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Education Station Newsletter
Vol. 3 #2 Christmas 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
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In This Issue
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1. Quote of the Month
2. Great Ideas
Sharing the Gift of Reading
Around the World Christmas Story
3. Great Links
4. Current Specials
5. Celebrate!
The Polar Express
Gingerbread Men
Christmas
6. What's New!
7. Article
THE TRUE TEACHER ACCEPTS ALL STUDENTS
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1. Quote
"The universe is full of magical things, patiently
waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
- Eden Phillpots
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2. Great Ideas
Sharing the Gift of Reading
A fun idea during the month of December is to wrap up your favorite
picture books and place them under a tree. Then invite adults such as the
principal, janitor, or even a lunchroom worker to come into your room,
unwrap one of the books, and read it to the class. You could call this
time, "Sharing the Gift of Reading."
Around the World Christmas Story
Here's your chance for you and your class to participate in an annual
online writing holiday project. A new Christmas story is formed each year
as one class writes a chapter, then passes it on for the next class to
add to. Previous Around the World books are available here to read and
to get a further idea of what the format looks like.
http://www.gigglepotz.com/aroundstory.htm
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3. Great Links
Christmas Multiplication Facts Book
http://www.abcteach.com/Christmas/multiplication.htm
Make a holiday-themed facts book this Christmas for your
students to practice their multiplication facts, using the
printable templates here.
Literacy Learning Activities
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm
This is one of the best sites on the web for on-line activities for
early learning. The fun activities are even available in French and
other languages.
Good Readers Bookmarks
http://edtech.sandi.net/literacy/3.6/bookmark/goodreaders.pdf
These printable bookmarks will help remind students of the strategies
good readers use
Poems for the Classroom
http://members.shaw.ca/henriksent/
This is the BEST site on the web for a great collection of POEMS to
use in your classroom for Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Poetry Folders,
Theme Poems, Holiday Poems, Chart Poems, Fingerplays, Big Books…..
ENJOY!
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4. Current Specials
All Aboard The Polar Express to Education Station on Saturday, December
11 from 5-8pm only for huge savings up to 50% off, draws, specials, hot
chocolate, teaching ideas, Kids story time, crafts and activities. Come
in your pajamas and enjoy an extra 5% off the already unbelievable savings.
The following products are currently on sale at Education Station. Check
back often as the sale products change every week. http://www.educationstation.ca/index.php
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5. Celebrate!
Celebrate The Polar Express
Take a ride on the Polar Express with these exciting activities to share
with the little believers in your life.
http://www.teachingheart.net/polar.html
http://www.littlegiraffes.com/polarexpress.html
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/thepolarexpress/educators.shtml
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson344.shtml
http://php.warnerbros.com/movies/polarexpress/pages.php?s=challenge
http://www.classbrain.com/artstudiomovies/publish/article_41.shtml
Celebrate Gingerbread Men
Here are a few excellent sites to keep you and your students very busy
with a fun Gingerbread Unit
http://www.geocities.com/mrs_pohlmeyer/thegingerbreadman
http://www.kinderteacher.com/GingerbreadManActivites.htm
http://www.kinderkorner.com/gingerbread.html
http://www.teachingheart.net/gingerbreadman.html
http://www.kidzone.ws/thematic/gingerbread/math/index.htm
http://www.kidzone.ws/thematic/gingerbread/index.htm
Celebrate Christmas December 25
FREE Printable Christmas Bingo Game
http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/
A FREE reproducible Class, Big or Mini Book for Christmas
http://teachers.net/gazette/DEC02/images/christmas_book.pdf
An amazing, interactive, on-line reading book about snowmen
http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/snowman/play.htm
Loads of interactive Christmas fun at this excellent website
http://www.claus.com/village.php
Great Christmas Around the World Units can be found here
http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/index.htm
http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/around.html
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6. What's New
In case you have not heard yet; WE HAVE MOVED!!!
We are excited to serve you in our bigger, better new store located
in North West Edmonton. Come shop in our bright, new store for excellent
selection, pricing and service!!!
Our new store has an excellent selection of educational, fun learning
toys for Christmas.
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
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7. Article
THE TRUE TEACHER ACCEPTS ALL STUDENTS
By Ernest O. Melby from The Teacher and Learning
A teacher says: "I can accept my good students, those who behave and
do good work, but I can't accept those who do not work, who have the wrong
attitude and who cause me trouble." They forget that it's the acceptance
of all that gives power to the teacher. In fact, it is in relation to students
who are difficult that the teacher's true qualities are demonstrated. We
all find it easy to accept those who lend themselves to our designs. It
is in their relationship to those who cause them trouble, who are dirty
and poorly dressed, and who fail to achieve that teachers prove their beliefs.
It is the essence of the point of view here presented that only a complete
gift of oneself makes the teacher an artist. Teaching is a jealous profession;
it is not a sideline. This is not only because of the problem of time,
nor because of the impact of lesser efforts on pupils: it is because of
the effect on the teacher himself. It is only as we give fully of ourselves
that we can become our best selves. Thus halfway measures and attitudes
of whatever kind reduce our effectiveness.
When we ask the teacher to give himself fully to his students, to his
colleagues, to his community, and to humanity, we are thus only asking
him to be maximally effective. Moreover, it is only as he gives himself
that he can experience completely the joys and satisfactions of being a
teacher. In this situation he is in the same position as any artist. Frustrated
artists are often those who for one reason or another are unable or unwilling
to make a complete gift of themselves to their art. Similarly, the unhappiest
teachers are those who bemoan the weaknesses of their pupils and the conditions
under which they work and who fail to sense that it is their own half-hearted
efforts that defraud them.
One measure of the teacher's willingness to give of himself is his accessibility
to his students, his willingness to spend time with them. One difficulty
here is the narrow conception that often prevails about what it means to
teach. To teach means more than to lecture or explain before a group of
students. The best teachers influence their students more in their personal,
individual contacts with them than in strict classroom situations. If teaching
and learning are complementary processes, if the teacher is to teach by
learning and if his teaching is to be directed toward an individual, he
must know that individual. And how is he to know that individual if he
spends little or no time with him alone?
Another illusion defeats us. It is that there is some magic in lecturing
and in the hearing of recitations. We want as much time for this as possible.
We begrudge taking time to work with individual pupils. Yet we know very
little about the actual effectiveness of what we do. Is it not at least
possible that our classroom work would be greatly increased in effectiveness
if only we spent more time with our pupils as individuals? We seem to be
obsessed with teaching. We know that no one can educate another person,
that all of us must educate ourselves. The teacher's role is that of a
helper in this process. The question is: How can we best help?
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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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