Current events in the world

Yesterday, the government released the study regarding Iraq and the future of US involvement in the region.
The link: http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps76748/iraq_study_group_report.pdf

National Geographic website http://www.nationalgeographic.com/iraq/ contains news stories, history of the region and country of Iraq and lesson plans for teachers to incorporate into their curriculum.

The Teachers corner

This website has a complete thematic unit to be used during the month of November. It deals with the holidays, and centers primarily on Colonial America.

http://www.theteacherscorner.net/thematicunits/current.htm

Guest blogger Annie Lewis

Holidays for the Classroom

This is a great website for bulletin boards. They are links to multiple websites, and they're arranged by holiday, season, or content area. They range anywhere from P-K through upper-elementary. Enjoy!
http://www.gigglepotz.com/bulletin.htm

Mrs. Alger's 3rd grade class
Spring Creek Elementary
Spring Creek NV





This website is a great resource for any classroom. All of the national holidays are listed in chronological order. Underneath the holiday there are anywhere from three to ten links to websites about that holiday. At the bottom of the page, there are links to websites that show holidays of other countries. http://www.kathimitchell.com/holidays.html

Guest blogger Annie Lewis

Winter Snow cream

In the holiday season, and since there is snow in Oklahoma, this is a great recipe to use and to save for future use when working with children. It also conveniently covers the content areas of science, math, health, and social studies. Happy Snow Cream making!!

Sandy's Old-time Snow Cream Recipe
From: Yary Hluchan
Basic Recipe
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
large bowl of snow (about 3 quarts)
Blend milk, sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough snow to make snow cream to an ice cream consistency.
Variations - There are many variations for snow cream. For example, substitute canned cream for milk for a heavier flavor. Add Nestles Quik for a chocolate snow cream, or use instant cocoa mix. Another variation is to add plump raisins and cinnamon, or add a beaten egg for a nog taste. Puree an overripe banana and add to the mixture. Get creative - you know your family's tastes.

Note: ALWAYS - ALWAYS make sure the snow is clean. It takes at least one
to two hours for snow to clean the pollutants from the air, then use only snow that has fallen after that first cleansing snow. It also goes without saying, but I will anyway, to make sure you do not collect the snow where animals and birds eat (or do other things). Cleanliness first. Stress that with the kids, because this is a treat even the younger ones can make for the whole family.

Thanks to Sarah Wiemero, guest blogger

Science Fair Ideas and BrainPOP

Science Fair ideas
There’s this great website (www.all-science-fair-projects.com) that has over 500 free science fair ideas for kids from elementary school all the way through high school. The website is free and easy to use. You can topic search, keyword search, or simply browse around till you find something useful! They claim that they have “hundreds of ideas for every science topic, from Astronomy to Zoology!” This website would be a great resource for a teacher, student-teacher, parent, or a blooming scientist!

The website is truly amazing. As you familiarize yourself with it, you will see that you can do searches based on the level difficulty you need, and the topics really are endless as they are extremely precise and very articulate. As a wonderful launching pad for creative ideas with instructions, All-science-fair-projects.com acts as a central base to thousands of ideas. It is sure to give credit to other websites and sources when they are used. Make sure you visit www.all-science-fair-projects.com for great ideas and solid information before making your next science fair project or lesson plan!

BrainPOP

I have recently fallen in love with a website based on curriculum. I know, I know. The website: www.brainpop.com is a curriculum-based site that includes activities, movies, quizzes, comic strips, experiments, and printable worksheets on Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Health, and Technology. It was founded in 1999 and is available in Spanish. BrainPOP is geared towards grades 3-12, and has a sister-website for grades K-3 (www.brainpopJR.com). BrainPOP is not free ($175.00/year for one teacher), but a free 14-day trial is available.

Thanks to Sarah Wiemero, Guest blogger

Stress in the Classroom

Everyone experiences stress. People experience different forms of stress. It may not seem true, but young children also face stress daily. Children face stress inside and outside the classroom. Many school-aged children are affected by school-related stressors.

A stressor is any event that either speeds up a reaction rate or keeps the reaction rate the same. For the school-aged child, daily stressors may include anxiety about school, conflicts with teachers, competition with peers or siblings, lack of parental interest, personal injury or loss, poor grades, fear of success or failure, and fear of medical visits and procedures.

The teacher should identify symptoms and recognize when the child is facing a stressor. Children need help from the teacher and parents in learning how to cope with the stress that they face. The main goal for a child with stress is to relax and encourage the child to openly talk about the problems they are facing.

The following website provides information on stress management and how children cope with stress.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment/components/7269ad.html

Guest Blogger Kimberly Dietrick

Science and Language Arts

Here is a list of books that we currently have in the curriculum library or they are on Net library where as the teacher you can gain ideas of how to integrate science and literature together in your curriculum.

ED REf
372.6
SCH 2

Using Caldecotts Across the Curriculum: Reading and Writing mini lessons, Math and Science Spin offs, Unique Art Activities, and more by Joan Novelli.


ED ELEM
372.3
IDEAS
BRA

Literature- Based Science Activities: An Integrated Approach. by Audrey Brainard and Denise H. Wrubel

ED ELEM
372.3
IDEAS
BUT

Science through Children’s Literature: An Integrated Approach (2^nd edition). by Carol M. Butzow and John W. Butzow

ED ELEM
372.3
IDEAS
BUT 1

Intermediate Science through Children’s Literature Over Land and Sea, by Carol M. Butzow and John W. Butzow

ED ELEM
372.3
IDEAS
BUT 2

Science through Children’s Literature: An Integrated Approach. by Carol M. Butzow and John W. Butzow

ED ELEM
372.3
IDEAS
GER

Teaching Physical Science through Children’s Literature: 20 complete lessons for Elementary grades. by Susan E. Gertz, Dwight J. Portman, and Mickey Sarquis.

ED ELEM
372.3
GLA

Caldecott Connection to Science. by Shan Glandon.

Books on Net Library
Note: If you do not know how to access the Net library ask one of the librarians.

NETLIBRARY BUTZOW
More science through children's literature [computer file]: an integrated approach by Carol M. Butzow and John W. Butzow

NETLIBRARY BUTZOW 2
Science through children's literature [computer file]: an integrated approach by Carol M. Butzow and John W. Butzow

Here are a few website that may also help
<>http://oncampus.richmond.edu/~pstohrhu/profdevelop/childlit.html

<>http://www.physics.emich.edu/ebehringer/JoAnneS/webpage/397PHY_webpage.html

Thanks to Jennell Morfitt, guest blogger