Monday, February 14, 2005

Education at Library Reference Search

Education at Library Reference Search. I stumbled upon a really good Web directory that has a lot of sites. Many of these relate to the elementary school!

Here are some categories to check out:

Elementary Education
Early Childhood Education
Children's Literature
Rowling, J. K.
Lesson Plans

Have fun browsing.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Presidential Speeches

Presidential Speeches. President Bush has been giving official speeches lately. The recent Inaugural and State of the Union have attracted the attention of some of my students. Here are pages with the text of the speeches:

Second Inaugural Address of George W. Bush
2005 State of the Union Address

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Groundhog .org

Groundhog .org. This is the Official Site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. This is the most minor of holidays but it always gets attention from my students. This is a good place to refer them towards.

From the site:

Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 119 years!

Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking "groundhog punch," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

On February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

The Improving Literacy through School Libraries Program of "No Child Left Behind": Tips for Writing a Winning Grant Proposal

The Improving Literacy through School Libraries Program of "No Child Left Behind": Tips for Writing a Winning Grant Proposal. Use NCLB to get free money for you school library! Details below.

From the site:

It is essential that potential applicants understand the program elements and assemble a coalition and proposal strong enough to gain the reviewers' attention and support student achievement. Grant writing is often misunderstood as a combination of luck, prescience, and alchemy. But, often, the secret to writing effective proposals is to learn how to present needs in the grantor's structure. Elements should be addressed in a logical order and presented in the requested sequence. Deeper knowledge of this program's evaluation criteria will result in proposals that reflect an appropriate mixture of clarity and purpose. Remember the most important question for you proposal to answer is, "Does it improve student reading literacy?"

Friday, January 21, 2005

A Study of Bilingual Chinese/English Children's Code Switching Behavior

A Study of Bilingual Chinese/English Children's Code Switching Behavior. This is an interesting article for those of you who deal with bilingual students. It is from Academic Exchange Quarterly.

From the site:

This paper reports the findings from a study that explores young Chinese/English bilingual children’s code switching behavior in a Chinese language program. In particular, it describes one bilingual child’s patterns of language use. The findings suggest that code switching was used as a communicative device by the children in the study. They switched languages during their speech in order to realize social function, pragmatic function, and meta-linguistic function. Educational implications are also provided.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

White House Kids

White House Kids. Provides educational information geared for children about the President, the White House, and the President's pets and animals, Spotty, Barney, and India.

From the site:

America's presidents have represented many states, held different occupations and faced difficult challenges. However, each president answered the same call--the call to serve the American people. As you learn about the presidents, think about ways you can serve your neighbor, community or country today.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Flash Card Math

Flash Card Math - A learning tool which teaches the multiplication table and simple division to elementary school students. Free to schools. Free printable flash cards and math worksheets.

From the site:

Flash Card Math is an interactive educational software program designed to teach first grade, second grade, third grade and fourth grade students in elementary school addition, subtraction, the multiplication table and simple division. Flash Card Math utilizes the proven Flash Card method of teaching primary mathematics and arithmetic. It is a learning tool which will provide children with an important part of the foundation necessary to succeed in mathematics throughout their elementary school years and through life. Additionally, with a click of a mouse, Flash Card Math develops customized multiplication and division worksheets and flashcards for teacher's use in the class room or parent's use with their children at home. Eligible schools, upon request, may receive FREE Animated FlashCards and Worksheet Generator Software.