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Previous
Newsletters
Catch up on the ones you missed.
Tips Library
Browse hundreds of tips we've gathered over the years.
Works4Me Lounge
Meet other teachers and share classroom tips on our online discussion board
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Your Tips
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DISCLAIMER
Works4Me is a vehicle for instructional staff to share their ideas with other instructional staff. As such, it does not constitute an endorsement of any particular curriculum or teaching method by the National Education Association or any of its affiliates.
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RAT Short Answers
From Coleen Walker (johnrwalker@earthlink.net), a teacher at Miami Middle School in Fort Wayne, Indiana:
"Recently, one of my colleagues remembered a neat way to help students understand how to write a short answer. She used it at a previous school and couldn't quite remember the exact words, but we call it RAT. Our version stands for Restate the Question, Answer the Question and Tie it to the Text. We have not taken the standardized test since we have taught this concept, but we are very hopeful. We have been practicing answering questions using the RAT method. I give them a short reading and then give them an open ended question to RAT. They write their answers, and I ask for volunteers to read them. As a class, we talk about what grade we give would and why. We need more practice, but I think (and hope) it will make a big difference on the ISTEP test.”
Read, Write and Think
From J. Hamblin (hamblinj@usd287.org), a third grade teacher:
“My students absolutely loved a lesson on Shape poems using the Shape Poem tool that is on the readwritethink.org Web site. The Shape Poem tool was very easy for the students to use and encouraged creativity. Readwritethink.org also has online student tools for other poem types, though I haven't had the chance to use them yet. I plan to use the Acrostic Poems online tool as part of a center during Guided Reading. Readwritethink has lots of lesson planning ideas."
Question of the Week: GPS Receivers Bring the World to Your Classroom
From the Works4Me Worker Bees:
"The Global Positioning System (GPS), a worldwide radio-navigation system of 24 satellites and their ground stations, is captured through low-cost GPS receivers that display basic geographic information like latitude, longitude, elevation, direction, and bearing. Higher quality receivers include altimeters, magnetic compasses, detailed topographic and city maps, and other points of interest. Are you using this technology in your classroom? Share some lesson ideas and tips and tricks with your colleagues."
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Clickers in the Classroom
Heard Last Week in the Works4Me Lounge from the Worker Bees:
"Are you using clickers – handheld electronic devices that allow students to answer a teacher’s questions by clicking – in your classroom? What are the benefits? How do they work? How should we prepare students before introducing clickers?"
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Submit a Tip
We couldn't do it without you! Click here to submit a tip or reply to this
e-mail. Please contribute your own brief, practical, broadly applicable classroom tip to Works4Me. When submitting a tip, please include your full name, school, specific assignment (grade/subject), city and state. This newsletter is only as good as the tips we receive, so send your ideas today. |
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Sponsored by: American Public University
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