your children see you laugh.
Learning with eTutor
Parents Are Partners
Parent participation is important in
the eTutor Program. We ask that parents review all off line work
that is in eTutor lesson module. These include vocabulary,
resources, problem statement, activities and extended learning.
Below are some questions that can be used with your student to
stimulate conversation about what has been learned. Remember,
you do not need to grade your student's work. Take this
opportunity to have your child teach you what he or she is
on asking questions about the information your child is studying and
try to remember other activities that stimulated thinking about the
concept. The following are questions and prompts to help in this area:
might have happened if...?
could be the result of...?
conclusions can we draw from it?
are these alike?
/ make / build / create / plan /design / fabricate...
/ infer / deduce / compare / contrast / equate
/ conclude / design / combine / integrate
(when there are multiple alternatives)
/ judge / critique
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Hero and the Crown
by Robin McKinley
Grades 6 - 12
Aerin is the
only child of the king of Damar, and should be his rightful
heir. But she is also the daughter of a witchwoman of the North,
who died when she was born, and the Damarians cannot trust her.
But Aerin's destiny is greater than her father's people know,
for it leads her to battle with Maur, the Black Dragon, and into
the wilder Damarian Hills, where she meets the wizard Luthe. It
is he who at last tells her the truth about her mother, and he
also gives over to her hand the Blue Sword, Gonturan. But such
gifts as these bear a great price, a price Aerin only begins to
realize when she faces the evil mage, Agsded, who has seized the
Hero's Crown, greatest treasure and secret strength of Damar.
1985 Newbery Medal
Keep a notebook and
pencil handy; ideas come at the strangest times.
The Seed of New and
Different Ideas - Creativity
imagination is needed...encouragement of new and different ideas,
new combinations of materials, new arrangement of space concepts
that give originality the freedom of growth and practice that will
only be possible if we allow our children their natural
Realize that much that
is new in the world arises as a consequence of felt needs and
problems. Why these feelings arise, no one can explain as of
today. But that they do arise is demonstrated by the artist
or author who feels compelled to paint or write in his particular
way whether or not it conforms to what is assumed to be good by
There may be the
writer who fills pages and hides them away or feels obliged to
publish his own work or the musician who composes despite the
jibes and insults of his audiences when first hearing the
performance of his work. These are creative urges that
continue with or without an acceptance by society.
long-sought-for acceptance comes years after the artist has
struggled to win recognition. For the behavior of certain processes
in the environment does so not because someone else has structured
the problem, but because he has a feeling that he can approach it
differently and that it must be done. The inner compulsion
of human beings, often working against strong opposition, seems to
be an individually felt need that has not been explained but
persists and should be recognized as one aspect of
Adapted from Public
More exercise leads to
fewer headaches. People who exercise three times a week suffer
fewer headaches than their sedentary counterparts, says
anesthesiologist, Dr. John Bonica, at the University of
Exercise tones the body, reducing stress on muscles that can cause
backaches and headaches.
Adapted from Working
Setting the Record
my early years of teaching, I tried hard to teach phonics rules but I
never understood why my favorite rule, "When two vowels go
a-walking, the first one does the talking," didn't seem to help
my students read better. In a graduate course I was presented
with research about phonics rules and was shocked to find that many of
the rules I was teaching were only true fifty percent of the
time. It was at that point that I stopped chanting those
rules that are taught as part of a spelling program to older children
can often help them as spellers. Another revelation I had as a
teacher was that after a student can read independently, there is no
more need for the study of letter-sound correspondences. Reading
authorities have written that children don't need phonics instruction
after second grade. Each year, I test more than one hundred
students who are experiencing difficulty as readers and I've found
that many of these students have had so much phonics instruction that
they believe reading is merely sounding out words. These
students need to learn to use semantics and syntax rather than just
Maryann Manning, School
of Education, U. of Alabama at Birmingham
Look for opportunities to make your
child feel important.
Make Family Time =
In today's hectic world,
families often spend more time apart than together. This is why
it is important to devote some individual time to each child every
day. In addition, spend time together as a family. Here
are some activities that will bring your family closer together...and
set the stage for better learning.
Plan activities the
whole family can enjoy. You might try a picnic in the park;
a trip to the zoo; a visit to an art gallery; or an afternoon
spent fishing. These family activities can broaden your
children's interests...and add to their intellectual stimulation,
imagination, and academic achievement.
Take a walk through
your neighborhood at least once a week. Talk about what you
see...or about anything that's on your child's mind. These
walks will become especially important as he grows older.
Establishing the habit of communication when your child is young
can build bridges that will promote talking and listening when he
reaches the teen years.
special. On a winter evening, pop some popcorn and snuggle
up together with a book. Or, during the summer, plan a
reading picnic under the stars. Give your child a book by a
favorite author for a birthday or holiday gift.
Adapted from Parents
Can Help Students Achieve,
American Association of School Administrators
Good Food Habits
know your children imitate what they see...especially when it comes to
eating habits. Get on track by setting and following these four
exemplary eating practices with your family.
an appreciation for fruits and veggies.
Research shows children will be less picky and eat more
produce if their parents do.
a healthy attitude around food. Strict
limitations can cause children to sneak food and overeat.
Rather, allow your child to enjoy treats in moderation, and then
encourage him to savor healthy foods while sitting down,
preferably with you.
by the rules you set. If you child can't eat in
front of the TV, mom and dad shouldn't either.
the breakfast club. Don't rush out the door with
a bagel in hand; sit down and eat...ideally together, but on a
staggered schedule if necessary. Children should see that
breakfast matters for the entire family.
from Mathew Kadey, RD
Biting - Act of Aggression
or Mark of Frustration
Biting tops the list of
reasons for expulsion from day care and nursery school, according to
the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. On the
spectrum of bad behavior, which includes hitting, hair-pulling,
kicking and plain old meanness, biting is considered extreme.
There are health risks to biting, particularly when skin is
broken. Myths about the transmission of AIDS have heightened
anxieties about an already-feared behavioral problem.
In most of us, the very
idea of biting....and blood and saliva...evokes a visceral
response. We're repulsed by an act of aggression that seems
feral, almost animalistic, and simultaneously undermines a child's
feeling of safety and security as well as parents' impulse to protect
their child from danger.
Most children who bite are
not yet verbal. Infants and toddlers nip and gnaw, like puppies,
eager to explore the world using all their senses. But older
children tend to bite out of frustration, usually because they cannot
express themselves. They bite because they feel powerless.
"Biting is the last
weapon," say child development specialists. "Young children
don't have a lot in their arsenals. Experts agree on one thing:
Never bite a child who bites, in an attempt to "show how it
feels." Research recommends this response:
Immediately remove the
child from the situation.
State clearly that
biting is not acceptable behavior. Ever.
Give the child ways to
feel more in control without inflicting harm, such as helping him
to develop his language skills or placing him in a less
The most important step in
dealing with a biter is creating an environment where children can
learn to express their emotions while feeling they have control over
Adapted from Chicago
long-term goals and short-term plans to achieve them.
Great November Links:
Mammals The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) provides
solutions to the challenges of ocean stewardship and economic growth
in the Gulf of Maine bioregion. A great source for student activities,
research, links and more.
Diversity: Sponsored in part
by the Interagency Education Research Initiative, the Homeland
Foundation and the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. This
material is based upon work supported by the National Science
Foundation. Extensive information on Animal Kingdoms, BioKids,
teaching materials and more.
fascinating creatures. There are thousands of different kinds and they
can be found almost everywhere in the world. This site provides web
quests, information and details about these interesting reptiles.
Water Science: This site
offered by the U.S. Geological Survey offers information on many
aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive
center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.
Leaf Scrapbook: Presented by the Missouri Botanical Garden,
this site identifies trees and shrubs by their leaves. Easy for
Knowledge HQ Staff
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