Offering Teens Shoulders to Stand On
Teenagers confronting adult-world issues probably wish there was simple advice for their grown-up questions. Retired educator William Lee Swisher has put together a short guide for adolescents that touches on finances, relationships, and responsibilities.
Offering Teens Shoulders to Stand On
Teenagers confronting adult-world issues probably wish there was simple advice for their grown-up questions. Retired educator William Lee Swisher has put together a short guide for adolescents that touches on finances, relationships, and responsibilities.
Resources to Help Reach and Teach Autistic Students
Autism Spectrum Disorders are the fastest growing diagnosis of childhood disabilities in the U.S. During National Autism Awareness Month, the NEA is highlighting some of its teacher and parent resources for reaching and teaching students with autism.
Teaching Special-Needs Students in the Regular Classroom
Although it might feel like it sometimes, we are not alone when dealing with special-needs students. Unlike the old one-room schoolhouse teacher, educators today have a number of support resources available through their schools and districts.
Transitions Focus of Inclusion Week
Transitions between grades and schools are difficult for many students, but the challenges increase for students with disabilities or limited English skills. National Inclusive Schools Week this year focuses on supporting special needs students through transitions.
Improv Team Acts to Curb Violent Behavior
Imagine being able to freeze the action in a dispute, step out of the "scene," and get feedback on your next move.
The Urban Improv troupe lets students do that, and helps them see the non-violent approaches to resolving conflict.
A Guide to Doing the Right Thing
How often do we ask ourselves, "What is the right thing to do?" and wonder if we are forcing our sense of what is
right on other people. Ethicist Bruce Weinstein offers five principles everyone can use in ethical decision-making.
Creating School-Wide Anti-Bullying
Strategies
Approaches to reducing bullying often focus on the conflicts among specific
children. But what school counselor Stan Davis advocates and practices
is a school-wide anti-bullying approach that encourages and outlines respectful
behavior as well as consistent consequences.
Strategies That
Work: Electronic Portfolios
A student portfolio is a representative sampling of a student's work.
Hardcopy portfolios have been used to save student work for some time;
the use of electronic portfolios, which allow students to save and display
sound and video files as well as text and graphics, is a relatively recent,
but growing, trend in K-12 education.
Character Education
Speaking at last year's Character Education Partnership Dinner, Secretary
of Education Rod Paige said, "When the educational system works well,
the best indicator is the character of its students. We see the indelible
mark of the school upon the student." Read about the importance of teaching
character education and about some of the programs schools are using.
Building Close-Knit Communities:
Knitting Makes a Comeback
Knitting is a great activity for students with ADHD. It makes a great
recess activity, and it meshes with the multiple-intelligences philosophy.
And it's catching on in schools around the country! Included: Learn why
knitting works from teachers at two schools.
Voice of Experience: Teamwork Counts (A Lot!)
Max Fischer draws parallels between his days as a high school football player and his role on a team responsible for creating an IEP that will get to the bottom of a student's learning issues. In both cases, teamwork is key; no room exists for prima donnas.
A "Nuts and Bolts" Approach to Classroom Successes
A former teacher, Dr. Jane Bluestein turned her pages of tips for teachers about classroom management and organization into a book and then a business. She works with educators seeking new ways to improve their teaching and interactions.
Sites to See: Careers
Online Career sites can help young people make informed decisions as they explore career opportunities, choose a college major, or make the transition from school to work. Career sites offer job related information, as well as opportunities to practice such job related activities as interviewing and resume writing.
Strategies That Work: Homework Study Hall
Startled by the number of failing grades his students were receiving, principal David Chambers made making up missed work a mandatory activity. The policy has raised students' GPAs and improved teacher morale. Could it work for your school?
Strategies That Work: Pretzels
Pretzels -- an activity from the Northeast Foundation for Children, creators of the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning -- is a primary-grade strategy that focuses on students' kindnesses and results in improved classroom behavior.
Making Retention A Last Resort
Too often, educators find themselves choosing between social promotion and retention, when neither benefits children. Some districts have found that intensive intervention in the early grades can eliminate the choice between two unappealing options.
Strategies That Work: Inclusion
A generation ago, few classrooms included students with disabilities. That all changed, however, with the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). So, how are schools today doing with the challenge of including all students in the regular classroom?
Principals Solve Inclusion Challenges
Five principals share how they faced -- and overcame -- obstacles to inclusion. In spite of budget and staffing constraints, they are committed to educating kids in the least restrictive setting. Included: Ideas for creating an inclusive environment.
Strategies That Work: Teaching Manners
Although character education is a hot topic in schools, education in manners often receives scant attention. Teachers who "teach" manners say, however, that they notice a real difference in students' attitudes, in the way they treat one another, and in their schoolwork.
Manners and Etiquette: Teaching Essential Ingredients for Success
Whether they use a formal curriculum or simply take advantage of serendipitous opportunities, two teachers are taking good manners off the back burner. Those educators say that focusing on manners in the classroom is not an option -- it's a must!
"Not Much, Just Chillin'," a Window on Middle School Life Washington Post education writer Linda Perlstein spent a year following five Maryland middle school students, and then wrote "Not Much, Just Chillin'" a rare insight into the lives of young adolescents.
Looping
Looping -- when a teacher moves with his or her students to the next grade level rather than sending them to another teacher at the end of the school year -- is a phenomenon that is growing in popularity. What are the benefits and disadvantages and looping?
Strategies That Work: Student-Led Conferences
Many teachers and parents speak enthusiastically about the benefits of student-led conferences. Student-led conferences help students take responsibility of their own learning, reflect on what they have learned, and set goals for themselves, teachers say.
Cross-Age Tutoring: A Helping Hand Across the Grades
Guidance counselors Christi Bello and Susie Borgnini each created a program that brings the wisdom of older students to the aid of younger ones -- with benefits for all students. Included: Examples of how cross-age tutoring/mentoring affects students in all grades.
Teacher Feature:
Sue Flaherty
Sue Flaherty used the inspiring "Write Your Own Life" essay from Chicken Soup
for the Soul to motivate her students to think and write openly and honestly
about their futures. No one complained about having to write!
Awesome Summary Notes Make Studying
a Breeze
The Awesome Summary Notes system provides students with an easy and efficient
method for organizing information and studying for tests. Included: Directions
for creating summary notes and tips for using them for studying and review.
Teaching Kids to Make Moral Decisions
Colorado attorney Michael Sabbeth teaches an ethics “framework” to fifth graders
-- to arm them with the skills for making moral decisions.
Dealing with War and Terrorism in the
Classroom
With security alerts now part of American life and the number of troops in the
Middle East growing daily, avoiding the topics of war and terrorist threats is
becoming increasingly difficult for teachers. Today, Education World offers educators
tips on how to address those issues with their students.
Cheating: How to Prevent It (and How
to Handle It When It Happens)
Have you ever considered that there are things you might do to head off cheating
before it occurs? Classroom management expert Howard Seeman offers tips for preventing
cheating and for handling it if it does happen.
Helping the Healing: Tips for Teachers
After the Columbia Tragedy
As NASA investigators struggle to find answers for the loss of the space shuttle
Columbia and its seven astronauts on February 1, teachers also search for answers
to students’ questions about the tragedy. Education World has compiled a list
of resources.
Helping Kids Deal With the Space Shuttle
Tragedy
On Saturday, February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas,
only a few minutes before its scheduled touchdown. Today, Education World offers
resources to help you help your students deal with the Columbia tragedy, and to
help them understand the history and goals of the space program.
Voice of Experience: Chess, Anyone?
-- Chess As an Essential Teaching Tool
Educator Brenda Dyck contemplates whether smart kids play chess or chess makes
kids smart as she considers the integration of chess into the curriculum. Included:
Links to resources and research about the impact of chess on students’ skills,
thinking and organizational abilities, and self-esteem.
Bang Bang’s Message Reverberates
Author William Mastrosimone has been overwhelmed by students’ response to his
Showtime movie Bang Bang You’re Dead. Mastrosimone hopes schools will use
the movie as part of their own anti-bullying efforts.
Inclusion Can Work -- Without Too Much
Work!
Each week, an educator takes a stand or shares an Aha! moment in the classroom
in Education World's Voice of Experience column. This week, educator Janice
Robertson shares how she looks forward to integrating special needs students into
her sixth grade science classes. That was not always the case, though! The simple
modifications she made to her usual teaching practices benefit all the students
in her classes.
Preparing Kids for Careers
Some of the best predictive data about occupational trends come from the U.S.
Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A review of BLS data for
the period 1998-2008 reveals a number of occupations that are likely to be in
demand in the coming decade and beyond.
Career Project
Participants in Linda Loonam's careers project learned about a variety of careers
-- some of which they had never even heard of. In the process, the students learned
to use a wide range of technology tools and techniques -- from search engines
to digital photography. Learn how your students could benefit from a project that
integrates curriculum objectives with technology skills.
Make Tiger Woods Your Students' Role Model!
When Earl Woods, the father of golf pro Tiger Woods, wrote his book, Start
Something, he saw a natural extension from it to a program that rewards kids
for taking steps toward a better future. Today, the Start Something program encourages
kids to identify their goals and take steps to achieve them -- with Tiger Woods
as their guide! Revisions to the program now make it easier for teachers to use
Start Something in their classrooms. Are your students ready to "start something"
too?
Job Shadows Forecast Sunny Careers
Will Punxsutawney Phil, the prognosticating Pennsylvania groundhog, see his shadow
on February 2? Whether he does or not, workers at businesses across the
country will see their job shadows all year long as more than 1 million students
head for the workplace!
Helping Children Cope: Teacher Resources
for Talking about Tragedy
As the United States deals with the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in
its history -- which included several skyjackings, the destruction of the World
Trade Center in New York City, and an explosion at the Pentagon in Washington,
D.C. -- teachers will play a critical role in how children handle these events.
Education World has compiled a list of Web sites to help teachers discuss these
tragedies with students.
Kids Discover the Value of Learning Through
Hands-On 'Hammer' Time
When master carpenter Perry Wilson showed his friend's son how to build a tree
house, he discovered that he was really teaching the child the value of mathematics.
The task brought to mind his own struggles with a learning disability and the
failure of his school to help him realize his potential. As a result, Wilson quit
his job and established If I Had a Hammer, a program that uses alternative methods,
specifically the construction of a small house, to show kids how to put the material
they are learning in school to work.
Meeting the Educational Needs of Migrant
Students
The children of migrant farm laborers in the United States face numerous educational
challenges because of frequent moves and economic hardship. Education World examines
the special needs of migrant schoolchildren and tells how one school met those
needs.
California School for the Blind Pioneers
Program
The Middle School Preparation Program at the California School for the Blind is
a hit with parents, educators, and students. The program prepares students who
are blind to make a smooth transition into middle school -- and into the real
world beyond.
Web Site Tracking Everest Ascent
STEPOnline.com, a Web site that promotes healthful choices for teens, turns an
Everest expedition into a mountain of lessons about facing personal challenges.
Middle School Teachers, Students, Combat
Teasing
A group of students and teachers at White Brook Middle School in Easthampton,
Massachusetts, use seminars and discussions to courage tolerance for others and
reduce bullying. Included: Tips to reduce teasing and bullying.
Student-Led Conferences Hold Kids Accountable
Would you like to find a way to actively engage students in their learning process
and increase parent attendance at conferences? Student-led conferences can accomplish
those two objectives. Included: Highlights of research about student-led conferences.
Special Education Inclusion: Making It
Work (Part 1)
When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandated that children
with disabilities be educated with children who do not have disabilities, education
in the United States changed. Education World writer Wesley Sharpe, Ed.D., looks
at the characteristics of effective inclusion? Included: Answers to such questions
as "How does inclusion benefit kids who have disabilities?"
30 Ways to Show Students You Care!
Marty Kirschen has developed a caring corner on the Web! His Web site, Caring
Teachers, and his free Teaching from Our Hearts e-mail newsletter offer caring
teachers a forum for connecting and networking. Today, Education World talks briefly
with Marty Kirschen about his goals and plans for this online "caring community."
Included: A sampling of 30 ways teachers can show they care from a recent edition
of Teaching from Our Hearts!
Cancervive: Kids With Cancer Can Survive
in the Classroom!
Years ago, cancer survivor Susan Nessim found that getting back into college life
after a struggle with cancer was nearly as difficult as the early stages of the
disease itself. With that in mind, she created Cancervive, an organization for
survivors and their families. The group provides curriculum materials that teach
about surviving cancer and re-entering the larger society. Included: Information
about ordering videos for classroom use and a teacher's guide.
Character Education Getting a Boost
Some schools that received federal funding to pilot character education programs
are now going to their state legislatures or local communities to continue them.
Included: Links to character education resources from Utah and New Jersey.
Books of Character: Eighteen Books for
Teaching About Character Across the Grades
Every year, across the country, people celebrate National Character Counts Week
during the third week of October. Teachers have a great opportunity to initiate
discussion and projects that examine the meaning of character. Today, Education
World offers a selection of books that might be used -- in or out of the classroom
-- to spark discussion about character. Included: Eighteen titles arranged by
age level and a link to a list of more than 200 other titles for teaching about
character!
Research Shows Brains of Dyslexics Change
as Reading Improves
Researchers at the University of Washington are closing in on the answer. Education
World news editor Diane Weaver Dunne writes about new dyslexia research. As dyslexic
children improve their reading through an effective phonics program, their brain
functioning also changes.
A Crash Test in Drunken Driving
Project Crash, Shattered Dreams, Every 15 Minutes -- those are just three of many
programs being used in high schools around the country. A reenactment of a deadly
traffic accident caused by a drunken driver is the centerpiece of each of those
programs aimed at "driving" home the importance of not drinking and driving!
Included: Students, teachers, and parents comments on the power of these crash
simulations.
What Does An 'Inclusive' School Look Like?
What does a truly inclusive school look like? Improving Education: The Promise
of Inclusive Schooling, a new booklet from the National Institute for Urban
School Improvement, offers educators a close-up view of inclusive education. The
free booklet includes a questionnaire to help educators evaluate and improve their
schools.
Multiple Intelligences: It's Not How Smart
You Are, It's How You're Smart!
Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory asks educators to take a fresh look
at our assumptions about children and learning. Teachers around the world are
rethinking lessons and units -- and their entire approaches to teaching -- based
on his research. This week, Education World provides resources to help you explore
the wealth of information on multiple intelligence theory available on the Web!
School Counselors Reflective On What Makes
Them Effective
Are you a school counselor or thinking of becoming one? What are the most important
attributes an effective school counselor should have? This week, in honor of National
School Counseling Week (February 7 though 11), Education World asked school counselors
to reflect on what makes them effective. We are pleased to share their thoughtful
and illuminating ---and often heartwarming--- responses.
AN EDUCATION WORLD E-INTERVIEW WITH CAROL
DWECK: How Can Teachers Develop Students' Motivation --- and Success?
What can teachers do to help develop students who will face challenges rather
than be overwhelmed by them? Why is it that many students seem to fall apart when
they get to junior high or middle school? Can the "gifted" label do more harm
than good? Do early lessons set girls up for failure? Is self-esteem something
that teachers can or should "give" to students? Those are some of the questions
Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Columbia University, answers this week
for Education World. Some of her responses will surprise you!
A 'Real-Life Fair' Shows Kids the Real
Deal About Careers
Students in one Rhode Island junior high school got a glimpse of their future
through a "Real-Life Fair," a career fair that incorporates lessons learned in
the classroom. As they watched their earnings dwindle, some found that the careers
they had their eyes on might not provide the funds they would like to have in
the future. Find out whether a career fair or an online tour of careers is the
ideal activity for your classroom! Included: Approaches to career education used
in a handful of schools --- across the grades. Plus more great online and print
career education resources!
The Brain and Behavior -- Programmed for
Violence?
In the aftermath of the latest school violence in Colorado, the entire country
is once again asking "Why?" Many researchers and educators now believe that some
of those answers -- and perhaps some solutions -- might be found in brain research.
Teaching Special Kids: On-Line Resources
for Teachers
Whether you teach in a special-education program or in a "regular" classroom,
you probably encounter special kids facing special challenges. This week, Education
World brings you information about on-line resources that can help you better
understand -- and help -- students with special needs.
Help Students Breathe Easier: Asthma Resources
on the Net
May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month. Use this opportunity -- and this week's
Education World resources -- to learn more about asthma and about recent government
efforts to fight the disease through increased education and improved management
of the physical environment of schools.
Egg Babies, Sugar Babies, Flour Babies...
Can They Keep Teens from Having REAL Babies?
U.S. teenagers have one of the highest pregnancy rates in the developed world.
Is there something schools can do to reduce that statistic? Each year, many teachers
introduce their students to "egg babies"! Egg baby (or sugar baby or flour baby)
programs are easy to administer and can provide for students a lasting and powerful
lesson about the responsibilities of parenthood. This week Education World explores
the facts and the benefits of "egg baby" lessons!
Career Counseling Resources on the Internet
To celebrate National School Counseling Week we provide some of the best free
resources related to career counseling on the Internet, courtesy of the www.schoolcounselor.org
American School Counselor Association.
One Character Education Program That Works!
Many schools, lacking the time and resources required to develop their own character
education curricula, are instead turning to established programs that have proven
successful in other school districts. Read about one such program ---recently
adopted by schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania--- in which the whole community
is involved.
Anti-Substance Abuse Program Works ASAP!
Seeing is believing! ASAP -- an anti-drug program in which middle-school students
see the effects of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs on real body organs -- is
opening students' eyes to, and opening up discussions about, the real dangers
substance abuse poses for the human body. Thursday, November 19, is the American
Cancer Society's 22nd Great American Smokeout!
Who Are the "Gifted" Children --- and How
Should Schools Handle Them?
A "gifted" child in one community might not be "gifted" in another community.
Should the "gifted" label be standardized across communities? Do "gifted" children
deserve the same extra attention that other children with special labels get?
Education World addresses those and other questions.
Multiple Intelligences: A Theory for Everyone
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences makes people think about "IQ,"
about being "smart." The theory is changing the way some teachers teach. Included:
Gardner has now identified an eighth intelligence!
Hands-On Career Ed: Groundhog Job Shadow
Day '98
Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow on February 2? Thousands of U.S. workers
will see shadows as they provide opportunities for young people across America
to "shadow" them for a day. Job shadowing enables kids to get an up-close look
at what a "real job" is like and how the skills they learn in school can be put
into action.
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