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This is a must try site which provides an amazing 3D world which teaches English and maths core skills. Players race against two other randomly chosen online players of a similar level. The questions start out very easy and adapt to the performance of the player. The questions are read out and some are displayed on the screen. The player just clicks on the correct multiple choice answer to increase their speed. There is a download for PCs and Macs as well as apps for iPad and Android. There are teacher accounts which allow you to make logins for lots of children quickly. When there log in students will be asked to design an avatar. Because the resource requires a sizeable download it takes a little time to set up, but because it runs on your local device game play is very smooth and quick. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

Many parents know the importance of talking and reading to their children to develop vocabulary and literacy skills, but what about math?

If you are in 7th or 8th grade read more about the Early Entrance Program at the University of Washington, the premier early entrance program in the nation. If you are in 10th grade read more about the UW Academy for Young Scholars, the Robinson Center's early university entrance program for students offered in collaboration with the UW Honors Program. Summer Programs Do you want a fun and inspiring summer experience? If you are in 5th or 6th grade, learn more about Summer Challenge, the Robinson Center's summer program for students in elementary school. These hands-on classes provide multi-disciplinary learning experiences for three weeks during the summer on the UW-Seattle campus. If you are in 7th-10th grade learn more about Summer Stretch, the Robinson Center's summer program designed for students who want to learn a variety of subjects at an accelerated pace. Courses include math, humanities, science and writing, and are located on the UW-Seattle campus.

School's back, and so is Big Homework. Here's what my 7th grade daughter has to do tonight: 1 Math review sheet 1 Science essay French vocab for possible quiz History reading and questionairre English reading and note-taking About two hours, give or take. This is considered a pretty light load, so as to ramp up gently. Over the next few weeks, it will get up to three hours or more.

He said what?!

Not learning algebra means you have shut the door on many careers. Sure you can lead a good life without it, but you have limited yourself. Math phobics are always looking for a reason to justify/validate their choice to avoid math. Trying to make math seem irrelevant to life is a common approach. Imagine saying learning English is overrated - many get by just fine without writing or reading much of anything in their daily lives. In fact, why do we need any education?

It's an interesting article. The writer followed it up in his blog extending similar treatment to ALL subjects. It's more a treatise in how curriculum design and the current state of the system has failed society, rather than an attack on disciplines specifically. He actually has a STEM background, mind you.

A nice set of English, maths and other resources for Early Years children. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Cross+Curricular

Teaching That Makes Sense offers tools, training, and technology support for K-12 schools in reading, writing, math, test preparation, and assessment.

A great analysis of the problems with financial giants supporting educational reform.

This is one juicy article which may change your view of the big picture of ed reform or help you get others to see it more clearly. Pass it on.

A great resource to practise reading scales, dials and measures. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

Asa Spencer of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute writes in the Education Gadfly Weekly: "Traditionalists cringe, tech buffs rejoice: This latest NAEP writing assessment for grades eight and twelve marks the first computer-based appraisal (by the "nation's report card") of student proficiency in this subject. It evaluates students' writing skills (what NAEP calls both academic and workplace writing) based on three criteria: idea development, organization, and language facility and conventions. Results were predictably bad: Just twenty-four percent of eighth graders and 27 percent of twelfth graders scored proficient or above. Boys performed particularly poorly; half as many eighth-grade males reached proficiency as their female counterparts. The use of computers adds a level of complexity to these analyses: The software allows those being tested to use a thesaurus (which 29 percent of eighth graders exploited), text-to-speech software (71 percent of eighth graders used), spell check (three-quarters of twelfth graders), and kindred functions. It is unclear whether use of these crutches affected a student's "language facility" scores, though it sure seems likely. While this new mechanism for assessing kids' writing prowess makes it impossible to track trend data, one can make (disheartening) comparisons across subjects. About a third of eighth graders hit the NAEP proficiency benchmark in the latest science, math, and reading assessments, compared to a quarter for writing. So where to go from here? The report also notes that twelfth-grade students who write four to five pages a week score ten points higher than those who write just one page a week. Encouraging students to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) is a start."

short article on the international rankings of students in reading and math pointing out the difficulty in drawing strong conclusions.

A collection of curiosities from history, science, literature, math, art, and philosophy. Fun to read with material that can make your lessons more interesting.

Math, Reading Comprehension, Themes, Lesson Plans, and Printable Worksheets

I'm starting a lunchtime knitting/crochet club for my students this year and came along this wonderful program to help with the cost. This program donates supplies for mentors who would like to start a program to teach needle arts. Here are some of the benefits from learning a needle art: For Youths: Develops focus and concentration Encourages following a process Builds self-esteem Improves math and reading skills Enhances critical thinking and problem solving Offers a vehicle for stress release and anger management Encourages creativity through portable alternative activity Provides healthy interpersonal relationships with adults Ensures tangible accomplishments with immediate results Learns a practical, useful and fun activity Enhances hand/eye coordination, small motor skills, tactile energy, communication skills, self discipline and attention to detail

"Progressions Documents", the documents which outline specific mathematical learning progressions upon which the Common Core State Standards were based. If you're in a state that teaches these you should definitely find some time to read through them. If you are a teacher elsewhere, it can't hurt to understand these progressions.

Preparing kids for tests doesn't have to mean drills. In our work, we make explicit connections between good test-taking practices and good general-learning practices. Here, we share some of the strategies and ideas that have grown out of our efforts. In this article you'll find: Reading Strategies Math Strategies Format Fundamentals Six Ways to Ease Test Stress

Website for Tom Snyder Productions, a Scholastic company, creator of education software for the k-12 educational market. Major products include Scholastic Keys, Thinking Reader, TimeLiner, Graph Master, Graph Club, Neighborhood MapMachine, Community Construction Kit, Decisions Decisions, Reading for Meaning, FASTT Math, GO Solve Word Problems, Science Court, Workshop Book Series