Quote for November

Work to live,

don't live to work!

An interactive human body

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/interactives/3djigsaw_02/index.shtml is a BBC site that is highly visual and interactive. The students choose between organs, muscles, the skeleton or nervous systems. Both the male and female bodies are available.

Various muscles, organs or bones in 3D need to be rotated and dragged to the correct position in the body. If the student gets stuck, helpful hints are given. User-friendly.

Periodic Table

Go to
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/education/elements/index.html if you need a periodic table that is well layed-out. It is published by the National Research Council of Canada and is in full colour, with a PDF print option that can be used to provide students with their own copy. Each element has a hyperlink that takes you to a description.

Animation of the Heart

http://library.med.utah.edu/kw/pharm/hyper_heart1.html
is a great resource for biology teachers. Learners can see how the heart acts as a pump. It shows the systole and the diastole and the contraction of the ventricle. There are graphs showing pressure in different parts of the heart at different times, as well as a graph of an electrocardiogram and of the heart sounds. Fascinating!

Teaching Clock

This is the most fantastic interactive teaching tool. Used to teach children how to tell the time, it has both an anologue and a digital face. It will tell you if it is day time or night time. A twelve hour or twenty-four hour clock can be used. Just follow the easy to use buttons to show hours, minutes and seconds. Please try this one, its such fun.

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/503/clock.swf

Alphabetical Order

This Alphabetical order application is a simple to use word ordering exercise. Words are simply dragged from the left hand side of the screen to their correct place in the word order list on the right hand side. When all words have been placed in the list the user clicks on the check button to get feedback on their selected order. If the list has been ordered correctly the user can either select to do it again (perhaps setting up ready for another pupil) or move onto the next level. There are four levels of difficulty altogether. http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=wordorder1a

Quote for June

Knowledge we can acquire,

wisdom comes from God.

Quote for May

"Start by doing what's necessary,

then what's possible and suddenly

you are doing the impossible."

St Francis of Assisi

Great Poetry!

So often Teachers search for poetry that is modern and fun, but that is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Try this:

Doo-Wop Girls of the Universe-A collection of poems by Fiuala Dowling. It is published by Penguin Books. Geared more for High School level, but sharp and witty. I thought I would share this one with you:

Well

When I am down my well,

the one with the slippery black sides,

no toeholes, and only a pinhole

of light 3000 compass turns above,

I still describe myself as "fine".

I am thinking of saying "well"

instead. Yes, i think in future

I will definitely reply,"I am well".

"Well" is more accurate,

and more of a cry for help.

Finuala Dowling is South African and from Cape town. Another poem to read is The lime-green clasp. Do yourself a favour and get the book!

Copyright

I was recently at the ISASA media conference at Hilton, and one of the talks that I attended was on Plagiarism. Although this is a serious problem, it made me think of the age old topic of Copyright. Having been a Media teacher for many years, I am fully aware how many teachers copy work from books, fully aware that a copyright exists.
Ever since I have been in the publishing business, I have been exposed to a number of teachers who have created workbooks of their own which they are marketing. Most of these books took many years to create and the only way that they receive a reward for this hard work, is through the sale of their books. It is therefore criminal in more ways than one to copy their work.
My appeal to teachers is to think of the person whom you are stealing from. We need talented people creating workbooks, but they also need to make a living!

Quote for April

If you can conceive it,

and believe it,

you can achieve it!

New English Workbooks

From the first of March 2008, two new English Workbooks will be available for purchase from the Cat Books range. The first is aimed at Grade four and is centred around the theme of plants,while the second is aimed at grade five with a theme on water. Each workbook has 32 pages of PHOTOCOPIABLE worksheets that are outcome based.

Something to think about?

A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . . . but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

- Kathy Davis

The possessive apostrophe

Here is a wonderful powerpoint presentation showing how to use the possessive apostrophe. It has clear explanations, as well as interactive exercises that are followed by the correct answers. This exercise can either be done with the entire class as a lesson, or can be used as a reinforcement exercise where the learner works on his/her own. http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/powerpoints/possessive_apostrophes.ppt#1 This is suitable for grade 4 and 5 level. Enjoy!

Multiplication Tables

'Maths with Percy Parker' is a fun way of teaching multiplication tables to children using songs. This site has the 6 and the 10 times table songs using downloadable MP3 files as well as the lyrics for free. http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/maths/mathswithpercyparker.htm If you like them you can then purchase the entire CD with photocopiable worksheets and other related activities.

Quote for February

'Life is 10 % what you make it, and 90 % how you take it.'

Irving Berlin

Maths for High Schools

In my searchings for something interesting to tell you about, I found this Maths site that high school maths teachers and pupils might find interesting. There are a huge selection of material to choose from :-Algebra, Money, Trigonometry, and even Calculus. When you need a break there are even games for you to try out that use maths skills. Hope you find this useful. http://www.intmath.com/

Poetry Ideas

I have included so many sites linked to Maths, so it's time for a change. I love this site, and have used many of these ideas successfully with Primary School children. Most children find poetry extremely difficult, but with these guidelines it is possible for them to create poems that they can be proud of. Click on http://teacherweb.com/TX/Cadwallader/CChavez/faq1.stm#q1 There are 9 different types of poems discussed, with detailed instructions on how to go about creating them. There is also a section with links to other relevant sites. Let me know what you think!

Percentages

A fun way to teach percentages is to go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/maths/activities/percentages.shtml The children have to follow instructions to lay out a park using specific percentages. When task one is completed successfully they then have to do a similar task using decimals.The third task involves designing the park using fractions. The programme continues with other tasks involving percentages.

This programmes is suitable for learners in grades 3 to 5, depending on their abilities. I think it is a wonderful way of teaching percentages because it is so visual, and the children can be involved. Have fun.

Estimating angles

Innovations learning is a website developed and designed in association with Hampshire Schools. Click on http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/activities/year6/angles/home.asp and it will take you to a game used to estimate angles. It involves a flying saucer that flies by. You have to guess the angle that you aim the laser to shoot it down - use the plus and minus buttons to adjust the angle of the laser and press fire when you are ready. Each time you shoot the laser you receive 10 points, but lose 5 points each time you miss. The instructions are very simple and it is suitable for junior primary and grade 4 pupils.

Quote for January 2008

"The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think--rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men." - Bill Beattie