TheApple

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 ...

_Discover how you can alleviate many newcomers' fears by creating an atmosphere of acceptance and welcome in all of your classes._ ESL and classroom teachers can alleviate many of the newcomers' fears by creating a language-nurturing environment in their classes. The first weeks are crucial. A good relationship with classroom teacher and classmates will provide a great deal of the help ...

The seating chart: some teachers love them and use them, others do not. I find them essential. Many teachers seat their students alphabetically (either A-Z or Z-A) in rows. Others use groups of desks, or tables and assign seats after allowing the students to find a chair of their personal preference. Seating charts are VERY USEFUL for the mundane everyday tasks ...

Do I just ask my students knowledge-based questions or do I require critical thinking to answer my questions? I was listening to a Wicked Decent Learning podcast today when they started talking about the questions asked in the classroom and what kinds of questions they were. This had me reminisce back to when I took a statistics class in college and ...

Most teachers love teaching. But not all teachers teach for the same reasons. Teaching is a difficult, challenging, time consuming, exhausting, sometimes discouraging, often frustrating, and at the same time wonderful endeavor. Think about whom you are working so hard for. Choose from the list below, or add to it, then leave your comment stating why below. h3. The Students? The ...

What it is: Switcheroo Zoo is a site I learned about from Kevin Bibo on his outstanding blog Cal Teacher Blog. Switcheroo Zoo has fun interactive games and activities such as “Make New Animals” where students can create their own animal combinations, “Build an Online Habitat” where students choose animals and match them to the correct environment, “Switch Zoo Puzzles”, “Where ...

What in the world is an auditory processing disorder anyway? Specific Learning Disabilities come in several varieties, but probably the most common is a disorder of auditory processing. Nearly all students with reading disabilities will have their delays rooted in an auditory processing disorder. Auditory processing is not hearing, its what you do with what you hear. h4. Your student ...

One of the best resources I have found for students to use is from The National Archives Website. When we think of the National Archives we immediately picture the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, etc., and we should because these very important documents are housed under the care of the National Archives. BUT….they have sooooo much more, and you can see ...

It is hard being an educator. People outside the educational field really don’t understand. Part of our inner child is what makes us the educators that we are and we need to make sure that we don’t lose it. We also need to make sure that we don’t lose sight of the world from a child’s eyes because that is what ...

Beginning in October, TheApple will feature an exclusive column titled _Everyday Ethics._ This column will focus on topics- some controversial- that educators encounter everyday in creating an ethical classroom. Read about our author Dr. Rosanna Pittella below: Rosanna Pittella, MA, PhD abd, is an ethicist who based on studies of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Gilligan, developed a unique theory of integration of ...

[photo:62030] What it is: ActivInspire is a new software from Promethean that is free! The free edition is a ‘personal’ license that can be used by anyone. The ActivInspire software works with ANY interactive whiteboard (SMART, Mimio, Wiimote Whiteboard, eBeam, etc.) and even for those of you who do not have an interactive whiteboard, use the software with just a computer ...

There are questions you should ask yourself before you try to win a “battle” in the classroom. There are consequences of losing and winning any battle. The most important point is that sometimes we just need to listen. When I first started teaching, I was determined to show students, parents, and colleagues that I knew everything (or at least I thought ...

[photo:62038] What it is: Math Doodles is a set of math games created by Daren Carstens that help students learn the most important aspect of math…it can be fun! Daren created Math Doodles as a place where students can “discover the joy, wonder, and fun of mathematics.” I have to admit that I would not have classified math as a “fun” ...

I'd lose my head....if it weren’t attached. Well, maybe not, but I have been having a rather difficult time of keeping track of all of my appointments, meetings, and project deadlines. Since the age of 13 I’ve been in love with planners and datebooks, most likely because I want something to do this work FOR me. The problem I’ve had with ...

In Teaching tips to take to heart, Betty mentions how different substitute teaching is compared to being the actual teacher. This made me think of the things I tried to do to make the substitute’s job easier. I had a three ring binder with substitute information and I left this on my desk if I knew I would be absent. If ...

Melting polar ice caps, vanishing forests, violent storms, species extinction, pollution, global warming, climate change, carbon footprint...if all of these terms have a dreadful meaning for adults, imagine the disheartening effect that they have on our students. One of the dismal effects of the environmental crisis is that many of us feel a sense of helplessness caused by the enormous complexity ...

In the article, Ways to Catch Kids Being Good, the author writes, “The most effective behavior management technique is the easiest to implement..."catching 'em being good". Research shows us that the quickest and most effective way to promote the display of appropriate behaviors is to reward them…” I think this is so important and can be done easily in the classroom. ...

America needs an educational reality TV show that makes mathematics easy, accessible and fun for everyone. The biggest hurdle this country faces in terms of mathematics education is not one of standards, curricula or ability. Our central problem is cultural: America hates math. No subject elicits such near-universal fear, anger and disdain as mathematics does, regardless of the particular focus. The ...

I teach an advanced production course to high school students. It’s a brutally difficult class, and I don’t try to make it easy for my students. Two groups of ten students each have two weeks or 10 class sessions (less than 10 hours) to create their own 10 minute television program. Their work is viewed by the entire school of 3500 ...

Special Education is specialized instruction that is available to children who qualify according to a set of criteria outlined in state and federal law. Special Education services are offered by all public school districts to eligible students from birth to age 22. h4. Disabilities There are presently 13 broad areas of disability by which children may qualify for Special Education ...