computerdisc-l: FW: K-12 UPDATE Language Arts

["Patti Abraham" <psa1@RA.MSSTATE.EDU>]

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-k-12update@copernicusnet.com
[mailto:owner-k-12update@copernicusnet.com]On Behalf Of Copernicus
Education Gateway
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 9:53 AM
To: k-12update@gocopernicus.com
Subject: K-12 UPDATE Language Arts


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K-12 Update
Visit EdGate's Copernicus Learning Communities at:
http://www.EdGate.com
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May 15, 2001
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This Issue's Theme: Language Arts

News in this issue:
+CHECK IT OUT!
+WHERE ON COPERNICUS?
+SUPER SITES: Language Arts
 Primary
 Elementary
 Middle School
 High School
+SPOTLIGHT SCHOOL
+TEACHERS SAY
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CHECK IT OUT!
Looking for a way to engage students during the tail end
of the school year? Here's a great way to capture your
students' attention and deliver important curriculum and
life-long lessons.

Go to www.steponline.com to join mountain climbers as they
ascend the heights of Mt. Everest. Follow the progress of
the team through daily dispatches, Web chats, and message
boards. Then tie the Everest expedition to classroom
curriculum through regularly updated lesson plans posted
at http://www.steponline.com/everest/N2Ktoolkit.asp .
Practice math, English, social studies, and science
skills and, at the same time, teach students larger
life lessons about setting goals, living healthy, and
preparing for success.

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WHERE ON COPERNICUS...
would you find great language arts resources?

Stop by the Research Center at
http://www.edgate.com/ed_research.html for the Web's best
dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, grammar helpers,
and vocabulary builders.

Copernicus Learning Community members can also log on to
the Curriculum Matrix to search for hundreds of language
arts resources that are mapped to state standards. For
information on becoming a Copernicus Learning Community
member, email EdGate Customer Care at
customercare@edgate.com .

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SUPER SITES: Language Arts

Primary
CyberGuides (Grades K-3)
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyk3.html
Supplement your lessons with CyberGuides. These standards-
based Web units correspond to popular works of literature
such as "Charlotte's Web" or the "Velveteen Rabbit." Each
guide contains a student and teacher edition complete with
standards, activities, and suggested links. The guides are
based on California Language Arts Content Standards.

S.C.O.R.E. Phonics Link
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/Phonics_Link/phonics.html
The Phonics Link provides resources to help you build your
background knowledge about linguistics, phoneme awareness,
and the process by which students learn to read.

Literacy Center
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm
Help build strong readers by using these online literacy
lessons with your pre-K through second-grade students.
This simply designed site offers an area where young
children can learn early reading skills in a safe,
structured format. The site requires the Flash Player 5
plug-in.

Elementary:
CyberGuides (Grades 4-5)
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cy45.html
CyberGuides aren't just for primary students! Upper
elementary educators will find these online, units
helpful in adding depth to their studies of core works
of literature. The guides are based on California
Language Arts Content Standards.

Grammar Blast by Houghton Mifflin
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/quizzes/index.htm
Add energy to your everyday grammar lessons using these
online, interactive games for grades two through eight.
Students can practice sentences, parts of speech,
punctuation, and more.

Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee
http://www.spellingbee.com/
The 2001 Spelling Bee is underway and the judges have
already selected a set of local champions. In just a few
weeks, these 248 super spellers will meet in Washington,
D.C., for Bee Week 2001 and the 74th Annual Scripps
Howard National Spelling Bee. Learn about these
successful students and test your own skill with the
"Word of the Day."

Middle School:
ALA: Best Practices: Junior High/Middle School
http://www.ala.org/aasl/learning/mspractices.html
This list from the American Library Association
contains "best practices" for grades six through eight.
Once you take a look at these excellent lessons and
activities, you're sure to think of great
opportunities to include them in your classroom.

CyberGuides (Grades 6-8)
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cy68.html
These middle-school CyberGuides contain supplementary
lessons, activities, and Web sites to complement your
class's study of classic works of literature. Guides are
based on California Language Arts Content Standards.

MiddleWeb Language Arts Resources
http://www.middleweb.com/CurrLangArt.html
Looking for middle-school language arts resources?
Stop right here for lots of links to language arts for
the middle grades.

Vocabulary from "Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl"
http://www.vocabulary.com/VUctannefrank.html
If your class is reading Anne Frank's famous book, you'll enjoy
this vocabulary site, created specifically using words
from the autobiography.  The site, Vocabulary Classic
Texts, also publishes lists of vocabulary words for other
literary works.

High School:
CyberGuides (Grades 9-12)
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cy912.html
Reading "Hamlet" or "Great Expectations"? Liven up your
lessons with some supplementary CyberGuides. Based on
the California Language Arts Content Standards, these
lessons deliver instruction centered on core works of
literature.

Annenberg/CPB Project: Literature
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/literature/
Take an interactive journey through Susan Glaspell's
classic short story, "A Jury of Her Peers." This story
not only encourages students to explore the mystery, but
also to investigate the story's literary elements.

Renaissance
http://renaissance.dm.net/
Take a trip back in history to Elizabethan England. Learn
about the customs, food, occupations, games, and pastimes
of the period in order to provide richness to Renaissance
readings.

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SPOTLIGHT SCHOOLS
Great things are happening at Smith Middle School in
Glastonbury, Conn. Smith Middle School just opened a new
school building with top-quality technology labs and
resources.  Smith faculty and administration decided to
integrate technology using EdGate's Copernicus Learning
Communities.

Teachers at Smith Middle School have incorporated
Copernicus Learning Community resources into the classroom
in fun and educational ways.  One Smith student says, "It
[Copernicus] serves education and fun purposes such as
taking pre-SAT questions, which are quite a bit challenging
yet still fun."

Smith educators have also discovered neat ways to use
EdGate's SchoolNotes feature. They use their SchoolNotes
pages to post extra credit questions and link to online
curriculum-based games. One educator, Scott, puts lessons
and assignments on his SchoolNotes page every two weeks,
an arrangement which enabled one of his students to complete
all assignments while on vacation in Ireland! Students say
they like the extra access SchoolNotes gives them to class
information. According to one student, SchoolNotes "helps
me study for tests. If SchoolNotes were shut down, I would
probably get worse grades on my tests."

Smith faculty and administrators are creating innovative
online courses using another EdGate feature, e-Class. One
teacher is creating an e-Class course he'll use to conduct
online sessions for incoming students.  He aims to help them
better comprehend and benefit from their summer reading.
Smith's assistant principal is creating an e-Class for
aspiring administrators to provide support and mentoring.

>From SchoolNotes to e-Class to integration of Copernicus
resources in all facets of the school day, Smith Middle
School has truly found new and creative ways to make the
most of their Copernicus Learning Community.
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TEACHERS SAY
Welcome to the "Teachers Say" section of K-12 Update.
In each issue of the newsletter, EdGate will use this
area to give you a chance to ask and answer questions
posed by EdGate or other newsletter subscribers. Then, in
the following issue, we'll post a few of our favorite
responses, and present another question. This is a great
way to share your experiences and expertise with others.

The next issue of K-12 Update will concentrate on math
resources. Help us answer this "Teachers Say" question:

As educators, what are the best teaching strategies to
show how math relates to the real world?

Email your responses to EdGate at newsletters@edgate.com .
Include your name, grade, and school. We'll post selected
responses in the next issue of K-12 Update!

***It is important to note that by submitting comments
to EdGate, you grant EdGate permission to publish your
remarks in its newsletters.***
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HOW TO CONTACT US

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and parents. Visit our Web site: http://www.EdGate.com .

© 2001 by EdGate.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
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