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TGIF!
Friday, March 7, 2008

You've made it through another week. It's time to rest your brain, have some fun, explore some new resources kick back and start your weekend off on a light note!

THIS WEEK @ EDUCATION WORLD

Dozens of new postings this week, same as every week! Among the great resources you'll find this week

Download Horton Hears a Who
NEA offers a free animated version of this Seuss classic until the end of March...

Making Math Homework "Count"
Tips (and examples) for connecting math homework to students' daily lives.

Elementary and Middle-School Yearbooks
Yearbooks used to be for high-schoolers only, but not anymore

For more practical content, explore this week's updated Channel pages:
Lesson Planning      Administrator's Desk      School Issues
Professional Development              Technology Integration
Be sure to visit our partner Web site too: SchoolNotes.com



How many different mnemonics do you know and use to remember information?
None
Just one or two
A few
More than a few
What is the favorite or most useful mnemonic that you use? We'd like to create an article that gathers these useful mnemonics in one place. Send us your favorite mnemonic and watch a future edition of TGIF for a great collection!

IN THE NEWS

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles
Many Very Elderly Men Just Snooze Under Newspapers
Men Very Early Made Jars Serve Useful Needed Purposes

Chances are you memorized one of those mnemonics to help you remember the sequence of the nine planets from the sun. But now that Pluto has been declassified to "dwarf planet" status and two more dwarf planets have been added to the celestial lineup, a new mnemonic is needed. And National Geographic has come to the rescue with help from a 10-year-old Montana girl who won their Planetary Mnemonic Contest. The contest was timed to coincide with NG's release of . Of course the new mnemonic had to account for the eight planets and the three dwarf planets -- Pluto, Ceres (pronounced SEER-eez), and Eris (EE-riss). And the winner is
My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants.
Note the placement of the C-word between the M- and J-words; it is there because Ceres follows an orbit between Mars and Jupiter. Read more about the contest and contest winner.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Have you heard about the plans for a new season of the Survivor TV show?... Next season, three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped into elementary school classrooms for an entire school year. The business people will be provided with copies of their school district's curriculum and classes of between 28 and 32 students. Each class will have a minimum of five learning-challenged children, three with ADHD, one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled as behavior problems Want to read more about this new, albeit fictional, season of Survivor? Click to read more about this surefire ratings winner! And, while you're at it, check out this challenging and fun lesson idea, Survivor in the Classroom.

CAUGHT ON THE NET

All kids love mazes, and these online Maze Games will be no exception. Students will use their computer's mouse to lead a big pencil through each maze from Point A to Point B. The mazes vary in difficulty, but they are perfect for when-schoolwork-is-done fun. Since it's March, why not start with the Kite maze? It is one of the easier ones. Too many kids interested and not enough computers? Print out the mazes for a rainy-day Maze Olympics. Students compete as they try to be the first to complete each maze. Award gold, silver, and bronze medals to the first three finishers of each maze.

EducationWorld has reviewed thousands of sites of interest to educators. Be sure to visit our Site Review Archive. You might also visit our Site to See themed listings.

FROM THE LIBRARY SHELF

The Global Fund for Children (GFC) celebrates the diversity of the United States with this new book. Five years in the making, Children of the U.S.A. reveals the new face of American youth through portraits of 51 U.S. cities -- one in each state and the nation's capital. The vibrant, full-color photos show American children light and dark and every shade in between. In a country increasingly threatened by religious and racial divides, this book is vital celebration of the hope and opportunity for American children. Maya Ajmera is the founder and president of GFC and the co-author of 15 of the organization's books, including the award-winning first book in the collection, Buy the book.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Maybe Monday will be a good day to approach your school or district leaders about attending one of these upcoming conferences put on by well-known national associations.

2008 National Migrant Education Conference
The annual conference of the National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME) will be in Orlando, Florida, from April 20 - 23, 2008.

Engaging Learners in Literacy
The annual conference of the International Reading Association (IRA) will be in Atlanta, Georgia, from May 4 - 8, 2008.

2008 National PTA Convention
The annual conference of the National PTA will be in San Diego, California, from June 20 - 23, 2008.

If your national non-profit organization's conference should be listed here, send an email to [email protected]. We will be happy to include it in our rotation so long as it is open to all educators and/or administrators (not only members).

LEAVE 'EM LAUGHING

Unexpected answers to an expected question

MOTHER: What did you learn in school today?
ANNA: Not enough, I have to go back tomorrow.

FATHER: What did you learn in school today?
LOUIS: How to talk without moving my lips.

Now go and enjoy your weekend!