One chapter in the book NurtureShock! proposes that many contemporary behavior “problems” may be symptoms of sleep deprivation. Here, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) cites research on teen sleep and lists recommendations for helping give students better chances for good sleep. It might even be worth lots of money to your district!
December 9, 2009
More sleep for teens!
Posted by christinerafal under Self Expression, Study Skills, Stuff We Like, Understanding Self & Others, Vim & VigorLeave a Comment
December 4, 2009
When he was a freshman in college, William Ickes, heard that people forget about 80% of textbook material just a couple days after reading it. However if they reread it after a delay, they would remember about 50%. This gave him a simple strategy for doing well in college.
Probably like many people, I intuitively knew this and used to highlight important sentences as I read my texts so I could quickly skim through the attractive colors as I “re-read.” If I was using a previously owned and highlighted textbook I would simply use a different color for my own markings.
December 2, 2009
LiveMocha Language Learning
Posted by christinerafal under Self Expression, Study Skills, Understanding Self & OthersLeave a Comment
I recently came across a new online language learning site called Livemocha. I am using it to learn Spanish & Portuguese.
It’s a great way to learn new languages and connect with native speakers; like a combination of classes and social networking. They have fun lessons for a variety of languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi and more — and it’s free to join.
December 2, 2009
For the fifth-graders’ parent-child book club, Ruby has selected Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn. Naomi is enjoying it very much so far!
Gabi–inspired by its mention in last month’s pick (Paper Towns)–has chosen Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass for the seventh-graders’ parent-child book club. She knows it’s long, and we’ll see how the discussion works. I’ll be curious to see how much background knowledge and context these young folks find they need to be able to enjoy the poems.
Related Post:
Fifth-grade book club Oct/Nov
November 13, 2009
Bibliographies Made Easy
Posted by christinerafal under Reading and Writing, Study SkillsLeave a Comment
BibMe.org is a wonderful website that makes it easy to create, format and store bibliographies. BibMe can handle books, newspaper articles, films, websites, etc. It is so important to keep track of your sources! A missing bibliography could really bring down your grade on a project, so make sure you give, and then get, all the credit due.
October 20, 2009
Last night, the fifth graders’ parent-child book club featured a lively discussion of A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. The kids liked the book just fine; the parents liked it even better! And of course we served four kinds of cookies for dessert after the discussion.
Zack’s pick for the next meeting brings us back to baseball, but this one features mystery: Change Up by John Feinstein. Happy reading!
If you’re looking for ideas for selections to offer your own book club, check out our aStore. The choices are listed in reverse chronological order.
Related posts:
Summer reading
June Book Club Picks
October 16, 2009
Rebecca’s November Book Club Pick
Posted by christinerafal under Reading and WritingLeave a Comment
For the seventh graders’ parent-child book club, Rebecca has selected Paper Towns by John Green.
Everybody seemed to really enjoy Kalvin’s October pick, The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. Some of our seventh-graders are using Goodreads.com to keep track of their reading and offer their own reviews.
If you’re looking for ideas for selections to offer your own book club, check out our aStore. The choices are listed in reverse chronological order.
Related posts:
Happy Birthday, Nicholas Flamel!
September Book Club Pick
Summer reading
June Book Club Picks
September 28, 2009
I’ve been so busy campaigning for School Committee that I haven’t posted as often as usual since June. I missed quite a few of my usual September observances like International Peace Day. But legend has it that today would be the birthday of Nicholas Flamel, one of the main characters of The Alchemyst by Michael Scott, Kalvin’s pick for October’s meeting of the seventh-graders’ parent-child book club.
Related Posts:
Ideas for celebrating International Peace Day
September Book Club Pick
Summer reading
June Book Club Picks
September 24, 2009
According to Lee Pulos, PhD, only about 4% of the population take time to write down their goals. But when goals are written or even drawn, they are achieved almost 100% of the time. Earlier this month, President Obama exhorted America’s school children to set goals for their education and commit to achieving them.
For parents who want to set goals for financial independence, I love Bob Proctor’s Six Minutes to Success system. Underneath each brief video is a little “workbook” type form. Your answer is saved for you and you can click back through every refinement of your goals as you go along. If you sign up for the program, a new video will be available to you every week day. Bob Proctor built his own success by relying on the class Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, but Proctor has distilled the ideas into a step by step practice.
September 18, 2009
Smokescreen Game
Posted by christinerafal under Fun and Games, Technology in Education, Youths' Quality of LifeLeave a Comment
Advising young or new social networkers to engage in the missions of this new game, Smokescreen. Experience simulations of possible problems at the nexus of your virtual and real-world lives so you can be safer online.
