Teaching with Contests.com

As we know, the Internet is a great place to find information on anything that sparks your curiosity. Likewise, the web is a great resource for students, but they need to know how to evaluate what they find and discern the good from the bad. That’s where we come in as teachers. And to help us help our students, Microsoft offers us a free 37 page ebook titled Developing Critical Thinking Through Web Research Skills. The ebook presents strategies for teaching Internet search skills and strategies for evaluating information. The ebook also links to many additional resources for teaching web search strategies. There are strategies and resources appropriate for students from in early elementary grades through high school included in the ebook. As you might expect, the ebook is heavy on references to Bing and other Microsoft products, but overall it is a good resource worth your time to download and read.

The internet is a great instrument for learning, so check out Kids.gov for a fun, educational and interactive site that’s safe for your kids. They’ll find great information on history, science and other subjects for their class reports and projects.CLICK HERE

Sometimes it can be hard to get the kids to settle down and do their homework. Experiment with ways that work with your kids to make sure their homework gets done. You can sit with them and do similar work-balancing your checkbook or reading-while they do theirs. And when they ask for help, provide direction, but not complete answers. When they start a report or need to study for a test, set them up comfortably so they can plan their drafts and study in a quiet area. CLICK HERE

• While you can’t protect your kids from everything, you can help them recognize and effectively deal with bullying of all types, including cyber bullying over the web. If someone is trying to bully your children, tell them to stand up for themselves politely, not to bully back and to tell an adult as soon as possible. (2 sources)    Click here and CLICK HERE

There are a lot of activities you can do at home to help your kids succeed in the classroom. When emptying the dishwasher, have your kids sort the dishes. This helps increase their attention to detail and their ability to recognize differences and similarities between things. To improve their listening skills, hide an object and give them precise directions to find it, or have them close their eyes while you make noise with different items that they must identify.    CLICK HERE

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program, new in 2010, brings selected national sites to this popular circulating coin.  Fifty-six different designs make up this series (one for each state, the District of Columbia, and each of five US territories).

For educators, the United States Mint offers free lesson plans (for grades K through 12) based on the new quarter designs.  What a great opportunity to connect history with the coins in the very pockets of your students! All information: CLICK HERE

This is an excellent song and should be heard by all…

To hear song and get more information CLICK HERE

• “Animoto is a magically-easy way to grab attention… and create new visual contexts.”

  — Joyce Valenza Ph.D

• “Animoto is one of the marvels of Web 2.0. It is a wonderful initiative and a true benefit to teachers and students.”

  — Lance Rougeux, Director

• “Now I have another resource for my classroom.”

  — Christina Germano

• “NASA Images comes alive on Animoto, an exciting way to bring the universe into the classroom.”

  — Jon Hornstein Director

Let Animoto bring your classroom to life.

It takes just minutes to create a video which can bring your lessons to life. CLICK HERE

Join educators and space enthusiasts around the world to celebrate World Space Week, Oct. 4-10, 2010. This international event commemorates the beginning of the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, 1957.

During World Space Week, teachers are encouraged to use space-themed activities. World Space Week is the largest public space event in the world, with celebrations in more than 50 nations. Last year, President Obama joined the celebration by hosting a Star Party at the White House. Read the rest…

NASA has once again landed on the lunar surface with the goal of colonization, research, and further exploration. Shortly after the return to the Moon, NASA has established a small outpost on the south pole of the moon called Moonbase Alpha. Utilizing solar energy and regolith processing, the moonbase has become self-sufficient and plans for further expansion are underway.

In Moonbase Alpha, you assume the exciting role of an astronaut working to Read the rest…