Ideal Bite for Eco-Living Tips

1 Comment » // July 25th, 2007

I just came across a great new site called Ideal Bite that offers daily eco-living tips — and you can easily subscribe to get these directly in to your email. My philosophy is that it’s better to be safe than to be sorry — Global Warming may not be happening, but it can’t hurt to change some of our consumption habits just-in-case.

I plan on subscribing and also plan on involving my kids in evaluating eco-friendly lifestyle changes — we can learn about science concepts while using reading skills (research) and developing math and data analysis skills (what will the cost difference be if we use different light bulbs?).

Evaluating & Selecting Texts

Comment now » // July 25th, 2007

With the overwhelming variety of texts that are available for every curriculum area, it can be difficult to select the most effective and most appropriate text for your students. I’ve come across a nice checklist that allows anyone to evaluate potential texts to determine which ones are best for the curriculum while also being well written and incorporating effective reading strategies for students. You can download a Microsoft Word version of the checklist here.

This checklist is useful for examining the books and supplementary materials that are currently used in your teaching as well as examining books and materials that you might adopt in the future. You can also share this information with your children (depending on their age) and involve them in the selection of texts too.

Visualizing the Invisible Activity

Comment now » // July 25th, 2007

Here is an interesting idea posted on the Art Teacher’s Guide to the Internet Blog:

ABC World News with Charles Gibson featured the following video in a segment last night. I got on the Web tonight and found it on YouTube and decided to share it here.

Flight Patterns

Ever wondered how many planes are in the sky at any given moment? What does the FAA see when they track all the planes that are in the sky on any given day?

Using 2005 data from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Aaron Koblin and a team from of the Department of Design/Media Arts at UCLA created this amazing animation and others that visualize for us what the flight patterns of planes en route to and from U.S. Airports look like each day.

This is a great example of using technology to see the “unseen” and of blurring the boundaries between time and space. I can see using this video in the classroom to make connections between art, science, and geography. It could be used to discuss the role of the artist and scientist in “visualizing the invisible” or “seeing the unseen,” and how using these two lenses present us with different views of our world.

As a follow-up activity, you could ask your students to “Design an instrument or method to map something invisible” or to “Make a map of something you cannot see.”

For more information on this project as well as Quicktime videos that you can download to show in the classroom, see Flight Patterns.

Weekly 5 Creative Literacy Activities #1

3 Comments » // July 21st, 2007

This post is one in a series of weekly posts listing 5 creative reading activities to help build literacy skills.

1. Become your child’s Literacy Learning Partner — although your child may be reading independently, she or he can still gain a great deal from you reading to or with her or him. Choose books based on your child’s age and interest rather than reading level — this exposes your child to a wider variety of information and experience.

2. Telephone Directory — Use your telephone directory to find last names of people that are the same as: flowers, colors, fruits, first names.

3. Words That Tell About – Encourage your child to keep lists of “Words That Tell About” in a special notebook. For example: “Words That Tell About People,” “Words That Tell About Time,” “Words That Tell About Space,” “Words That Tell About Travel.” Add to the lists and create new ones as your child learns new words. Variations: 1. Make a list of season words: summer words, winter words, autumn words, spring words. These word lists will be useful in writing activities. 2. List the words in alphabetical order.

4. Let’s Eat — Choose an initial consonant for the day. Ask your child to find pictures of foods or food words that start with the letter you’ve chosen. Example: P — pizza, pasta, pears, pie.

5. Name That Picture — Look at a picture taken from a magazine or newspaper. Ask your child to list all the details she or he can find in the picture. When the list is complete, talk about the details that are important to the picture. Based on these details, ask your child to make up a title for the picture. Variation: When your child is able to read independently, have her/him make up titles for stories or paragraphs using the same technique of first listing the important details.

These ideas come from: “Expressway to reading: 101 creative activities to put readers in the fast lane to literacy” (Beatrice G Davis)

Related Reading:
“Bonding While Learning: Activities to Grow Your Relationship While Preparing for Reading Success” (Gary Kosman, Grace Chiu)
“Planning Creative Literacy Lessons (Informing Teaching)” (Andrew Lambirth)
“Fun Literacy Activities for After-school Programs: Books And Beyond” (Sue Edwards, Kathleen Martinez)
“Playful Reading: Positive, Fun Ways to Build the Bond Between Preschoolers, Books, and You” (Carolyn Munson-Benson)
“Ready, Set, Read: Building a Love of Letters and Literacy Through Fun Phonics Activities” (Janet Chambers)

Somebody Wants But So

Comment now » // July 18th, 2007

Here is a great strategy for building reading comprehension and summarization skills:

Somebody Wants But So (click here to download a Microsoft Word template of this strategy)

When used with fictional literature, the matrix is filled in using this formula:
The plot begins with somebody (the main character) who wants something desperately, but something or someone stands in the way (the conflict), so the character takes steps to overcome the obstacle. This formula may repeat itself several times in a story until the plot ends.

If used with non-fiction (news articles, magazine articles), the formula may look something like this:
The subject [somebody] wants something or has some goal [wants] , but there is some kid of obstacle (person, place, or thing) [but], and the subject tries (plans to try or does try) to overcome the obstacle through specific methods or strategies [so].

This strategy and more can be found in:
“I Read It, but I Don’t Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers” (Cris Tovani)

Real Science and Brainpower Outsourcing

Comment now » // July 13th, 2007

Yesterday I posted information about Galaxy Zoo and today the blog Read/Write Web has posted about it as well — and they’ve include links to other similar “brain outsourcing” projects.

All of these provide opportunities for homeschoolers to become involved in real-world projects — and the process that is being used (virtual outsourcing) will give kids and teenagers some experience with skills that they may end up using in the workforce later on.

Have you done anything similar to this with your homeschool student(s)? If so, share your thoughts and ideas with us by posting a comment on this post!

Galaxy Zoo — Real-World Science Project

2 Comments » // July 12th, 2007

Here is an exciting opportunity for homeschoolers to engage in a real-world project focused on scientific research:

Welcome to GalaxyZoo , the project which harnesses the power of the internet – and your brain – to classify a million galaxies. By taking part, you’ll not only be contributing to scientific research, but you’ll view parts of the Universe that literally no-one has ever seen before and get a sense of the glorious diversity of galaxies that pepper the sky.

Why do we need you?
The simple answer is that the human brain is much better at recognizing patterns than a computer can ever be. Any computer program we write to sort our galaxies into categories would do a reasonable job, but it would also inevitably throw out the unusual, the weird and the wonderful. To rescue these interesting systems which have a story to tell, we need you.

GZ is now live ahead of our official launch on Wednesday. We’re still tidying up the site but if you’d like to sign up to start classifying galaxies right away, click here.

Summer Reading for Homeschoolers

Comment now » // July 11th, 2007

A few ideas for “summer reading”:

“100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing The Right Curriculum And Approach For Your Child’s Learning Style” (Cathy Duffy)

“Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School” (Rebecca Rupp)

“The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook” (Dorothy Moore, Raymond Moore)

“Homeschooling for Success: How Parents Can Create a Superior Education for Their Child” (Rebecca Kochenderfer, Elizabeth Kanna, Founders Homeschool.com, Robert T. Kiyosaki)

Upromise Money for College

Comment now » // July 7th, 2007

As homeschoolers, we are living and learning on a reduced income. Like all homeschoolers, we worry about the future cost of college for our children. Last year we joined Upromise for free, and with their program we are now EARNING money towards college just by spending money on groceries, clothing, and other necessities. Upromise is a unique program that allows families to save and earn money for college without changing daily spending habits. (Okay — we are also going the traditional “savings account” too — but Upromise is a FREE resource that helps us grow our money toward our goal of post-secondary education for our children.)

Upromise’s mission is to help families realize the dream of college. The Upromise Services division includes their popular Rewards Service, which allows families to automatically save money for college while making everyday purchases at more than 20,000 grocery and drug stores, 14,000 gas stations, 8,000 restaurants, thousands of retail stores and more than 350 online shopping sites. Upromise’s partners include Citi, ExxonMobil Corporation, McDonald’s, JCPenney.com, LandsEnd.com, Sears.com, and hundreds of others. More than seven million parents, grandparents, and family friends have joined Upromise – and their partner contributions today represent the largest private source of college aid in America. Upromise also makes it easy for families to invest in tax-advantaged college savings plans and to use contribution to pay off student loans. The 529 college savings plans are offered through Upromise Investments, Inc (member NASD/SIPC).

Upromise – The easy way to start saving for college

Upromise is FREE — and I highly recommend it as additional source of funding for your children’s future. Learn more and try it today!

TeacherTube — Free Online Instructional Videos

Comment now » // July 3rd, 2007

Looking for free educationally-focused videos for you or your children? TeacherTube was developed by teachers for teachers — and the resources included on the website (which is very similar to YouTube) are just as applicable to homeschoolers as they are to institutional classrooms.

Here is the “about us” blurb from their website:

Our goal is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos. We seek to fill a need for a more educationally focused, safe venue for teachers, schools, and home learners. It is a site to provide anytime, anywhere professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

TeacherTube was the idea of Jason Smith, a 14-year veteran educator. Jason has been a teacher, coach, campus administrator and district administrator in public schools. He asked the question, “Why can’t teachers, students, and schools utilize the power of the read/write web for learning?” To overcome barriers, he decided to just create a site and get started trying to help. He turned to his brother, Adam, who is a younger, digital native, with technical skills. Adam used his skills to develop the site and found a web host. Soon, Jason’s wife, Jodie, joined the team to start populating the site with videos and help improve the communication. She too has 14 years of experience in education as a classroom teacher, campus technology integrator, and district curriculum coordinator.

With TeacherTube, community members can:

* Upload, tag and share videos worldwide.
* Upload Support Files to attach your educational Actvities, Assessments, Lesson Plans, Notes, and Other file formats to your video.
* Browse hundreds of videos uploaded by community members.
* Find, join and create video groups to connect with people who have similar interests.
* Customize the experience by subscribing to member videos, saving favorites, and creating playlists.
* Integrate TeacherTube videos on websites using video embeds or APIs.
* Make videos public or private – users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share them privately with those they invite.

Most importantly, TeacherTube community members are a major part of the evolution of the site. Members are encouraged to not only upload educationally relevant videos, but also to make constructive comments and use the rating system to show appreciation for videos of value to one as an educator or learner. Users also have the ability to preserve the integrity of the site by flagging inappropriate videos. TeacherTube staff review flagged sites and will remove any inappropriate posts. With more collegial commentary and discussion through messaging and responses, the quality of this resource will only increase.

The service is free for everyone.

Check it out here.