4kids.org

4Kids is a website teachers and parents can get excited about. This site offers many interesting educational opportunities from math games to virtual zoos. Kids can play fun math, language, vocabulary, and social studies games and enhance their skills in these areas. The site hosts educational videos, and great articles kids can watch or read to learn about a variety of topics. 4Kids also has an online magazine kids can read and answer questions to enhance their knowledge and reading comprehension skills. Speak Out is part of the site where short essay questions are posted for viewers to respond. Be sure to visit this site and check it out. 4kids may be something you would like to use with your students or kids.



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Teacher Expectaion

A vital proponent to student's success is positive teacher expectation. It is imperative that teachers assess themselves to insure they convey the same expectations for all of their students. At times a teacher may convey lower expectations for a child according to their race, social class or intellectual achievement. Teachers should regularly ask themselves "Do I have equally high expectations for all of my students?". One may ask, "Why is teacher expectation so important?" Students and people in general often become what is expected of them. If someone treats them repeatedly as if they will not succeed in school or any other area because they are not as smart as some of the others, it is quite probable they will not succeed. One reason for this is self-fulfilling prophesy, which is when someone has an idea imposed upon them about their future and they become what that idea suggest.

iGoogle as a Teaching Tool

An iGoogle page is a personalized homepage where the creator can add web feeds, links to cool web pages and Google Gadgets. Google Gadgets are a variety of accessories that can easily be added to the google page. The iGoogle page can be a fun place for students to play educational games, link to the teachers blog,view homework assignments or access links the teacher has added to his/her site.

Podcast as Teaching Tools

Every time I see or listen to a podcast I am again impressed with their educational usefulness. I recently watched a podcast about the Energy Flow in the Coral Reef. This podcast introduced terms such as herbivores, carnivores, photosynthesis, and chloroplasts. An explanation of the life cycle and photosynthesis is presented in a simple but interesting way. The person who watches this learns the important interdependence of each member of the coral reef. Energy is obtained from the sun by plants which are eaten by herbivores. Herbivores are then eaten by carnivores. Carnivores are eaten by other carnivores or die of old age and then are eaten by scavengers and decomposers. The herbivores keep the underwater plant population in check, and the carnavors keep the herbivors population in check. Each member works together for the good of the whole.


In my classroom when we study the life cycle and photosynthesis I could let my students watch the Energy Flow in the Coral Reef. Watching it would help them understand a coral reef and the importance of each member for the existence of the reef as well as the role the life cycle and photosynthesis play in that existence.


We could also discuss how in our class or at home we each have to do our part to make our class and homes run smoothly just like the members in the coral reef. If each student participates in class and shares during discussion time they are contributing to the learning of the entire class. When they are at home and they do their chores they are sharing in the household work load and are helping their home to run more smoothly.

Blogs as Teaching Tools

Blogs can be a wonderful opportunity to help students become more comfortable using computer technology as well as give them a chance to practice their academic skills. Teachers can use blogs as journals for their students. Blog journals allow the students to post their work and read their classmates' work. The students have the opportunity to have their classmates respond to their work and are afforded the opportunity to respond to their classmates work. Since students know others may read their work they are more likely to do their best.

Class discussions can also be conducted on a classroom blog. The teacher can post a question and have the students respond. Often the students become more engaged in the topic, because they respond to the teacher's question and then respond to another classmate's response as well. Each class seems to have a few shy students who do not feel comfortable talking in class. Blogging offers them a less intimidating way to be a part of class discussions and express their opinion.

Teachers can use blogs as a class web page of sorts. He/she can post class pictures of arts and crafts, projects they have completed and pictures of the students engaged in their work. A class blog page can offer parents a glimpse into their child's day and reassure them that their child is in good hands and is learning. Parents can leave comments for the teacher, and the teacher can respond. Even this small amount of interaction can strengthen the parent teacher relationship. If a teacher chooses to create a classroom blog, she should insure only the parents of the children can access the page by requiring a password for viewing.