A huge percent of us are bilingual. Or we want to be. I've always thought it would be fun to read books that were written in the two languages that we know. So I was pleased when I read about Zooprise Party Fiesta.
Written by Joy Delgado of Puerto Rico, it combines English and Spanish. She is an exciting new author/illustrator who is intereviewed on Kathy Semke's blog.
Sadly, I speak English and French so I can't read it. But for my kids who speak English and French and are learning Spanish, it should be great. Thanks Kathy.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Sites that Work Together
I like it when different sites figure out how to work together. Check out this clever connection. The Learning Vocabulary Fun website has some science songs. They are a great way to learn science.
They do use some vocabulary which can be challenging. So underneath the songs, there is a vocabulary list. And then, they have built links directly to the vocabulary and spelling games on SpellingCity.
It's cool. You should do the same from your classroom. Put together a vocabulary list and link it directly to that list on SpellingCity.
They do use some vocabulary which can be challenging. So underneath the songs, there is a vocabulary list. And then, they have built links directly to the vocabulary and spelling games on SpellingCity.
It's cool. You should do the same from your classroom. Put together a vocabulary list and link it directly to that list on SpellingCity.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Have you ever lied to your kids?
Have you ever lied to your kids?
This got me to thinking. I can't wait to see this discussion develop.....
This got me to thinking. I can't wait to see this discussion develop.....
OK. Lets hear it. “Have you ever lied to your kids? If so, how did it work out”. I’m going to start a discussion here and then send it around as a meme.
I’ll start off. Two lies. One was when we had a rat problem. I was baiting a mouse trap with peanut butter and cheese and my four year old daughter asked: “Is that so the rat can eat when he’s caught in the trap?”
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Teaching technology to today's tweens and teens
Teachers in schools are coming up with great ways to teach technology to today's kids, and, as one would expect, the kids are eating it up!
One great example is a teacher at the Randazzo School in South Florida.
She teaches a computer class to middle through high school kids. This class was impressive from the very start. Within weeks the kids were taking apart CPUs and installing hardware.
They soon moved on to learning Microsoft Word. Homework was done in Word and emailed to the teacher through the student's Gmail accounts.
Currently, this teacher who also works on the city of Coral Spring's website as well as the school's website, has started teaching her students to use Joomla. Joomla is a content management system used currently by forward-thinking web developers.
Her students are now researching and writing articles for the city web site's teen section CS-Teens and adding them to the website using this content management technology, a skill that is currently in high-demand in the web world.
Half way through their school year, I can't wait to see what they move onto next!
I want to join this class!
One great example is a teacher at the Randazzo School in South Florida.
She teaches a computer class to middle through high school kids. This class was impressive from the very start. Within weeks the kids were taking apart CPUs and installing hardware.
They soon moved on to learning Microsoft Word. Homework was done in Word and emailed to the teacher through the student's Gmail accounts.
Currently, this teacher who also works on the city of Coral Spring's website as well as the school's website, has started teaching her students to use Joomla. Joomla is a content management system used currently by forward-thinking web developers.
Her students are now researching and writing articles for the city web site's teen section CS-Teens and adding them to the website using this content management technology, a skill that is currently in high-demand in the web world.
Half way through their school year, I can't wait to see what they move onto next!
I want to join this class!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Homeschool blog with give-a-aways
A friend just pointed me towards a blog that's doing a clever promotional effort: 7 reviews with 7 giveaways.What I really liked about Shanna's blog was the December 3rd post: This counts as school, right?
Somehow, it captured the spirit of homeschooling at it's most simple and charming. And I quote:
All on their own, the kids decided to create a script, build a set, and act out their own lego film. They asked me to film it and put it on my blog. Well, how could I resist?
The give-away idea is good. It's effectiveness depends on how well promoted it is and whether the giveaways are significant enough to endear the visitors to the site. That's my $.02. (In any case, that's what I learned when I took my Intro to Blogging and Blog Promotion course).
Check out her site.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Twitter is Not a Waste of Time!
I'm wrong again. It turns out, according to the latest research, that Twitter is Not a Waste of Time! And I quote a campus technology article:
David Parry (2008), an assistant professor at the University of Dallas, cited an example of a class in which one half of the students used Twitter and one half did not. He observed that those students who did use the technology were more engaged and connected overall with the course and that he, as the instructor, knew more about the students' understanding and progress throughout the course than with those who did not use the technology. Parry did note that there is something of a challenge not to over-engage with students but did propose that being relevant with students is a very real challenge in his view of teaching. The more that instructor can and does use current communication tools like Twitter with students, Parry noted, the more students will regard the instructor as relevant. When instructors do not communicate with students using these kinds of tools, according to Parry, students will likely regard those instructors as irrelevant.
In this article, I was also introduced to the term microblogging. Microblogging technology basically brings the concept of blogging into a more direct and immediate mode.
I would guess that microblogging includes:
David Parry (2008), an assistant professor at the University of Dallas, cited an example of a class in which one half of the students used Twitter and one half did not. He observed that those students who did use the technology were more engaged and connected overall with the course and that he, as the instructor, knew more about the students' understanding and progress throughout the course than with those who did not use the technology. Parry did note that there is something of a challenge not to over-engage with students but did propose that being relevant with students is a very real challenge in his view of teaching. The more that instructor can and does use current communication tools like Twitter with students, Parry noted, the more students will regard the instructor as relevant. When instructors do not communicate with students using these kinds of tools, according to Parry, students will likely regard those instructors as irrelevant.
In this article, I was also introduced to the term microblogging. Microblogging technology basically brings the concept of blogging into a more direct and immediate mode.
I would guess that microblogging includes:
- facebook: wWhat are you doing right now.
- All sorts of computer and phone based chat.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Geography Awareness Week
Take students on a virtual whirlwind tour of the world this November with MyWonderfulWorld.org, a National Geographic-led campaign to give kids the power of global knowledge. During Geography Awareness Week (November 16-22), experience a range of geo-activities designed to engage kids in exploring their world while they become more informed global citizens. You can take a geo-tour of global hotspots on a virtual globe, including polar regions, coral reefs, and great cities. Explore earth's marine ecosystems as you pilot an underwater vehicle. Hear from young people living and working around the world.
Go to MyWonderfulWorld.org/gaw to see the world in new ways!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Free Spelling Resources!
Free Spelling Resources!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does Your Child Have The Spelling Gene?
By Diane Flynn Keith
Some people's brains are hard-wired for spelling - it just comes "naturally" to them. Others struggle endlessly with spelling drills and workbooks resulting in little progress and lots of frustration.
The emphasis on spelling in schools and homeschools as a critical language arts skill is over-rated. There are plenty of intelligent people who excel in every school subject including reading, who cannot spell well. They suffer the indignation of red marks on papers that scream, "You're stupid! You can't spell!" Somehow, these non-spellers graduate from school and college and go on to lead productive lives. Not spelling well doesn't mean you're condemned to dumpster diving for a living.
John Wells, a professor of phonetics and president of the Spelling Society in an interview with The Times Online said:
"It's time to remove the fetish that says that correct spelling is a principle mark of being educated. ...Text messaging, e-mail and Internet chat rooms are showing us the way forward for English."
The written language is evolving into a more phonetic and simplified form.
The Times Online also reported that research conducted by Anthony Monaco of Oxford University suggests spelling ability may be embedded in your DNA. He tracked the development of 6,000 children and identified a gene that helps guide brain cells into the cortex of the developing brain that may affect the ability to read and spell. We all have it, but about 15% of the population has a slightly different version of that gene that may account for information processing differences.
Science doesn't have all of the answers yet, but progress is being made toward understanding the difference between Spelling Bee champs and chumps.
So what can parents do to help their children in the meantime? Avoid judging your child's ability and intelligence based on whether or not they can spell well. This truly may be an inherited genetic trait. If spelling isn't their "thing" - give them the tools they need to edit their own work. Understand that every brain is different. Visual learners can "see" the correct spelling of a word in their mind's eye. Auditory learners will be better at sounding out spelling words. Explore multiple methods that will help your child decode the language in a fun and engaging way. Here are some helpful resources for those with and without the spelling gene:
SpellingCity.com is a terrific website that will help your children (ages 5-13 or grades K-8) improve their spelling skills for FREE. Spelling City includes:
Over 37,000 words, including plurals, contractions, future and past tenses.
8 spelling games! Students can play games with their spelling words that are automatically generated by a program at the website.
A REAL human voice that pronounces the spelling words and sentences making it easier to understand and learn.
A "Teach Me" function that spells out the word using both visual and auditory input to improve retention.
The ability for teachers and parents to enter and save their own spelling lists for their students/children.
Get the 28 Rules of Spelling - Free! from the Riggs Institute that sells spelling curriculum and workbooks.
Scripps National Spelling Bee - For those who have the spelling gene, get free resources, study suggestions, spelling word lists that include parts of speech, language origins, pronunciations, definitions, and sentences for thousands of words.2009 Spell It! - This is the official study resource of the Scripps National Spelling Bee from Merriam-Webster. You'll find plenty of free tips and activities to improve spelling.
Free Homeschool Spelling Course - When you get to this commercial website you'll find a FREE 30-lesson homeschool spelling course for students in grades 6- 8. It includes printable spelling rules and step-by-step lessons. The idea here is that if you like the spelling course, you may be motivated to purchase their other courses in grammar and punctuation.
Free Spelling Worksheets - Get free spelling worksheets for elementary grade and remedial students including spelling rules like "silent e", consonant blends, plurals, suffixes, prefixes and even word search games to reinforce spelling.
Play Games To Improve Spelling! Here are some suggestions:
Spelling Hangman - This classic kids game helps hone spelling in a fun and engaging way.
Wordfind Game - Practice spelling while playing a fun online video game.
Alphabet Soup Spelling Game - Try this arcade style game that will challenge your spelling skills.
Spelling Games - Play and learn with these games based on the Dolch Sight Words list.
Catch the Spelling - This site was designed for ESL students, but can be used for grades Pre-K through 8 (approximately). Players use the arrows on their computer keyboard to move "the catcher" to catch falling letters in the correct order to spell out a designated word. Younger children and non-readers will need parental help.
Scrabble, Boggle, and UpWords - These terrific board games from Hasbro improve spelling skills. Click on the link to play the games online for free.
Funbrain: Spell Check - Need a little drill and practice work? This site offers an easy and hard spelling test. There are 20 sets of 4 words offered in each test. The Spell Check game is designed for 4th grade through Middle School. Younger children may find the Spellaroo version of the game on this site a little less difficult.
Copyright 2008, Diane Flynn Keith, All Rights Reserved.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG, OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: "Diane Flynn Keith publishes the rave-reviewed Homefires Ezine with 5,500+ subscribers. If you're ready to save time and money, ease your anxiety, and learn how to have fun homeschooling, get your FREE subscription now at http://www.Homefires.com."
More Spelling Resources:
Alphabetical Order, Word Search, Unscramble, Parts of Speech, Crossword Puzzle, Handwriting Printables, Word-O-Rama Game Show and Letterfall . Resources for teaching too: analogies, dolche words, compound words, math vocabulary, science vocabulary, and segmenting syllables.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does Your Child Have The Spelling Gene?
By Diane Flynn Keith
Some people's brains are hard-wired for spelling - it just comes "naturally" to them. Others struggle endlessly with spelling drills and workbooks resulting in little progress and lots of frustration.
The emphasis on spelling in schools and homeschools as a critical language arts skill is over-rated. There are plenty of intelligent people who excel in every school subject including reading, who cannot spell well. They suffer the indignation of red marks on papers that scream, "You're stupid! You can't spell!" Somehow, these non-spellers graduate from school and college and go on to lead productive lives. Not spelling well doesn't mean you're condemned to dumpster diving for a living.
John Wells, a professor of phonetics and president of the Spelling Society in an interview with The Times Online said:
"It's time to remove the fetish that says that correct spelling is a principle mark of being educated. ...Text messaging, e-mail and Internet chat rooms are showing us the way forward for English."
The written language is evolving into a more phonetic and simplified form.
The Times Online also reported that research conducted by Anthony Monaco of Oxford University suggests spelling ability may be embedded in your DNA. He tracked the development of 6,000 children and identified a gene that helps guide brain cells into the cortex of the developing brain that may affect the ability to read and spell. We all have it, but about 15% of the population has a slightly different version of that gene that may account for information processing differences.
Science doesn't have all of the answers yet, but progress is being made toward understanding the difference between Spelling Bee champs and chumps.
So what can parents do to help their children in the meantime? Avoid judging your child's ability and intelligence based on whether or not they can spell well. This truly may be an inherited genetic trait. If spelling isn't their "thing" - give them the tools they need to edit their own work. Understand that every brain is different. Visual learners can "see" the correct spelling of a word in their mind's eye. Auditory learners will be better at sounding out spelling words. Explore multiple methods that will help your child decode the language in a fun and engaging way. Here are some helpful resources for those with and without the spelling gene:
SpellingCity.com is a terrific website that will help your children (ages 5-13 or grades K-8) improve their spelling skills for FREE. Spelling City includes:
Over 37,000 words, including plurals, contractions, future and past tenses.
8 spelling games! Students can play games with their spelling words that are automatically generated by a program at the website.
A REAL human voice that pronounces the spelling words and sentences making it easier to understand and learn.
A "Teach Me" function that spells out the word using both visual and auditory input to improve retention.
The ability for teachers and parents to enter and save their own spelling lists for their students/children.
Get the 28 Rules of Spelling - Free! from the Riggs Institute that sells spelling curriculum and workbooks.
Scripps National Spelling Bee - For those who have the spelling gene, get free resources, study suggestions, spelling word lists that include parts of speech, language origins, pronunciations, definitions, and sentences for thousands of words.2009 Spell It! - This is the official study resource of the Scripps National Spelling Bee from Merriam-Webster. You'll find plenty of free tips and activities to improve spelling.
Free Homeschool Spelling Course - When you get to this commercial website you'll find a FREE 30-lesson homeschool spelling course for students in grades 6- 8. It includes printable spelling rules and step-by-step lessons. The idea here is that if you like the spelling course, you may be motivated to purchase their other courses in grammar and punctuation.
Free Spelling Worksheets - Get free spelling worksheets for elementary grade and remedial students including spelling rules like "silent e", consonant blends, plurals, suffixes, prefixes and even word search games to reinforce spelling.
Play Games To Improve Spelling! Here are some suggestions:
Spelling Hangman - This classic kids game helps hone spelling in a fun and engaging way.
Wordfind Game - Practice spelling while playing a fun online video game.
Alphabet Soup Spelling Game - Try this arcade style game that will challenge your spelling skills.
Spelling Games - Play and learn with these games based on the Dolch Sight Words list.
Catch the Spelling - This site was designed for ESL students, but can be used for grades Pre-K through 8 (approximately). Players use the arrows on their computer keyboard to move "the catcher" to catch falling letters in the correct order to spell out a designated word. Younger children and non-readers will need parental help.
Scrabble, Boggle, and UpWords - These terrific board games from Hasbro improve spelling skills. Click on the link to play the games online for free.
Funbrain: Spell Check - Need a little drill and practice work? This site offers an easy and hard spelling test. There are 20 sets of 4 words offered in each test. The Spell Check game is designed for 4th grade through Middle School. Younger children may find the Spellaroo version of the game on this site a little less difficult.
Copyright 2008, Diane Flynn Keith, All Rights Reserved.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG, OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: "Diane Flynn Keith publishes the rave-reviewed Homefires Ezine with 5,500+ subscribers. If you're ready to save time and money, ease your anxiety, and learn how to have fun homeschooling, get your FREE subscription now at http://www.Homefires.com."
More Spelling Resources:
Alphabetical Order, Word Search, Unscramble, Parts of Speech, Crossword Puzzle, Handwriting Printables, Word-O-Rama Game Show and Letterfall . Resources for teaching too: analogies, dolche words, compound words, math vocabulary, science vocabulary, and segmenting syllables.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Online Learning
There are many types of learning. One type of learning, important to me, is about learning seo. I've started a new blog on that topic.
Have you voted yet? I voted yesterday.
Have you voted yet? I voted yesterday.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I just voted!
In Florida, where I live, they changed the rules and the early voting opened this morning at 7am. I got in and voted this morning. You should vote. If you need help deciding, I have opinions that I'm willing to share...privately. Go vote. And encourage friends and family to do the same.
Monday, October 20, 2008
From Online to in the flesh - Campaigns are multimedia
Today, I went to a political rally. It's actually the first political rally that I've been to since I was about 20 (I'm 50 now).
I won't share my politics with you but I will say that it really made me think about the process and people as I stood there in a crowd, a very mixed crowd, in the sun at mid-day.
There were old and young, mostly old. Many volunteers. Some children. I assumed that they were homeschoolers since it was a school day.
It's 15 days to election day and being in Florida, we hear A LOT of political ads on the TV and radio. It makes sense to me that in addition to enormous amounts of online work, they hit the crowds and radios, and the TVs and the newspapers. There is no mor multimedia effort than a presidential campaign.
I won't share my politics with you but I will say that it really made me think about the process and people as I stood there in a crowd, a very mixed crowd, in the sun at mid-day.
There were old and young, mostly old. Many volunteers. Some children. I assumed that they were homeschoolers since it was a school day.
It's 15 days to election day and being in Florida, we hear A LOT of political ads on the TV and radio. It makes sense to me that in addition to enormous amounts of online work, they hit the crowds and radios, and the TVs and the newspapers. There is no mor multimedia effort than a presidential campaign.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
English is so weird.....
The English language is so weird, I marvel at the fact that we seem to love it despite it's absurd lack of logic...
Goose, geese,
Moose, .....mooses
Mouse, Mice
House,.....houses
Swim, swam
Trim, ....trimmed
I'm thinking about learning english and vocabulary because I'm back to one of my favorite pastimes, designing games. In this case, I'm looking at Learning Vocabulary Fun, a site with vocabulary word games, trying to figure out games would be popular and useful for building vocabulary. Also, which ones would be within my means to build. As I looked around, I read some of Avko's comments on Crazy English....
Reasons why some people think English is hard to learn. Or, reasons why other people (like me) think English is great fun to learn.
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
Coming soon on Learning Vocabulary Fun, new games dealing with idiomatic expressions.
Goose, geese,
Moose, .....mooses
Mouse, Mice
House,.....houses
Swim, swam
Trim, ....trimmed
I'm thinking about learning english and vocabulary because I'm back to one of my favorite pastimes, designing games. In this case, I'm looking at Learning Vocabulary Fun, a site with vocabulary word games, trying to figure out games would be popular and useful for building vocabulary. Also, which ones would be within my means to build. As I looked around, I read some of Avko's comments on Crazy English....
Reasons why some people think English is hard to learn. Or, reasons why other people (like me) think English is great fun to learn.
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
Coming soon on Learning Vocabulary Fun, new games dealing with idiomatic expressions.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Can My Child Handle A Time4Writing Online Class?
This was such a good article that I thought I'd repeat some of it here. It could be used for any topic...
Can My Child Handle A Time4Writing Online Class?
If your child has never taken an online course, and you are concerned about their ability to handle one, here are a few things you should consider.
Can your child read at at least a first or second grade level? Most of the teaching and instruction in the Time4Writing course is given in writing. If your child can’t yet read the lessons, they might still be able to take the course, but you would need to either sit with them and read the lessons aloud, or use some type of text to speech program to guide them through the coursework.
Does your child feel comfortable with a computer? If your child is just now building mouse skills, and hasn’t had any keyboarding experience, he or she might find an online course overwhelming. But if they are already spending time on the internet, and can at least hunt and peck on a keyboard, they will probably do fine with an online writing course....continued..... Can My Child Handle A Time4Writing Online Class?
Can My Child Handle A Time4Writing Online Class?
If your child has never taken an online course, and you are concerned about their ability to handle one, here are a few things you should consider.
Can your child read at at least a first or second grade level? Most of the teaching and instruction in the Time4Writing course is given in writing. If your child can’t yet read the lessons, they might still be able to take the course, but you would need to either sit with them and read the lessons aloud, or use some type of text to speech program to guide them through the coursework.
Does your child feel comfortable with a computer? If your child is just now building mouse skills, and hasn’t had any keyboarding experience, he or she might find an online course overwhelming. But if they are already spending time on the internet, and can at least hunt and peck on a keyboard, they will probably do fine with an online writing course....continued..... Can My Child Handle A Time4Writing Online Class?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Five Great Websites
The best online homeschool curriculum is from Time4Learning.com.
The best site for spelling words is SpellingCity.com.
The best new article site on homeschool materials is homeschool city.
The best homeschool directory site is homeschool.com.
the best homeschool forum for online discussions.
The best site for spelling words is SpellingCity.com.
The best new article site on homeschool materials is homeschool city.
The best homeschool directory site is homeschool.com.
the best homeschool forum for online discussions.
Friday, September 05, 2008
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