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TEACHERS.NET GAZETTE
Volume 3 Number 2

COVER STORY
Harry & Rosemary Wong say, "...effective teachers do not employ tricks of the trade, the latest fad, or untested opinions..." This month the Wongs feature Liz Breaux, a most effective teacher...
COLUMNS
Effective Teaching by Harry & Rosemary Wong
Promoting Learning by Marv Marshall
4 Blocks by Cheryl Sigmon
Ask the School Psychologist by Beth Bruno
Online Classrooms by Leslie Bowman
The Eclectic Teacher by Ginny Hoover
The Busy Educator's Monthly Five (5 Sites for Busy Educators) by Marjan Glavac
Around the Block by Bridget Scofinsky
Ask the Literacy Teacher by Leigh Hall
The Visually Impaired Child by Dave Melanson
ARTICLES
Seussational Reading Excitement - NEA's Read Across America: Too Much Reading Fun for Just One Day!...
The 100th Day of School
100th Day Activities
Television--Don't Trash It--Control It
Remediation Doesn't Work
Behavior Management Tips
Stress
Children and Stress
Children Do Grieve
Infuse Test Preparation With Life-long Learning
Technology Integration Has No Hope of Succeeding!
Technophobia to Technophilia
Cooperative Learning
Why All Students Need Fine Motor Skills
Teaching Gayle to Read (Part 3)
The Role of EFL learners' Heterogeneity in Terms of Age in Their Use of Communication Strategies
The Importance of the School Administration to Student Achievement
Using Non-Fiction to Motivate Reluctant Readers
Quantity over Quality--The Problem with Writing Instruction in Our Schools
Tips for Substitute Teachers
TEACHER INSPIRATION FEATURE
From "I Don't Care" to "I Did It!"
ON-SITE INSIGHTS
Rules for Secondary Classrooms
Block Scheduling
REGULAR FEATURES
Special Days This Month
The Lighter Side of Teaching
  • YENDOR'S Top Ten
  • Exceptional Normalcy
  • Schoolies
  • Woodhead
  • Handy Teacher Recipes
    Classroom Crafts
    Help Wanted - Teaching Jobs
    Featured Lessons from the Lesson Bank
  • Famous Black Americans
  • Valentine Village
  • Upcoming Ed Conferences
    Letters to the Editor
    Chatboard Poll
    FYI
    Arecibo Radar Gets 11th-Hour Reprieve
    Planetary Society Offers New Scholarships
    Gazette Home Delivery:

    A Candle of Inspiration...

    From "I Don't Care" to "I Did It!"

    by Sandy/PA


    Little Jill [not her real name] entered my second grade class barely able to read more than a few basic sight words: the, and, is . . . that's about it. What she lacked in knowledge, she did not make up for in enthusiasm, either. I remember the third week of school, supervising lunch duty as my little ones stood in line, overhearing Jill say, "I can't read, but I don't care." Well, I dashed right over and gave her the standard, "Oh, but you have to care, dear! It's so important. And even if you don't care, I do!" She wasn't convinced.

    Her grades have been poor. I've had her parents in (very nice people) and they are at a loss as to ways to motivate her. They experience the same lack of enthusiasm at home.

    I've been digging deeper and deeper into my bag of tricks and nearly driving this child crazy I bet trying to show her how wonderful and fun and amazing the gift of reading is.

    Today I was administering word wall tests -- 77 words long. Brandy was next. I was holding my clipboard. She was looking at the three columns of words on my desk. She started to read, slowly. She didn't know them instantly, but she was able to figure them out if given a moment. She finished the first column and when I asked her to move on to the second, she looked surprised at first, then slowly started to read down the column. By the fourth word, she broke a bit of a grin and peeked at me out of the corner of her eye. I couldn't help but grin, too. She read four or five more words . . . peeked and grinned a little wider. By the time she finished column three, having successfully read 68 of 77 words ... we were both grinning like fools! First I gave her a high-five, but as she headed back to her desk, I called her back and gave her a hug. I was so proud of her I could have burst.

    I reminded her of that day in the lunch line and said, "Jill, now you CAN read!" I asked her if I could tell the story to the rest of the class and she said I could. In fact, she couldn't wait until I did!

    I told her I would call her mom and dad and tell them how well she had done. Well, she walked home from school and about five minutes after she left, my phone rang. It was her mom. She said she couldn't make any sense of what Jill was trying to tell her, but she needed to call the teacher right away! I told her the good news.

    I know reading 68 words isn't rocket science and she's still got a long hard struggle ahead of her, but SHE CARES NOW!!!


     
     

    A Game to Reinforce Word Wall Words
    By Betty

    Here's a fun idea to help reinforce WW words, and numbers, too. Put the words on cards and place them in a pocket chart. Along the lefthand side, place one number in each row. We are working on the numbers from 11-20, so mine looks something like this:

    11 some funny look bring take
    12 can right before my saw
    13 the thing many would come etc.

    Draw a small picture on a card and place it under one of the cards. We are studying owls in science, so I have a picture of an owl hidden under one of the words. The game is for the kids to guess which word the owl is hidden under. They love it. The reason for using the numbers is to find the words quicker. If a child guesses "right" it could take you a minute or so to find the word "right" as there are 25 or so words on the pocket chart. Therefore, the child says "12-right". You lift up the word to see if the owl is there. I've gotten so much help from others. I like to share the little bit that I can!


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