Education Station Newsletter
Vol. 2 #1 February 2003
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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 website, which is located:
http://www.educationstation.ca
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In This Issue
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1. Quote
2. Teacher Tips
Four Corner Questions
Raining Management
3. Great Links
4. Current Specials
5. Celebrate!
Valentine’s Day
6. Article
More than 100 ways to celebrate the 100th day of school
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1. Quote
"Don't worry that children never listen to you.
Worry that they are always watching you."
- Robert Fulghum
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2. Teacher Tips
Four Corner Questions
"During our extended block schedule period, my students get a little restless
and need a quick activity. Rather than give them a written quiz, I ask them
a multiple choice question about the current topic of study and assign each
corner of the room a possible answer and letter. To avoid the problem of everyone
following the smart kids to the correct corner, I let them know that I've struck
a deal with the 'brains' for them to purposely pick the incorrect corner sometimes
to throw the others off. The kids love it because involves everyone, it's a
quick and easy way to check for understanding and after doing this a couple
of times, they're ready to return to their seats for more learning!"
>From Janice Vinco, a sixth grade science teacher from Concord, California
Raining Management
"In my class, there are many activities, projects and lessons going on
all at once. In order to allow each student the freedom to move about as needed,
yet stay on task; I use a rainstick to gain the attention of the class back
to me. When I need to speak to the class as a whole or have the groups change
activities, all I have to do is turn the rainstick over. The students automatically
freeze and turn their attention toward me. It's the best thing I've ever done
to maintain classroom management."
>From Debra Shelton, El Reno, Oklahoma:
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3. Great Links
Family Literacy Backpacks
Here's a great idea to instigate in your own classroom or school, as you can
easily share these themed backpacks with other grade-level classrooms. Much
of the work of selection and suitable related activities has been done for you
here. Click on the theme of interest, then find downloadable activity files,
vocabulary and comprehension exercises, books to explore, etc. All of these
resources are compiled in a take-home backpack, with suggestions included for
families to share in the process of reading.
http://www.buddyproject.org/backpack/default.asp
Professional Books
Looking for FREE, current, professional development reading? Here are the complete
texts from professional teacher resource books such as Class Meetings, Beyond
Leveled Books, How do I Teach… And Keep My Sanity? I Think…Therefore
I Learn, Literature Circles and many more.
http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfbooks.htm
Class Book
Here is a FREE, simple Winter Alphabet Book ready to print out and bind for
your cozy reading corner collection.
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/A_Winter_Alphabet.pdf
Toilet Paper Roll Craft Projects
Ever wonder what to do with all those Toilet Paper Rolls? Looking for some new
art projects? This site has dozens of projects that use toilet paper rolls.
http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/tp_roll.htm
Games Kids Play
This site is full of all the games that kids LOVE to play. You will find some
new games for phys.ed., the playground, indoor recess or classroom time-fillers.
Enjoy.
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/
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4. Current Specials
The following products are currently on sale at Education. Check back often as the sale products change every week. http://www.educationstation.ca/index.php
We have a clearance section on our site! Check it out at http://www.educationstation.ca/clearance.php
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5. Celebrate!
Celebrate Valentine’s Day
Here are some excellent sites to keep you and your students busy with great
Valentine’s Day Activities.
http://www.teachingheart.net/valentinesdaypage.html
http://www.geocities.com/mrs_pohlmeyer/valentinesday.htm
http://www.abcschoolhouse.com./seasonal_pdfs/February_ideas.pdf
http://abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/month_to_month/b_february/valentines_day/
http://www.edhelper.com/valentine.htm
http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/Enjoy/enjoyval/val.html
Celebrate the 100th day of school with 100’s of ideas below in the article
section.
Have fun and enjoy!
6. Article
100th Day of School Ideas
Compiled by Diane Shaw at Education Station from the many creative ideas offered
by 100’s of great teachers on the internet.
Make a class book by filling in the following frame:
I wish I had 100___________
I wish I had 100__________
I wish I had 100____________
But I'd never want 100__________!!!
Hide 100 Hershey Kisses around the room and have the kids look for them.
Place stickers on the bottom of each kiss labelled with a number from 1-100.
After a child has found a kiss they put it on a 100's chart. When all the
kisses are found have the kids decide how they can split them up evenly so
everyone gets the same amount.
Make a special 100th day necklace. String 100 fruit loops, sorted by colour
into groups of 10.
Make a 100th day hat by stamping 100 times on a cut out 100. Then glue on a
headband strip.
Read Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday. Use a small change purse with
100 pennies in it. As you read, have the kids come up and count the pennies
and take them out of the change purse.
Do a home project of putting 100 objects on a piece of poster board.
For a language chart you could try to come up with 100 food names, animal
names, book titles, things to do outside, etc. This is a great thinking
activity, you could complete it as a shared writing activity if you wish.
After reading The Wolves Chicken Stew, you might want to make 100 pancakes
and also have 100 cookies and doughnuts to see if your class can eat it all.
Then the class could draw something else the Wolf could give the chicks.
Using the frame The Wolf could make the chicks 100 __________, then you can
make it into a class book.
After reading 100 Angry Ants make a class book of 100 animals. 100 old owls,
kicking kangaroos, zippy zebras, running rhinos, caring cats, etc.,
Have the class draw what they think they will look like in 100 years. Older
children can write what they think the world will be like in 100 years.
Make 100 construction paper feet and see how far you will get from your
classroom door.
Have each child bring in 100 of an object (some things could be cereal,
marshmallows, nuts, M &M's, stickers, twist ties, noodles, etc.) Make a
big
class chart of your 100 objects, after you do some counting activities with
them!
Have each child write something nice someone did for them on a heart. When
you get 100 acts of kindness have a special party. Keep the display up for
the 100th day with the title. 100 Acts of Kindness in room ______.
What can we do in 100 seconds?
Show the children three jars (One of the jars should have 100 things in it,
the other two should not.). Have the children estimate which jar has 100,
and then count out the objects in each jar as a group. Discuss their predictions
and the results.
Do 100 exercises (10 of each type of exercise suggested by the children in
your class. I.E. jumping jacks, toe touches....).
Count to 100 by 1's, 5's and 10's.
Make the highest structure you can with 100 blocks, or with 100 straws and
scotch tape.
Fill bags with various amounts of one item. As a group have the kids decide
which bag they think has 100 inside. Record the guesses and count. For older
children you can have the group decide which bags put together will be 100.
(for example 40 marshmallows and 60 fruit loops)
Do "What would you buy with $100.00?” Give each child a green piece
of paper designed to look like a $100 dollar bill. Then have each of the students
use a catalogue and
a calculator. They cut the items out that they would buy, entered the price
in and then glue the items that they purchased on their bill.
Literature
The 100th Day of School by Angela Shelf Medearis
The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten - by J. Slate
12 Ways to Get to 11 by Eve Merriam
One Hundred Is A Family by Pam Munoz Ryan
One Hundred Hungry Ants by Eleanor Pinczes
I'll Teach My dog 100 Words by Michael Frith
I Can Count to 100...Can You? by Katherine Howard
One Hundred Monkeys by Daniel Cutler
Annos's Counting House by Mitsumasa Ann
>From 1 to 100 by Teri Sloat
Put together 100 piece puzzles.
Be quiet 100 seconds. (A real teacher favourite!)
See how long it takes to bounce a ball 100 times.
It's a Hundred Days of School - (Sung to the tune of It's a
Small World)
Oh we started school such a long time ago
And there's much we've learned and a lot we know.
We can read, write, and spell
We do math very well
It's a hundred days of school.
It's a hundred days of school,
It's a hundred days of school,
It's a hundred days of school,
It's one hundred days of school.
Yes, we've studied hard and we've made new friends
And there's much to do 'til the school year ends.
But for now .....Hip Hooray, we've reached our
Hundreth Day.
It's a hundred days of school.
It's a hundred days of school,
It's a hundred days of school,
It's a hundred days of school,
It's one hundred days of school.
100 Days Song (to "We've Been Working on the Railroad")
We've been working in our classroom, for 100 days.
We've been working in our classroom, here in the first grade.
Rising early in the morning, bring our books and pencils too.
Every day we come to first grade, we learn something new.
100 days are here, come on give a cheer
100 days are here, Hurray! Hurray!
100 days have come, come on join the fun,
100 days are here, Hurray!
Make 100 shaped glasses.
Blow up 100 balloons, see how long it takes to pop them. Have a stomp party.
Bake a cake and place 100 candles on top. Sing "Happy 100 Day to Us".
Have your students imagine what life will be like in a hundred years. Have them
draw a picture of what they will look like and write about what life will be
like. Invent something that people will be using in a hundred years.
Wear a vest or sweatshirt that has 100 buttons sewn on it.
At the 100th minute of school on the 100th day, have the children in your school
go out in the hall to do 100 exercises. The P.E. teacher can go on the intercom
system and lead the children in exercises. Do 10 of ten different exercises
(jumping jacks. trunk twists, toe touches, etc) and end with 10 cheers.
Have a 100 Day Breakfast. Give the children one sausage link (the number one)
and two halves of a mini bagel (The zeros).
Collect 100 returnable bottles and then use the money for your classroom.
Have your students write "100 Reasons We Like School."
Have your students lick a lollipop 100 times.
With 10 days to go put a sign in the hallway announcing "Be ready only
____ more days!" and change the number with 9, 8, 7, etc.
Make a 100 link chain (10 EACH OF 10 COLORS)
Walk 100 steps from your room and mark the spot
Give the students 100 math problems or 100 words to read (when you list the
words make these the last 7 words-you have just read one hundred words!)
Bring in 100 pennies, nickels and dimes. Count the money to help practice counting
by 1's, 5's, and 10's.
Collect 100 e-mails from around the world and put them on display on a large
bulletin board. You can also put up a huge wall world map and put a smiling
face or pin where each e-mail came from.
Paint a gumball machine. Then have the children do 10 dots of 10 different colours
to make 100.
Have your students spell out their names using exactly 100 punched out stars,
dots… and glue them to 12 x 18 construction paper.
Decorate your room with a paper chain make up of 100 links that the kids make
with different colors of construction paper and tape.
Read the book The Wolf's Chicken Stew, and then make and try to eat 100 pancakes!
Make small pancakes, so they are easy to make and eat.
Do some estimating. Put three bottles out with unpopped popcorn kernels. All
you need for this is baby jars. Have the kids guess which jar has a hundred
seeds. They will be surprised (as you will) at how few seeds make a hundred!
Have your students’ pair up and count 100 objects from our math centre.
(unifix cubes, pattern blocks, shells, caps, etc.) Have them make 10 piles of
10. Then place the 100 objects in a plastic bag. Then use the balance scale
and estimate if 100 pattern blocks will weigh more/less than 100 cubes…
Using a blank 100's chart have the children write their names over and over
again, one letter in each square, moving left to right and continuing on to
the next line without leaving any empty spaces. Completely fill in the 100's
chart. Then have them colour it using their letters for a key. Example: For
the name Jane--all j's on the chart might be colored red; a's, blue; n's, green;
and e's, yellow. It's fun to see the different colored patterns that result
(some students names create stripes, others create diagonals, and with names
longer than 10 letters the results can really be unusual.) The coloured charts
make a great display on the wall!
Save 100 cereal boxes to build a "Hundreds House" in your classroom.
Make a connect-a-dot puzzle using 100 dots.
Collect 100 items for your local Food Bank or Humane Society. Count, sort, and
graph the items.
Have all the children in the class trace their hand. Write the numbers 1-100
on each finger and make a display of 100 fingers.
Make a design using 100 pattern blocks
Cut out pictures that names a person, place or thing and glue it in the appropriate
poster board (I got this ides from this website) Writing Centre: Draw what you
would like when 100 and write what you think you may accomplished. Listening
Centre: Listen to the story Henry Hooper and the 100 Hiccups, a tape (no book)
from Scholastic. In this way I can do a lot of the activities that I wouldn't
be able to do on just the one day. Of course, on the 100th Day of School, we
do nothing but 100 stuff. (Yolanda, 2nd grade, New York, NY)
Use the computer program Kid Pix Studio and use the stamp tool. Have your students
stamp 10 sets of 10 stamps.
Have students grab a bunch of legos with both hands and estimate how many they
think they have. Then have them really count their legos. Only keep 100 legos.
Sort and graph the colored legos. Using the 100 legos, each student sees what
they can build out of 100 legos. Share their models.
Give each child 100 M&M's (of different colors). They count how many they
have of each colour and make a graph.
The number 100 is the perfect number for glasses. Trace the number one hundred
and cut out the middle of the zeros that become the "lenses" of the
glasses. Then, decorate the rims and staple onto an oaktag band so they can
wear them all day!
Sing this song, sung to the tune, Three Blind Mice.
One hundred days, one hundred days,
We've been in school one hundred days,
We sat and learn the Golden Rule
Oh, isn't fun to be in school one hundred days.
Make a picture with 100 fingerprints. Keep baby wipes on hand for when they're
finished!
Have the kids fill in 100 dots on a ladybug, 100 cotton balls on
a sheep, 100 gumballs on a gumball machine, 100 Swedish fish on a
fishbowl, and 100 legs on a centipede.
We sing the following song to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad"
:
We've been working in our classroom. For 100 days!
We've been working in our classroom. Here in (fill in grade) grade!
Rising early in the morning. Bring our books and pencils, too!
Every day at (school name).We learn something new!
100 day is here, 100 day is here. Come on and give a cheer!
100 day is here, 100 day is here. Come on and give a cheer! Hooray! (ASL)
Here is another song
Hi, ho, hi, ho,
100 days ago
We came to school
And we're so cool.
Hi, ho, hi, ho, hi, ho.
Read, "Ms. Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of
Kindergarten"
100 Piece Trail Mix (snack)
Assign children (or have parents choose) one of ten ingredients to make
trail mix. Put items in bowls so that children count to make a 100 trail mix.
Give each child a brown paper bag (or small bowl) and they count 10 from each
item, ending
up with 100 pieces in their trail mix. Some possible items are:
Unsalted nuts, peanuts, cashews, or almonds (watch for allergies)
Sunflower seeds
Dried cranberries
Dried cherries
Dried apricots
Raisins
Mini chocolate chips (both white and brown)
Mini pretzels
Multi grain Cheerios
Whole wheat Chex cereal
M & M's
Make the 100th day punch from Ms. Bindergarten's book. The book
shows her buying the ingredients, and later shows the ingredients
listed at a centre in her classroom.
10 cans of either ginger ale, sprite, or any clear soda like that.
(count to 100 by tens as you empty them in the bowl.)
100 cherries
100 ice cubes
Mix all ingredients together...Simple, fun, tasty
http://www.angelfire.com/ma/1stGrade/page100.html
http://www.iup.edu/~njyost/KHI/Days.html
http://lee.boston.k12.ma.us/gr/apod.asp
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/100th/act.htm
http://www.iup.edu/~njyost/KHI/Days.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/6218/hundreddays.html
http://www.yesitteach.org/hundred.htm
http://members.aol.com/Aesopnet/100th.html
http://www.globalclassroom.org/100days.html
http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/Academics/ls/K/100day/Index.htm
http://www.denton.isd.tenet.edu/hodge/100th_day.htm
http://members.aol.com/a100thday/ideas.html
http://www.miamisci.org/ph/jbean100.html
http://users.aol.com/a100thday/ideas.html
http://members.aol.com/sskufca/100.htm
http://atozteacherstuff.com/themes/100days.shtml
http://users.aol.com/a100thday/links.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/9893/hundreddays.html
http://lee.boston.k12.ma.us/gr/apod.asp
http://www.wcsu.k12.vt.us/~wardsboro/oldsite/day100.htm
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/100th/index.html
http://users.aol.com/a100thday/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/9893/hundreddays.html
http://users.aol.com/a100thday/ideas.html
http://www.proteacher.com/020068.shtml
http://members.aol.com/sskufca/100.htm
http://atozteacherstuff.com/themes/100days.shtml
http://users.aol.com/a100thday/links.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/9893/hundreddays.html
http://lee.boston.k12.ma.us/gr/apod.asp
http://www.wcsu.k12.vt.us/~wardsboro/oldsite/day100.htm
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/100th/index.html
http://www.angelfire.com/ma/1stGrade/page100.html
Education Station
12237 Fort Road
Edmonton, AB
780-475-4680
www.educationstation.ca
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