The dinner guests  were sitting around the table discussing life.. One man, a CEO of a  large company, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued,  "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in  life was to become a teacher?"

    He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers:  "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." To stress his point he said  to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you  make?"

 Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty  and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?" (She paused for a  second, then began...)

 "Well, I make kids work  harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like a Medal  of Honor. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their  parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie  rental. You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at  each and every person at the table.)

 'I make  kids wonder. I make them ask questions. I make them apologize and mean  it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.  I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't  everything. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their  work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made  calculator.


    I make my students from other  countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving  their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my  students feel safe.

 I make my students stand  and sing the national anthem every morning, because we live in this  great country called the United States. Finally, I make them understand  that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their  hearts, they can succeed in life."

  (Bonnie  paused one last time and then continued.)

   "Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money  isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention  because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make? I MAKE A  DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?"
    His jaw dropped,  he went silent.

Teaching does make a difference!

 

 

Differentiation is just as important in teaching good study strategies as it is to teach the materials to be studied.

Everyone is different, different methods work for different people.

As a teacher we need to utilize whatever it takes to enhance student learning.

 

 We will differentiate by Readiness, Interest, & Learning Styles. 
(Does this sound familiar?)

Readiness

Are they “ready” to learn? 
We must assess what they know in order to teach them what they need to know. At each grade level, incoming students have vastly different levels of ability and understanding. At the beginning of the school term, as well as at the beginning of each unit of instruction, the teacher may not know what students have been taught and what they have retained. Pre-assessment is a useful tool that can help determine what needs to be reviewed, emphasized, or introduced for the first time. After students have taken a pre-test, the teacher can determine both the range of students' knowledge and understanding. Pre-testing is a great strategy to improve students’ learning.

 

Interest

Are they “interested” in learning? 
Think about this…The first time a student hears new information, unless the student is interested in learning it or connects it with prior knowledge or something they already know, the chances are that the next time they hear it will be just another first time. Let think about this even more, if you do not have the student’s attention/ interest, they probably will not learn and if they are not interested they will not pay attention. The chances are that your students are not going to learn or remember anything they are not interested in.  So what should you do? Create an interest!  Make learning/ studying/ homework fun.

 

Learning Styles

Are their “learning styles” being optimized? 

Auditory learners are typically good at absorbing information from spoken words. 
Strategies that work well for auditory learners include:
*Talking to themselves or with others about what they’re learning 
*Reciting important information aloud, perhaps recording it and playing it back 
*Reading a book and listening to the audio book at the same time 
*Using word associations 
*Setting information to a tune and singing it to help remember it 
*Limiting distracting noises

Kinesthetic learners prefer to be active while studying and may not be able to focus while sitting still. 
Strategies for kinesthetic learners include:
*Reading aloud and tracking words on a page with a finger
*Writing things down multiple times to commit them to memory 
*Highlighting and underlining 
*Playing with a stress ball or toy while studying 
*Moving around or taking frequent breaks 
*Doing hands-on activities, such as building models or playing games

Visual learners benefit from seeing information on a chalkboard or in an illustration and may grow impatient listening for long periods of time.
Strategies for visual learners include:
*Using flash cards 
*Study charts, tables,maps. and other graphic organizers
*Drawing illustrations 
*Writing things down and reviewing notes 
*Highlighting and underlining 
*Color-coding information

 

I went to the Bartow's Schoolhouse Players show - “Putin on the Ritz”.

Here is a link on Irvin Berlin. The rest are links & videos of a few of the songs I heard…..The Dean Of American Songwriters

"There's No Business Like Show Business,"

Alexander's Ragtime Band- GE Radio Show by Judy Garland

Cheek to Cheek

I’ll be Loving You

'Oh, How I Hate to get up in the Morning'

Easter Parade

Blue Skies

Anything You Can Do

Doin' What Comes Natur'lly

Sisters

White Christmas

The Carol Burnett Show - Irving Berlin Tribute

1982 Oscars Irving Berlin Tribute-part 1

1982 Oscars Irving Berlin Tribute-part 2

"God Bless America,"

 

I have just finished  reading “More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Georgia Women” by Sara Hines Martin . The women from this book left their mark on Georgia History.  The following is a brief overview.

Mary Musgrove Bosomworth- ca. 1700-ca. 1763; Queen  of Creeks; Trader ;Translator; Diplomat & owner of St. Catherine's Island

Sarah Freeman Clarke- Clarke  Library; Transcendental Movement; The Dial- Dante & Marietta, Georgia

Ellen Craft- Abolitionist;Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860); Freedmen's Education & William and Ellen Craft

Rebecca Latimer Felton- First Female U.S. Senator; Christian Temperance Union;Woman Suffrage & Author

“Nellie” Peters Black - Atlanta Free Kindergarten Association; Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs; Georgia 4-H & Metropolitan Frontiers

Juliette Gordon Low-Founder of Girl Scouts USA; National Women’s Hall of Fame ; Savannah’s First Historical Landmark & Georgia Women of Achievement

Martha McChesney Berry- Educator; Philanthropist ; Miracle in the Mountains & Berry College

Lugenia Burns Hope- Social Activist ; Hostess Houses ; Social Worker & Black Southern Reformer

Leila Ross Wilburn- Pioneer ; Architect & Southern Homes and Bungalows

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey- “Ma” Rainey; Georgia Jazz Band & Mother of the Blues

Lillian Smith- Georgia Writer ; Lillian E. Smith Foundation ; Southern Literay Trail-Clayton  & Strange Fruit (1944)

Leila Daughtry Denmark- Pediatrician;Every Child Should Have A Chance & Whooping Cough

Margaret Mitchell- Gone With the Wind; Southern Literary Trail  & Margaret Mitchell House and Museum

 

Resources-

New Georgia Encyclopedia

Georgia Women of Achievement Teacher’s Guide

Georgia Writers Hall of Fame

Georgia Humanities Council

History Day In Georgia

 

 

 

It’s Weihnachten, rivers turn to Gluehwein, animals "sprechen", trees blossoms & bear fruit, mountains open up to reveal precious gems, and church bells  & music can be heard  from the bottom of the sea. German fairytales and legends begin. The Christmas Tree  (Tannenbaum) is decorated with apples, candy, nuts, cookies, cars, trains, angels, tinsel, family treasures and  lights. The custom of trimming the tree ( Paradise Baum ) began to symbolize the tree in the Garden of Eden.  Presents and special Christmas plates  with stolen for each family member is placed in the room. The Chriskind  or Sankt Nikolaus und der Weihnachtsmann brings gifts.

The Christmas season is upon us and family and traditions bring a sense of promise. I observe the German traditions &    Communion on Christmas Eve. I  thank God for my blessings.  Whether you are celebrating  Hanukah, Kwanzaa , Christmas, Eid El Fitr or Solace – I wish for you a Happy Holiday and a Blessed New Year.

 

The Appalachian Trail (AT) begins in Georgia at Springer Mountain and ends approximately 79 miles later at Bly Gap N.C.T his rugged rocky terrain reaches a height of more than 4400 feet.  The Georgia AT extends through primitive areas of the Chattahoochee National Forest with ascents and descents steep and challenging. The reward is grand views from rocky outcrops and open summits.   Springer Mountain is hard to reach by automobile so an approach trail begins at Amicalola Falls State Park . A great way to begin exploring the AT is to stay at the Len Foote Hike Inn  and do the Hike Inn Trails.  Other scenic first hikes could include Tallulah Gorge State Park and the Tallulah Gorge Loop Trail or Brasstown Bald and the Wagon Train Trail.  Lake Winfield Scott with Slaughter Creek & Jarrard Gap trails or Duke Creek Falls and the Duke Creek Falls Trail are easy but beautiful trail especially in spring.

As you begin to adventure out for overnight on the trail you will experience outstanding scenic views from mountain tops .The trail passes through five of Georgia's wilderness areas: Raven Cliffs Wilderness with the Raven Cliff Falls Trail & Neel's Gap to Hog Pen Gap AT Trail; Mark Trail Wilderness between Unicoi Gap and Hogpen Gap; Tray Mountain Wilderness with Dick Creeks Fall Trail; the Southern Nantahala Wilderness ; and Blood Mountain Wilderness  (Vogel State Park) from Neel's Gap to Woody Gap. Bly Gap on the Georgia/North Carolina border is the northern end of the AT in Georgia.  

The trail is marked throughout its length with rectangular white blazes and is generally easy to follow. Double blazes indicate caution, usually meaning a turn in the trail. Side trails and trails to water are blue-blazed; signs are placed at road crossings, shelters, and other important intersections. There are 12 shelters on the Georgia AT, placed more or less at intervals permitting easy day hikes. All but one of these shelters are three-sided, open-front types with floors.  A picture of Tray Mtn Shelter., Blue Mtn . Shelter, Springs are reasonably close by. The exception is the Blood Mtn. Shelter which is a stone, two-room structure atop Blood Mountain. It has four sides, a fireplace, windows, and a sleeping platform. There is no water on top of Blood Mountain. Video of Blood Mtn. Shelter.

Theodore  Roosevelt ,a conservationist, proposed the AT in 1921. Benton MacKaye wrote the original proposal, "An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning". The original proposal did not include Georgia. In 1925, the creation of the Appalachian Trail Conference extended the trail into Georgia. Roy Ozmer & Arthur Woody made it a reality. The trail in Georgia was completed in 1931 through the combined efforts of members of the newly organized Georgia Appalachian Trail Club and the U.S. Forest Service. The original southern terminus of the trail was Mt. Oglethorpe, near Tate, but development and chicken farming on private land between Amicalola Falls and Mt. Oglethorpe intruded on the wilderness experience of hikers, forcing the terminus to be moved in 1958 to Springer Mountain. In 1968 Congress authorized the AT as the first National Scenic Trail; in 1978 Congress appropriated funds to acquire lands along the route to protect the trail from encroaching development. Maintenance of the trail rests with the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) and  Appalachian Trail Clubs. In 1984, the secretary of interior signed a delegation agreement with the ATC assigning to it unprecedented responsibilities for operation, development, monitoring, and maintenance of the trail. Volunteers in AT clubs carry out these duties.  President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Trails System Act in 1968. This act, originally intended to protect the land near the Appalachian Trail was rewritten to include any footpath designated as a National Scenic Trail. Today "America's Trail" and others in the National Scenic Trail System, with few exceptions, are on land that is federally protected.

Information obtained from Georgia Trails & Sherpa Guides.

Official Appalachian Trail Maps

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a
butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the
fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your hast Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,'Hi'
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

 Heading to Texas to see my son......

 

Virtual field trips are highly interactive Web sites that can take you away without the cost. CBS Virtual Field Trip Video explain concept. E-School news explains why virtual field trip are an attractive option.

Let explore these…..

The Blue Zones Quest is an educational project that gives students the opportunity to direct a team of scientists, explorers, and journalists as they travel to Blue Zones™ places where people live the longest, healthiest lives. It is supported by the National Geographic Society and the National Institutes on Aging. The free curriculum guide is full of lesson ideas for intergrating parts or all of the Blue Zones program into the curriculum.

GoNorth! is a five-year adventure learning project.  It is free to the entire K-12 community. GoNorth! uses the allure of exciting Arctic dogsled expeditions and Arctic research as the vehicle through which K-12 teachers and students gain an understanding of science, social sciences, technology, and the cultures of the Arctic.

Space Wander is a virtual space-trip to the depths of the Universe! All of SpaceWander's space pictures are real NASA images!

Windows into Wonderland, is the National Park Service's series of electronic field trips exploring Yellowstone National Park. It is a set of charming Flash animations that intercut cartoons with actual photos of the park.

National Geographic ‘s Lewis and Clark is an epic expedition across North America.  Teachers & students follow the expedition via journal entries,historical photos, drawings, and maps.

MayaQuest is a virtual field trip that lets kids explore seven different archeological sites while they study messages from experts.

Agriculture in the Classroom is a grassroots program coordinated by the United States Department of Agriculture. It has virtual farming tours.

Estuary Live is a a series of videos that explores the estuary world. Teacher have used this site to extend their classroom.

Reach the World  is an interactive website that enriches the school day by connecting classrooms to travelers on actual journeys across the globe.

GOALS invites explorers of all ages  to travel to exciting online adventures. The GOAL is to intrigue you with virtual field trips, travel, adventure, science, technology and nature.

This is a list of recommended virtual museum tours. American Museum of Natural History, Holocaust Museum Tour, The National Gallery of Art, The Mount Vernon Virtual MansonTour,  Colonial Williamsburg, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,  Tellus NW Georgia Science Museum, & The Great Wall of China.

Use Walter McKenzie’s Virtual Field Trip Guidelines to help you plan your next adventure.

 

Georgia Master Teacher

A “Master Teacher” designation on Georgia teaching certificates identifies and recognizes educators who have positively influenced student achievement in the classroom. Web page and awareness sessions are available for more information. The Georgia Framework for Teaching helps identify knowledge, skills, dispositions, understandings and other attributes of accomplished teaching.

Local systems promote and support the “Master Teacher” through identification and validation. A special PowerPoint was designed for redelivery of “Master Teacher” program process.

Teacher apply for “Master Teacher” due to numerous opportunities for leadership roles, professional learning, and qualifying for the Academic Coach program.

Georgia Code 20-2-205 established criteria for eligibility for Master Teacher”:
1) provide evidence of student achievement and student progress
2) must be a Georgia Public School Teacher
3) must have a minimum of 3 years experience on a Georgia Clear Renewable certificate

Teachers have two formats (CRCT or Non-CRCT) for applying for the program. They determine student achievement using 1 ½ years of CRCT data or non-CRCT data.

Elementary School Educators

Middle School Educators

High School Educators

Sections 1 & 3 on applications are standardized for both groups. The Application Verification form must have all signatures and must be filled out correctly.

The application process for Master Teacher Certification 2009 opens November 1, 2008, and closes January 31, 2009.

 

 

 

House by the Side of the Road

THERE are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat
Nor hurl the cynic's ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?

Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

 

Samual Walter Foss
public domain 1899

Step 1: Plan and Prioritize

               Start with calendars for everyone and one big family calendar posted in a central location. School agendas are a great opportunity to teach students how to organize their lives. I believe beginning in 2^nd grade, students should learn to carry agendas w/calendars. They should mark all important things including personal appointments on their calendar. The teacher as well as the parent should review and discuss the use of the calendar on a regualar basis to ensure understanding and promote the “habit”. Peter Drucker, a noted management expert, “doing the right thing is effective; doing things right is efficient. Focus first on effectiveness ( identifying what is the right thing to do), then concentrate on efficeincy ( doing it right).” Begin with daily To-Do List and expand to goal setting. To-Do List are prioritized lists of all the task that need to be carried out. They list everything you have to do, with the most import task at the top of the list, and the least important at the bottom.

Step 2: Time and Things

          Set aside a hour or two each night for homework ( depending on the age of child). Designate a specific spot with specific items( not bed or in front of TV) for doing homework. Doing the same thing at the same time time will help student to focus. A regular pattern can also mean fewer complaints when it's time to start.  Lee Canter’s Homework Tips can be helpful.  When you and your child review homework assignements, work with your child to establish a priority for completion. The length of task or due date can determine the priority. The Raising Children Network has good ideas about rituals and routines for your family.

  Step 3: Conflicts and Completion

          Conflict will arise. When your child has a ball game, scouts, friends, or fun that conflicts with school/ home responsibility, assist your child to mange this conflict. Avoid making the decision but give the child choice and consequences of their actions.  Celebrate completion even the small ones. Stickers, treats, or special privledges can promote success. Ask your child what rewards they think suit the task. Just checking off the To-Do list with your child can be fun and rewarding. Use postive reinforcement to help accomplish task and goals. Georgia State Parks are an inexpensive reward for family fun. Ann McGee-Cooper, "If we learn to balance excellence in work with excellence in play, fun, and relaxation, our lives become happier, healthier, and a great deal more creative."

              There comes a time when life overwhelms you and you just do not know what to say.Thus I will let others express my feelings…….

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yours.  
Friedrich Nietzsche German philosopher (1844 - 1900)

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Helen Keller US blind & deaf educator (1880 – 1968)

It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.
Mahatma Gandhi Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.
You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt US diplomat & reformer (1884 - 1962)

Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.
Benjamin Franklin  US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)

 If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him.Men will believe what they see. Let them see.
Henry David Thoreau US Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)

I trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we're not wise enough to see it.
Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine US actress & television talk show host (1954 - )

Education: that which reveals to the wise, and conceals from the stupid, the vast limits of their knowledge.
Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 - 1910)

Character is higher than intellect...
A great soul will be strong to live, as well as to think.
Ralph Waldo Emerson US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.
J. R. R. Tolkien  British scholar & fantasy novelist (1892 - 1973)

It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead.
The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.
Sir Winston Churchill   British politician (1874 - 1965)

Yesterday is but today's memory, tomorrow is today's dream.
Kahlil Gibran Lebanese artist & poet in US (1883 - 1931)

 

 

Many of you know that I have undertaken a drastic paradigm shift in my life- I joined the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club.

I became an official member in July with my last requirement of “Trail Maintenance. (Honestly, it took me three weeks to get rid of my poison ivy.)

I have met some really nice people. I have not found my niche yet. I am not a thru-hiker, nor a fast-paced hiker. 
I like to ramble, stop, gander, take pictures, & enjoy. 

My first hike was a wildflower hike in the spring. I also participated in an “In-town series: Vickery Creek in historic Roswell. I also have participated in a photography class.

My last adventure was the toughest. What was intended to be a slow-paced hike to Three Forks Trail  ended in about a 5 mile excursion?  What made the trip was Marcy. She would inspire anyone. (see pictures attached).

 My next adventure is a full moon hike on Stone Mountain. I will keep you posted to my progress.

I have been asked recently about grant oportunities for teachers. I did a little research & these seem the easiest to procure.

Teaching Tolerance Grants  for Teachers and Classrooms,
Since 1997, they have awarded more than $1 million in funding to support classroom teachers' efforts to reduce prejudice, improve intergroup relations or support professional development in these areas.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/grants/index.jsp

The Best Buy Teach Award program recognizes creative uses of interactive technology in K-12 classrooms. Winning programs focus on kids using technology to learn standards-based curriculum, rather than on teaching students to use technology or educators using technology that children aren't able to use hands-on. The purpose of the Best Buy Teach Award program is to reward schools for the successful interactive programs they have launched using available technology. Please do not be discouraged from applying if your school does not have the most current equipment. Applications must be completed and submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Eastern DST on October 12, 2008. Awards will be announced on March 2, 2009, at
www.BestBuy.com/teach.

The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy is a one-week all-expense-paid intensive professional development program for third- through fifth-grade teachers. The Academy offers a five-day program designed to provide third- through fifth-grade teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to motivate students to pursue careers in science and math. Application for the 2009 Academy are due by October 31, 2008
http://www.sendmyteacher.com/teachers_and_grown_ups.htm

Target will award 5,000 Field Trip Grants of up to $800 each during the 2008-2009 school year. That adds up to 5,000 more opportunities for students to explore more of the world outside the classroom.Visit the zoo. Go backstage at a local theater. Tour a museum. Explore more with a Field Trip Grant from Target. online anytime between now and Nov. 1, 2008
http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-002537

For years Wild Ones® members and chapters have worked with schools and nature centers to plant and maintain natural landscapes in these centers of learning. In 1996, the Wild Ones Board of Directors started the Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education (SFE) Fund to further foster such projects.  http://www.for-wild.org/sfecvr.html

Classrooms throughout the U.S. are invited to enter the PFK “Play with Your Produce Healthy Challenge” contest for Fall 2008. All entering classrooms will receive coupons and discounts for fresh produce, sample lesson plans with fun fruit & veggie activities, discounts on nutrition books and curricula, and Produce for Kids goodies for the classroom.
http://www.produceforkids.org/teachers/contest.html

A partnership between Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. , Inc. and the National Science Teachers Association, the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program offers grants to K–12 science teachers for innovative projects that enhance science education in the school and/or school district. 50 large grants and a minimum of 20 mini-grants, totaling $550,000 in all, will be awarded this year.
 http://tapestry.nsta.org/

Captain Planet Foundation ALL PROJECTS MUST: Promote understanding of environmental issues. Focus on hands-on involvement  .Involve children and young adults 6-18 (elementary through high school) .Promote interaction and cooperation within the group .Help young people develop planning and problem solving skills .Include adult supervision
http://www.captainplanetfdn.org/grants.html

 

For more grant information, I suggest this website:
http://www.grantsalert.com/

 

 

 

What is it to grow old?
Is it to lose the glory of the form,
The lustre of the eye?
Is it for beauty to forego her wreath?
Yes, but not for this alone.

Is it to feel our strength -
Not our bloom only, but our strength -decay?
Is it to feel each limb
Grow stiffer, every function less exact,
Each nerve more weakly strung?

Yes, this, and more! but not,
Ah, 'tis not what in youth we dreamed 'twould be!
'Tis not to have our life
Mellowed and softened as with sunset-glow,
A golden day's decline!

'Tis not to see the world
As from a height, with rapt prophetic eyes,
And heart profoundly stirred;
And weep, and feel the fulness of the past,
The years that are no more!

It is to spend long days
And not once feel that we were ever young.
It is to add, immured
In the hot prison of the present, month
To month with weary pain.

It is to suffer this,
And feel but half, and feebly, what we feel:
Deep in our hidden heart
Festers the dull remembrance of a change,
But no emotion -none.

It is -last stage of all -
When we are frozen up within, and quite
The phantom of ourselves,
To hear the world applaud the hollow ghost
Which blamed the living man.

• By: Matthew Arnold

Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is an approach that attempts to weave writing assignments throughout all content areas. Writing takes place in within a genre.

 

Genre is a recognized category of works that share a common form, purpose or content. As a writer, it is important to understand what these commonly shared attributes are for each of the different genre.

Descriptive Genre- the goal of this genre is to describe a person, place or thing in vivid detail.

Expository Genre- the goal of this genre is to give information such as an explanation or directions

Narrative Genre -the goal of this genre is to tell a story of an experience, event, or sequence of events while holding the reader's interest.

Persuasive Genre -the goal of this genre is to give an opinion in an attempt to convince the reader that this point of view is valid or tries to persuade the reader to take a specific action.

Poetry Genre- the poetic writing is a written art form that helps the writer express an imaginative awareness and arranged to create a specific emotional response sometimes employing the use of repetition, meter, and rhyme.

Technical Genre-the goal of technical writing is to clearly communicate a select piece of information to a targeted reader or group of readers for a particular purpose in such a way that the subject can readily be understood. It is expository writing that requires a response from the reader.

 

Rubrics are a great way for students to self assess and for the teacher to formatively assess different writings projects.  Rubrics also provide clear criteria for evaluating writing on a continuum of quality.

 

Examples of Writing Rubrics:
Expository Rubric

Persuasive Rubric

Literary Response Rubric

Reflective Writing

What are strategies that I can use that improve reading and writing across the curriculum.

 

Anticipation Guides Improve Reading-Create a series of generalized statements related to a passage of text. Prior to reading, ask students to write down each generalization (see the download) and indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with the generalization. As students read the passage, they should take notes on the issues presented by the generalizations. After reading, students should evaluate their original marks to determine if their level of agreement or disagreement has changed. Follow the anticipation guide with an explanatory writing or discussion activity.

Postcard Geography- Have your students send and receive postcards to and from participating schools.Check out this site to register. The postcards can be posted on maps hung in the classroom for students to use while finding the locations of the other schools.

 

Veteran’s Day Letters to Vets- Students connect with today's veterans. Contact your local VFW or VA hospital and have them hand out letter and pictures your students have made for the local veterans.

 

Reader’s Theater - Fluency with struggling readers can improve with type of activity. Reader's theaters gives an occasion where students practice and reread rhymes, stories, poems, songs, monologues, dialogue or scripts throughout the week and then perform them at the end of the week.

 

Pumpkin Characters- Enjoy the fall with this wonderful literature project. Each student reads a book independently. The main character is recreated by using a pumpkin. Have the students select a pumpkin (one they can carry) and decorate it (not carve it) to resemble the main character in their book.

 

Poetry Calendar-  Research famous poets to create a school year calendar. Students will research five famous poets born in a particular month, read 1-2 poems by each poet while illustrating each poem.