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Nice set of manipulatable visualizations to explore basic data and trends and relationships dealing with poverty, gender, and level of educational attainment.

Nice article at edweek about the informational texts versus great works of literature debate and what Common Core will do to lit. The one important, practical issue that all parties to this discussion MUST recognize - the classroom time is FINITE. Teachers would love to cover EVERYTHING but it just isn't practical. So, if one thing is emphasized over another, it may push something out. Unintended consequences are happening as people "align" their curriculum to common core standards. As all of the pundits and advocates argue this, it would be telling to sit down with an actual aligned curriculum to SEE what happens where the standards meet the lesson plans and what is actually pushed out - until then - it is all, rhetoric. Give us practical application, we're teachers, after all. From the edweek article: "Until recently, the closest we'd come to a major speech on the nonfiction-versus-fiction question was a piece in the Huffington Post by the English/language arts standards' co-authors, David Coleman and Sue Pimentel, insisting that literature "is not being left by the wayside." The message to rally the troops must have gone out, however. Because since the Coleman/Pimentel piece appeared, the common core's defenders have stepped up to counterbalance the literature-pushout crowd. The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's Kathleen Porter-Magee, for instance, posted a piece arguing that it's a misinterpretation of the standards to say that teachers will have to teach less literature. In a recent email blast, the Foundation for Excellence in Education-led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, one of the common core's biggest backers-declaimed the "misinformation flying around" about what will happen to literature under the common standards. "Contrary to reports," it said, "classic literature will not be lost with the implementation of the new standards." A glance at the standards' own suggested text lists, it noted, "reveals that the common core recognizes the importance of b

This might be a good time to talk about poverty as superstars are living on just a little. I don't know how they count this because the heating and air on their homes would exceed $1.50 a day. $1.50 a day is the global figure that defines extreme poverty. "Ben Affleck, Josh Groban, Sophia Bush and Debi Mazar are among the celebs who have committed to take the 2013 Live Below the Line challenge issue by The Global Poverty Project. They will live on $1.50 of food and drink a day (no Starbucks for him!) April 29-May 3 to raise awareness about extreme poverty."

This site is an amazing geometry playground for maths students and teachers. Select points on your screen and connect them up to provide the properties you what. This resource uses HTML5 and works wonderfully across a range of computers, browsers and tablets. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

It is essential that children in today's 'technology focused world' get real, hands-on experiences. The only things that some of my children have in their hands, once at home, are games console controls! By making learning fun and interactive we can engage children in finding out about the world around them and their past, instilling a love of learning and giving them some practical skills to use in the real world...

3rd World Farmer simulation.

Debating global issues is an important part of global competency. Here are some important and sometimes controversial issues like Child soldiers, nuclear weapons, child labor, Aids, poverty. Some very nice frameworks to use as we are ending the school year. After you finish your year end tests, you should consider some global competency lessons in your classroom to help students be aware of the world and also develop critical thinking skills. This is a great place to start.

This would be a fun way to end the school year: talk about pirates. Here are lesson plans and party ideas from other teachers.

An interesting golf themed maths game where players must click on the correct properties described for the given numbers. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

Grammar girl has so many great ways to remember things in grammar. I've missed the words "effect" and "affect"  in the past and am working on improving my own grammar. It is one of those things i've been taught all of this and when I was valedictorian I knew it but somewhere in there between there and here I've forgotten some of it. I go to grammar girl to give me ways to remember it. OK affect - verb; effect - noun.  Grammar teachers will enjoy her.

Students need to be open and use open content, however, there are still questions that haven't been answered about open content that need to be addressed. How long will it take to bring these issues to the forefront? Will many higher ed institutions have to become irrelevant first? Do colleges realize that there are things they can do that will make them more attractive (intellectual property rights, for example.)

A beautifully made flash resource which explores polyhedrons 3D shapes. See their properties, nets and rotate the shape. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

Some really good activities here! Free team building games and exercises ideas to warm up meetings, training, and conferences. Team building games and activities are useful in serious business project meetings, where games and activities help delegates to see things differently and use different thinking styles. Games and exercises help with stimulating the brain, improving retention of ideas, and increasing fun and enjoyment.

Why small, organic, agency-driven schools are important.  Addresses the extraneous factors important to school reform such as poverty, drugs, violence, etc.

Well made games highlighting the work done by the UK Department for International development to elevate poverty. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/PSHE%2C+RE%2C+Citizenship%2C+Geography+%26+Environmental

A great area and perimeter resource where users set the design for a party. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Maths

Remember the old feltboards we used to use? Now, we have one for your Interactive whiteboard. Talk about the different words as you pull them into the tree. You could decorate the tree and have it on your board during your class party!

Documentaire de Sophie Robert "Une longue enquête réalisée auprès d'une trentaine de pédopsychiatres-psychanalystes, dont quelques-uns parmi les plus grands spécialistes français de l'autisme, afin de démontrer par l'absurde - de la bouche même des psychanalystes - de l'inefficacité de la prise en charge psychanalytique de l'autisme."