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Clover Search Game

March 1, 2011 Teachnet Staff 1

Ian McCall has designed two wonderful exercises that are great practice for younger children and fun for kids of all ages. We were quite taken with his Clover Patch Search game, where you browse among square photos to find the clovers, and maybe even a four-leaf clover!

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Free Quick Custom Calendars

December 31, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

Our New Year’s gift to you is this ultra-simple calendar template. Choose from a 5-row or 6-row version. Just click, save, and print. Fill in the numbers and month using your hippest pack of markers or colored pencils.

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The Best and Worst of Teacher Gifts

December 18, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

We get a lot of tchotchkes and there are enough candies, cookies, and popcorn in the Teachers’ Lounge to feed a small country. But we do like to know that you and your kids like us, and appreciate what we do. So here are some gift ideas that we can all agree on.

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Peanut Allergies Can Be Deadly

November 22, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

One of our readers asks: “I have never had a problem with peanut allergies with my students, but a friend just ran into it for the first time in a VBS. She used something with peanut butter for a prize, and had an irate mother. What do you do about this problem? Is this something we should think about before using ANYTHING with peanuts/ peanut oil, etc? Or is it the parent’s obligation to notify us of any allergy?”

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North Star Teacher Resources

November 22, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

Northstar Teacher Resources has hundreds of pre-printed ready-to-use designs for every surface in your classroom. Bulletin boards, alphabet lines, desk plates, bookmarks, and incentive cards are just a few of the wide variety of teaching-specific products that they carry.

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What Are Brain Binders?

November 20, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

Here you’ll find 49 free puzzles. Just download and print, then fold the paper the specified number of times to create a solid color on each side. Try it!

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Classroom Display Alphabet

November 19, 2010 Teachnet Staff 1

Free outline alphabet letters for you to download and print. This display uses 26 different fonts to give you a visually interesting display, and brings creativity to the letter recognition process.

Headling: Face-to-Face job interview

Selling Yourself: Creating the Ultimate Teaching/Interview Portfolio

November 12, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

Whether you are a 20-year veteran or just starting out, a portfolio should be a key component of your teaching tools. Portfolios are a nearly universal requirement for the hiring process, but if you already have a secure job you should view a portfolio as your insurance against unforseen district shake-ups. Keeping one of these self-promotion tools up-to-date also can be a good exercise in self-evaluation.

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Face-to-Face: Going for the job interview

November 12, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

Spending all those years in college to become a teacher still all boils down to one thing – you have to get through a job interview to get hired. Whether you are looking for your first job, or the change in employment comes is the result of a move or career politics, your future is in someone else’s hands.

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Fundraising Basics

November 12, 2010 Teachnet Staff 1

For all too many teachers, going back to school means another year of fundraising. While district budgets finance some supplies and equipment, there are often needs that go beyond these small budgets. Whether you need new computer hardware and software, supplies for a new craft corner, or are planning a major field trip, you’re going to need cash to get there. When parents just can’t dig any deeper into their pockets, fundraising may be the only option.

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The Lawrence Elementary Looping Project (Grades 4-5)

November 12, 2010 Teachnet Staff 0

The Lawrence Looping Project is not a technique new to Wichita, but it is to our school. We have several pair of classroom teachers who make up “loops”; in my case, I have fourth grade this year, with my partner teacher teaching her fourth graders from last year again as fifth grade. Next year, I will keep the students from my class and teach fifth grade, and my looping partner will begin her new loop with a fresh class of fourth graders. While some benefits reportedly include giving special ed students a more stable learning environment, I am particularly looking forward to a more long-range curriculum, and for dealing more effectively with students who, say, spend nearly a whole year just getting up to speed on basis math skills, only to go out the door just when things were beginning to get on track.

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Comment Ideas for Report Cards & Progress Reports

November 12, 2010 Teachnet Staff 1

When Teachnet Contributor, Chantal Latour, sat down to personalize her students’ report cards, something was missing. The list of report card comments that used as starters and had spent years compiling was gone. Chantal explained her situation to the members of the Teacher-2-Teacher forum and was overwhelmed with responses. Nearly 300 adjectives and phrases are available here for your use.