Search form

Home > Professional Development Channel

Professional Development Center Header Graphic



Education World's
Learning Machine


Explore the coolest teaching resources on the Web.

From the Science Machine
Use Air Junk to explore the topics of biology, air quality, and health. (Grades 3-8)

From the Reading Machine
Punctuation Paintball reinforces punctuation and capitalization. (Grades 1-8)

From the Math Machine
Tangram Game is a fun Web site for teaching students to recognize and manipulate shapes and for problem solving. (Grades K-6)

October is always a busy month -- and it starts off with a bang. October 4-10 is not only National Bullying Prevention Week, it's also Fire Prevention Week. And this year is Smokey Bear's 65th birthday. (Check out the Happy Birthday video.)
We're kicking off Bullying Prevention Month with a reprise of Dr. Ken Shore's series, The ABCs of Bullying Prevention. Don't miss it -- or our Reader's Theater selection, "Lace Up Against Bullying," based on a true story.
In the Science Lab this week, you'll find another cheap and easy Earth Science lesson, this time involving soil density and sedimentation. Kids will love these quick and (sometimes dirty) demos.
Have a great week!


Web Site Enhances Successful Safety Curriculum
Former National Fire Protection Association official Meri-K Appy talks about NFPA's injury-prevention program for schools.

Create a Design
Elaine Kaskela's "Create a Design" box helps students who finish assignments early use class time constructively.


Restore the Joy
Engaging in healthy crucial conversations can be enormously helpful in restoring the meaning and joy that attracted teachers to education.

Strategy of the Week
Journal Writing
Journal writing in the classroom can take many forms and serve many purposes. Whatever the intent or structure, however, for many teachers journal writing is an integral part of the curriculum.



Ken Shore: The ABCs of Bullying Prevention
Understanding School Bullying
Bullying takes place when a stronger or more powerful child intentionally and repeatedly hurts, threatens, or torments a more vulnerable child.



Ms. Powell's Tips for Organizing Your Classroom
Store Manipulatives for Efficiency
Keep frequently-used manipulatives and class sets of materials in communal bins.

Classroom Management Article of the Week
The Power of Written Praise
Being roused from a sound sleep by a parent can be a rude awakening. But in one case it got educator Max Fischer reflecting about the power of written praise to raise student achievement.


From Our Classroom Tips Library Classroom Management: Starting the Year Off Right
Behavior Management: Attendance, Reflection, Character Education
Motivating Kids: Give Them a Choice
Book Report Makeover: Once Upon a Timeline
Homework Tips:On the Installment Plan
Best Idea: Up Their Organization
Testing Tips: Testing! Testing!




Ruth Sidney Charney: The Responsive Classroom
The Importance of Modeling
Modeling classroom rules involves demonstrating the specific behaviors and language patterns of an expectation. Teachers act out the behaviors, showing what each looks and sounds like.


Emma McDonald: The New Teacher Advisor
Sparking the Hearts and Minds of Students
Being passionate about your subject area communicates fascination and energy to your students. They soak up that energy and return it back to you double-fold.


Joe Martin: The Teacher Motivator
Raise Your Standards
We teachers face enough negativity from the public without having to worry about tension within our own ranks. This month, therefore, Im asking you to raise your standards for your colleagues.


Fred Jones's Tools for Teaching
Exploiting Structured Practice
A key part of teachers' jobs is to create perfect practice. Creating bad habits is the alternative. Teaching it right the first time is easier than breaking bad habits.


Eric Baylin's Songs to Brighten a Teacher's Day
Chewing Gum in School
It's a sticky issue any way you look at it. What to do? Exact penalties and punishments or let them chew? (Try explaining that to the cleaning staff!) What to do? Let's sing!


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



THE MATH CORNER

Featured Math Article
Cooperative Learning
Saves the Day

The teacher was failing in Math class until...cooperative learning saved the day!

Wendy Petti's Math Cats
Connections to Math in Real Life
Discover collections of real-world math activities, online data sources, collaborative math and science projects, and more.

Go Figure!
Which car should Melanie buy? How far has each car been driven?


Adding War
Addition facts 1 to 10 and 1 to 18 combinations
(Grades 1 - 3)

Math Mnemonics
How to write numerals to 10. THE SCIENCE LAB
My Soil
Has Layers!

A demonstration of the properties of soil in relation to density and sedimentation.


Write on Target
From hall graffiti to a winter memoir, these activities will have your students penning with pleasure.

Letters to Home
Alicia Harman's letter-writing lesson opens lines of communication between school and home.


Be a Sport
What is your favorite sport to watch?

Acting Like a Little Kid
Tell about the last time you acted like a little kid.

Writing Lessons
Ten Prompts for Student Writing
Ten prompts for engaging writing assignments.(Grades 3-8)
Headline News
Create simple stories using words cut from newspaper headlines. (Grades 3-12)


Cathy Puett Miller:
Beyond Comprehension
This multi-faceted approach to teaching comprehension includes five additions to the NRP's suggested reading curriculum.

Reader's Theater
Lace Up against Bullying
When they learn that a new classmate was bullied for wearing shoelaces with unusual colors, two students create a unique plan that rallies everyone in their school to take a stand against bullying.

Reading Feature
Reading Aloud: Are Students Ever Too Old?
Do you read aloud to your students? Is there ever a time when students are too old to be read to? Many teachers are firm believers in reading aloud -- even at the high school and college levels.


Best Books for Teaching About...
Explorers
Rain Forests





More from Our Professional Development Channel

This ten-part series from the Department of Education explores the components of a successful strategy for educating children with ADHD.

Part 2
An Overall Strategy for the Successful Instruction of Children With ADHD

Teachers who are successful in educating children with ADHD use a three-pronged strategy consisting of academic instruction, behavioral interventions, and classroom accommodations.