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Everything a Teacher Needs to Know Before School Starts. As summer quickly comes to a close, preparation for being back in the classroom begins to mount. And what you do in the first week of school can truly set the tone for the rest of the year. Use this elaborate guide, exclusive to TheApple—with tips, strategies, even lesson plans—to help you ...

I love to pass along great classroom hacks as soon as I think of or run across them. This is no exception. Read on for some great ideas on getting things done on the cheap and easy. Hula Hoops In addition to making great classroom playground equipment, these can be used in PE and also for small group circle assembly. As ...

Glogster is a great creativity site who’s tag line is “poster yourself”. A ‘glog’ is basically an online poster web page. Students can combine text, pictures, graphics, video, and audio to create an interactive online poster. Glogster has a very simple to use interface. The final glog can be hosted by Glogster or you can embed it into a wiki, blog, ...

Which came first….the chicken or the egg? The question goes back to ancient times when philosophers debated the origins of the universe including Aristotle, Plutarch, and Macrobius. More recent discussions have taken place with Steven Hawking and others. In education we have our own chicken or the egg dilemma. Which came first….the student or the teacher? Think about it. Students can’t ...

Our very own featured writer, Kelly Tenkely, presented recently at the Colorado Podcast Summit hosted by Apple Education. Her presentation can be useful to us all, "Podcasting: Creative Communication Collaboration. " In addition, there are many resources for using podcasting in your classroom. Learn more about Kelly's presentation at the Summitt, podcasting tools, and more. Podcasting: Creative Communication Collaboration Podcasting Resources ...

"Parents became my greatest resource....I openly solicited their active involvement and suggestions on how to better serve their child. I also presented them with ideas and activities they could do at home with their child to enhance their learning process. I later set up a homework/classroom Web site for my community of learners on the Internet so both parents and students ...

Now that the Presidential election is over and our country will be under the direction of a new leader, are you wondering how it will effect your job as a teacher or the way children are educated? There are many issues to consider, as education is the foundation for the knowledge that forms how our economy runs. According to Barack Obama.com, ...

Poverty has no pity. It strikes hardest at its most vulnerable victims—our children. Few other professionals are more keenly aware of this sad fact than teachers. Even those educators who do not teach in high-poverty areas will work with children whose home lives are marked by scarcity instead of comfort. In fact, according to the Children’s Defense Fund, one in ...

I want to share some of the incredible uses of podcasting in the classroom that I heard at the Colorado Podcast Summit yesterday. One of the keynote speakers was ISTE Primary Teacher of the Year Carol Greig. Her Keynote entitled “Podcasting for the Struggling Reader” was truly inspiring. Carol teaches kindergarten in the Eugene School District in Oregon, here she started ...

It's the beginning of the school year and that shiny new feeling has worn off. If you're like a lot of teachers, you are feeling stressed and wondering how you are going to get everything you need for your class planned and prepared. Creating key partnerships with parents can be a lifesaver if you approach it correctly. From fostering good relationships ...

Grades are given to document academic progress, right? But there are common pitfalls in grading, according to Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom by Rick Wormeli. 1. Avoid nonacademic factors (behavior, attendance, etc.) 2. Avoid penalizing for multiple attempts at mastery. 3. Avoid grading homework. 4. Avoid recording zeros for work not done 5. Avoid group ...

When I worked as a graduate student researcher at UC Berkeley, I had this game I secretly played with my co-worker during staff meetings. It was called “Educational Jargon Bingo.” Before the meetings, we wrote down all the educational terms that researchers throw around and placed them on a bingo chart in random order. The key was to find a word ...

I once went on a blind date in which I was asked the following question about my job as a school psychologist: “So, what’s your favorite kid problem?” In my head, a sarcastic thought bubble popped up and responded, “I just LOVE when they can’t read! It’s my favorite!” But I knew what he meant, so I responded politely that I ...

I am a parent and a teacher. No, I don’t think you have to be a parent to be a teacher, but sometimes the insight provided by being both a parent and a teacher helps me both parent and teach. It also helps to have a child who is the same age as the children that I teach. Because I spend ...

Let’s face it: Kids love mobile technology and its here to stay. Schools across the country have been struggling with how to manage cell phone use during school hours, with some banning the use of phones altogether and others coming up with innovative ways to integrate mobile phones into the curriculum. Just a few weeks ago, researchers at the Joan Ganz ...

Dear Julia: I am just beginning my first few weeks of student teaching, and one of my main goals, as well as concerns, is classroom management. I don't feel comfortable yelling at students, and feel that this is definitely used far too often in classrooms, however sometimes simple steps such as turning lights off or clapping don't always seem to work...(or, ...

Classroom management is never deleted from my list of ongoing concerns. Each new group of students and each new school day brings a very different dynamic to the classroom depending on many variables such as what went on at home the night before, what the student ate or didn’t eat, and whether or not my lesson is as educationally sound as ...

!http://theapple.monster.com/nfs/theapple/photos/0001/4605/Picture_2.png! h4. Bookcasting-Grades: 3-5 > Project: A Bookcast attracts a reader to the exciting, funny, or major themes of the book without giving away the story. A Bookcast takes all of the fun that is packed into movie-trailers and applies them to student created book reviews. After reading a book, students use GarageBand to record a Bookcast review that other students ...

Are you gearing up for your summer vacation, but aren't sure which direction to go? When it comes to vacationing in the U.S., each city is unique. Which city is the best travel destination? We have rated 25 cities for vacationing by examining what each has to offer. Our criteria • Average price of gas in each city and the ...

h4. Videos h4. Integrating Podcasting into Your Classroom h4. Steve Jobs, of Apple, demonstrates how to use Garage Band to make Podcasts. h4. Podcasting Classes h4. Reference Books !http://theapple.monster.com/nfs/theapple/photos/0001/4620/podc_max192w.jpg! Review: Finally-a technology that helps bridge the gap between content delivery and today's "digital native" students. Podcasting is a method of making audio or video content available regularly via the Web. It ...