reading, writing, & 'rithmetic

From the people at Reading Rockets, a group funded by the U.S. Department of Education, comes this webpage called 103 Things To Do Before/During/After Reading. From improv to writing epilogues, this list has imaginative and fun ways for your students to show their understanding where reading is concerned. I especially like "Rosencrantz and Gildenstern" and "Write Out." Bookmark the entire list at http://www.readingrockets.org/article.php?ID=445.

Writing seems to be a big focus of grade level meetings with all of us reading different books on the subject. Access this site for lists of picture books that can serve as models for elements of writing like good beginnings, focus, voice, sentence fluency, and others. Using Picture Books to Teach Narrative and Six Trait Writing at http://geocities.com/oberry1790/narrativebibliography.htm

Just when you think the Web cannot become any more amazing, along comes a site like this. The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives offers educators online versions of the math manipulatives we have in our classrooms. There are graphs, base ten blocks, geoboards, pattern beads, puzzles - and that's just in one of the sections! Math concepts include number and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis and probability. The site's divided into PreK-2, 3-5, and beyond. This blurb doesn't do the site justice - be certain to visit! Virtual Manuipulatives can be viewed and utilized at http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/vlibrary.html