Associated Colleges of Illinois: Mentor Online

Coupon Codes for Book Orders

November 19th, 2008

Last week Donna Goodwyn posted places where you could purchase books — I’d like to piggy back off her suggestions and add that you could usually find coupons to add to your discount. For example, go to Google and type in Scholastic Coupon Code http://www.retailmenot.com/view/scholastic.com and you will find additional savings! You could do this for all purchases –  just Google the name of the place you are shopping and add “coupon code” to the end — you will be really surprised at your savings!
Judy

Posted in Language Arts, Mentor Online, Reading/Literacy | No Comments »

Inexpensive Books

November 19th, 2008

At Friday’s ACI Induction Academy, I was asked if I knew of places where teachers could buy inexpensive books. I have asked around and really there is no one place but many and it takes time to collect and search them out. Here are the following places I would consider searching for books.
*Library Sale Rooms
*Garage Sales
*Estate Sales (Grandma’s have books)
*AAUW Book Sales
*Amazon.com and search books. .o1 which will bring up some 1 cent books
*Used online books
*Walmart and Target have sale books
*Powell’s Used Sale Page
AbeBooks
Alibris
You may also try local dollar stores and Odd Lots
We might consider bringing books we all have for children we are no longer using to give away at our next ACI event?? Just an idea.
Do you know of any places to find inexpensive books for children? Comment here please!
–Donna

Posted in Technology & Teaching | No Comments »

Salt Secrets

November 18th, 2008

You probably eat a lot more salt than you realize, and that could be bad for your health - Check this out…http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20081105/Feature1.asp

Prof Diab

Posted in Science | No Comments »

More ideas for books that contain math and reading

November 10th, 2008

Great seeing all of you at Friday’s Induction Academy. I was also asked about books that bring math and reading together and here are a few works that I found in the I-Share catalog which you should be able to get through your library’s inter-library loan department. If anyone has any other ideas please add a comment to our blog! And if you need a login and password, contact ACI!–Donna

Math stories for problem solving success : ready-to-use activities based on real-life situations, grades 6-12 / James L. Overholt, Nancy H. Aaberg, James F. Lindsey.
Series: Jossey-Bass teacher
Edition: 2nd ed.
Published: San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass c2008.

Math word problems for dummies / by Mary Jane Sterling.
Series: –For dummies
Published: Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley Pub., c2008.

You can, toucan, math : word problem-solving fun / by David A. Adler ; illustrated by Edward Miller.
Published: New York : Holiday House, c2006.

Camp Fraction : solving exciting word problems using fractions / by Heidi Lang & Lisa Allan ; illustrated by Mike Eustis.
Series: Activities for advanced learning series
Published: Waco, Tex. : Prufrock Press, c2005.

Solving word problems for life, grades 3-5 / Melony A. Brown.
Published: Westport, Conn. : Teacher Ideas Press, 2005.

Solving algebra word problems / Judy Barclay.
Published: Belmont, CA : Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning, c2005.

A man left Albuquerque heading east : word problems as genre in mathematics education / Susan Gerofsky.
Series: Extreme teaching, rigorous texts for troubled times ; v. 5
Published: New York : Peter Lang, c2004.

Solving word problems with pictures / Kristina M. Swann ; illustrators Barry Mullins, Laurie Conley, [and] Fian Arroyo.
Published: San Antonio, Tx. : PCI Educational Pub., 2004.

501 math word problems.
Edition: 1st ed.
Published: New York : LearningExpress, c2003.

Master math : solving word problems : analyze any word problem, translate it into mathematical terms, and get the right answer! / by Brita Immergut.
Published: Franklin Lakes, NJ : Career Press, c2003.

Math word problems the easy way / David Ebner.
Published: Hauppauge, N.Y. : Barron’s Educational Series, c2002.

Painless math word problems / Marcie F. Abramson, with contributions by Rika Spungin ; illustrated by Laurie Hamilton.
Published: Hauppauge, N.Y. : Barron’s Educational Series, c2001.

How to solve word problems in mathematics / David S. Wayne.
Published: New York : McGraw-Hill, c2001.

Math stories / Kari Jenson Gold.
Series: A beginning math book
Published: New York : Newbridge Educational Publishing, 2000.

Solve it! / J. E. Osborne.
Series: A beginning math book
Published: New York : Newbridge Educational Publishing, 1999.

730 daily math warm-ups / Hope Martin.
Published: Portland, Maine : J. Weston Walch, c1996.

Posted in Mentor Online | No Comments »

Followup to Last Night’s meeting and Math table discussion…

November 8th, 2008

I was asked where to find activities.  Check out some of the following:  http://classrooms.tacoma.k12.wa.us/stadium/eschlytter/index.php , at NCTM.org Check out Illuminations, Texas Instruments http://timath.com/signup/.

Books would be on Amazon.com                                                

Algebra Out Loud: Learning Mathematics Through Reading and Writing Activities by Pat Mower (Paperback - Nov 11, 2003)$19.77

Geometry Out Loud: Learning Mathematics Through Reading and Writing Activities (Jossey-Bass Teacher) by Pat Mower $19.77

 

The conference I told you about is at http://www.mmcchicago.org/

 

Let me know if this was helpful.  Share what you found with others on the blog!

Mary

Posted in Mathematics | No Comments »

Selected Language Arts and Reading Resources

November 7th, 2008

Chalk Board
Websites with compilations, databases of information, lesson plans, author information, games, full-text books, are at your fingertips on the Internet.

T.H.E. Journal: Educational RoadMap to the Web 2007, the Language Arts area is divided into three sections:Literature, Writing & Grammar, and Foreign Language.

NCTE National Council of Teachers of English ~ Strategies, Publications, Professional Development.

The Web English Teacher great compilation of resources for English Teachers

Reading is Fundamental Site http://www.rif.org/ Besides all the academic resources for teachers, this site is great for children with games and a monitored club to join. Reading Planet User Sign-Up http://www.rif.org/readingplanet/user/signup.mspx

Kodak’s Language Arts Lesson Plans

Guide to Grammar and Style By Jack Lynch

Guide to Grammar and Writing Quizzes

International Reading Association Videos

Literacy Connections ~Promoting Literacy and the Love of Reading Resources for ESL and ELL Teachers

The Internet TESL Journal (iteslj.org) Activities for ESL Students

Harper Collins Book Finder by Subject for Kids

The Children’s Book Council Reading Lists and Website

International Reading Association Books

The Internet School Library Media Center (ISLMC) Children’s Literature and Language Arts index page is a simple website full of an amazing amount of information.

KidBibs ~ We Bring Kids and Books Togetheris another wild site full a interesting information.

Between the Lions by PBS Kids site for Parents and Teachers

ERIC Database Education Resources Information Center
“ERIC provides unlimited access to more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials, with hundreds of new records added twice weekly. If available, links to full text are included.”

Within the ERIC Collection, you will find records for:

* journal articles
* books
* research syntheses
* conference papers
* technical reports
* policy papers
* other education-related materials

Google Book Search Here you can search over seven million books. Google Book Search explains their iideas for this project at this site http://books.google.com/googlebooks/agreement/#1

Book
Book Reviews Online:
Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

Kirkus Reviews

Multicultural Book Reviews

The Spaghetti Book Club ~ Book Reviews by Kids for Kids

Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Book Reviews

Coffee cup

Just One More Book is a thrice-weekly podcast which promotes and celebrates literacy and great children’s books.

BookSpot Network Links to Podcasts on Books

Posted in Mentor Online | No Comments »

Strategies to help struggling readers-

November 6th, 2008

Did you know that learning to read is a challenge for almost 40 percent of kids? The good news is that with early help, most reading problems can be prevented. The bad news is that 44 percent of parents who notice their child having trouble wait a year or more before getting help.

Unfortunately, the older a child is, the more difficult it is to teach him or her to read. The window of opportunity closes early for most kids. If a child can’t read well by the end of third grade, odds are that he or she will never catch up. And the effects of falling behind and feeling like a failure can be devastating.

Read on to learn more-

http://www.readingrockets.org/helping Judy Fiene

Posted in Language Arts, Mentor Online | No Comments »

Unlearning Bad Science

November 6th, 2008

Despite superficial textbooks, rote teaching, and a shortage of project-based learning, there is hope for science education. Read on…

Prof. Diab

http://www.pbs.org/merrow/news/edweek4.html

Posted in Science | No Comments »

We should be ashamed

November 3rd, 2008

Check out this artice about our neighbors! Amazing that one of the world’s richest countries can’t manage to fund the education of its greatest resources or create an educational system that is relevent and worthwile.

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana’s largest school district is poised to close six more schools and lay off as many as 400 teachers in a shake-up that would send thousands of students to different schools.

Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Eugene White said he also expects deep cuts in the district’s central office.

“It’s never easy to close schools, but our financial situation demands we make tough decisions,” he said Friday. “We are determined to be good stewards of the public tax dollars.”

White said the school closures would change school boundaries and affect about three-quarters of the district’s elementary schools.

He said current estimates are that all elementary school teachers with fewer than three years of experience would be laid off but that the district would offer a retirement incentive that might reduce the number of layoffs. The district has about 3,000 teachers.

The announcement, which neighborhood leaders said could devastate their communities, came four days before district residents vote on a property tax increase to pay for $278 million in renovations at 32 schools — including the six White wants to now close.

If the School Board approves those closings, the district plans to reduce the $278 million project accordingly.

The 1,700 students attending those six schools will be shifted to other schools. The district closed eight schools last summer and will close six others before fall 2009.

IPS’ enrollment has dropped by about 1,000 students a year for the past five years, as families have moved from the district or sent their children to free public charter schools.

September’s enrollment was 34,086, down 1,200 students from last year. The district has been losing students for decades since its peak enrollment of 108,703 students in 1967.

——

Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com

Christy

Posted in Mentor Online | No Comments »

STEM Resources

November 1st, 2008

Arizona State University has posted a compilation of free on-line STEM interest-persistence programs:  http://vcc.asu.edu/stem.shtml   Links to additional resource repositories are provided at the end of the web page.  Please feel free to use this compilation with students or professional audiences.

This STEM resource is but one offering in our Virtual Counseling Center (VCC) http://vcc.asu.edu at Arizona State University.  It is absolutely free to everyone and provides:

  • Career exploration tests scored on line
  • Test results linked to massive occupation and education databases
  • Programs for stimulating interest and persistence in STEM studies and careers
  • Academic and life skill programs
  • Resources for counseling research and practice

 The VCC has been under development for the past couple years.  The career assessment and planning section is nearing completion as a state-of-the-art set of programs, but the academic and life skill areas are only a few percent built out. 

Posted in Mathematics, Science | No Comments »

« Previous Entries