Students will

• Identify effective hooks in literature and analyze what makes them effective


• Categorize introductions from literature according to the specific strategies used by the author


• Write several effective hooks of their own using the strategies they have identified

Great hands-on math site. I used it to determine percentages.

Math Menu:

Numbers
Algebra
Geometry
Data
Measure
Puzzles
Puzzles & Quizzes
Dictionary
Illustrated Math Dictionary

Check out these lessons:
Calculating Area
Get Going with Rate
How to Read a Bar Graph
How to Set Up a Budget
How to Use a Calculator
Is Paying Over Time a Smart Move?
Keeping the Books
Keeping Up with Exponential Growth
Making Decisions About Money
Mortgage Basics
Multiple Percents
Place Value
Polygons and Perimeter
Pricing a Job
Reading a Pay Stub
Rulers and Tape Measures
Savings and Retirement
Understanding Interest
Understanding Mean, Median and Mode
Using Credit Cards Wisely
Using Percents
What Does Percent Chance Mean?
What Is a Fraction?
What Is a Percent?
Working with Ratios

"Current mathematics instruction often fails to actively involve students. One way to address the problem is through the use of manipulatives, physical objects that help students visualize relationships and applications. We can now use computers to create virtual learning environments to address the same goals. This is a three-year NSF supported project to develop a library of uniquely interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives or concept tutorials,
mostly in the form of Java applets, for mathematics instruction. The project includes dissemination and extensive internal and external evaluation. Divided into these sections: Number & Operations; Algebra; Geometry; Measurement; Data Analysis & Probability. Within each, you will find a good selection of interactive applications for your K-12 students. Copyright 2003 Utah State University."

Primary Learning Outcomes:
"Why did the first government established after the Revolutionary War fail? What new governmental system was established? How was the constitutional basis for American government created? What is the long term impact of the Constitution of the United States? How did political point of view impact the development of the constitutional form of government? What influence did early colonial leaders have on the drafting of the constitution?"

"Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created a variety of products and activities that help teachers bring historic places into the classroom."

Comprehension Activities

Measuring Comprehension

The following modules are designed to interactively test learner comprehension of the story:

• Word Selection
  
• Multiple Choice
  
• Vocabulary
  
• Sequencing
  
• Questions and Answers
  
• Your Turn!

The fairy tales below are copyright free. On the website with the following list, these tales are available with graphics and you can buy a CDRom with the tales included.

Mr. Fox Tackles Old Man Tarrypin  
The Burning Fields
The Wolf and the Seven Kids
The Cat the Monkey and the Chestnuts
The Dog in the Manger
The Enchanted Frog
The Goose Who Laid the Golden Eggs
The Dog and the Wolf
An Uncle Remus Tale ~ Why the Possum Loves Peace
An old English Tale ~ The Clever Wife
Aesop Fable ~ The Cat and the Birds
The Valley of Diamonds
Rip Van Winkle
The Brownies
Simple Simon
The Tar-Baby
The Grasshopper and the Ants
The Fox Without a Tail
Buried Treasure
The Wolf and the Fox
The Fox and the Crow
What the Good Man Does Is Always Right
Bruce and the Spider
The Apple of Contentment
The Bells of Arti
The Husband Who Was to Tend the House
The Four Dollar Servant
The Little Red Hen
The Wolf and the Fox in the Well
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Baker Boys and the Bees
Briar Rose
Why the Bear's Tail is Short
The Golden Touch
The Four Friends (The Musicians of Bremen)
The Fisherman's Wife
The Brave Little Tailor
Little Snow White
Hansel and Gretel
Tom Thumb
Mother Frost
The Elves and the Shoemaker
Rumpelstiltskin
Cinderella
The Three Bears
Little Red Riding Hood
Chicken Licken
Thumbelina
The Three Brothers
Sleeping Beauty
How To Tell A True Princess
Jack & the Bean Stalk
Beauty & the Beast
Hans In Luck

• English Language Arts, Grades 9, 10 and 11 Exit Level
  
• Mathematics, Grades 3 - 8
  
• Mathematics, Grades 9 - 11
  
• Reading, Grades 3 - 8
  
• Science, Grades 5, 10 and 11 Exit Level
  
• Social Students, Grades 8, 10 and 11 Exit Level
  
• Writing, Grades 4 and 7

These brochures are saved as PDFs. You need Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher to view and print them. If you do not have this free software, download it now.

FakeOut!
http://www.eduplace.com/fakeout/

Author/Illustrator Joan Holub
http://www.joanholub.com/kids.html

Awesome Greeting Cards
http://www.marlo.com

Stone Soup Writing Projects
http://www.stonesoup.com/main2/writing.html

Language Arts Lesson Plans Grades 6–8
http://www.education-world.com/a_tsl/archives/gr_6-8.shtml

Teen Writing Workshop
http://kidswriting.miningco.com/teens/kidswriting/library/weekly/aa061800a.htm

Editing, Revising, and Evaluating
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/eval.html

Thanks to a project of the University of Minnesota Libraries and the Minneapolis Public Library called "A Summons to Comradeship," 6,000 posters from World Wars I and II are being made accessible online and will be searchable by theme, subject, or keyword. An Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant for Preservation or Digitization is enabling the libraries to assemble digital copies of posters from their collections in what may become the largest institutional online searchable database of war posters ever.

You might want to consider this a valuable resource for teachers and students who are looking for graphic resources to “practice” for TAKS.

Region IV

Funded by a $988,290 U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History Grant, this collaborative project between Region IV ESC, the University of Houston, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is designed to improve teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of American history by creating a comprehensive and sustainable program of professional development that can serve as a model for other school districts throughout the state and nation.

This project emphasizes six key elements:

• Improving teachers' knowledge of American history as a separate subject matter within the core curriculum;


• Identifying effective teaching strategies, including collaborative projects and hands-on, active-learning activities, that teachers can use to improve instruction and raise student achievement, especially among students with Low English Proficiency;


• Training teachers to make effective use of new electronic communication and computer technologies, as well as older technologies, such as tape recorders, to stimulate history learning;


• Creating a core group of experienced, knowledgeable, well-trained teacher-mentors who can serve as coaches for other teachers in their schools and for pre-service teachers and teacher training students at the University of Houston;


• Providing a forum where professional historians, museum professionals, and classroom teachers can interact on an on-going basis and serve each others' needs; and


• Producing extensive online resources, model lesson plans, and project-oriented activities designed to transform the study of American history by emphasizing collaborative, hands-on projects and active student learning.
  

"Just for the Kids was founded in Texas as a nonprofit organization by civic leader and public education advocate, Tom Luce, in 1995. He believed that when understandable school data was made available to an entire school community, we could measure school improvement, identify educational best practices , and help show schools how to use this information to improve through training and tutorials. Just for the Kids provides this accurate and convenient online resource to help every public school community in Texas set realistic improvement goals and capitalize on the successful practices found in high-performing schools."
http://www.just4kids.org/TX/TX_home.asp

To obtain a list of Texas schools go to:
Texas Education Directory:
http://askted.tea.state.tx.us/

TEKS Biographies - Grade 2

• Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)


• Robert Fulton (1765-1815)


• Henrietta Chamberlain King (1832-1925)


• Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)


• Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)


• Paul Revere (1735-1818)


• Sojournor Truth


• Isabella Van Wagenen (ca. 1797-1883)

Construct test items with this generator.

Science and Technology News Service
News in "layman's terminology" (easy to understand).

*I use this particular service for printer-friendly science news when I want a TAKS-related activity to use in the classroom or during a workshop presentation.