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Education Station Newsletter
Vol. 3 #1 Back to School 2004
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Welcome to the Education Station monthly newsletter! Here we take a look
at great teacher tips, useful teaching links to great sites and helpful ideas
and activities for celebrating holidays, seasons and special days in your classroom.
Our great specials section will help you save money and we have also included
articles that look at the latest practices in education. We hope our newsletter
will help inspire you to be the best teacher you can be! This newsletter is
produced by the Education Station web site, which is located:
http://www.educationstation.ca
Important notice to our customers
You may have noticed a decrease in the number of Education Station newsletters
sent out over the past year. As many of you know, I have been very busy
teaching and managing Education Station. The heavy load has made it difficult
to send out as many newsletters as I would have liked to. However, I
have taken a leave of absence for the upcoming school year to dedicate more
time to Education Station and my family. This will also mean a return
to monthly newsletters. I hope you all enjoy the upcoming newsletters
and find them useful for your classrooms.
Happy Teaching!! Diane
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In This Issue
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1. Quote of the Month
2. Teacher Tips
Magic Playdough
Overhead Bingo Chips
3. Great Links
Bulletin Board Ideas
B.E.A.R. / M.O.O.S.E. Books
4. Current Specials
5. Celebrate!
Summer
First Day of School
Back to School
6. Article
Approaches of Outstanding Teachers
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1. Quote
"If a child cannot learn in the way that we teach,
We must teach in the way that the child can learn."
-Marie Clay
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2. Teacher Tips
Magic Playdough
-On the first day of school, give each student a bag of playdough. Beforehand,
put some food coloring in the middle of the ball of playdough. If you
have white playdough, you can put any color of food coloring in the middle
and when they squish it around, it turns colors. Before your students get into
the playdough, tell them that if it changes colors, that means they will have
a good year. You could use red dough, with blue food coloring. Yellow
with blue…. Here is a poem to go along with white playdough.
Magic playdough oh so white,
I make this wish with all my might.
If another color appears,
We're sure to have a GREAT school year!
Bingo Chips on the Overhead
- write the letters of the alphabet, numbers, dots, word families,
word wall words, fractions…. on bingo chips and use them as an
inexpensive, simple overhead manipulative.
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3. Great Links
Bulletin Board Ideas
Looking for some inspiring ideas for those Back to School Bulletin Boards?
http://gardenofpraise.com/bulletin.htm
http://www.teachingheart.net/bboard.html
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/displays.html
B.E.A.R. / M.O.O.S.E. Books
Help get your students organized this year by using some ideas like BEAR
(Bring Everything Always Ready) books or MOOSE (Managing Our Organizational
Skills Everyday) Books
http://www.geocities.com/jankwv/beabooks.html
http://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/hesteachers/laboonac/web%20pages/moose%20books.htm
http://teachingheart.net/moosebooks.html
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4. Current Specials
WE HAVE MOVED!!!
We are excited to serve you in our bigger, better new store located in North
West Edmonton. Come shop in our new store from now until August 31, 2004,
bring this email with you, and SAVE 40% off ONE item of your choice!
Our new address is: 13204 137 Avenue. Edmonton, Alberta (next of Old
Navy)
Phone: (780) 475-4680 Hrs.
Mon-Fri 9-9 Sat 9-6 Sun 12-5
The following products are currently on sale at EducationStation.ca. Check
back often as the sale products change every week. http://www.educationstation.ca/index.php
For those in the Edmonton area, Education Station is pleased to announce
our Annual Trade-In-A-Trimmer Event! Simply bring a small piece
of old, ugly trimmer to Education Station from August 15-31, 2004 and trade
it in for a Brand New Package of Trimmer for FREE! There is a contest searching
for the oldest, ugliest border, so dig out those old ones.
(One trade-in per person, in-store only)
The Education Station website (http://www.educationstation.ca) will undergo a major update
over the next month. Keep checking back for new products, specials and
ideas!
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5. Celebrate!
Celebrate Summer
Before the long, hot days come to an end, check out this great site filled
with fun ideas to celebrate the final days of summer.
http://www.theideabox.com/special.nsf/summer.html
Celebrate the First Day of School
These sites will help you kick off the new school year right!
http://www.angelfire.com/ks/teachme/firstday.html
http://www.cbv.ns.ca/sstudies/activities/1rstday/1rst.html
http://www.suelebeau.com/firstday.htm
http://hannahmeans.bizland.com/firstday.htm
Celebrate Back to School
Everything you need to create a welcoming environment and have a successful
Back to School!
http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Back_to_School/
http://www.inspiringteachers.com/tips/page3.html
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6. Article
Promoting Learning...
by Dr. Marvin Marshall
Approaches of Outstanding Teachers
Reflection and Approaches of Outstanding Teachers
Reflection has a number of attributes. At the top of the list is that reflection
prompts gratitude--which is the key to both happiness and goodness.
In learning, reflection reinforces what we want to remember. This is the
reason that I encourage teachers to use some strategy such as "Think, Pair,
Share" at the conclusion of every lesson. To use "brain terminology," reflection
makes temporary memory more permanent by strengthening neural connections.
Kerry--a teacher in British Columbia who explores the use of internal approaches
to inspire students to learn--reflected on the teachers who had taught her
over the course of her own schooling.
She shared with me some attributes of her own outstanding teachers--those
who clearly stood out in her memory as effective and inspiring.
What characteristics did these educators share?
They had cultivated personal bonds with students by:
· Treating
them with respect and kindness
· Using an
honest, direct teaching approach
· Showing
interest in them as individuals
· Sharing
stories of their own lives
· Maintaining
an approachable manner so they felt safe
· Displaying
a willingness to give extra help and encouragement
They had held high expectations for students by:
· Requiring
them to work hard
· Insisting
that they try
· Challenging
them to think
· Expecting
them to behave appropriately
They had employed best teaching practices:
· Capturing
interest through an engaging classroom environment
· Providing
a reason to want to step into the classroom
· Making
learning fun
· Utilizing
a variety of carefully planned teaching strategies
· Giving
varied and meaningful assignments
Use a little reflection now. Ask yourself the following question:
"If you were a student, would you want yourself as a teacher?"
If you hesitate in your answer, reflect on Kerry's list. For your own benefit,
you may discover an area you may wish to improve--aside from the benefits your
students will receive.
For further information about Marvin Marshall and his ideas, visit http://www.MarvinMarshall.com
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** If you find the Education Station newsletter to be a useful tool for
your classroom experiences, please forward it to a friend or two. Thanks! **
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The above newsletter is copyright 2004 by Education Station Inc. All rights
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