Issue 22, Volume 12 February 2, 2012     Thought for the Week Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.   Attention Teachers and Administrators! Additional Tech Class Added! Register Now! iPad Tips and Tricks Date of Training: February 13, 2012 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Location: Lab A Prerequisite: None CLUs: 1 Technology Requirements: Bring your iPad. Register at: https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses The iPad craze is here! Come and explore the iPad and learn tips and tricks to increase productivity and stay connected. Most information shared will also apply to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Black History Month - February Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of African Americans. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in the month of February. Utilize the numerous website links available to explore the theme of Black History. You can research notable speeches by African Americans, learn about famous firsts, try a timeline on either civil rights or slavery, or investigate contemporary issues. Have your students try African American Heroes, an online and interactive game in which students will match up heroes in African American history with the events to which they are linked. The game plays out concentration style, matching a face card to an event card. Each correct answer offers a short history of major accomplishments, with four levels of play. The URL: http://pbskids.org/aaworld/face.html Another great resource to help you integrate Black History Month into your K-12 classroom is from the National Education Association (NEA). They offer a selection of lesson plans covering a variety of subjects. These lesson plans can be adapted to fit multiple grade levels. Visit http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/black-history-month.htm to find out more. Also, feel free to check out more Black History Month Resources below: African American World http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/  InfoPlease http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhm1.html Lesson Plans Page http://www.lessonplanspage.com/BlackHistoryMonth.htm  Teacher Vision http://www.teachervision.fen.com/black-history-month/teacher-resources/6602.html  The Teachers Corner http://www.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/black-history-month/  EducationWorld Lesson http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson221.shtml  TeachNology http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/history/us_history/blackhistory/  For Black History Month Celebrations, don't forget the many available resources from TeachingBooks.net, a resource provided to Calcasieu teachers by CPSB. For access from inside the CPSB network, go to http://www.teachingbooks.net/home/. To access Teaching Books from the CPSB home page, click on the Employees tab and then find Teaching Books under the Resources column. No password is required on the CPSB domain. For home access, a password is required. If you do not know the password, please check with your school librarian. It is a paid resource by CPSB for CPSB teachers, students, and parents. TeachingBooks.net has hundreds of multimedia resources to enliven and personalize your conversations about the books you're using to teach Black History Month. Just enter the author or title of a book in the search box provided, and TeachingBooks will instantly identify and connect you with online materials about that author or book. Apply to be an Intel School of Distinction Do you have an award winning math and science program? Every year, Intel honors U.S. schools demonstrating excellence in math and science education through innovative teaching and learning environments. To be considered as an Intel School of Distinction, schools must develop an environment and curricula that meet or exceed benchmarks put forth by national mathematics and science content standards. Up to three schools at each level—elementary, middle, and high school—will be named as finalists in the math and science categories. The 18 schools will receive a cash grant of $5,000 from the Intel Foundation and a trip to Washington, D.C., for a four-member team from their school and district. Six winners will be selected from the finalists and receive an additional $5,000 cash grant for a total of $10,000. One of these winners will be selected as the "Star Innovator" and will receive an additional $15,000 grant for a total of $25,000. All five winning schools and the Star Innovator will also receive products and services from program sponsors. Applications for the 2012 Intel Schools of Distinction are due Feb. 23, 2012. To find out more and apply, go to http://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/soda/index.htm.  Valentine’s Day – February 14 According to WorldBook Online, Valentine's Day is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. Different authorities believe Valentine's Day began in various ways. Some trace it to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia. Other experts connect the event with one or more saints of the early Christian church. Still others link it with an old English belief that birds choose their mates on February 14. Valentine's Day probably came from a combination of all three of those sources—plus the belief that spring is a time for lovers. Use the sites below to find lessons, activities, games, and more to help you teach your students about this holiday. There are also some links to learn about the heart. Top 10 Tips for Incorporating Valentine's Day in the Classroom http://www.worksheetlibrary.com/teachingtips/valentinesday.html  Everyone at school probably loves Valentine's Day, but cards and paper hearts might become a little tiresome. Incorporate some new ideas to celebrate the event, by learning about the human heart, creating spectacular free-hand hearts, graphing, making menus, and more. Valentine Word Puzzle http://www.bethanyroberts.com/ValentineOnlineWordPuzzle.htm  Give students the tool of choosing vowels first in this hangman style game, where each of the blank keys represents letters the students must decipher in a given amount of time, to reveal a Valentine word. Valentine Word Drop http://www.storyit.com/wgames/valworddrop.htm  Your students will have to be quick to decipher these Valentine terms before they hit the bottom of the screen. The idea is to click on two letters and keep exchanging their places until the correct word has been formed. It helps to decipher the word as quickly as possible. Valentine Word Scramble http://www.bethanyroberts.com/ValentineWordScrambleOnlineGame.htm  Each of these terms represents a Valentine-themed word, but students must unscramble the letters for them to make sense; for grades 3-4. Valentine Word Scramble http://www.hp.com/hho/hp_create/media/downloads/valentine_word_scramble.pdf  Students will need to unscramble these words for them to make sense; each one is associated with Valentine's Day. Answers are included on the printable worksheet. How do you Rate on the Technology Integration Matrix? The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students by incorporating five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed, authentic, and collaborative. The TIM was developed to help guide the complex task of evaluating technology integration in the classroom. Basic technology skills and integration of technology into the curriculum go hand-in-hand to form teacher technology literacy. The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. The matrix includes sample lessons in math, science, social studies, and language as well. The URL: http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php.  Best on the Net!! -- Visit this site for hundreds of websites for teachers! We would love to hear from you about the best educational sites you have found on the web. Please submit, via email, the sites you feel merit inclusion. Send to tech.connect@cpsb.org. Please include the URL and a short sentence about the site.  Featured Sites: (These sites were submitted by teachers in Calcasieu Parish) Black and White Collages http://www.theholidayzone.com/mlk/mlkart.html  The Holiday Zone offers up an arts and crafts project that will allow your students to explore differences and the importance of getting along. You may even want to take this art project one step further. Why not a multi-color collage, celebrating all of our wonderful human colors! Older students can blow up a portrait of a person (their choice), where pixels will eventually show. They can then take small patches of corresponding colors or shapes to make a colorful face, using the photo as a template. Also find instructions on this page to make milk carton buses, Black History Month quilts, and simple hero posters.   The Circle of Blood http://www.fi.edu/learn/heart/systems/circulation.html How many circuits does it make per day when your heart pumps blood through your body? What is the artery called which pumps out this blood? Where do veins receive their blood from? Find out in this presentation on The Human Heart, from The Franklin Institute, and have your students make up trivia cards.   Dr. Martin Luther King Crossword Puzzle http://sunniebunniezz.com/puzzles/mlkdykcr.htm  http://www.theholidayzone.com/mlk/puzzles/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Mega_Crossword.pdf  Download and print out this crossword puzzle for your upper elementary students to review or even learn a bit more about the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An answer key is provided. Use the 1st link above for younger students, and try the 2nd link for a more challenging crossword.   An official publication of the CPSB Technology Department For Technical Support:  help.cpsb.org Calcasieu Parish Homepage  Technology Department  Tech Help Site  Best on the Net Tech Guides  Computer Purchasing Information  Tech Connect Archive