Information for Teachers grades 3-12

Music Rules - http://www.music-rules.com/
Music Rules is a free educational program for grades 3-8, but I believe the information in Music Rules is appropriate for high school students as well. I am currently using this information at the middle school level to teach students about respecting intellectual property for music.  This site has PDF documents with lessons and activities about ethical use of music in the digital age. 

Guys Read - http://www.guysread.com/
Jon Sciezka is probably best known for his collaborations with Lane Smith with the story The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  Jon has a website titled Guys Read to help boys become life-long readers.  His website has a wonderful list of suggested reading not just for guys in a variety of interests such as, Great Series; War; Sports; Boxers, Wrestlers, Ultimate Fighters; and many more.  He also has a tab where students can add their favorites and a tab where there are suggested ideas to start your own Guys Read program. 

If you are looking for some great suggestions to parents or students check this website out! 

District Wide Information

Parental Controls at home - The following link provides a video as to how you can set parental controls on your Windows based computer.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/video/parentalwin.aspx?WT.rss_f=At%20Home%20RSS&WT.rss_a=Safe%20computing%20for%20kids&WT.rss_ev=a

Kid Blog - This blog site is designed for elementary and middle school teachers that would like to use blogging in their classroom with a simple format for students at this age level.  http://kidblog.org/home.php

District Wide Information - SMART Board lessons, resources and more

If you are looking for more resources for SMART Board lessons than what you find on the SMART Exchange consider the following:

Scholastic SMART Board lessons http://www.scholastic.com/interactivewhiteboards/
Interactive whiteboard resources - Think Bank - United Kingdom http://www.think-bank.com/iwb/
SMART Board activities and lessons - Wichita School District http://technology.usd259.org/resources/whiteboards/smartlessons.htm
SMART Board lessons - Lexington, KY - 6-12  http://teachfcps.net/trt27/smart_board_lessons.htm

Professional Library Collections
Each library in our district has a Professional library collection.  If you are looking for something, please be sure to look in our card catalog  or ask me or a media assistant to help you find the resources you are looking for.  We have quite an extensive collection at the high school and smaller collections at other buildings.  Remember that you can request materials from any library in the district and we can send them to you via school mail delivery.

District Wide Information

Marshall High School Community Book Sale
The Community Book Sale is here again.  It runs Monday, Nov. 22nd through Wednesday, December 1st.  Evening hours are until 8 PM on Monday, Nov. 22nd, until 5 PM on Tuesday, Nov. 23rd and Tuesday, Nov. 30th. 

What is Transliteracy? According to the blog Transliteracy.com "it is the ability to read, write and interact across many platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio, and film to digital social networks."  http://nlabnetworks.typepad.com/transliteracy/2010/02/transliteracy-some-thoughts-on-themes-and-common-ground.html

SMARTBoard Tips for cleaning and sanitizing:
1. Never spray anything directly on the SMART Board.
2. Spray Windex or Expo Cleaner on a clean cloth and wipe the SMART Board to clean it.
3. Get a 10% Bleach 90% water solution from you building custodian to sanitize your SMART Board.

SMART Board & a Sharpie...if someone uses a Sharpie or other permanent marker on an interactive white board, spray Aquanet hairspray (available at Casey's gas stations) on a clean cloth and wipe off the permanent marker.

District Wide Information

Great Web Sites For Kids - Fun for Younger Children
Are you looking for fun web sites that are appropriate for preschool and early elementary grades?  This link from the Amarican Library Association and Association for Library Service to Children offers several web sites.  You may be familiar with some, but some may be new to you.  Check it out!
http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=6

Story Tubes http://storytubes.info/drupal/node/1
Story Tubes is a great alternative to book reports.  The essence of it is making a 2-minute or less "my favorite book" video project to promote the excitement of reading and posting it on the internet.  This is for grades K-12 students.  I would love to hear if anyone has tried this or something similar.

District Wide Information

Cool Tools for Schools:   http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/
Cool Tools for Schools has a plethora of web 2.0 tools to investigate and play with.  I've looked at many of the tools and they look like fun such as the writing tools offers publishing, comic strip makers, writing tools, dictionary and grammar tools, and quoting and reference tools.  Check out something that may relate to the subject you teach and try one or two.  Let me know what tool is cool for you and I will share with our teachers and enter your name in the blog comment drawing for the month!

District Wide Information

October is National Anti-Bullying Month
I realize that today is the first of November, but I feel bullying and cyberbullying are something we, as educators, need to continue to be aware of.  The following website links provide resources to help us to be more informed and the pdf documents provide scenarios to use in the classroom as well as other cyberbullying activities including a word search of cyberbullying terminology.
http://www.cyberbullying.us/
http://www.cyberbullyingbook.com/downloads.php

Below you will also find an article about Facebook's Safety Page for Parents, Teens, and Educators.

Facebook Unveils Safety Page for Educators, Parents, Teens

Facebook Unveils Safety Page for Educators, Parents, Teens

District Wide Information

ABC's of E-mail Etiquette http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech185.shtml

Follow this link for an ABC listing of e-mail etiquette tips to read, consider and share with your students.  Some are basic common sense and some are important for students to know given that e-mail has been something our students have grown up with and do not consider.

Park Side Book Fair - Oct. 25th - Nov. 2nd  All are welcome to come to the book fair.  We have extended hours until 8 PM on Tues. Oct. 26th and Thurs. Oct. 28th.  Order the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book!  It will be released on November 9th.

District Wide Information

2010-2011 Letters About Literature essay contest
The Minnesota Humanities Center, along with local co-sponsors the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English, invites Minnesota’s fourth through 12th grade students to enter the 2010-2011 Letters About Literature essay contest. The contest closes December 10, 2010.

Sponsored nationally by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target, the contest asks readers to write a letter to an author describing how his or her work touched their life in a personal way. Authors can be of any genre or time period and can come from any country.

The contest focuses on reader response and reflective writing and has three competition levels: Level 1 for students in grades 4-6; Level 2 for students in grades 7 and 8; and Level 3 for students in grades 9-12. State level judges will choose the top essayists from each of the three competition levels who will receive a $50 Target GiftCard and advance to the National Level Judging. Prizes will also be awarded to the 2nd and 3rd place winners.

The national winners receive $1,000 and secure a $10,000 grant for their school libraries. Honorable mention winners receive $500 and $1,000 grants for their libraries.

For details and contact information, go to the Minnesota Humanities Center Letters About Literature webpage at  http://minnesotahumanities.org/letters

District Wide Information

StoryJumper http://www.storyjumper.com/
I discovered StoryJumper last week and needed to add this to my blog!  It looks like fun and looks like a great writing activity for students to write and illustrate their own books.  Best of all it is free.  StoryJumper does offer the opportunity to print the story/book, but also offers to order the book published for a fee.  Check it out!

Lit2Go http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/index.htm
Lit2Go is an online service of Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse that offers stories and poems online.  These stories can be downloaded to mp3 players or available as a pdf or online text.  There are stories for grades K-12. 

District Wide Information

Maths Maps: A New Collaborative Project   
http://edte.ch/blog/2009/10/31/maths-maps-a-new-collaborative-project/

This project is a great way to illustrate to students that math is all around us in our world.  Using the idea in this link, you can use Google Earth along with the Maths in Madrid activity to see how this project may be helpful in your math classroom.  Check it out!

10 Ideas for Class Blog Posts
http://edte.ch/blog/2010/09/25/10-ideas-for-class-blog-posts/

Another idea from the website link above provides ten ideas you might choose to use in a class blog post or perhaps as a part of your teacher website.  Check it out!

District Wide Information

Banned Book Week - Sept. 25 - Oct. 2, 2010
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/info.html

http://www.ala.org/bbooks

This week is Banned Book Week.  Check out the websites above to learn more about Banned Book Week and why we should teach our students about our freedom to read!

"During Banned Book Week (and every week), we honor two foundational beliefs--our rights to speak freely and make our own choices. We must safeguard these rights for children until they can exercise and demand these rights for themselves. "(Miller, 2009)


Miller, Donalyn. "Banned Book Week." The Book Whisperer. 2010 Editorial Projects in 
    Education: 22 Sept., 2009. 27 Sept. 2010 
    http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/2009/09/banned_book_week.html



Minnesota Historical Society www.mnhs.org/school
Minnesota Historical Society is a great educational resource and provides opportunities for 

•  teacher workshops,
•  History Day (History Day is an exciting co-curricular program that encourages young people to explore a historical subject related to an annual theme. The 2011 theme is "Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences."),
• School Outreach Programs (where History Players come to you! Using props and artifacts, costumed History Players engage students in their memorable life stories.)
• and a wonderful State Capitol field trip like our students in grade 6 have taken advantage of for many years.

If you are looking for another way to enhance your curriculum, you may consider attending a teacher workshop or look to have a History Player come to your school to help bring history to life!

District Wide Information

LCD Projectors in your classroom
Have you gotten a notice that your projector is overheating?  It is important to have the filter in the LCD projectors cleaned now and then.  This will help keep the air flowing in the projector to keep the bulb cooled.  If there is not something in place to have the filter cleaned, please add a reminder on your calendar to clean it or have a custodian clean it monthly or every other month.

It is important to extend the life of the bulb in the LCD projectors so if you are not using your SMART board or the projector for a half hour, turn off the projector.  This also helps reduce overheating the projector.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Zoom Sci  http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/#sound
Zoom Sci is a great site with many science activities in the following science areas: chemistry, engineering, the five senses, forces, life science, patterns, sound, structures, and water.  Check it out!

District Wide Information

ELM - http://www.elm4you.org/

Do you know what ELM is?  ELM stands for Electronic Library for Minnesota.  It is a tax paid resource available to all residents of Minnesota.  These resources include online access to magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, eBooks (electronic books), and information from other reference sources. ELM provides information on a vast array of topics, including consumer information, arts and humanities, current events, health, science, social science, politics, business, education, and more.

If you are interested in how this resource can help you and your students contact Diane via email to schedule a short 15-20 minute overview.

District Wide Information

How to access the library media resource pages through the new district website for each school
1. Go to the Marshall Public Schools website at http://www.marshall.k12.mn.us/
2.  From the Departments tab click on media center
3.  Click on the school media center that you are trying access then click on that school's resource page.  This will allow you to access websites, databases and the card catalog.

Teaching with Computers (a tip from 180 Technology Tips  at http://www.180techtips.com/108.htm)

1.  Have students turn off their monitors while the teacher gives directions.
2.  Try everything before you have the students in front of you.
3.  If your lab has management software learn to use it. (Some of the labs at the MS and HS have Vision software for management)
4.  Don't forget to check the Taskbar on student monitors as you wander around the computer lab. Students can easily wander off task when using a computer and many of them are experts at hiding what they're doing. They'll quickly minimize the windows they don't want you to see. Just remember to check the Taskbar at the bottom of their screen.

For more tips regarding teaching with computers, check out this link:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech116.shtml

District Wide Information

Writing to Improve Reading http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/WritingToRead_01.pdf

According to the authors of this research study (Graham and Hebert, 2010) this report from the Carnegie Corporation shows writing practices that improve students' reading ability.  Practices include

• having students write about texts they have read (through analysis, interpretation, personal reflection, or summary, or by creating or answering questions to improve comprehension through the act of students' reflecting on ideas presented in the text and putting those ideas in their own words). 
• explicitly teaching spelling and how to write sentences and paragraphs,
• and increasing how much and how often students write.

District Wide Information

Welcome back to school!

Media Centers will not open until Monday, August 30th unless the media assistants and I can get things in order before then. Media assistants start work tomorrow (Monday, August 23rd and only work on student contact days). Please know that if possible we will open the media centers as soon as possible.  An announcement or email will be sent if the media center is able to open before next Monday.
Some things that need to be done before the media centers can be opened...

• new student and teacher library accounts
• AR rosters updated
• library decorations completed

Like last year, this blog is my way of sharing ideas, websites and media information district wide throughout the school year. I post every Sunday evening and then send an email reminder to all in the district to check out my blog.

Last year I asked teachers and staff to comment on my blog or send me an email comment so I had some interaction with teachers asking to provide constructive comments about the postings. I kept track of everyone that sent comments and I had a monthly drawing for those that sent comments to win a prize.
Please send me a comment if you'd like me to continue the comment option to win a prize (last year I gave away a USB drive each month!) I look forward to hearing from you!

For those of you new to reading my blog, I have many great websites you should check out. Some include information about reading strategies, some are about internet safety and much more. Also note that I have my schedule posted on the left side of the blog as well as the names of the media assistants in each building. I will be updating the dates as to when the book fairs will be held at each building.

At the Middle School and High School I will be contacting teachers about library media orientation.  At the high school, I would especially like to meet with 9th grade students at the high school.  At the elementary buildings proper care of books and check out procedures will be taught at Story time and at the first library media lessons.

I will be in touch with teachers at the elementary and middle school levels about library lessons for the school year.

I look forward to a great year and enjoy working with you and the students in Marshall Public Schools!

District Wide Information

Thank you and More to come in August 2010
This will be my last posting for Marshall Media Info Bits for the 2009-2010 school year. I want to express my gratitude to all teachers, staff and school district personnel that have commented on my blog or sent an email with comments. I appreciate your feedback about things that I've posted. Tomorrow I will announce the May winner for the Media Info Bits blog comments.

I hope you will continue to read my weekly blog postings next year. Have a great summer break!

Grants & Funding Opportunities

Public Welfare Foundation: Grants for Organizations that Serve Disadvantaged Communities
The Public Welfare Foundation supports organizations that address human needs in disadvantaged communities, with strong emphasis on organizations that include service, advocacy, and empowerment in their approach -- service that remedies specific problems; advocacy that addresses those problems in a systemic way through changes in public policy; and strategies to empower people in need to play leading roles in achieving those policy changes and in remedying specific problems. The foundation provides both general support and project-specific grants. The foundation is currently focusing on three program areas: criminal and juvenile justice, health reform, and workers' rights. Maximum award: $50,000. Eligibility: public and private entities, including nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations. Deadline: June 26, 2010.
http://www.publicwelfare.org/ApplyGrant/Guidelines.aspx#deadlines

Finish Line Youth Foundation: Grants Program
Finish Line Youth Foundation Grants fund organizations that provide opportunities for youth participation in athletic programs promoting an active lifestyle and team-building skills, and established camps that emphasize sports and an active lifestyle, especially those serving disadvantaged and special-needs kids. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: 501c(3) organizations that serve youth 18 years and younger. Deadline: June 30, 2010.
http://www.finishline.com/store/youthfoundation/youthfoundation.jsp

Dow Jones News Fund: High School Journalism Teacher of the Year
The DJNF High School Journalism Teacher of the Year program identifies outstanding high school journalism teachers. The winning teacher addresses the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the American Society of News Editors, and college journalism educators. Maximum award: a laptop computer; travel and lodging expenses and a per diem for substitute teacher fees during address and seminar; a quarterly column for the fund's newspaper, Adviser Update; and attendance at a seminar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. A senior student at the winning teacher's school will receive a $1,000 college scholarship to major in news-editorial journalism based on his or her performance in a writing contest. Eligibility: high school journalism teachers with at least three years' experience who have done exemplary work in the 2009-2010 academic year. Deadline: July 1, 2010.
https://www.newsfund.org/PageText/Prg_HomePages.aspx?Page_ID=Prg_Te...

United Methodist Women: A Brighter Future Grants
The Women's Division of the United Methodist General Board of Ministries offers grants for projects and programs that address the needs of children and young people between the ages of 5 to 18 in the areas of violence prevention, anti-abuse, and relationship abuse. Maximum award: $4,000. Eligibility: small-scale, community- and church-based programs and projects. Groups affiliated with national organizations, hospitals, and organizations with budgets totaling more than $3,000,000 will not be reviewed. Deadline: July 1, 2010.
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/give/grants/brighterfuture/

Broad Center for the Management of School Systems: Superintendents Academy
The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems Superintendents Academy seeks leaders from business, the military, government, education, and nonprofit organizations to make an immediate impact as CEOs and senior executives in urban school districts. Maximum award: participation in the Broad Superintendents Academy. Eligibility: those with significant leadership and management experience at the central office level or the equivalent in another field. Deadline: August 13, 2010.
http://broadacademy.org/join/leaders.html

MHS and Middle School Information

Poll Everywhere
http://www.polleverywhere.com/

TryPoll Everywhere yet this year. This may be a great way to check for understanding or just have fun with this web 2.0 tool using student cell phones in school.

Poll Everywhere is a simple text message voting application that works well for live audiences. People vote by sending text messages (or using Twitter) to options displayed on-screen. The poll that is embedded within the presentation or web page will update in real time.

You can vote by following the instructions shown on the poll when it is displayed. The poll does not need to be displayed to actively receive votes, but it does need to be "started" by the presenter on the edit poll page. In the US, you send a text message to the number 22333 that contains a voting keyword, like 1234, or blue.

The basic plan is free. It allows an unlimited number of polls, and up to 30 votes per poll. The free plan includes really great features: Live PowerPoint polls, web voting, widgets, Twitter, downloadable results, and more.

District Wide Information

KissYouTube: Have you found a great YouTube video to support your curriculum, but could not show it in class because YouTube is filtered? Here are the steps to download a YouTube video at home and be able to play it at school.

1. First, go to YouTube and find a video you would like to use for your class.
2. Next, add "kiss" in the URL in front of the URL address (for example, the URL now reads: www.kissyoutube.com)
3. Once your page has loaded scroll down to the to "Press Run to activate the download option. Then download this video on a USB drive.
4. So name the file as an .flv file type. (for example; dance).
5. Bring the USB drive with you to school and open a Notebook software file.
6. After you open a Notebook Software file, pull your Youtube video through the Notebook Software and play your YouTube video.

Grant and Funding Opportunities:

Mitsubishi: Grants for Youth with Disabilities
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation Grants Program is dedicated to helping young Americans with disabilities maximize their potential and fully participate in society. The foundation supports organizations and projects within its mission that have broad scope and impact and demonstrate potential for replication at other sites. A major program emphasis is inclusion: enabling young people with disabilities to have full access to educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities, and to participate alongside their non-disabled peers. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: June 1, 2010.
http://www.meaf.org/how-to-apply.php

Lindbergh Foundation Grants
Lindbergh Foundation Grants honor Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's legacy by funding projects that improve the quality of all life by seeking a balance between technological advancements and environmental preservation. Maximum award: $10,580 (a symbolic amount representing the cost of the Spirit of St. Louis). Eligibility: Citizens from all countries may apply. Deadline: June 10, 2010.
http://www.lindberghfoundation.org/docs/index.php/our-grants

America's Promise Alliance/AT&T: My Idea Grant Program
The My Idea grant program will empower young people to help more of their peers to graduate on time, improving outcomes for themselves and their community. Maximum award: $20,000. Eligibility: high school youth concerned about the dropout crisis, and youth service providers that work with them. Deadline: June 11, 2010.
http://www.americaspromise.org/How-to-Help/Young-Leaders/My-Idea-Gr...

American Legion Child Welfare Foundation: Grants to Help Children
American Legion Child Welfare Foundation Grants to Help Children fund proposals that aim to contribute to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare of children through innovative organizations and/or their programs designed to benefit youth. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: July 15, 2010.
http://www.cwf-inc.org/grantseekers/overview/

Verizon Foundation Grants
The Verizon Foundation makes grants that help people to increase their literacy and educational achievement; avoid being an abuser or a victim of domestic violence; or achieve and sustain their health and safety. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: October 31, 2010.
http://foundation.verizon.com/grant/guidelines.shtml

Marshall High School Information

Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page From this website you can download over 30,000 free ebooks to read on your PC or other portable device such as a Kindle, Nook, iphone or others. These books are free in the United States because their copyright has expired. Some titles include: Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

District Wide Information - SMART Board Tip and more

SMART Board & a Sharpie...if someone uses a Sharpie or other permanent marker on an interactive white board, spray Aquanet hairspray (available at Casey's gas stations) on a clean cloth and wipe off the permanent marker.


"Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online"
This document is published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It offer parents and guardians tips to guide youth in learning that the online world includs certain risks such as inappropriate conduct, contact, and content. Help empower youth use the internet in a safe manner while reducing possible risks. http://www.onguardonline.gov/pdf/tec04.pdf

District Wide Information - SMART Board tips

MPS Teachers, Consider joining the SW/WC Service Cooperative Online SMART Board User Group at http://swwcsmartboard.ning.com/ This networking group is a great way to ask questions, share SMART lessons, find resources and so much more!

Cleaning and Sanitizing your SMART Board:
1. Never spray anything directly on the SMART Board.
2. Spray Windex or Expo Cleaner on a clean cloth and wipe the SMART Board to clean it.
3. Get a 10% Bleach 90% water solution from you building custodian to sanitize your SMART Board.

Learn360

The entire series of Reading Rainbow is available on Learn 360! Check it out!

Elementary end of the year information

To allow teachers to plan and consider if allowances need to be made for their students please note the schedule below. Here you will find end of the year information regarding the last day for checking out books, when all books are due and when the Park Side and West Side Elementary Media Centers will be closed. We will post signs about this around the school in May. Please send an email to me about any concerns about this schedule.

May 14 – last day to check out

May 21 – all books due back

A Nation Without Libraries

I am sharing this information from Laurie Conzemius (SIGMS Communications Chair and proud MEMO member - conzemius@q.com):

This is a sad visual, but one that we need to share. It's not only in Minnesota: across the country we can see more and more school libraries taking the hit in school budget cuts. Take a look at this map, created by Shonda Brisco, and share it with others. More importantly, ask yourself what you can do in your state and community to turn this crisis around. The map is located at: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=117551670433142326244.000482bb91ce51be5802b
You can also read more about it on Gwyneth Jones' blog at: http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2010/04/nation-without-school-librarians.html

If libraries continue to be a part of budget cuts, how will students learn necessary 21st Century Skills such as information literacy, searching for information for school research projects, become critical users of the internet and other information, or simply promote the life-long love of reading whether it be from an actual book, a Nook, Kindle or other book reader.

Marshall Middle School end of the year information

To allow teachers to plan and consider if allowances need to be made for their students please note the schedule below. Here you will find end of the year information regarding the last day for checking out books, when all books are due and when the Marshall Middle School Media Center will be closed. We will post signs about this around the school in May. Please send an email to me about any concerns about this schedule.

Friday, May 21st - Last day for students to check out materials

Wed., May 26th - All student library materials are due in the library

Thurs., June 3rd - Library Closed

Marshall Senior High School end of year information

To allow teachers to plan and consider if allowances need to be made for their students please note the schedule below. Here you will find end of the year information regarding the last day for checking out books, when all books are due and when the MHS Media Center will be closed. We will post signs about this around the school in May. Please send me an email about any concerns about this schedule.

5/21 – Last day for checkouts for students

5/25 – Senior students: all materials checkouts are due

5/26 - Senior check out day for the media center to sign off that all materials are turned in.

6/1 – All student materials are due

6/3 - MHS Library Media Center closed, except for student check out day for the media center to sign off that all materials are turned in.

District Wide Information

Celebrate National Library Week - April 11-17, 2010
This year the American Library Association's Honorary Chair for National Library Week is Neil Gaiman, winner of the 2009 Newbery Award for The Graveyard Book. Neil is a bestselling author for readers of all ages. Check out his website www.neilgaiman.com If you haven't visited your local school or public library or if you do not have a public library card stop in today! Libraries offer free access to books as well as many services including computer access, ebooks, database information and much more!

Upcoming: End of the school year information
Watch in next week's posting for information regarding end of year happenings for each media center. This will include last day of check out, last day all books are due and when each media center will close for the school year.

District Wide Information

Kevin Honeycutt http://kevinhoneycutt.org/
Kevin Honeycutt was the keynote speaker at the SW/WC Technology Conference earlier in March. Check out his website! He offers many things including 1) Project Based Learning where he has lessons available such as Digest This! - a board game about the digestive system and Launch a successful podcast; 2) Tradigital Learning is his blog that offers a balance between the past, present and future in education 3) Art Snacks provides 10 minute tutorial lessons for teaching art...even if you know nothing about teaching art! All you need to do is sign up for an account 4) Cyber Bullying and Online Safety with many resources and 5) Plethora of Cool Tools including Google Sketchup. Watch out there is a lot on his site and it is easy to get lost on an adventure of exploring what he has available!

Another website that Kevin talked about that I did not find in his Cool Tools is Lulu http://www.lulu.com/ a self-publishing website that offers the opportunity to publish student writing. Check it out!

District Wide Information

Grant Opportunity

ING: Unsung Heroes
The ING Unsung Heroes awards program recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education through monetary awards. Maximum award: $25,000. Eligibility: full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff members with effective projects that improve student learning at an accredited K-12 public or private school. Deadline: April 30, 2010.
http://www.ing.com/us/unsungheroes

Middle School Information

Orca Books Teacher Guides http://us.orcabook.com/client/client_pages/teachers/guides.cfm

Do your students love to read the Orca books from our library? Are you interested in teacher guides to accompany the books? Check out the link above to access teacher guides for the Orca book series.

District Wide Information

Resources for 21st Century Skills - http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=28
Browse this part of the www.21stcenturyskills.org website to search and locate resources related to 21st Century Skills. You can browse by standards, skills and core subject. Check it out!

Park Side - First Grade Teachers

First Grade Teachers check out Follett Resource Lists. There are Resource Lists available for you so you know what books we have in the Park Side Library to support the Tried and True Texts for Teaching Comprehension Strategies. If you have questions about accessing the Resource Lists contact Mickie or me.

District Information

Lock your computer
Just a friendly reminder to lock your computer when you step away from it. Just by simply pressing Ctrl Alt Delete you can lock or unlock your computer and keep school related and confidential information secure from students.


Celestia http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
Celestia is an interactive version of our solar system and nearest planets. This is a free downloadable resource much like GoogleEarth. Be sure to email Shawn and Todd before downloading this resource, but it is amazing to see and share with students when studying our planets and solar system.


NASA Learning Technologies http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/ltp/classroom/index.html
Nasa offers lessons for teacher use in the classroom. These lessons/activities offer opportunities for students to learn and discover about the solar systems and how it affects our planet earth. These lessons also make connections between science and math.

District Information

Congratulations to Leanna Ginocchio! She is the February winner for Media Info Bits blog comments. Please keep reading this blog and commenting either on the blog or by sending an email to me.

Big Huge Labs www.bighugelabs.com
This is a wonderful web 2.0 tool that allows for a lot of creativity! Check it out on the left side of this blog under Websites to Check Out! If you'd like you can contact me to share what I know about BigHugeLabs to get you started.

High School Information

MHS Teachers,

This may be an opportunity for students in your class. Please share with students that you feel may benefit.

Questbridge: college prep for low-income high school juniors
Questbridge, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving high-achieving low-income students resources during the college application process, is accepting applications for its College Prep Program for high school juniors. Maximum award: full scholarship to summer program, college admissions counseling, and attendance at college preparatory conferences. Eligibility: qualified low-income high school juniors. Deadline: March 29, 2010.
http://www.questbridge.org/access/collegepreptext/

District Information

Free Online Puzzle Maker Sites

Discovery Education Puzzlemaker: http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ This site offers many different puzzle making options including word search, crossword, math squares, mazes, cryptograms, and more!

Worksheet Library: http://www.worksheetlibrary.com/ This site offers over 850 K-8 free worksheets.

Teachnology Free Worksheets: http://www.teachnology.com/worksheets/ This site offers over 7,600 free printable K-12 teacher worksheets

District Wide Information

GRANTS, AWARDS, & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

American Civic Education Teacher Awards
The American Civic Education Teacher Awards recognize educators annually for exemplary work in preparing young people to be informed and engaged citizens. Maximum award: trip to Washington, D.C. to take part in an educational program that includes attending floor sessions and committee hearings in the U.S. Congress, meeting members of Congress and other key officials, and visiting historical sites such as the National Archives and the U.S. Supreme Court. Eligibility: elementary and secondary teachers of civics, government, and related subjects who have demonstrated special expertise in motivating students to learn about the Constitution, Congress, and public policy. Deadline: February 16, 2010.
http://www.civiced.org/aceta.html

Guardian Life Insurance: Girls Going Places Awards
The Girls Going Places Entrepreneurship Program rewards the enterprising spirits of girls who demonstrate budding entrepreneurship, are taking the first steps toward financial independence, and make a difference in their schools and communities. Maximum award: three prizes totaling up to $30,000. Eligibility: girls between the ages of 12 and 18 as of December 31, 2009, who are enrolled in middle school or high school and are a U.S. legal resident. Deadline: February 26, 2010.
http://www.guardianlife.com/womens_channel/girls_going_places/girls_going_places.html


Civic Ventures: Purpose Prize
The Civic Ventures Purpose Prize recognizes Americans over 60 whose creativity, talent, and experience is transforming the way our nation addresses critical social problems. Maximum award: $100,000. Eligibility: Americans 60 years old by March 1, 2008 and currently working in a leadership capacity in an organization or institution (public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit) to address a major social problem. Deadline: March 5, 2010.
http://www.purposeprize.org/prize/


American Historical Association: Awards for Teaching of History
The American Historical Association Beveridge Family Teaching Prize recognizes excellence and innovation in elementary, middle school, and secondary history teaching, including career contributions and specific initiatives. Maximum award: $1,500. Eligibility: K-12 teachers in groups. Deadline: March 15, 2010.
http://www.historians.org/teaching/Beveridge.htm

Kohl's Corporation: Kohl's Kids Who Care Scholarships
The Kohl's Kids Who Care Program recognizes and rewards young volunteers who transform their communities for the better. Maximum award: $10,000 scholarship toward post-secondary education. Eligibility: youth 6 to 18 years old, not graduated from high school by March 15, 2010. Deadline: March 15, 2010.
http://www.kohlscorporation.com/CommunityRelations/scholarship/index.asp

District Wide Information

Technology Tip Number 96
http://www.180techtips.com/96.htm

Who Are You?
Identity theft does happen and it can happen to you if you’re not careful. If you’re worried about it here are some links that you can use to better educate yourself:

How wide spread is the problem?
It’s actually hard to measure ID theft. According to USA Today: “The FTC report determined that fraudsters had opened new accounts or committed similar misdeeds in the names of 3.2 million Americans . . . The average victim lost $1,180 and wasted 60 hours trying to resolve the problem.” More in this story about the actual numbers of ID theft victims here: http://www.usatoday.com/ (11/13/05)

And there's always more stories in the news about identity theft.

How to protect yourself?
OK, what can the average citizen do to protect themselves? Here’s a couple ideas: “Destroy private records and statements…Empty your mailbox quickly…Safeguard your Social Security number…Never leave ATM, credit card or gas station receipts behind…” for MSN Money’s complete list of Ten Ways to Protect Your Identity check out this link: http://moneycentral.msn.com/

What should kids know about Identity Theft?
They are targets too and they should be careful with their personal information. In informal surveys middle school students report that about 16% of them know someone who has had their identity stolen. Students are particularly vulnerable to phishing scams and they need to be very careful about sharing personal information online. Here’s a link for more information about phishing scams:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/consumeractionguide/P102559.asp

Elementary Level Information

Kari Kay, author of The Floppy Cat, will be visiting Park Side and West Side Elementary Schools on Thursday, February 18th in conjunction with I Love to Read Month. Students will have the opportunity to purchase her book and other merchandise related to The Floppy Cat story. Please look for this flyer to be sent home this week.

Middle School Information

Middle School Scholastic Book Fair - Planning is underway for the Middle School Scholastic Book Fair that will run February 22nd - 26th. There will be extended hours during conferences and shortened hours on Wednesday, Feb. 24th for the early out day. We will have a Community Service Project in conjunction with this book fair. This is called One For Books. Each advisory will receive a One For Books container where students can bring in loose change. The advisory at each grade level with the most change will win a prize. This change will be used to purchase books off the book fair to be donated to a local charity. Please encourage your students to participate.

District Wide Information

Media Info Bits Live!
Join me tomorrow for Media Info Bits Live! This month the focus is on Internet Safety. As always I will present at 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM in the Middle School E-22 computer lab and I will provide a snack and juice.


Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program For Public Schools and Public Libraries
Minigrant Award = $500 Have you got a creative idea, but need some funding for it? Click on the link below for more information about the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program. September 15 deadline.

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/programs/minigrant.html

District Wide Information

SMART Training
Please send me an email or send a comment on this blog by Friday, January 29, 2010 if you are interested in Level 2 SMART board training. I need to determine if I will have enough participants to offer two dates for the Level 2 training.

District Wide Information

Below you will find grant and funding opportunities. The first one may be something for the high school agriculture department to consider and the last one for social studies teachers in elementary, middle school and high schools may be an opportunity too.

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Fiskars: Project Orange Thumb
Fiskars Project Orange Thumb grants Fiskars garden tools and materials such as plants, seeds, mulch, etc. to eligible gardening groups. Maximum award: $1,000 in implements and materials. Eligibility: gardens and/or gardening projects geared toward community involvement, neighborhood beautification, horticultural education, and/or sustainable agriculture. Deadline: February 19, 2010.
http://www.fiskars.com/content/garden_en_us/Garden/ProjectOrangeThu...

National Summer Learning Association: Excellence in Summer Learning
The Excellence in Summer Learning Award recognizes an outstanding summer program that accelerates academic achievement and promotes positive development for young people. Maximum award: national recognition, increased press opportunities, conference presentations, and complimentary registrations, professional development opportunities for staff, and increased publishing opportunities. Eligibility: public or private organizations or agencies (schools, community-based organizations, libraries, universities, faith-based organizations, etc.) serving young people between the ages of kindergarten and 12th grade over the summer months. Deadline: February 24, 2010.
http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=excellence_summer

Sodexo: STOP Hunger Scholarship
The Sodexo STOP Hunger Scholarship program supports the education of young people working to end hunger in communities across the United States, and brings attention to the innovative and effective solutions they are implementing toward ending hunger in their lifetime. Maximum award: a $5,000 scholarship award and a matching $5,000 grant in their name for the hunger-related charity of their choice. Eligibility: students enrolled in an accredited education institution (kindergarten through graduate school) in the United States who can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to hunger-relief activities in their community. Deadline: February 26, 2010.
http://www.sodexofoundation.org/hunger_us/scholarships/scholarships...


Caring Institute: 2010 Caring Awards
The Caring Institute is now accepting nominations for its annual Caring Awards. Nominees should exemplify caring and serve as worthy role models for others. Award criteria include length of service, scope and impact of work, challenges overcome, and imagination and innovation. Maximum award: All winners are honored at a special ceremony, and young adult winners receive funds for college. Eligibility: individuals from nine to 99 years old. Deadline: March 1, 2010.
http://www.caring-institute.org/caringawards.html

National Council for the Social Studies: Teacher of the Year
The NCSS Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year Awards recognize exceptional classroom social studies teachers. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: social studies teachers who teach social studies regularly and systematically in elementary school settings or at least half time in middle/junior high and high school settings; NCSS membership required, self-nominations accepted. Deadline: April 1, 2010.
http://www.socialstudies.org/awards/teaching

District Wide Information

At my December PLC meeting, I shared some web 2.0 tools that may be great tools for teachers and students to use with reading in a variety of ways. Some of these web 2.0 tools include http://www.prezi.com/, an alternative to powerpoint presentations; http://www.googlelittrips.com/, a way to teach where stories take place by using GoogleEarth; www.voki.com, a way to introduce a character in a favorite book or a way to start a book talk; and www.wordle.com, is a way to make word clouds to illustrate main idea and supporting details or a way to illustrate main characters and minor characters and much more. All of these allow for student creativity and differentiated instruction. If you would like help with these tools, contact me.

District Wide Professional Resources

Look for the new professional books as listed below that are available in the MHS media center.

Asperger Syndrome, adolescence and identity: Looking Beyond the Label by Harvey Molloy
and Latika Vasil
Differentiated Instructional Management: Work Smarter, Not Harder by Carolyn Chapman &
Rita King
Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas by Carolyn Chapman
& Rita King
Teaching Writing to Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic Learners by Donovan R. Walling
Primary Source Teaching the Web 2.0 Way - K-12 by Mary J. Johnson

Middle School Information

All middle school students now have the ablility to login to MPSFollett both at school and at home. The username is the same as the username to log onto the computers at school. The password is student. This allows students to place holds on books, check what books they have checked out and when the books are due. This also allows students to make their own "lists" of books. This could be books they have read or books they'd like to read.

I will be sharing this information with classes as I meet with them at their Monday lessons.

District Wide Information

Welcome back to school!

Watch for information about the January Media Info Bits Live! sessions being held next Monday, January 11, 2010.

I've added a couple of new websites to Websites to check out! on the left side of the blog. The first site is AdLit.org: Adolescent Literacy Resources for Parents and Educators of kids in grades 4-12. This site illustrates the importance of literacy instruction in grades 4-12 through reading strategies that help students with various types of text they encounter in content area classes.

The other sites that I've added are "sister sites" to AdLit.org. Colorincolorado.org is a bilingual site for families and educators of English Language Learners. Reading Rockets is focused on teaching younger readers to read and helping learners who struggle with reading and learning. LDonline.org is a website on learning disabilities and ADHD. This site works in association with the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities and is an educational service of public television WETA in Washington, D.C.