| Volume Two Issue Nine | July 2002 |
| Global Connections Inspiring Stories Featured Themes Teacher Discoveries Student Explorations The Lighter Side |
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Global Interactions Foster Talented Students
Welcome to July!
The warm sunny days the month of July promises have certainly arrived. Here in New Brunswick, Canada, the thermometer has risen above 35 degrees Celsius in the early days of July. While many teachers may take advantage of these warm days to hit the beaches and partake in other summer activities, others continue to prepare for the upcoming school year and may benefit from a visit to the sites identified in this month's newsletter.
In addition to this newsletter, keep checking Vital Picks. We have been highlighting resources teachers will find useful for the classroom. We have also been highlighting accomplishments of teachers and urge you to nominate teachers for our Vital Award.
Join us at our discussion board. Current threads include Harry Potter, discipline at school, student drug use, Boston Public, and using the Internet as a tool for plagiarism. We'd love to hear your thoughts on these and other issues!
Don't forget to visit our new resource links! You may now search for resources based on the grade level and subject you teach. We've included the best we can find on the World Wide Web. We will continue to add more and welcome any sites you may wish to submit.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
- William Shakespeare
OK….OK….we know you will be wondering just what soccer has got to do with education, but with all the excitement of the recent World Cup, we thought it only fitting to look back at the memorable tournament held in South Korea and Japan. While soccer may not capture the nations of Canada and the United States as do the sports of hockey and baseball, it is certainly a sport rapidly rising in popularity in North America. Every four years we also are given clear evidence of the passion this sport generates in the hearts of fans all over the world.
First visit the official site of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. You will find official scores, news, photos, video, and much, much more! World Cup 2002 also has similar resources including great information about the World Champion Brazilians. Find more about how this country has established itself as the premier soccer nation in the world by visiting some of the many sites identified at Netvasco.
Another site with extensive coverage of the FIFA 2002 World Cup is BBC Sport. We all know how much the British love soccer, and this site contains a multitude of resources on this year's tournament.
So, for all who think soccer is a sport that is painful and boring to watch you can take consolation in the fact that the next World Cup will not be for another four years. The vast majority of sports fans from all across the world, however, eagerly anticipate their team's next opportunity for international glory.
Change the World
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
- Author Unknown
From: JustGive.org
Are you looking for summer activities to keep yourself busy over the holiday months? Pay a visit to the following sites with summer themes:
Smells of burning barbeques fill the air of neighborhoods across North America during the holidays. Visit All Recipes for great recipes and barbeque ideas. Similar resources can also be found at The BBQ Pit, Barbeque Headquarters, and Barbeque'n on the Internet.
Those of us fortunate enough to vacation during the summer months may choose to spend time at the beach. You may be interested in the Great American Beach Adventure that contains information of popular beaches of America. Discovery also has great resources on North American beaches and Canadian visitors may want to check out 50More Travel.
Finally, for resources on summer sports check out the Baseball Almanac, Soccer Sites, the Tennis Server, Beach Volleyball Database, or Golf Online.
Many teachers and students across North America completed their Personal Empowerment through Type (P.E.T.) Type Checks during the last school year. Perhaps over the summer months you may wish to explore the possibility of using this online tool in the upcoming school year.
The P.E.T. Learning Styles Solution is a personality Type Check that correlates personality preferences with learning styles, teaching styles, conflict resolution, leadership, management, problem solving, stress, teamwork, and more! Vital Knowledge Software has an online environment for districts, schools, students and teachers. You can find more information about this product at Vital Knowledge's Web site. You may also choose to check out the free online site for P.E.T., or contact us for more information at pet@vitalknowledge.com.
There is no doubt that the demands and responsibilities placed on the classroom teacher have dramatically increased over the last several years. Teaching is certainly not an easy job, but can be made easier with the P.E.T. Learning Styles Solution.
It seems that the older we get the quicker time seems to pass. Most of us can remember the days of our youth, however, when it seemed that the summer months lasted forever. Indeed, school is usually the last thing young people think of during the summer and a time honored complaint of teachers is that students appear to forget much of what they learned over the last school year. Although young people may lack motivation for continued learning over the summer months there are activities they can partake in that will make the transition to the new school year earlier. Encourage your students to visit the following sites for tips on how they can have fun during their holidays and continue to learn.
Partnership for Learning suggests a wide variety of activities for summer learning. Although the information is presented to parents of students, it is certainly relevant for students looking for ideas to continue academic pursuits during the months of July and August.
Parents of students with learning disabilities would certainly benefit from a visit to LD Online. Among the many quality resources they will find Summer Reading Tips for Parents.
Among their many articles on raising children, Disney Online's Family Fun offers Summer Education Tips for maintaining academic skills over the summer months.
Your students and their parents may be interested in this summer learning contract offered by Family Education.
Encourage your students to stay academically active over the summer months. Be sure to remember, however, the wonderful summers of our own youth and, above all, make summer a time of fun and excitement!
Teacher: Why are you late, Joseph?
Joseph: Because of a sign down the road.
Teacher: What does a sign have to do with your being late?
Joseph: The sign said, "School Ahead, Go Slow!"
From: Job Latino
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