ETOOLS is a FREE teaching resource covering instructional practices in areas of character development, social development and academics. You may access and download the ETOOLS anytime you wish. Enjoy!
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Topic: Literacy and Math Resources to Share
Welcome to the May E-Tools. It is so hard to believe we are already at the end of another school year! We are sure it has been a year full of learning for your students and yourself. We don’t want our students to loose all that we gained this year. So, this E-Tool is focused on resources we can share with our students and parents on things they could do during the summer to stay sharp!
Summer gives us time to explore new places – like the over 30 educators who will be traveling with C.L.A.S.S. to China in June. Summer gives us time to learn new strategies and techniques – like the educators who will be joining us for the 2011 Summer Institute at the end of June. Summer gives us time to be outdoors – like the students who will be part of the first C.L.A.S.S. Leadership Camps. Look for more information about Summer Institute in this month’s E-Tools, too.
Summer also gives us and our students time to take a break. We all need a little down time. We all get focused on our work during the school year, so taking some time to rest and unwind in a good thing. So, we’ve given you a few websites to explore for fun!
So however you decide to spend your summer this year. We wish you a wonderful summer break! August will be here before we know an we all want to be ready for the next year!
Click for May 2011 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: Lifelines with SPRW Ideas
Welcome to the April E-Tools. Almost any book we pick‐up to share with students can be a chance to teach students about how to “Do the Right Thing" and “Treat People Right”. The Lifelines help us define those phrases for students. By incorporating the Lifelines into our instruction, we help to educate to the whole child. We don’t have to wait for the right opportunity to use the Lifelines. We can weave it into our instruction all day long. By teaching them the traits and characteristics a person needs, we create a culture in the school where there is an expectation for every student to “Do the Right Thing" and “Treat People Right!”
On the pages that follow we’ve picked some of the Lifelines and have provided some books and activities you can try to incorporate these Lifelines in your classroom. These ideas are just the beginning. Take a moment the next time you choose a read aloud to find some Lifelines traits in the book. You’ll be amazed how many connections you can make. After each idea, we’ve tried to give you strategies of where those activities might fit in the C.L.A.S.S. model of Say It , Play, Relay It, Weigh It! (SPRW).
This is our fifth installment of resources to support teaching the C.L.A.S.S. Lifelines.. You can check out the previous installment in the March 2009, November 2009, April 2010, and October 2010 E-Tools which are archived at www.joyofclass.pbworks.com or www.joyofclass.org. You can also find additional books that can help teach the Lifelines here: www.classlifelines.wikispaces.com
Click for the April 2011 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: Choosing Books for your Students
Welcome to March! As we edge closer to spring, the month is likely to be filled with some cold days, some mild days, some rainy days, some sunshine days, and maybe even a little bit of snow. But, no matter what the weather is outside, it is perfect time to find a book, a comfortable place, and escape reality for a few hours. For many of us adults, it isn’t hard to find a book we’d enjoy spending a little time with. For our students, that might be a little harder.
So a few questions to ponder: How do we choose the books we read? How do our students choose what they read? How can we help them in that process? Those are some pretty heavy questions. In this month’s E-Tools, we hope to give you some ideas and thoughts on helping your student find just the perfect book! Once we get them hooked, hopefully we’ve set our students on a path to being lifelong readers and learners!
Click for March 2011 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: Web 2.0 Technology Tools for the Classroom
Happy February! This month we are going to focus on some Web 2.0 technology tools and talk about how we could use these tools with Say It, Play It, Relay It, Weigh It (SPRW). Technology is one of those resources that can be used throughout the process. From the emotional hook in Say It all the way to the assessment components in Weigh It, technology can be a powerful tool in our schools. We need to take advantage of all the resources at our disposal to prepare students for the 21st
Century.
Likely some of these resources might be blocked at your school. However use this as an opportunity to have a discussion with your technology and administrative staff. Why are those resources blocked? Is it the tool? Is there another reason? Sometimes a conversation can lead to creative thinking about how a tool can be unblocked for student learning. Remember, too, there are so many new tools out there. Some come and go quickly. Others stay around a while. If the tool you want is blocked, there might be a tool unblocked that will do the same thing.
The keys to technology is the Lifeline of Flexibility. What do you do when the pencil breaks? You get it sharpened or go find another one. What do you do when technology doesn’t work quite the way you want? You try something else or come back later. We often think as teachers we have to know all the answers. We need to be Flexible and know that it is ok to learn with our students as we explore and learn these new tools.
Click for February 2011 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: Favorite Books in 2010
As is our annual tradition, the January E-Tools includes a list of some of our favorite new childrens' books from 2010. This is always one of our favorite E-Tools to put together, but also one of the hardest. There are always so many great books to share! Consider putting a few of the classics away and interweaving some of these new books into your classroom. We’ve given you a few ideas of how you might use them with students although we’re sure you’ll find many more!
As with any book, we always suggest you read the book completely before sharing it with students. You know your students best to know if it is appropriate for them. Look for these and many more in your school or public library. With so many books published each year, we hope you have found some new favorites, too. Remember, the best book is always the one that you share with a child.
Click for January 2011 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: Writing
Happy December! We’ve almost made it through half the year. I’m sure your classroom has been full of great stories. Have you ever had the conversation in the teacher’s lounge talking about the events in your classroom and someone says, “We really should write these down. We could so publish a book!” Consider that we tell our students to keep writing journals for ideas and sparks. This could be a perfect way to model that with your students. Keep that notebook on your desk. Show them how you are jotting down ideas for writing, too. As we approach Christmas Eve, I’m sure many of our students are writing (or have written) their letter to Santa. In this issue of our E-Tools we’ll have a few ideas of how you could take that and turn it into a writing experience in your classroom. So, if you haven’t guessed by now, this month we’re going to focus on some ideas and resources to help our young students become amazing writers!
We wish you a wonderful holiday season! Take time to enjoy it with your friends and your family. When we come back in January of 2011 it will be a new year – Let’s make it the best year ever for our students!
Click for December 2010 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: Social Studies Resources
Welcome to the November E-Tools. Do you ever wonder where the year goes? How can it be November already? Think about your classroom and your students. What memories have you made with them this year? What are the successes you can celebrate? What are the things you have on that list to keep working on? Hopefully you have a long list of both. Each year is a learning experience that can never be repeated because of the individuals that enter your classroom. What an exciting opportunity for great things to happen!
As we think about how we organize the curriculum for our classroom, it is natural to organize it around science and social studies. These provide the frameworks for the topics you discuss and the vehicles for your literacy and math instruction. Connecting the learning together provides for deeper understanding for students. Since we’ve covered science topics before (see Dec. 09 and Nov. 08 in the E-Tools archives), it seemed like it was high time we talked about social studies. On the pages that follow are resources and ideas for connecting with social studies!
As with all resources we share whether it be a book, video, website, or whatever, we always strongly encourage you to read, view, or explore the resource in its entirety before sharing with students. You know your students better than anyone else and will know if it will be the perfect resource to use with them.
Click for November 2010 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: Lifelines
Welcome to the October E-Tools. Almost any book we pick‐up to share with students can be a chance to teach students about how to “Do the Right Thing" and “Treat People Right”. The Lifelines help us define those phrases for students. By incorporating the Lifelines into our instruction, we help to educate to the whole child. We don’t have to wait for the right opportunity to use the Lifelines. We can weave it into our instruction all day long. By teaching them the traits and characteristics a person needs, we create a culture in the school where there is an expectation for every student to “Do the Right Thing" and “Treat People Right!”
On the pages that follow we’ve picked some of the Lifelines and have provided some books and activities you can try to incorporate these Lifelines in your classroom. These ideas are just the beginning. The next time you choose a read aloud, try to find some Lifelines traits in the book to weave into your instruction. You’ll be amazed how many connections you can make.
Click for October 2010 ETOOLS Issue
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Topic: China
C.L.A.S.S. is excited to see the model spread to schools all across this country and now to have seen the work move across the seas to China. Coming in June 2011, we have the opportunity to take a groups of educators to visit our first C.L.A.S.S. school in China. In addition, travelers will have a chance to visit and see some of the amazing cultural and historical places in China. The trip is open to all educators, so we decided to focus our first E-Tools on China. This E-Tools is focused on resources for China that would be great to use with students or to help prepare you for the trip! Remember, too, that all the past E-Tools are archived at , if you ever want to refer back to them. We are ready to help make this the best school year ever!
Click for September 2010 ETOOLS Issue
More information on the China Trip
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