Apr
16
This official National Poetry Month poster was designed by graphic artist Jessica Helfand. She was selected to create the poster by the acclaimed designer Chip Kidd.
Request a free poster for April 2013 >
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Previous Posts for National Poetry Month
Apr
15
What’s New for K-2 Language Arts Apps
Storia This Scholastic e-reader app is designed just for kids. Books are embedded with questions, learning activities, and pop-up dictionary definitions. The app download comes with five free books; additional books can be purchased and added to a student’s bookshelf. iOS and Android. Free.
Super Why! Jessica Millberg, school library media specialist at Central Early Childhood Center in Deptford, New Jersey, loves to use Super Why! with kindergartners and first graders. “It’s easy to navigate for little hands and it addresses rhyming words, letter identification, spelling, word building, and sentence completion,” she says. iOS and Android. $2.99.
Apr
13
I like a destination which pulls
true, deliberate,
but at great distance. ~Bruce Willard, Great Plains Poem
Read the entire poem, Great Plains
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Apr
12
As previewed in yesterday’s post today is D.E.A.R. Day — Drop Everything And Read Day–a day designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority.
Grab a book and a big chair or a Kindle and a comfy cushion and get ready to read, preferable with someone or to someone!
Although I am not a librarian, here is one suggestion: please do not confine yourself to books in rigid age ranges. Just have fun and read! Here are a few suggestions:
So Few of Me by Peter Reynolds~Leo’s list of things to do keeps growing, until one day he wishes, “If only there were two of me.” As he gets his wish, life becomes more complicated, not less complicated.
The Dot by Peter Reynolds–A teacher first uses wit, then subtle yet clever encouragement to inspire her student Vahti to go beyond her insecurities and become, in the words of a younger boy who “can’t” draw either, “a really great artist.”
Ish by Peter Reynolds—A creative spirit learns that thinking “ish-ly” is far more wonderful than “getting it right.” As a companion, see also the FableVision website with artwork created by Peter Reynolds and this video review.
Sky Color by Peter Reynolds. Marisol loves to paint. So when her teacher asks her to help make a mural for the school library, she can’t wait to begin! But how can Marisol make a sky without blue paint?
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Author Peter H. Reynolds offers a gentle, playful reminder that if we keep our hearts open and look beyond the expected, creative inspiration will come.
and that is also a timely reminder for this weekend!
What are you going to read this weekend?
Happy D.E.A.R. Day!
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Apr
11
Bookmark tomorrow, April 12th for D.E.A.R. Day — Drop Everything And Read Day–an event designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives.
Grab a book and a big chair or a Kindle and a comfy cushion and get ready to read!
April 12th is the birthday of beloved author Beverly Cleary, whose characters Ramona and older sister Beezus are childhood favorites across the generation. On this day, families are encouraged to take at least 30 minutes to put aside all distractions and enjoy books together. What will you be reading?
Apr
10
National Poetry Month continue in lyrical fashion with these additional resources.
~~~Poetry Zone – Send in your own poems (or your students’ poems) to the poetry gallery
~~Find a starter a day to help get inspired during National Poetry Month. Poetry and Writing thoughts, examples, encouragements and more at Chris Jarmick’s blog
Reading Rockets Poetry Poets on Poetry–Listen in as acclaimed children’s writers like Marilyn Singer, Ashley Bryan, Jack Prelutsky, Mary Ann Hoberman, Nikki Grimes, and Janet Wong talk about reading poetry aloud and writing poetry.
Discover Poets and Poems on The Poetry App from the Android 4 Schools’ site
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Apr
9
Celebrate National Robotics Week (April 6-14) by bringing the incredible world of robots, rovers, and bots into your classroom!
Link to Press Release and Teaching Resources
PBS LearningMedia has a collection of featured resources below. Establishing a free account allows full access to the site!
What is a Robot? Grades 3-5 | Lesson Plan | Application of Technology-Customize this three-part lesson plan to deepen your students’ depth of knowledge as it relates to the world of robotics.
Robot Race, Grades 3-12 | Video | Autonomous Robots-Follow two teams of engineers as they put their robots to the test in a 132 mile race through the Mojave Desert.
Wearable Robots, Grades 5-13+ | Video | Innovation and Invention- Although the idea of a “wearable robot” is not new, your students will be fascinated to see how far this technology has advanced.
The Intelligent Robot,Grades 6-12 | Video | Life Science and Technology- Invite students to hear from researchers at NASA as they discuss the Mars Rover and demonstrate its ability to learn through touch.
RoboSnail, Grades 6-12 | Video | Design Inspired by Nature See how this M.I.T. student used the movement of a snail as inspiration for a new machine.
Apr
8
April is also Math Awareness Month. The American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics announce that the theme for Mathematics Awareness Month, April 2013, is the Mathematics of Sustainability. And, as I learned from my college math tutors, when math experts speak, grab a pocket protector and listen!
Mathematics of Sustainability emphasizes the interconnected nature of resources. The Math Awareness Month website has interconnected project ideas to implement in your classroom.
Click on the poster display link and the picture of cities. Read online article (or hardcopy printout) and notate important facts, especially numeric facts. Discuss the essential question: “How do we mange the change from fossil fuels to renewable energies fairly?”
Click on the poster display link and the picture of the wind farms. Read the online article on cities and notate important facts, especially numeric facts. Discuss the essential question: “How will we balance the needs of cities for food, for energy and other resources, against the needs of the environment and against the needs of non-urban residents who work to meet these needs?
Numberphile is a collection of videos dedicated to math, numbers and other related areas. Teachers can use these to brush up on topics or post to their class website as a “flipped” learning opportunity. There are explanations of laws, theorems, and applications. Here is a Numberphile video on Pi:
Numberphile also show how math is used in the real world. View the Numberphile video on probability of sharing birthdays on a team, called the birthday paradox. Notate important facts, especially numeric facts and language differences (the videos are produced in Britain)
Happy Math Awareness Month!
Apr
6
Echoes of National Poetry Month…
You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life…~Krishnamurti, Jiddu
Apr
5
National Poetry Month benefits from poetry videos created by WGBH, PBS, and David Grubin Productions, in association with the Poetry Foundation.
Poetry Everywhere with Garrison Keillor
Students can watch videos while reading the text of poems, sketching ideas formed from the word pictures engineered by poets.
Previous Posts relating to National Poetry Month
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