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Education World's
Learning Machine


Explore the coolest teaching resources on the Web.

From the Reading Machine
Dress Up Olivia is a creative activity for reinforcing reading skills. (Grades K-2)

From the Math Machine
The Crazy Pattern Machine is a fun Web site for teaching about math patterns. (Grades K-3)

From the Science Machine
Use Dancing Penny to explore the topics of heat, energy, and air pressure. (Grades K-12)


Put a school on your holiday gift list this year. You'll find that classrooms are a lot easier to buy for than those distant cousins you've been fretting over -- and the school will be a lot more grateful.

Read more.



Student Broadcasters Capture Headlines from the Hallways
These fifth graders aren't just studying the news, they're reporting it!



Teacher Features
The Micrography Project
Nora Redfern's students honor Martin Luther King Jr. with signature art.
Calendar Time
Kathy Brott"s creative calendar routine boosts math and language arts skills.


District Takes Steps to Improve Staff Wellness
Although programs to improve student wellness have been in schools for years, more districts now are focusing on staff health too. In the past, teachers in Batesville, Indiana, have participated in fitness competitions; this year, some are training for a mini-marathon.


A New Look at Intelligence:
An Interview With Author Dennis Garlick

In his new book, Intelligence and the Brain, Dr. Dennis Garlick suggests that there are key stages in a child's development in which parents and teachers should cultivate understanding.

Strategy of the Week
Multiple Intelligences
With an understanding of Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, educators can allow students to direct their own learning and understand and appreciate their own strengths.


What can you do with SchoolNotes? Check out Heather Ashmore's Life Science Page.




Green Light, Do It Right
A reward program based on the traffic lights.

Calming Music
Use music to control classroom noise.
Appearance Matters
Send a message with your appearance, posture, and attitude.


Ken Shore: Classroom Problem Solver
The Forgetful Student
Some students practice forgetfulness with almost religious zeal. You can find yourself spending considerable time tending to their needs, often at the expense of classroom lessons.


Ms. Powell's Tips for Organizing Your Classroom
More Uses for the Overhead Cart
The overhead cart can be a great way to store items you use frequently.

Classroom Management Article of the Week
Keep It Clean: Quick Ideas for Clean-Up Time
Have you tried student cleanup and decided it wasn't worth the chaos? Maybe all you really need is a dozen ideas to make class cleanup both fun and productive.


From Our Classroom Tips Library
Classroom Management: More About You
Behavior Management: Reaping the Rewards
Motivating Kids: Ask Students' Opinions
Book Report Makeover: Comics in the Classroom
Homework Tips: Homework Study Hall
Best Idea Ever: Smiles and Frowns
Testing Tips: Tell Me Why





Joe Martin: The Teacher Motivator
Medicate to Educate
What do I tell those teachers who ask me for my secret to staying motivated in the classroom? I tell them to "get medicated." But what Im referring to isnt a prescription; its a philosophy.



Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
Doubting Thomas vs. Reflective Teacher
Every teacher worries about lessons, behavior, paperwork, parentseverything that affects his or her students. The question is, do you let worry become self-doubt or channel it to more positive purposes?



Fred Jones's Tools for Teaching
Teaching Students to Hustle
Responsibility training teaches students to be responsible about everything they do. All forms of responsible behavior can be organized under one heading: learning to be responsible with time.


Meet other members of Education World's Professional Development columnist team.




THE MATH AND SCIENCE CORNER



THE MATH CORNER


Wendy Petti's Math Cats
Math Problem Solving With Pictures
Picturing a problem often is the key to helping students understand the problem and identify a solution.

Featured Article
Teaching With Rap
Educators from California to New York say that raps lively lyrics, meaningful messages, and familiar beat can be powerful tools for learning. Boxcar Math
Do Your Decimals
Adding decimals.

Oink and Cluck
How many pigs and chickens were in the wagon?

Math Mnemonics
Which trig functions are positive?

THE SCIENCE LAB
Track Star
A demonstration of how prisms change the direction of light.


Strategies for Teaching Editing
What we must keep in mind at all times, as author Arthur Plotnik reminds us, is "We write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside. We edit to let the fire show through the smoke."

Our Photo Journals
Michelle Gay's young photographers use pictures as an inspiration for writing.

Writing Bugs

Building a Snowperson
Explain how to build a snowman.

Children in Charge
What would happen if kids ruled the world?


Whittling Out Haiku
Pictures inspire haiku writing and sharing. (Grades 3-12)

Chain Together a Book Report
Students create "Chain Book Reports." (Grades K-12)


Reading Feature
Dr. Seuss Literacy Night
An evening of characters and games at Hill Field Elementary includes a wide range of activities -- all to excite kids and families about literacy and to build reading skills.

How the Elephant
Got Its Trunk

A curious little elephant asks a crocodile a question that almost costs him his life.


Cathy Puett Miller
Making the Most of Guided Reading
The ultimate guided reading goal is teaching children to use independent reading strategies successfully.


Best Books for Teaching About...
Presidents and Presidents' Day
Government



Learn what Total Reader can do for your students.



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