Student Guide Corner

You've heard about Twitter but still wonder, "What's the point? Why do I care what others are doing?" This Twitter Love Song explains the point better than I ever could. Twitter provides instant access to the collective wisdom of my professional learning network. I never leave home without it. Thanks to Angela Maiers, a member of my PLN for sharing this Youtube video. Her post shares additional Twitter resources that you may want to explore.

It's not often you come across a teacher like Lisa Parisi. Lisa co-teaches in an inclusion classroom where there is no distinction between regular education and special education kids. Kids are valued without labels. And success happens here. Lisa's most recent blog post, " A Perfect Storm? " details what successful co-teaching in an inclusive classroom looks like. There are four components: 1. A shared philosophy 2. Universal Design for Learning embedded throughout the curriculum 3. Project Based Learning 4. A belief that children work better in small groups Additional factors that promote success: We both work very hard to make our classroom engaging, fun, and supportive. We spend a great deal of time teaching the children acceptance and respect for each other. We both are capable of showing our students that we are learners, too, and as such, have our own struggles to overcome. We both believe in telling children the truth. We want them to understand their strugg...

Struggling readers miss out on a great deal. They miss out on opportunities to: 1. Imagine 2. Increase their vocabulary 3. Explore new worlds 4. Expand their knowledge 6. Develop a love for reading That's a lot to give up. And research suggests that students who miss out on reading are adversely impacted across all curriculum areas. Enter Story Nory , free audio stories for kids, captivatingly read by Natasha . Every week a new story is added, available at the website. From the site: Listening to audio stories helps develop attention and imagination. It stimulates a love of words and books. But above all, it's superb form of entertainment. The quality is excellent, engaging and enchanting. Add it to your iGoogle home page, subscribe using your typical reader. Or, go to the iTunes store, click Podcasts > Kids and Family > Story Nory and then click subscribe so you never miss a new addition. Check it out. Your kids will thank you.

Those words were spoken in a television special which aired last night, " Front of the Class ," based upon the life of Brad Cohen , a gifted teacher who endured 24 rejections before someone finally hired him. The movie is based upon his book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had . Brad uttered that simple plea at a school assembly when he was 12 after being called to the stage by the first compassionate educator he encountered, the principal of his school. Prior to that, for years he was ridiculed, humiliated and repeatedly sent to the office for his uncontrollable, involuntary tics and verbal outbursts which his teachers believed were attempts to get attention or be the class clown. Finally, due to the persistence of his mother, he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome but that didn't solve his problems. The event that altered his life was when he was called up to the stage following a school band performance by his principal who wante...