motivation - Gtec Kids

Kinds of Writing

Do you want to spicen up the kinds of writing that you assign to your class? Do you want to give your students a list of choices from which they can choose? Here’s a fabulous list to get your juices flowing:A ads (for magazines, newspapers, yellow pages) advice columns allegories anecdotes announcements answers anthems appendices apologies assumptions autobiographies awardsB ballads beauty tips bedtime stories beginnings billboards bloopers blurbs books book jackets book reviews broadsheets brochures bulletins bumper stickersC calendar...

Enlivening Social Studies to Meet the Test

Andi Stix was interviewed by Donna Green from the New York Times on why Social Studies instruction needs improvement.Coming soon from the same people who brought New York students new tests in reading and math – a new test for social studies. The tests are mandated by the Board of Regents and are aimed at raising academic standards. For fifth-graders, the test is to be given this year, although there is talk of delaying it a year; for eighth-graders,...

Can Our Gifted Children Remain Gifted?

Oftentimes parents think their children are above average because they read at an early age. In many instances, parents confuse a child’s ability to remember things accurately with the notion that the youngster is above the norm. By 3rd grade, children who read at the average maturational period catch up, and the playing field becomes more level. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a large number of students who are considered gifted in 4th grade are no longer identified as...

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching the Addition of Fractions

An Introduction to Picture GridsWhy is it that mathematics often conjures up images of desperate students trying to solve seemingly impossible problems? The subject of mathematics often compels otherwise well-adjusted adults to grimace with the memory of futile hours spent poring over numbers that seem at once both meaningless and threatening. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. The impossible really is possible, and we can do more than tell our students to clap...

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching Multiplication of Fractions & Decimals

Order a set at: http://www.hand2mind.com/catalog/product?deptId=&prodId=020272&q=picture+grids This is the third and fourth parts of the Fun with Picture Grids Series of Addition, Subtraction, Division, Multiplication & Decimals, and Square RootPart III: Teaching Multiplication with the Picture Grids ManipulativesA few weeks later Henry asks the class, “How do you feel about multiplication?” The students groan. Multiplication is even harder than addition and subtraction. They’re not ready to believe that these grids hold the magic that can ease the discomfort of multiplication. After all, students rarely...

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching the Subtraction of Fractions

Order a set at: http://www.hand2mind.com/catalog/product?deptId=&prodId=020272&q=picture+grids Part II: Teaching Subtraction with the Picture Grids ManipulativesHenry continues using the Picture Grid materials to teach subtraction:1. “The grids can also be used to do subtraction,” Henry says. “Let’s take the problem of one-half minus one-fourth.” He hands out the halves grid, the fourths grid, the clear grid, and a bunch of colored pencils. He tells the students to solve the problem. One group takes the quarters grid and overlays it directly on top of...

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching Square Root

Order a set at: http://www.hand2mind.com/catalog/product?deptId=&prodId=020272&q=picture+gridsPart VI: Teaching Square Root with the Picture Grid ManipulativesIn a previous article, Henry Goodman took you on a journey that proved it was not only possible to teach students mathematics, but possible to help them understand how mathematics works. Through the use of both rods and grids, Henry was able to help students visualize the mathematics problems that had previously remained a mystery.The good news is that Henry Goodman is back. The other news which...

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching the Division of Fractions

Order a set at: http://www.hand2mind.com/catalog/product?deptId=&prodId=020272&q=picture+gridsPart V: Teaching Division with the Picture Grid ManipulativesTo understand division is simply to understand the wording. Division means “sets.” If we look at whole numbers and we ask, “What is 10 divided by 5?” We are simply asking how many sets of 5 can be found in 10? We know that the answer is 2. If we place this in a reality-based scenario, we have 10 pieces of candy and want to divide it among 5...

Using Multi-Level, Young Adult Literature in the Middle School American Studies

Talk to middle school teachers about the challenges of teaching today, and you are likely to be barraged with a long list of factors that make their jobs difficult. Class size, lack of materials, poor attendance– the list of problems facing today’s teachers sometimes seems endless. We often hear middle school teachers from all subject areas complain that, “It is so difficult to motivate students today.” Another complaint, often made by teachers is, “My students read on so many different...

Bridging the Standards Across the Curriculum with Portfolios

From the Middle School JournalThose of us who are involved in education, in whatever capacity, can sense the stirrings. Parents are voicing concerns about the adequacy of their children’s education. The business community and American industries question whether the quality of education will prepare youngsters for the realities of the workplace. Corporations question whether schools are preparing America’s youth to cope with the demands of an increasingly technological environment. It is now imperative that the next several generations of...

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Kinds of Writing

Enlivening Social Studies to Meet the Test

Can Our Gifted Children Remain Gifted?

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching the Addition of Fractions

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching Multiplication of Fractions & Decimals

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching the Subtraction of Fractions

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching Square Root

Fun with Picture Grids: Teaching the Division of Fractions

Using Multi-Level, Young Adult Literature in the Middle School American Studies

Bridging the Standards Across the Curriculum with Portfolios

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