Volume VI
Hi, folks. Well, now that you've scared the
wits out of your classes with your Halloween assignments, it's time to move
on to more tranquil themes. Thanksgiving is coming up, and I've come up
with a simple little program you might be able to use with your overhead
projection unit or your flashy new Whiteboard when introducing vocabulary
words. I call it Talkin' Turkey. In the
Teacher Humor section, I've got a few more jokes to
pass on to you. Maybe they will brighten your day, and you can share them
with your kids. In Famous Quotations I've
included a few more inspirational quotes.
Perhaps you will be able to use some of these in your classes. Writer's
Almanac alerts you to some writers who were born in the month
of November. I've also included some ideas for writing on the web and ways
you can occupy your really fast students who finish up before everyone
else. I also want to let users of our program Oh! My New Words
know about a recent upgrade fix, and some of you will want to learn about
our newest Literary Test Generators -- Wuthering Heights Test
Generator and Iliad Test Generator. To read about
these items, look below.
Send your emails to abaggetta@comcast.net. Read on and see what this rambling is all about.
Send your emails to abaggetta@comcast.net. Read on and see what this rambling is all about.
Have a great
month.
Best,
Al Baggetta
Writing On the Web
Best,
Al Baggetta
Writing On the Web
Have you noticed how we are becoming a text oriented
society? The fine art of conversation started taking a dive (along with
handwriting) with the development of the computer, and our younger
generation seems to have latched on to this media tenaciously. Between
texting, blogging, and emailing much of what our youth has to say is
being generated in the form of text.
Well. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em -- the old saying goes. If our kids our going to spend time communicating in text, then as teachers, we have an obligation to help them do it with some class (no pun intended).
When computers became more abundant in our school, I insisted that my students turn in their papers in typed format. This was one step in making their work more readable. Of course, this insistence gave way to new technical problems, but with diligence I was able to make good use of the new mechanical addition to our classes. Also I required students to pay attention to how they were writing, as well as the means. Today many teachers require that student work be turned in as typed text (or even digital) format, and many teachers have taken to using the web for assignments and as a means of communicating with their students.
With this thought in mind I want to direct you to an nice article on the internet called "Writing for the Web," by Daniel Will-Harris. This article gives some nice tips for teachers and students who want to write on the web. Take a look at it when you get a chance.
Fill In the Gaps
We've all had this experience at one time or another. You have given a test, worksheet, or some other assignment, and you could use some educational work that would occupy some students when they finish their work faster than others. Here's a nice list of ideas offered by one of the teachers on Teachers Pay Teachers.
(By the way. If you haven't visited Teachers Pay Teachers, you should take some time and browse the site. There are lots of good ideas, tests, plans, etc. -- many offered for free, that you might be able to use. You can even join and sell your own work to make some extra money. CLICK HERE TO VISIT TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS WEBSITE.)
Here are 6 quick easy ideas for your classroom to help with that in between time where some students finish their work faster than others. It will help keep them engaged while the other students are finishing with minimal to no help required from the teacher:
1) Have them read a book (or chapter for older kids) that is a little challenging for them. Have them write down any words from their reading that they don’t know and have them look them up in a dictionary and write the definition. You can also have them then use the words in a sentence. To avoid students from saying they knew all the words have a minimum requirement of words they must find.
2.) Have a container with dice in it. Depending on the grade level of the students, have them choose 1-3 dice. Roll the dice and create math problems with the numbers. For example for a second grade student: they choose two dice and roll a 3 and a 6. Then they roll again and get a 5 and a 1. Student can write 36 or 63, then 51 or 15. Then they choose an operation (+, - , /, or, x) and write then solve the problems. Any combination of dice can be chosen - 2 and 3, 3 and 1, 3 and 2, 3 and 3, etc.. Have a minimum number of problems you want them to do. Students will enjoy playing teacher by making up their own problems.
3) Have a folder with each child’s name and place 5 to 10 worksheets in each folder. Worksheets should be based on previously taught skills. When a student is done with their class work, have them work on the sheets from this folder.
4) Have several sentence starters on laminated paper. Student writes a story based on the sentence starter they choose. Student writes until the next class activity and should keep the story in a folder to continue being worked on. Let students know you check stories once each week. Once student is done with story and revisions, let them create a book.
5) Using their spelling words let them create word searches. You’ll need to create a format sheet for this of where letters should be placed. Then they can trade with each other to find the spelling words. This is a minimum two person activity.
6.) Have them time themselves to do math facts. Create a sheet of 50-100 facts depending on grade level. They write their answers then stop the stop watch when done. You could even keep a chart of their times so they can work to get faster. Give them a goal time to shoot for and offer some incentive it they reach it and have whatever percent of the problems correct that you feel they should have (I suggest 95%) Leave answer sheet so student can self correct.
Teacher Humor
Well. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em -- the old saying goes. If our kids our going to spend time communicating in text, then as teachers, we have an obligation to help them do it with some class (no pun intended).
When computers became more abundant in our school, I insisted that my students turn in their papers in typed format. This was one step in making their work more readable. Of course, this insistence gave way to new technical problems, but with diligence I was able to make good use of the new mechanical addition to our classes. Also I required students to pay attention to how they were writing, as well as the means. Today many teachers require that student work be turned in as typed text (or even digital) format, and many teachers have taken to using the web for assignments and as a means of communicating with their students.
With this thought in mind I want to direct you to an nice article on the internet called "Writing for the Web," by Daniel Will-Harris. This article gives some nice tips for teachers and students who want to write on the web. Take a look at it when you get a chance.
Fill In the Gaps
We've all had this experience at one time or another. You have given a test, worksheet, or some other assignment, and you could use some educational work that would occupy some students when they finish their work faster than others. Here's a nice list of ideas offered by one of the teachers on Teachers Pay Teachers.
(By the way. If you haven't visited Teachers Pay Teachers, you should take some time and browse the site. There are lots of good ideas, tests, plans, etc. -- many offered for free, that you might be able to use. You can even join and sell your own work to make some extra money. CLICK HERE TO VISIT TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS WEBSITE.)
Here are 6 quick easy ideas for your classroom to help with that in between time where some students finish their work faster than others. It will help keep them engaged while the other students are finishing with minimal to no help required from the teacher:
1) Have them read a book (or chapter for older kids) that is a little challenging for them. Have them write down any words from their reading that they don’t know and have them look them up in a dictionary and write the definition. You can also have them then use the words in a sentence. To avoid students from saying they knew all the words have a minimum requirement of words they must find.
2.) Have a container with dice in it. Depending on the grade level of the students, have them choose 1-3 dice. Roll the dice and create math problems with the numbers. For example for a second grade student: they choose two dice and roll a 3 and a 6. Then they roll again and get a 5 and a 1. Student can write 36 or 63, then 51 or 15. Then they choose an operation (+, - , /, or, x) and write then solve the problems. Any combination of dice can be chosen - 2 and 3, 3 and 1, 3 and 2, 3 and 3, etc.. Have a minimum number of problems you want them to do. Students will enjoy playing teacher by making up their own problems.
3) Have a folder with each child’s name and place 5 to 10 worksheets in each folder. Worksheets should be based on previously taught skills. When a student is done with their class work, have them work on the sheets from this folder.
4) Have several sentence starters on laminated paper. Student writes a story based on the sentence starter they choose. Student writes until the next class activity and should keep the story in a folder to continue being worked on. Let students know you check stories once each week. Once student is done with story and revisions, let them create a book.
5) Using their spelling words let them create word searches. You’ll need to create a format sheet for this of where letters should be placed. Then they can trade with each other to find the spelling words. This is a minimum two person activity.
6.) Have them time themselves to do math facts. Create a sheet of 50-100 facts depending on grade level. They write their answers then stop the stop watch when done. You could even keep a chart of their times so they can work to get faster. Give them a goal time to shoot for and offer some incentive it they reach it and have whatever percent of the problems correct that you feel they should have (I suggest 95%) Leave answer sheet so student can self correct.
Teacher Humor
The teacher of the earth science class was
lecturing on map reading.
After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asked, "Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude?"
After a confused silence, one student responded, "I guess you'd be eating alone."
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English Teacher: Morty, make a sentence starting with the letter 'I'.
Morty: "I is ..."
English Teacher: "No, no, no, don't say 'I is', you say 'I am'".
Morty: "OK, I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
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Important News: Baggetta_Ware now supports instant downloads when you order programs using Pay Pal or your credit card via Pay Pal. Now you don't have to wait to get your programs. Click "RETURN TO MERCHANT OR RETURN TO BAGGETTA_WARE" and you will be delivered to a page from which you can download your purchase immediately.
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Famous Quotations
(Give these quotations to your students. If they don't know who the authors are, have them look them up) Also, drop by our main web page www.baggetta.com to get a new quote for each day.
Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf. -- American Indian Proverb
Eighty percent of success is showing up. -- Woody Allen
After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asked, "Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude?"
After a confused silence, one student responded, "I guess you'd be eating alone."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
English Teacher: Morty, make a sentence starting with the letter 'I'.
Morty: "I is ..."
English Teacher: "No, no, no, don't say 'I is', you say 'I am'".
Morty: "OK, I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Important News: Baggetta_Ware now supports instant downloads when you order programs using Pay Pal or your credit card via Pay Pal. Now you don't have to wait to get your programs. Click "RETURN TO MERCHANT OR RETURN TO BAGGETTA_WARE" and you will be delivered to a page from which you can download your purchase immediately.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Famous Quotations
(Give these quotations to your students. If they don't know who the authors are, have them look them up) Also, drop by our main web page www.baggetta.com to get a new quote for each day.
Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf. -- American Indian Proverb
Eighty percent of success is showing up. -- Woody Allen
If you find it in
your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.
-- Maya Angelou
You cannot belong
to anyone else until you belong to yourself. -- Pearl Bailey
Happiness often
sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open. -- John
Barrymore
Put yourself in Hamlet's
shoes. Suppose you were a prince, and you came back from college to
discover that your uncle had murdered your father and married your
mother, and you fell in love with a beautiful girl and mistakenly
murdered her father, and then she went crazy and drowned herself. What
would you do? Go back for a masters?
-- Art Buchwald
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Important News:
Baggetta_Ware NEVER charges for UPGRADES. If we fix or improve a program
you can
download it for free with proof of purchase. Most companies thrive on the
money they make from upgrades,
but we feel you should have the security
of a well running program from the start, so we offer upgrades and fixes
at no charge. Hey! We make mistakes like everyone else, but we also make
amends.
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Let's Talk Turkey --
Free Program of the Month
Just in time for
Thanksgiving!
Fun to use and free from Baggetta_Ware this month. Go to our main page
www.baggetta.com to download. It's
primarily for elementary teachers, but it can be used for just about any
class to introduce new vocabulary words. I've designed it around a
Thanksgiving theme and the accompanying list of words are all Thanksgiving
related, but you can change the word list easily and use it for other
occasions. The included documentation tells you how. I call it
Let's Talk Turkey. It's for Windows PC, and it doesn't
cost anything. Just download from our main page:
www.baggetta.com
WRITER'S ALMANAC
This is a partial list of some of
the more well-known authors born in the month of November. Familiarize
your students with them.
Margaret Mitchell --
November 8
Fiodor Dostoievski -- November 11
Kurt Vonnegut -- November 11
Marianne Moore -- November 15
Voltaire -- November 21
George Eliot -- November 22
William Blake -- November 28
Fiodor Dostoievski -- November 11
Kurt Vonnegut -- November 11
Marianne Moore -- November 15
Voltaire -- November 21
George Eliot -- November 22
William Blake -- November 28
