Dear Education Professionals,
Welcome! This free Site Reviews newsletter is published weekly by Education World®, the largest free, independent resource on the Web for educators. If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to others. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. To unsubscribe, see instructions below. Education World remains a free resource thanks to the support of our advertisers -- so please click on ads of interest and visit our advertisers' sites. Thank you. ============================================================================= This week's newsletter is sponsored by SchoolNotes.  We all know how much it means for both kids and parents to feel they have a real stake in what’s going on in your classroom -- and the FREE SchoolNotes tool from SchoolNotes.com, an Education World company, is the perfect tool to help you establish that valuable, personal connection.
As educators, we also know that a strong bond between school and home is a key ingredient in boosting student achievement. What better way to build that bond and boost achievement than with your own SchoolNotes Web page? A SchoolNotes Web page enables you to communicate directly with your students and their parents as often as you wish. As an added bonus, SchoolNotes offers three customized entry points, or homepages -- one for you, one for your students, and one for their parents. Each of those pages provides daily content of special interest. As a classroom teacher you need to have a FREE SchoolNotes account. Go to http://new.schoolnotes.com/ to learn more. =============================================================================== Volume 13 Issue 26
June 30, 2009
 This week, Education World reviewed three Web sites of interest to educators.
Peter’s Online Typing Course
Free, online typing lessons and exercises for beginning typists.
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2007/r0807-27.shtml Brains Rule
Parents and teachers of young kids should see this strong British site.
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2007/r0207-02.shtml Field Trip Earth
Environmental information has never been so lively.
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2007/r0107-08.shtml 
 Peter’s Online Typing Course
Free, online typing lessons and exercises for beginning typists.
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2007/r0807-27.shtml
REVIEW: A+
Students, teachers or anyone interested in increasing their typing skills will find this site helpful. The site is self described as a place for "beginning typists and frustrated hunt-and-peckers who want to move from four-finger typing to full-blown touch typing." Users will want to begin with the "preliminaries" that provide information on how to use the course, typing ergonomics and principles of typing. The lessons begin with the basics of home row, top row or QWERT, bottom row and numbers row. The final section deals with exercises to train the fingers and improve accuracy and speed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Brains Rule
Parents and teachers of young kids should see this strong British site.
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2007/r0207-02.shtml
REVIEW: A+
This kid-friendly educational site will help your students to learn about the brain and nervous system. The sections for kids offers several interactive animated games that help students learn how the brain develops, the anatomy of a neuron, and a virtual tour of the brain. Students can also meet a “Brainwhiz” or sign up to have their questions answered by a neuroscientist or build their own Web page. Teachers will find a set of lesson plans for grades 3-8 that include background material, vocabulary, science standards, hands-on and Web-based activities, resources and links, and more. Included is a set of lesson plans designed for teachers to get ready for Brain Awareness Week. Although these lessons are from 2006, they can be used anytime classes are studying about the brain and nervous system. Topics include the anatomy of the brain, protecting the brain, the nervous system, neurons, and others. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Field Trip Earth
Environmental information has never been so lively.
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/2007/r0107-08.shtml
REVIEW: A+
Take your students on a world tour as they learn about Appalachian black bears, red wolves of Alligator River, the elephants of Cameroon and many more species without ever leaving the classroom. Students can read field reports and essays from wildlife experts, interview the researchers, listen to recorded phone calls, see videos shot in the field, and discuss conservation issues. Ongoing wildlife conservation projects from around the world are available from an interactive map. Clicking on a choice brings up a full report including a media gallery. There are a wealth of resources available for educators that include more than a dozen fact sheets for emerging readers on various animals such as the hippopotamus, polar bear, and African elephant; information on using the FTE server to create their own animal tracking maps online; reviews of at least twenty children’s books dealing with conservation topics including tips for how they can be use d in conjunction with conservation study; an example of a map interpreting exercise; ideas for using paper-based activities alongside the Web site; plus a host of strategies (lesson plans) that have been submitted by other teachers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Shop the
Education World
MarketPlace The Education World MarketPlace features products handpicked for educators. This Week's Feature  Fitness Equipment
Coaches and kids -- and everyone in between -- should visit the Education World MarketPlace for fitness supplies. From balls to the latest in Wii products, the MarketPlace offers everything to "fit" your school fitness needs. Remember, by shopping the Education World MarketPlace (powered by S&S Worldwide) and our Education World/SchoolNotes bookstore (powered by Amazon) you help us maintain Education World as a free resource for educators.
| |   Each week, Education World spotlights books of interest to educators. This week, read a brief summary of two more of our "top 50 books for educators." Discipline in the Secondary Classroom
Many books on classroom management are aimed at K-8 or, more often, the early end of that range. So here is a "grown up" classroom management book that takes an approach and adopts a style more in keeping with the college-preparatory level (whether the kids are actually sitting down and getting enough work done to get into college is another question!). In particular, this book's appendices, including observation and analysis worksheets and a student satisfaction survey, are a good commbination of the practical tool often found for younger grades and the more "adult" methodology appropriate to high schoolers.
Click to learn more or to purchase this book. Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-Area Reading
A guide to developing ambitious thematic units, a "balance diet" reading list of 150 books of interest to teens, and special help tips for students who struggle with reading, all help make this book a strong candidate for becoming a core content-area-reading playbook for middle school and high school teachers.
 Click to learn more or to purchase this book. Click the icon to the right to see more books and many other products that are available in the Education World MarketPlace.
==========================================================================  The Best of the WRITING BUG
If you enjoy Education World's weekly WRITING BUG feature, you'll love this book! Education World and the National Education Association (NEA) have joined forces to create a handy, pocket-size booklet with 44 of the most popular Writing Bug story starters. Use these Writing Bug activities to engage your students in effective writing. Each writing prompt will spark students' imaginations, tickle their funny bones, and motivate their pencils.
Included: In this booklet you'll find these Writing Bug titles and many more: - If I Could Interview Any U.S. President...
- The Best Lesson I Ever Learned
- I Got a Postcard from Another Planet
- The Best Invention Ever/The Worst Invention Ever
- Plus 39 more Writing Bug writing prompts!
The Best of WRITING BUG is part of the Teacher Treasure Series, an NEA Professional Library Publication.
http://store.nea.org/NEABookstore/control/productdetails?&item_id=0695X00 ==========================================================================
 Education World now incorporates www.SchoolNotes.com ~ "everybody on the same page!" The leading school-to-home communications platform, with FREE pages for teachers and automatic notification of parents and students when new homework is posted! For a modest $24.95 PER YEAR, upgrade to Personal Edition, "Super SchoolNotes," with thousands of resources linked to your state's standards. Click here for more information. ========================================================================== MORE FEATURES OF INTEREST
 Reader’s Theater More than two dozen scripts, perfect for the classroom.
Best Books for Teaching About… Booklists for 30 popular teaching themes.
Sign Up for Our Newsletters Ten free newsletters full of practical ideas.
Special Education Center Tools for the special education community.
Techtorials Tutorials take the terror out of tech.
Template Library Explore dozens of templates to meet your every need.
Wire Side Chats Ed World chats with experts from the "education world."
Printables Library 100s of printables!
Meet Our Columnists From across the "education world."
Early Childhood Themes From Sue LaBella.
Stress Kit Tools for catching your breath.
Classroom Management 101 Real tips from real teachers.
News for Kids World news with kids in mind. ==========================================================================
==========================================================================  A Lesson in Organization: Part 2 One of my teaching colleagues was moaning about the fact that his classroom was a disaster -- especially his desk and files. He had put off organizing things, but Open House was just around the corner so the pressure was on. I got a call from him on the afternoon of Open House. "I went to the bookstore and I bought a book on how to get organized," he explained. "I was all fired up, and decided to start with my desktop…" This sounded like good progress to me, but I sensed a tone of frustration in his voice. "I was feeling good about getting organized… Then, as I got to the bottom of one of the piles, what do you think I found?... Another copy of the same how-to book!" Fairy Tale While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers, and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!" Morning Tantrums Son: But I don't want to go to school!
Mother: But you have to go to school.
Son: But I don't want to. The teachers don't like me. The kids don't like me…
Mother: But you still have to go to school... You're the principal! Do You Noah the Answer? Bob: What kind of lighting did Noah use on the ark?
Patrick: Floodlights! Little Johnny Strikes Again Principal: Didn't you promise to behave?
Little Johnny: Yes, sir.
Principal: And didn't I promise to punish you if you didn't?
Little Johnny: Yes, sir, but since I broke my promise, I don't expect you to keep yours. ========================================================================== If you enjoy this What's New This Week at Education World Newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other teachers! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up for it -- and any of the other Education World newsletters -- at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS  Did you know that Education World offers eight other FREE weekly newsletters?
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Education World LESSON PLANNING NEWSLETTER? The weekly Lesson Planning Newsletter offers links to all new lesson plan content posted to the Education World Web site in the previous week. You will find all our regular features there, as well as links to new tutorials, timely holiday lesson planning ideas, and great lesson plans from our archives. Would you like to see a sample of the Lesson Planning Newsletter? If so, simply click the link below:
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http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml#lessons If the Lesson Planning Newsletter is not of interest to you, do you know somebody else who might benefit from it? Perhaps you could pass this information along to that person. ======================================================================== Education World® If you enjoy this Site Reviews Newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other teachers! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up for it -- and any of the other Education World newsletters -- at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. ===================================
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