January Newsletter - Technology to Jazz up your Classroom in January

Happy New Year!

Ready or not, the new year is off to a roaring start.  As the year turns, those in the Western Hemisphere begin the New Year in January, while many in the Eastern Hemisphere begin the Lunar New Year in February.  How are they different?  Find out on our featured site below.  A new search engine, a site to teach context clues and test-taking strategies, and a couple of virtual field trips will help Jazz up January.  And don’t miss Round Two of Mystery Penpals – a cross-curricular activity that helps students develop analytic thinking while meeting new friends from somewhere else in the world.

The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, begins on February 14, (Valentine’s Day!) which makes it a double auspicious day to celebrate in the West.  This is Year of the Tiger marks the 4708th year since the Lunar Calendar dates from 2600 BC!
Find more information at  Fast Find - http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/chinese-new-year.htm ,
or on the Internet4Classrooms page at http://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/chinese_new_year.htm

Students (and adults!) are often overwhelmed by the results of a web search. This search engine, powered by Ask.com, gives students a helping hand with narrowing or expanding their search.  After they type their search string, the first item they see in their search is a line that gives them 3-5 options to narrow their search.  In the right column are several topics, categories, and questions to narrow and/or expand the search.

Be careful, though,  not to get sidetracked into the contests that are a part of the header of this otherwise very helpful search engine.  http://iwon.ask

Take your students on a virtual field trip to the San Diego Zoo, with Animal Bytes.  This multimedia site supports students' reading, writing, and science skills by offering information and multimedia files on amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects.  Webcams, videos, photos, and interactive games support the textual information to help students gain in-depth understanding of animals, their habitats, ecosystems, and geographic origins.  Like a visit to a real zoo, your students will find lots to look at if they're just casually wandering, as well as plenty of depth to support detailed research.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/index.html

In the Teacher Resource section you'll find curriculum materials, lesson plans and activities, each with suggested grade levels.

Here is the ultimate COOL field trip!  Discovering Antarctica will immerse your students in an adventure as fun as it is informative.   With rich photos, multimedia, audio and video files and interactives, students explore various aspects of this truly mysterious continent.  Each section includes introductory activities, learning activities, a "cool fact" that relates to the topic, a "cool clip" video, and a glossary.

The Teacher Area features notes and background material for each chapter so you can help your students get the most from this site.
http://www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk/index.php

As “testing season” is upon us, Learning Vocabulary Fun (brought to you by the makers of SpellingCity) offers an engaging way to build vocabulary and test-taking skills, and help students expand their use of context clues.  While the site is set up for independent practice, I saw great potential in three of the activities as whole-class instruction for using context clues and test-taking strategies. http://www.vocabulary.co.il/

    ➢    Match It  reinforces the test-taking strategies and context clues – select level, and increase the challenge by selecting “alphabetical”. http://www.vocabulary.co.il/games2/matchit/index.php
    ➢    The Vocabulary Quiz  provides vocabulary practice in specific topics, again using context clues. http://www.vocabulary.co.il/games2/vocquiz/vocquiz.php

    ➢    Which Word reinforces parts of speech and making sense as students select the word to fill in the blank. http://www.vocabulary.co.il/games2/whichword/index.php

Are you looking for an exciting, engaging, and innovative classroom activity that will help your 4th – 8th grade students

        ➢    develop effective questioning skills in a real-world communication context?
        ➢    use deductive and inductive reasoning skills to problem-solve?
        ➢    gather, analyze and synthesize data?
        ➢    build geography concepts and skills, including global awareness and map-reading?
        ➢    expand awareness of cultural similarities and differences?

Would you like a project that will provide you with dynamic educational ideas, complete, detailed lesson plans and continuous support?
                This is it!

Mystery Penpals provides an innovative way for classes in different geographical locations to use educational technology to play "20 Questions" to locate each other.  Your students will learn and use a wide variety of concepts and skills to find their partner class.  Nearly 40 partners from 6 countries searched for each other in Round 1 from October – December.  Join us for Round 2, which begins February 15.   Find all the details at http://dyna-ed.net/id2.html .

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Click Here:  http://dyna-ed.net