Ruche
http://abacom.com/~lapointj/LaRuche/laruche.htm
École secondaire du Transit
http://www.callisto.si.usherb.ca/~dbergero/Repertoire/index.html
École secondaire du Tournesol
http://www.rescol.ca/ecoles/f/Tournesol/
Yours …
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson074.shtml
We’ll explore 1st
day activities again later in August, but meanwhile, to address a reader’s
request, here are some great activities to break the ice! These ideas were sent in from teachers
around the world.
http://educ.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/first.html
Learning about each
other and breaking the ice—this activity addresses this topic in a creative
manner, for middle and high school students and classes.
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/Getting_started.html
Getting your class
or course off to a rip-roaring start the first week, motivating and challenging
your students to learn all year long—or scattering, confusing, noisy chaos—not
a hard choice! This paper from NCU examines critical issues we deal with in the
first week of classes, and how we might treat them to keep our classes focused
and enthusiastic throughout the year.
http://uga.berkeley.edu/sled/bgd/firstday.html
The items covered in
this article start with a firm grip on common-sense and take on a strong
organizational attitude, with good advice to keep you on-track and in control.
http://scholastic.com/MagicSchoolBus/
Visit the activity
lab to find activities for teachers, coloring books, and games.
Activity time, play and
learn, puzzles, etc.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Dictionary.html
This is a great site to
get young children interested in and adept
at using the internet
for educational activities. Most entries
are connected to
relevant web-sites. You can click on a word
or a picture.
http://www.kinderart.com/littles.htm
Lots of activities and
material can be found here. E.g. a
paper
quilt, silly shapes,
homemade clay, spaghetti art, ice cube painting... a
very extensive list and
resource.
http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/animals/animals.html
How do different
languages of the world say different animal
sounds? For instance, a
“meow” in English is a “nyaa” in Japanese!
Have great fun exploring
languages and animals at this site
that kids are sure to
love!
This time, click on
games and activities for kids. Here you will find challenging, but very fun,
games for kids, arranged by subject 1st, then level of
difficulty. The games are all free,
over 30 in all, in 8 different subject areas. Try out Grammar Gorillas, with 2
levels, to identify parts of a sentence. Or Math Baseball, with 4 levels of
difficulty, and a special algebra challenge. Hits and runs are scored based on
answers and level. Learn how to read
music (4 levels) with The Piano Player, or take a geography turn, test your
knowledge of nations and capitals, with Where Is That? Many more games, all
educational and appropriate, comparable to software that costs much more than
this free site.
http://www.pbs.org/rogers/R_house/
Fun facts, traffic
light game, interactive tour of the house.
(e.g. click on the fridge in the kitchen and you’ll find a recipe and
instructions to make a milkshake.)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/arthur/
Visit all the
characters online, send Arthur postcards, visit D.W.’s art studio, or the
Brain’s Brain Game! You’ll also find a
teacher’s corner and a teacher’s guide.
http://www.skinnamarink.com/index2.html
Visit with Sharon,
Lois, and Bram; go to their music room, story board, or spotlight feature!
Activities with
Blues Clues, Franklin, Little Bear, Kipper, Maisy, and on Gullah Gullah Island!
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/storytime/
Visit Kino, find Book
Lists, coloring pages, and matching games.
Check out the animal
helper, the mystery animal, and the coloring pages!
http://members.aol.com/Lingoteach/index2.html
http://www.englishclub.net/teachers/index.htm
http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/sefer.cgi?Games
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ray.saitz/litera1.htm
http://www.schoolnet.ca/aboriginal/lessons/index-e.html
22 detailed lessons
on internet use that you can use directly in your classroom. They can be adapted and applied to almost
any grade level. Start here with internet history, go through terminology,
email, home pages, transferring files, Archie, collaborative learning, and more.
http://www.englishclub.net/teachers/index.htm
This site provides
classroom activities, lesson plans submitted by teachers, classroom handouts,
and a teacher’s workshop.
http://polyglot.cal.msu.edu/llt/vol3num1/hoven/index.html
has been helping
people navigate the Net, finding useful resources and creative ways to enhance
the learning experience
http://www.learnersonline.com/supersites/weekly.html
Lessons
http://www.learnersonline.com/nie/archive.html
Online English Materials For
Teachers & Students
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/zaire/131/onlinematerials.htm#1
http://webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar.htm
Professor Charles
Darling from Capital Community Tech College (CT) has provided an excellent and
comprehensive guide to English grammar, sentence construction, spelling and
composition. Also find categories for
Forms of Communication (e.g. business letter, resumes, research papers); Ask
Grammar (If you’re puzzled about or stuck on a particular grammar problem, you
may submit a question; do check the FAQ file first.) and Online Interactive
Quizzes. This site is quite extensive
and provides a wonderful resource for teachers, parents and students alike.
http://www.knownet.net/users/Ackley/spell_plans.html
Teachers can find
numerous lessons here in both spelling and vocabulary; all grade levels. This site also contains many of its lessons
in fun game formats. From Teacher’s Desk.
http://www.cis.ysu.edu/~duda/newweb.htm
A compilation of spelling rules to improve students’ spelling.
http://sln.fi.edu/qa96/spotindex.html
http://www.englishclub.net/teachers/index.htm
Another great
resource, with loads of classroom activities, lesson plans, handouts,
workshops—and a job board!
http://www.nald.ca/province/nb/tesl/guide.htm
A resource guide of
teaching methods for ESL instructors, from New Brunswick, Canada, Dept. of
Education. Tips for approaches to
teaching; teaching and learning methods; etc. Much useful info. here, with
appendices for activities at all levels.
http://www.babylon.com/eng/download/download.html
A one word
translator, called Babylon, to translate Dutch, French, German, Hebrew,
Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Portugese into English. Downloads free to
Windows ‘95or ‘98.
http://www.rice.edu/projects/topics/Electronic/Magazine.html
“Topics” is an
online interactive ESL magazine for both students and teachers. Teacher’s
Corner has techniques, projects, & ideas.
http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/sefer.cgi?For:the:Teacher:
23 categories with
well over 400 activities and suggestions in this teacher exchange. Some valuable
tips available for all teachers, not just ESL; such as Discipline, Ice
Breakers;
Listening &
Comprehension, etc.
http://www.EnglishListening.com/
Uses real audio to
provide a listening lab for ESL students; all levels of difficulty and skill.
http://www.otan.dni.us/cgi-bin/webdir.pl?dir=%2FFor%20Teachers%2F%2FLesson%20Plans%FESL
http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/questions/
Over 25 topics
listed, each having lists of good questions to stimulate conversation.
http://www.eslpartyland.com/teach3.htm
Exercises in all aspects
of English grammar.
http://www.c3.hu/~ecsomay/nora/projects.htm
Using newspapers,
cryptic puzzles, & Star Wars to teach English.
http://www.awl-elt.com/dictionaries/tlplan.htlm
Grammar, pronunciation, etc. Lesson plans by & for teachers.
http://www.nald.ca/province/nb/tesl/guide6.htm
Activities to stimulate
ESL learning.
http://www.englishtown.com/English/learningfair/gamehall.asp
Games to improve
vocabulary and reading skills, with different levels of ability.
http://www.owl.english.purdue.edu/
From Purdue
University, a comprehensive list of writing problems and topics, in over 130
instructional “handouts”. Each can be used as a lesson on its own, or as a
solid resource/reference. Included are General Writing Concerns, Sentence
Construction, Spelling, Parts of Speech, Research Papers, etc. Their
Invention/Planning handouts include: Planning, Developing an Outline, Starting
To Write, etc.
http://www.queendom.com/test_frm.html
Many of these
tests/quizzes are pure fun; though some are serious-minded. All, however, will test your skills in
English.
http://fln-con.yazigi.com.br/makeyourpoint.htm
http://www.members.tripod.com/robel_2/index.htm
http://www.sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de/linguist/esl.html
http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/schools/olp/gdread/98-99/olp.htm
from Our Lady of
Peace School, Laval, Quebec, Canada. These were created from the My Favorite
Author WebQuest.
http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/schools/olp/webquest/authorwq.htm
a searchable
database of about 1000 outstanding
Internet learning sites categorized by subject area, audience, and type
(lessons, activities, projects,
resources, references, & tools).
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/index.html#table
http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/er/
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/
PBS ONLINE’s
neighborhood correlates its classroom activities to 46 sets of national and
state curriculum standards, using its search engine: MediaSeek®. To locate a specific resource among an
inventory of more than 1,200 lesson plans, teachers identify a grade level and
topic and are presented with a
suggested list of relevant lesson plans and activities, many of which are
designed for use with educator-preferred classroom television programs from
PBS.
http://www.teachers.net/cgi-bin/lessons/sort.cgi?searchterm=Reading
From Teachers’ Net,
you will find a wide variety of reading/ writing lessons, all submitted by
teachers. For emergent readers, try
Kindergarten Phonics, Sight Word Soup, Rewriting Fairy Tales, or the True Story
of the Three Little Pigs. I’ve
mentioned only elementary sites specific to our requests; it is important to
note however, that this site incorporates all levels of wonderful and creative
lessons across grades. Each lesson will
list the appropriate level it addresses.
http://www.magickeys.com/books/
What better place to
travel to today, than online stories for children? There are many places for
them to visit in these wonderful illustrated stories!
If your favorite
occupation on a Sunday morn is completing the NY Times crossword puzzle, then
this may be a site for you! However,
you don’t have to be a puzzle whiz to make use of this site. It is geared to different levels of
difficulty (upper elementary, middle, high school, and college). It can help
both students and teachers, and can also aid in SAT or ACT test prep.
This site is a
madlibs story format. Practice
adjectives, nouns, etc., or don’t pretend you’re learning anything at all and
just have fun making the weirdest stories you can possibly think of and see
what’s returned to you!
http://www.gamekids.com/games1.html
Alphabet Letters,
Lion & Mouse Tag, Bed Sheet Ping Pong—organize your teams and get playing!
http://www.infostuff.com/kids/paper.htm
Instructions on how
to make some pretty cool stuff—paper!
http://judyanddavid.com/cma.html
This site provides a
children’s songbook, archived alphabetically.
Lyrics and activities are included.
http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/egypt/index.html
From the Carnegie
Museum of Natural History, a guided tour of daily life in Ancient Egypt. Topics include: Natural World; Daily Life;
gods and religion, etc.
http://emuseum.mankato.msus.edu/prehistory/egypt/index.shtml
Map of Ancient
Egypt; Tutoring in Hieroglyphics; Calendar System; Geography & Agriculture
of the Nile River; Pottery; Pyramids; the Sphinx; Military, and more. Also connect to extensive exhibits and
instruction on history and religion of Ancient Egypt. A very good resource for middle school studies in Ancient Egypt.
http://eyelid.ukonline.co.uk/ancient/egypt.htm
Another excellent
resource on Ancient Egypt, for pyramids, temples, hieroglyphs, kings and
queens, etc. Bonus of a screensaver,
and look for games from this site under today’s Kids’ Korner.
http://users.massed.net/~mdurant/AncientEgyptWebquest.htm
For upper elementary
and middle school students, a quest with 6 missions, created by teacher Matthew
Durant. Learn about mummies, King Tut, hieroglyphics,
more.
http://www.dhc.net/~artgeek/sarco.html
Objectives,
procedures, evaluation all provided.
Create both a sarcophagus and a mummy.....kids will think this is way
too cool to be school!
http://www.cmi.k12.il.us/Urbana/projects/AncientCiv/egyptdraw/egyptdraw.html
How to draw
portraits, Egyptian style!
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/3499/TUTSHOME.HTM
Click on “Start”,
wait for the images to download, and visit the various rooms and chambers of
King Tut’s tomb.
http://eyelid.ukonline.co.uk/ancient/games.htm
The Ancient Egyptian
game of Senet is here. There are games
available for both PCs and Macs—all are free (either shareware, freeware, or
demos). Other games at this site
include: Sand Warriors, Powerslave; Kalaha; Giza; Kinga; Jackals & Hounds,
and more. There is much here to keep
you amused Egyptian style, so get that classwork done and get playing!
http://guardians.net/egypt/postcards/cardcenter.html
http://powerup.com.au/~ancient/index.html
Take a tour of
Egypt, cruise the Nile River, visit Luxor Museum, even see Egypt from space!
http://www.civilization.ca/membrs/civiliz/egypt/egca01e.html
Most people are
fascinated with the pyramids, tombs, and temples of Ancient Egypt. This site takes you through various areas,
such as Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings; as on a guides tour, complete with
text and links. From the Royal Canadian
Museum.
http:/www.emory.edu/CARLOS/ODYSSEY/EGYPT/egyptmyth-l&d.html
Fun and educational.
Quiz and audio excerpts on various Egyptian artifacts and topics, as in the
Amulet Matching Game, the Papyrus Puzzles Game, or Find the Pharoah’s Fragment
Game. Each category has accompanying articles: People, Mythology, Daily Life,
Death & Burial, Writing, and Archaeology.
Under Teachers link, find various activities, such as writing a
hieroglypic letter to a friend.
>From Emory University.
You have numerous
Egypt resources at hand here. You may
want to start off with a color tour of Egypt, from the U. of Memphis. Or how
about a visit to the U. of Chicago’s Oriental Museum, to view some of its
30,000 Egyptian artifacts! This site
provides a virtual treasure box of links for any teacher or class planning to
study Ancient Egypt.
http://www.infoplease.com/homework/index.html
http://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/original.htm
This website offers
a Student Dictionary, a Daily Buzzword, plus games like Build-Your-Own-Dictionary,
Science Lab, and Computer Lab.
http://www.historychannel.com/classroom/index.html
The Classroom
section of the History Channel website offers study guides, a classroom
calendar, ideas from other teachers, and several exhibits.
http://www.powa.org/thesfrms.htm
Lesson sheets here on
how to write exploratory style,
argumentative, or informal
essays. Also revising and
editing, orgainizing,
documenting, etc.
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/toppicks.html
http://ajr.newslink.org/mag.html
http://ajr.newslink.org/nonusnque.html
http://ajr.newslink.org/neti.html
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/books.html
http://ajr.newslink.org/neti.html
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl
For those who are
trying to improve or increase their vocabulary, you might like to try this
site. Each day delivers a different
word, with pronunciation, definition and example sentences. You can subscribe to this service and
receive a word a day by email. (Subscription requires your name and email
address.) You can also connect to WWWebster
Thesaurus or online Dictionary at this site.
http://www.teachnet.com/how-to/manage/index.html
From student reading
assessment, to popcorn rewards; from high school make-up exam policies to
animals at school; indoor recess activities, line-ups... there are many useful
ideas here to consider using in your own classroom!
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/tips/cmanagement.html
Here are some more
tried and tested tips from experienced teachers and the A to Z Teacher’s
site. I liked the ideas for getting
students to complete their homework, as well as the activities for beginning
the day. Lesson plans from and for teachers are also available.
http://www.wcsu.ctstateu.edu/~ZABBIA001/homepage.html
Activities and
suggestions are packed into this survival guide, all tested by teacher Mrs. Zabbia. They are generally geared to early
elementary classrooms and teachers, but many of these tips are worthwhile for
and adaptable to older students as well. Her section on strategies for
substitute teachers applies across the board.
http://www.innovativeclassroom.com/
This site is so neatly
organized that you just know the organization tips are going to be good!
Bellwork of the day starts the list, with, as the name suggests, a different
activity each day to start students off at bell time. Organization tips include Headphone Central, Dear Time and
Centers Made Simple. Center Focus is
next, with ideas that include Sequences, Puppets, Spin-and-Spell, etc. Lastly, a printable certificate rewards good
student work!
http://www.nea.org/helpfrom/growing/works4me/organize/orglearn.html
You are thrown into
the classsroom with all good intentions, but the immediate experience might be
a bit daunting! To help you out even before you set foot in the classroom, read
some of the numerous organizational tips offered here. Experienced teachers
offer ideas for lesson plans, grading, student organization, class
participation, rewards, keeping students busy...guaranteed to be useful and to
help keep your class running smoothly!
http://www.nea.org/helpfrom/growing/works4me/manage/behavior.html
Order, respect and
trust in the classroom are the key issues addressed here, and indeed, provide a
good place to start. From noise control to safety issues to transforming
behavior, these suggestions are worth investigation before you run into the
problems!
http://users.aol.com/churchward/hls/techniques.html
These eleven
techniques offer top-notch advice and methods. Be sure to take a look!
http://www.iloveteaching.com/discipline/index.htm
Advice and links to
help you establish your own approach and practices.
ASSESSMENT TRAINING
AND ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS:
http://www.nwrel.org/eval/toolkit98/
Northwest Regional
Educational Library has put together a toolkit to aid teachers in assessing
student learning. It’s a very ambitious
and comprehensive project... NWREL
takes assessment and evaluation seriously, determining its role in the
ever-changing panorama that educators face today. The training activities are therefore extensive, detailed, and
excellent, and if you find time to explore even a few of the options offered
here you will find you’ve discovered a little treasure chest!
http://uga.berkeley.edu/sled/bgd/quizzes.html
Constructing exams
to match your objectives and to test accumulated skills and content; all again
to measure learning outcome—doesn’t that sound like you’ve constructed the
perfect exam?! Well it is possible, and this site offers down-to-earth
strategies to help you achieve worthwhile measurement by testing.
http://uga.berkeley.edu/sled/bgd/grading.html
From Tools for Teaching
and Barbara Davis at UC Berkeley—what are your grading practices? Do your students know what to expect from
your grading policies? How do you stand on late work, make-up
opportunities, alternative assignments?
This excellent article addresses all these issues and more, while
offering superb advice on grading and evaluation.
http://129.7.160.115/COURSE/INST_5931A/Rubric.html#Lesson
There are sample
assessment rubrics you can apply here for course assessment, class
participation, research papers, group presentation, instructional units and
lesson plans.
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/drugfree/sa3effec.htm
Strategies suggested
are from the North West Regional Educational Lab, and the Western Center for
Drug-Free Schools. They propose success
with role-playing, Socratic instruction, and small-group work. Explanations of each are here.
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/LS-Prism.htm
We all know by now
that our students have different styles of learning. How do you manage to address all learners in a qualitative
manner? Richard Felder at NCU offers a well-written article on this subject,
which, while addressing a college-level audience, is still applicable and
immensely useful to all teachers.
http://batch1.csd.uwm.edu/Dept/MIC/effcomm.html
Many educators share
the opinion that establishing a good rapport with parents is essential to good
student learning. From such a standpoint, this brief article addresses teachers
as communicators, giving basic and solid tips for good communication skills.
http://henson.austin.apple.com/staffdev/inservice/conferences.shtml
Do you enjoy
parent-teacher conferences, or groan at the thought? A bit of both? Apple
Learning Interchange provides some successful strategies and tips to make
conferences valuable for all concerned.
http://henson.austin.apple.com/staffdev/inservice/communicating.shtml
This site, again
from Apple Learning, largely addresses how to effectively deal with problems at
school, while also tackling issues which confront all teacher/parent relations,
problem or no—such as keeping parents informed, and how to best do that. Some basic strategies are interpreted, which
are helpful to implement at the onset—and not just if and when they arise with
behavioral problems!
http://people.clarityconnect.com/webpages/terri/othersuggestions.html
A list of about 10
tips from the National Educational Association (NEA) to keep you looking and
acting professional in your new job!
Subject: Language
Arts
Brief
Description:
This lesson plan
teaches idioms (figurative language) in a creative, fun way.
Objectives:
The learner will
identify an idiom as groups of words with special meaning that make reading
interesting as it paints a picture for the reader.
Key Concepts:
The learner will be
able to identify figurative language in reading and as it applies to their own
personal writing.
Materials Needed:
Paper, magic markers
or crayons, pencils, and container for the idioms
Lesson Plan:
Activity: The game
is called “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs”. Divide the class into four teams. A
member from each team will draw from a container filled with idioms. The teams
will then draw a picture representation of the “literal meaning” of the idiom
(example: foot the bill—draw a foot with a bill on it). Next, the teams will
show their picture representation of their idiom. The team that correctly
states the meaning of the idiom scores five points. After a given amount of
time has passed, the game ends. The team scoring the most points wins. The
pictures and their meanings can be displayed in the classroom.
Here is a list of
twenty idioms to get you started.
1.hit the books
2.make a beeline for
the door
3.he’s got a tiger by
the tail
4.there’s a frog in
my throat
5.pie in the sky
6.He’s got bats in
his belfry.
7.She’s blown her
stack.
8.hit the nail on the
head
9.go fly a kite
10.You’ve got a green
thumb.
11.She’s pulling your
leg.
12.He’s an eager
beaver.
13.You’re a stick in
the mud.
14.We’re having a
ball.
15.It’s raining cats
and dogs.
16.She’s making a
mountain out of a molehill.
17.He’s got something
up his sleeve.
18.You can’t pull the
wool over my eyes!
19.The walls have
ears.
20.You’ve lost your
marbles.
Assessment:
Discussion of the
figurative language precedes the activity. After the students have played the
game a quiz can follow.
Lesson Plan
Source:
Submitted by
Jacqueline C. Miller, camjcm@pilot.infi.net
Churchland Academy Elementary,
Portsmouth, VA, USA
Halloween originated from a race of (1)___________
called the Celts. (1000 b.c. - (2)___________ a.d.) who lived in Europe from
(3)___________ of the Alps to the Baltic (4)___________ The Celts (pron.
KEHLTS) celebrated a festival (5)___________ Samhain, (pron. SEW-n or SHAH-vin
in (6)___________), the Celtic New Year. Hearth fires (7)___________
extinguished at the close of the (8)___________ and relit from a central
hilltop (9)___________ by Druids, (10)___________ of the Celts.
The Romans conquered the Celts and (11)___________
scribes wrote down their folklore. These (12)___________ contained supernatural
creatures. The human and (13)___________ worlds were said to merge on
(14)___________. People disguised themselves as ghosts and (15)___________ to
protect themselves from evil. Food (16)___________ an offering of respect for
the (17)___________ who were thought to return home. (18)___________ traditions
continue today.
All Saint's Day (All (19)___________ Day) and All
Soul's Day ((20)___________ 1st and November 2nd respectively) were
(21)___________ holidays established to replace Samhain. Celebration
(22)___________ the two holidays begins on the (23)___________ of October 31st
called All Hallows (24)___________ or Hallow E'en.
These are the words to choose from:
people 455 Sea. goblins Gaelic called evening North dead Hallows Eve(n) spirit Christian harvest
Samhain stories bonfire was of November were These Christian priests
Halloween originated
from a race of people called the Celts. (1000 b.c. - 455 a.d.) who lived in
Europe from North of the Alps to the Baltic Sea. (1) The Celts (pron. KEHLTS)
celebrated a festival called Samhain, (pron. SEW-n or SHAH-vin in Gaelic), the
Celtic New Year. Hearth fires were extinguished at the close of the harvest and
relit from a central hilltop bonfire by Druids, priests of the Celts. (2)
The Romans
conquered the Celts and Christian scribes wrote down their folklore. (1) These
stories contained supernatural creatures. The human and spirit worlds were said
to merge on Samhain. People disguised themselves as ghosts and goblins to
protect themselves from evil. Food was an offering of respect for the dead who
were thought to return home. These traditions continue today. (3)
All
Saint's Day (All Hallows Day) and All Soul's Day (November 1st and November 2nd
respectively) were Christian holidays established to replace Samhain. Celebration
of the two holidays begins on the evening of October 31st called All Hallows
Eve(n) or Hallow E'en. (2)
(1)people (2)455 (3)North (4)Sea.
(5)called (6)Gaelic (7)were
(8)harvest (9)bonfire (10) priests
(11)Christian (12)stories (13)spirit (14)Samhain
(15)goblins (16)was (17)dead (18)These (19) Hallows
(20)November
(21)Christian (22)of (23)evening (24)Eve(n)
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1502/
1.
Timothy Roberts, The Celts In Myth & Legend, pgs.
18-21, New York, NY: Friedman Fairfax Publishing, 1995
2.
Eric
Kimmel, "The Story of Halloween", pg. 17-20, Cricket Magazine, Oct.
1980.
in North America to those in Britain and Ireland
North American Halloween Customs
British and Irish Halloween Customs
Same OR Different
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Wait
till Martin Comes
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That big house down the road was haunted. Nobody
could live in it. The door was never locked. But nobody ever went in. Nobody
would even spend a night in it. Several people had tried but came running out
pretty fast. One night a man was going along that road on his way to the
next village. He noticed that the sky was blackening. No moon. No stars. Big
storm coming for sure. He had a long way to go. He knew he couldn't get home
before it poured. So he decided to take shelter in that empty house by the
road. He had heard it was haunted. But shucks! Who believed in ghosts? No
such thing. So he went in. He built himself a nice fire on the big
hearth, pulled up a chair, and sat down to read a book. He could hear the rain beating on the windows. Lightening
flashed. The thunder cracked around the old building. |
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But he sat there reading. Next time he looked up
there was a little gray cat sitting on the hearth. That was all right, he thought. Cozy. He went on reading.
The rain went on raining. The first cat looked up. "What we goin' to do with
him?" "Wait till Martin comes," said the other. |
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The man went right on reading. Pretty soon he heard the door creak and another great big
black cat, as big as a dog, came in. "What we goin' to do with
him?" said the first cat. "Wait till Martin comes." The man was awful scared by this time, but he kept looking
in the book, pretending to be reading. Pretty soon he heard the door creak and a great big black
cat, as big as a calf, came in.
He stared at the man "Shall we do it now?" he
said. "Wait till Martin comes," said the others. The man just leaped out of that chair, and out the window,
and down the road. "Tell Martin I couldn't wait!" he said. |
http://www.concentric.net/~Dkies/oct.html
BILLY BEAR'S HALLOWEEN PAGE: My Witch -
http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/halowen/witch.htm
Pumpkin Game
http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/halloween/carve/index.html
Pumpkin bingo: Name
the objects and circle 5. Cross (X) each of the 5 as the students name them . If you have all 5 crossed out first,
you win!
WordSearch 1
Name ___________________________
http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/halloween/seekword/index.html
WordSearch
2 Name________________________
FRANKENSTEIN -
GRAVEYARD - HEADSTONE - SCARECROW - SKELETON - WEREWOLF - PUMPKIN - HAUNTED -
BANSHEE - SPECTER - COSTUME - PHANTOM - VAMPIRE - MONSTER - WRAITH - SPOOKY -
COFFIN - GOBLIN - FIEND - GHOST - CANDY - WITCH - PARTY - SKULL - TRICK - MUMMY
- DEVIL - TREAT - DEMON - CRYPT - OGRE - MOON - FANG - TOMB - MASK - CAT - BAT
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D N X Z G K V R C A T W I K V N O E F C I LE R Y A P Y D B N E M L X Z F R T P Y R C UR C Y W U S A Y S O A J I T P Q B P T Q A AI F N X A N D P O D N P U M P K I N A O A AP A P Z S N E N J P Z S Y T G S B O B W Z GM R B H E C Z Z G G O B L I N A J C P L Z NA M E I T R C V D E T N U A H Y M W A Y I AV E F E D O T F R H T I A R W Z N E K M T FN D R Y F S M R A H E A D S T O N E I M I NF T P F O J K A G E V B B O M Y C B R U J BG Z I H G I Q N W R F D Y E P Y K I Q M T EH N G S N R R K N S A L D R K R L O Q D O CC H Y K R D R E O Q N V O L Y K H K O U G HD P F U O Z L N T M S S E W K D X C E P V TY P F L A I T S E S O F H Y E S N B M X S OG T Y L V K R T L U N T V D A R T A R S C AN D R E L S I E E V D O N X W R E R C V P EV M D A R A C I K W B J M A S S D W E V J TN V Q K P M K N S O Q U A K H Z U S R A O BO P E M U T S O C C N V A O W P N N K M T ER V K Q S S Q C R L Q E R G O M U O B L J RK P J H P H C T I W U S C W O R C E R A C S |
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http://www.benjerry.com/halloween/ws-hard.html
Special
Instructions: http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/cw2.html
Do on or off the
Internet
