The Pencil Box

The PENCIL Box provides a venue for companies or individuals who have gently used materials to donate these supplies to New York City Public Schools.  Once you become a member of The PENCIL Box (free) you will find all types of computer equipment, furniture, science equipment, art supplies and much more.  When you identify a piece of equipment you could use in your classroom, simply send a message to the donor with your reason and wait for a response.  Good luck and happy shopping!

Web 2.0 is Changing Education

Education is undergoing dramatic changes as more and more educators and students embrace Web 2.0 tools like podcasts and social networking.  Here is an interesting article from CNN.

DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose is a fantastic organization that brings together public school teachers and people who want to donate money to support public education.  Teachers submit request for materials or experiences for their students and potential donors read through the submissions and fund requests, large and small.  Recently, DonorsChoose received a large donation from the Perry and Donna Golkin Foundation that is to be used specifically for schools in New York City.  Get more information about this exciting grant here.

Inauguration Ideas from the New York City Department of Education

Inauguration

Digital Camera Ideas

Digital Camera Ideas for the Classroom

Take lots of pictures while on a class field trip. Have students write a caption for each picture and to create an adapted book.

Photograph “a day in the life of your classroom” for parent Open House. Create a slide show to run as parents tour your classroom.

Store a photograph with each student’s electronic portfolio.

Walk through the school to find such examples of geometric shapes as circles, triangles, parallel lines, obtuse angles, and so on. Label each photo and create a geometry book.

Photograph community landmarks and have students create a brochure about your community.

Take pictures of easily recognizable signs in your community and assemble the photos into an “I Can Read” book.

Use photographs to illustrate the process for complicated projects or for science experiments.

Write a class novel and illustrate it with live-action photos of your students.

Take pictures of class procedures and display them in the classroom as a reminder.

Create a seating chart with photographs.

Make picture frames for a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift. Glue each photo into a decorated jar lid and glue a magnet to the back.

Document the growth of classroom plants or animals with daily or weekly photos.

Take photos of school staff performing their duties. Write a caption for each photo and create a Community Workers book.

Snap a black-and-white headshot of each student, size it to ¼ page, and place a box frame around it. Place a blank box the same size as the framed picture beside it. Have students draw ½-inch to 1-inch gridlines in pencil in both boxes and label the gridlines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on in each direction. Then have students try to duplicate their pictures by drawing only what they see in each grid.

Take a photograph of each student at the beginning and end of the school year. Have students complete Venn diagrams of themselves, showing how they have — and haven’t — changed during the year.

Compile a set of file cards naming such abstract concepts or emotions as freedom, love, hate, honor, joy, sorrow, patriotism, responsibility, and respect. Have students select a card at random and take a photograph illustrating that concept.

Have each student choose a letter and find an object that begins with that letter. Take a picture of the child with the object and use the pictures to create an adapted book.

Arrange students into groups and assign each group one of the five senses. Have each group photograph the appropriate sensory organ and then have them take pictures of objects that organ might best perceive.

Take pictures to illustrate such science concepts as food chain, biodiversity, biome, and so on.

Have students go on a photographic scavenger hunt, taking pictures of the objects they find rather than retrieving the objects themselves.

Take pictures of plants or animals in your community and use them to create a field guide of local wildlife.

Adapted from Article by Linda Starr, Education World®, Copyright © 2004 Education World

Outlook Express Email Support Made Easier

No more need to call the help desk to reset your Department of Education Outlook email. Now you can simply click on the “Forgot your UserID or Password? Click here” link on the log-in page and get access to your email immediately. The link is outlined below.

teAchnology

teAchnology is a free online resource that provides teachers with quick and easy access to 1000’s of lesson plans, webquests, worksheets, and rubrics. I think the pre-formatted rubrics are priceless. Within minutes, you can have a rubric with your customized project name ready to go. Your students’ progress will be much easier for you to track and the data will be easier for you to organize.

District 75 Professional Development …

District 75 Professional Development Management System

District 75 is no longer using ProTraxx to manage Professional Development.
The new website is: http://district75pd.org

How to register:
You must have an active DOE email to use this system. If you do not know your username or password, call the Help Desk at 718.935.5100.

• Go to http://district75pd.org/
• Click “Participants”
• Click “Register”
  • Enter your DOE email
  • Create a password. This password DOES NOT need to be the same as your DOE email.
• Click “Register”

How to sign up for a Professional Development Course:

• Go to http://district75pd.org/
• Click “Participants”
• Click “Log in”
  • Enter your full DOE email address
  • Enter the password you created during registration, NOT your DOE email password.
• Click “Add Course”
• Find the PD and click on the name
• Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click “Register for Course”
• You will be asked to verify
  • Click “Yes, I want to register for this course”
• The instructor, the principal and you will receive an email. You will need to be approved by both the instructor and the principal.

How to drop a course

• Log in
• Locate the course you wish to drop on your home page
• Click “Drop” (located in the left-hand column)
• Confirm that you wish to drop course by clicking “Yes I want to drop this course”

teachertube.com

Ever wanted to enhance your lessons with videos but couldn’t find one? Teachertube.com is an excellent resource for you to get FREE educational videos to use in your class. You can trust that the content is appropriate for your classroom because every member has the responsibility to flag inappropriate content. Similar to the popular youtube website, teachertube is a place to view 1000’s of videos. You can also upload videos to share with other educators. For more information and to sign up go to www.teachertube.com.

Start-To-Finish Books

Start-To-Finish (STF) books provide age-appropriate, content-based material for older students who are not reading at grade level. Each title comes with an electronic and a print version.

Each student’s profile can be customized for his/her unique needs. Areas addressed are: listening comprehension, building word recognition, building word recognition and fluency, recreational reading, and assessment of independent reading. All areas include comprehension quizzes at the end of each chapter. The data from these quizzes is easily accessible to the teachers and can be used as data for various assessments (e.g. NYSAA).

The books are written at 3-4 grade reading ability but the content and interest level is appropriate through adult ages.

Here are the titles we own at 226:

Flo Jo: The Story of Florence Griffith Joyner
Home Run Heroes
On Strike: The Story of Cesar Chavez
Mark Twain Collection
Jackie Robinson and the American Dream
The Red Badge of Courage
The Story of Anne Frank
Ali: The Greatest
Black Beauty
Rosa Parks: Freedom Fighter
Romeo & Juliet
The Tuskegee Airmen

Let me know if you want to borrow a title or for ideas on how to use the books in your classroom.