June 5, 2010

We didn't have a Teacher Ed Board call this week due to the Memorial Day holiday, but several of us communicated via email. One site that we just completed a review on is Read, Write, Think, one of the Thinkfinity sites, this one sponsored by NCTE and IRA. This is a wonderful collection of lesson plans, K-12, with connections to the standards (both national and state) and a variety of topics, lengths of lessons, even units.

One of the most popular items currently is a unit on creating a class newspaper for grades 3-5. There are ten 50-minute lessons and links to a wonderful interactive http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title=: which allows users to create a newspaper, flyer, brochure or booklet. It's quite a fabulous tool!

Included is also a graphic organizer to help students create a newspaper story format for their articles. As well, there is an article which details how a second grade teacher created a classroom newspaper. There are printouts, websites, and multiple resources that teachers (or preservice teachers) can use to build effective learning in the classroom.

In addition to all the wonderful professional resources (including professional development opportunities, books, etc.) there is a terrific section for parents and afterschool programs that includes engaging activities and resources designed for literacy and critical thinking.

I hope you'll check out this site. Our MERLOT review was a solid 5 by both reviewers and should be posted in two weeks. However, the link to the post is http://www.merlot.org/merlot/workflow/viewCompositeReview.htm?id=468514 for anyone who can't wait :)

Jane