| Volume Two Issue Twelve | October 2002 |
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Global Connections Inspiring Stories Featured Themes Teacher Discoveries Student Explorations The Lighter Side |
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Global Interactions Foster Talented Students
Welcome To October!
It is not difficult to understand why many people identify autumn as there favorite time of year. Crisp, cool, sunny days, a mirage of colors enveloping a horizon of coniferous and deciduous forests, harvest time, Thanksgiving, and Halloween are all promises and gifts this special time of year brings. This month's newsletter focuses on the multitude of resources on the World Wide Web with themes consistent with the month of October. It is our hope that you and your students find them useful while celebrating the fall season in your classroom.
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! Visitors may now search for resources based on the grade level and subject they 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.
Send your ideas to teachers_corner@vitalknowledge.com.
"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly
about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot
The threat to world peace continues to be a pervasive issue in our global community. It is our hope that as fall ushers the end of summer, this season will also bring an end to the conflict that that has so fractured our world community. As a classroom teacher, you are probably following world events with your students. The following resources may assist you in doing so. They focus primarily on the conflict between Iraq and the United States and the crisis between the Israelis and Palestinians.
CNN has a student news page with accompanying activities for the classroom. They focus primarily on major stories from around the world. The first week of October examines the conflict between Iran and Iraq.
The US News Classroom is another site you may wish to bookmark for reference throughout the school year. They have several resources for examining conflicts throughout the world. You will also find similar resources at TIME.
Scholastic News bills itself as "America's leading news source for kids". We think you will be impressed with the many quality resources found there.
Finally, although we celebrated World Peace Day in September, every day should be World Peace Day. Check out the resources at World Peace.
It's The Struggle That Makes Us Strong
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Author Unknown
From: Inspiring Stories
Visit the following sites where you can find great resources with an autumn theme!
ChildFun has a variety of activities with a fall/autumn theme. They also have great resources for celebrating Thanksgiving.
Kids Domain has crafts, games, stories and more to celebrate the season.
Sleepy Haven's Autumn Fun Page is also worth a visit to find grafts, games and other fun activities.
TeacherVision has great resources for all times of year including Thanksgiving!
If you are a classroom teacher, especially of younger children, you will want to bookmark ABC Teach. We continually recommend this site because it is loaded with quality resources for all subjects and themes including Thanksgiving and other themes for October.
Finally, visit the Workshop Quest. They identify links to several great sites with Thanksgiving and fall resources.
Already we see signs of Halloween throughout our communities as we prepare for another season of scary fun. Start preparing your Halloween activities now with a visit to one of the following sites:
Again, ABC Teach has great resources for celebrating Halloween. Be sure to bookmark this site!
Check out A Girl's World Halloween Spooktacular! Not only will you find eight scary stories by David Lubar for your elementary and middle school aged students, you can also have your students become the main characters in each of the stories after they have been read!
For a wide variety of Halloween resources, visit Halloween Magazine. You may be particularly interested in the Halloween Safety Game and the Halloween Safety Guide.
What would Halloween be without carving Jack-O-Lanterns? Find some great ideas at Jack-O-Lantern!
Still looking for more Halloween resources? Then visit Halloween Online where you will find a collection of links to great Halloween sites!
During the month of October we will also be celebrating School Bus Safety Week and National Family Week (November in the US). Have your students mark these occasions by visiting the following sites:
Teenagers will benefit from a visit to Teen Hoopla where they can find resources for understanding and building positive relations with family members. Similar resources can be found at Parents and Teens, Teen Advice, and Teen Wire. Younger children may enjoy a visit to Family Fun.
The National Safety Council has good resources for teaching children about school bus safety. You will also find good resources at the National Coalition for School Bus Safety. The School Bus Safety Web has great resources for teachers, parents, and bus drivers as does the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles and the Manitoba Association of School Trustees.
Finally, don't forget to visit the Activity section of Teacher's Corner. We have created a certificate you can students can present to their bus drivers in appreciation for their hard work!
Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathering them around him, he taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are they that thirst for justice. Blessed are you when you are persecuted. Blessed are you when you suffer. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in Heaven."
Then Simon Peter said, "Are we supposed to know this?" And Andrew said, "Do we have to write this down?" And James said, "Will we have a test on this?" And Philip said, "Does this count?" And Bartholomew said, "Do we have to hand this in?" And John said, "The other disciples didn't have to do this!" And Matthew said, "Can I go to the toilet?" And Judas said, "What does this have to do with real life?"
Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked to see Jesus' Lesson Plan and enquired of Jesus, "Where is your anticipatory set and where are your objectives in the cognitive domain?"
And Jesus wept.
From: BBC
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