Volume 1:2

Metropolitan Institute for Teaching and Learning
Production StaffDavid Campos, Ph.D.
Editors: Ellen Kelly ‘00 and Debbie (Diesing) Hervai ‘00
This Newsletter is funded by the Teacher Quality Education Grant

Celebration for Student Teachers, Cooperating Teachers, New Teachers, and Their Mentors by David Campos
Greetings Alumni from the College of Education. We hope all of you are doing well in your classrooms and your students are achieving at an all time high. As we approach mid semester, you will recall that many of our student teachers are finishing up their experiences. Consequently, we would like to celebrate in their honor as well as reunite recent graduates, and welcome their mentors into our learning community.

On November 18, we have planned a discourse with Dr. Kathy Fad author of many books for teachers of children with special needs. Dr. Fad will lecture on ADHD inclusive of a focused discussion on Assessment of ADHD, recent findings on ADHD, and strategies that work for children with ADHD. After her discourse and a question and answer period, we will have a panel of first year teachers discussing their experiences. Mentors and cooperating teachers

will be asked to provide words of wisdom or effective teaching strategies to share with the guests.

Please invite your mentor to attend the event with you. You will come to gain insight on ADHD, reunite with fellow College of Education Alumni, and enjoy a lovely afternoon in the Loop. Teachers who attend can request a certificate of attendance for their certification portfolio.

The celebration will take place on November 18, 2000 from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm in the Congress Lounge at our downtown campus.

Please call Sarah at 312-341-6391 to reserve you seats. Seating is limited. Student teachers, their cooperating teachers, new teachers, and their mentors attend the event at no cost. Tickets for guests can be purchased at the event for $7. We look forward to seeing you there.

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Catch A child doing something good! Words of Wisdom from Tracey Crawford's Behavior management Workshop.
The key to a successful classroom starts not only with a good lesson plan, but with behavior management as its solid foundation. Tracy Crawford’s workshop not only introduced techniques for use in the classroom, but possible underlying elements that might cause a child to act out. Understanding the underlying cause and being able to recognize a potential problem before it occurs are the corner stones to behavior management.

THREE KEY ELEMENTS that cause a child to act out:

ENVIRONMENTAL
1. INFLUENCES
(Outside Factors)

2. PERSONAL ATTITUDES
(Inside Feelings)

3. INABILITY TO COPE
(No Control or Understanding)

Tracey's words of advice when dealing with parents.
Tracy Crawford returned with a workshop that discussed how to be successful at parent/teacher conferences. General ideas were given as well as participants sharing real classroom experiences.

TIPS FOR PARENT/ TEACHER Conferences

1. Share positive experiences and accomplishments
2. Include expectations aligned with State Standards
3. Share a list of problem areas, but focus on only three at a time
4. Make a plan for achievement
5. Document areas discussed
6. Be aware of body language
7. Be careful of what you say and how you say it
8. End the meeting with a positive statement

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By popular Demand Dr. Carol scatena returns
WOW! Dr. Carol Scatena started off the MITL series of free workshops with energy and excitement. Dr. Scatena gave us a mini-course in reading assessment and introduced some great hands-on reading strategies. A video of this presentation is now available. For ten dollars you receive the video and a copy of all the handouts that correspond with the activities from the presentation.

Some comments from a few of the participants were:

“One area I really felt ill-prepared for after graduation was reading instruction. I wish I would have had this information as an undergrad.” Anonymous

“I would love to take Dr. Scatena’s Course at Lewis University. She has so much to offer.” S. Vukelic

“I was impressed with the many different methods of assessment that Dr. Scatena presented. They were simple and easy to implement in my second grade classroom.” Raymundo Salgado

Dr. Scatena’s next workshop will focus on detailed reading strategies. If there is any other topic you wish for her to address then please call Stratton at (312)341-6391 or email the topics to: teachersnotes@yahoo.com.

Join us on December 5th at the Downtown Campus and reap the benefits of her outstanding presentation style, her educational background, and experience

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Harry Potter on the Web
One of America’s most popular read aloud novels has some interesting web sites to bring Harry and his adventures into your classroom. Here is the list that is published in the August 2000 issue of Scholastic’s Instructor magazine.

The official movie site: www.wbmovies.com/harrypotter/index.html

The official Harry Potter site.: www.scholastic.com/harrypotter

www.homestead.com/everythingpotter/index.html

Harry Potter chat. www.oocities.org/Yosemite/Forest/1809/potter.htm

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Editors' Note
Welcome to the second issue of Teachers’ Notes. Thanks to all the people who attended our first workshops. We hope to see more of you as the year unfolds.

We would like to hear from you! For our next issue, we would like to write a piece on first year teaching experiences.. Let us know…. Where are you teaching? What grade do you teach? What learning experiences have you had in your classroom?

We encourage you to send your comments and ideas via our email address: teachersnotes@yahoo.com

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Technology in Your Classroom
Teaching in the 21 Century focuses mostly on the integration of technology with all content areas. How to teach teachers to utilize technology in the classroom is the major concern of educators. MITL recognizes this need and the MITL Development Team has addressed this concern by offering a series of FREE technology workshops.

Our first workshop was a wonderful experience. Together Ellen Kelly and Debbi Diesing worked with other graduates and RU’s new Associate Dean, Renate Rohde. The workshop demonstrated how to insert, manipulate, and utilize graphics. Participants walked away with tips on how to customize graphics when using Microsoft Word and develop a newsletter using Microsoft Publisher. Everyone enjoyed making their own magnet frames out of the printable magnet sheets designed especially for ink jet printers.

The next workshop will be offered on October 21, 2000 at the Downtown Campus. It will focus on the use of digital cameras and how to insert photos from a scanner or disk. Ideas will be presented on how to use your students as a resource in teaching lessons and creating bulletin boards by using technology. You do not need a digital camera or a scanner in your classroom to benefit from this experience.

Due to the newness of this program, we are only offering workshops at the downtown campus for the 2000-2001 school year. We hope to increase participation and access to both campuses by the following school year.

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Question and Answer Corner

Q: “How can I implement the use of technology in my classroom if I only have one computer? “

A: My suggestion is to integrate your teaching style to include centers or block out three times of the day that would permit students to work in pairs. Plan a project that allows for cooperative learning. For example, a project for the week can be for students to write a poem with a partner. They can be given time to compose this on the computer during center time. Make a schedule for the week that will allow a pair of students to work on the computer at different times of the day. Make sure that you include each student in this schedule. This would permit three pairs of students to use the computer a day and permit technological exposure for a class of thirty students once a week. Allow for a minimum of thirty minutes of composing time for each session in order to make each session worthwhile.

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Cool web sites
A great way to find useful web sites and links for your classroom is to subscribe to the electronic newsletter issued by the Learning Company School Division. The subscribers are emailed a daily newsletter containing useful ideas and information that can be used in the classroom. Some examples include an educator’s quote of the day, URLs (web site addresses) to different lesson plan ideas, a today in history section and a question/feedback section.

The following URLs are from the September 30th issue.

Columbus Day Center
http://theteachrscorner.net/seasonal/columbus/center.htm

“Fill a bulletin board with Columbus’s ships as students trace a timeline and his journey westward.”

Writing prompts and journal topics
http://www.track0.com/canteach/elementary/prompts.html “What would happen if there was no television?” “What is the best thing a parent can do for a child?” These are just a two examples of the creative prompts found at this web site.

Cards
http://www.bluemountain.com
This web site allows for students to email cards at no cost. They can email cards to their favorite author, send a thank you note to the principal, or a message telling their parents what they are doing in school.

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Eat Sewer Lice as students gasp
Sounds disgusting, but some teachers rave about this lesson to practice observation and recording skills. The teacher tells the class that he/she received a letter from a friend who is a professor at the University of Wisconsin. During a sewer reconstruction project, the workers found a new species that is believed to be a cousin of head lice. These new creatures are so large they can be seen with the naked eye. The teacher would ask the class if they would like to see the sample that was sent and then he/she goes to an area where the students cannot see what is being done. Open a can of Mountain Dew or any other yellow soda that looks like sewer water. Pour the soda into a 250 ml beaker and drop in six brown raisins. Bring out the beaker and have the students observe and record what they see.

After the students finish, tell them that these new creatures can possibly cure two of the world’s biggest problems — hunger and pollution. Explain that these lice are full of edible protein, and they clean soiled water by eating sewage. Then the teacher asks if he/she should eat one and drink the water. One or more students will always say yes. The response to the teacher doing so is dramatic.! Offer the students a sample and you are sure to get at least one student who will be daring enough to try one. This is the point where the discovery of the raisins is revealed. Then go over the importance of observation, recording information and safety. It is a fun way to get the students’ attention in the classroom!

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Teacher Tips
Do you ever think of …

Having students in the younger grades use Play-Doh to mold their spelling words?

Using the “Three before Me” rule? Every time students need help, they must ask three students for help prior to coming to you with their questions

Using 35 mm canisters to hold students’ money (many film developers would gladly give these away)?

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