November 2008 Edition
Welcome to Issue 14 of the Teachers’ Toolkit e-newsletter.
Hard to believe (but who’s counting) that here we are in November, looking towards the end of term. And this is our last e-newsletter for 2008.
This edition of the Teachers’ Toolkit e-newsletter has a combined purpose:
- It’s an early bird notice for the soon-to-be-delivered Teachers’ Toolkit magazine, Issue 13. Just click on the link below to go directly to the home page, then click on the cover image depicting The Tale of Despereaux, for your personal preview of the magazine.
www.teacherstoolkit.net.au - As always, the newsletter is your regular delivery of extra ideas and resources, providing additional classroom support.
Plus, keep on reading for your opportunity to obtain a copy of the Walker Books publication The Tale of Despereaux.
In this e-newsletter you will find:
- What to expect in Teachers’ Toolkit Issue 13
- Teachers’ Toolkit survey winners
- MacquarieNet poetry competition and Les Murray
- Pan Macmillan giveaways
- Giveaway: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
- Unlimited FREE Macquarie Online trial access until 1 March 2009
- Special and significant days
- Teaching handbooks
- Buddies in the backyard
- Emoticons
- Wash those hands
- New Kids Books in Oz
- Eleanor Spence
- Odd spot
- As 2008 starts to windup ...
What to expect in Teachers’ Toolkit Issue 13
Issue 13 has more great lesson plans and teaching resources:
- Australian aviation
- Books to make your holidays zing! (Pan Macmillan)
- Cook's Endeavour Journal (National Library of Australia)
- Exploring with Captain Cook and MacquarieNet
- Financial literacy
- Get the AIS into your classroom and other free PDHPE resources
- International Competitions and Assessments for Schools 2009 (EAA)
- Rice: the world's staple diet
- Seaweek 2009
- Some important things to remember these school holidays: when out in the sun, on the internet or in and around water
- Super Savers (Commonwealth Bank)
- Tales of Despereaux poster and Christmas greeting card
- Team Video Pacific
- Water safety: Marine Safety Activity Book
- World Kids Colouring Day
And, of course, you’ll find out what’s on next year in the annual environmental calendar for 2009.
Teachers’ Toolkit survey winners
We were overwhelmed with the responses to our recent survey. Many thanks to all those teachers who took the time to complete the survey and who offered some great constructive comments. Overall, your feedback was very helpful and it seems that we are on the right track, but could try a little harder in some areas. We hear what you say.
Congratulations to Tanya Potter at Helensburgh Public School (NSW) who received the $200 worth of teacher resource books and children’s novels. And the following teachers were also rewarded for their helpful feedback:
- Maggie Drew, St Mary’s Magdalen (Vic)
- Marie Kobler, Winston Heights Public School (NSW)
- Ann McLoughlin, Seaford K-7 (SA)
- Gai Hickson, Taree West Public School (NSW)
MacquarieNet poetry competition and Les Murray
Another great response - and there are obviously many budding poets in schools. Les Murray is currently reviewing all entries and we expect to hear from Les by late November. Winners will be announced in early December. We will list the winners on the Teachers’ Toolkit website in the ‘News’ section. Stay tuned for other developments.
Pan Macmillan giveaways
Congratulations to all the lucky recipients of the giveaways from Issue 12 of the magazine. Teachers around Australia who were subscribed to Teachers’ Toolkit and entered received copies of:
- Little Seed by Gav Barbey
- The Pencil of Doom by Andy Griffiths
- Money Run by Jack Heath.
Look out for the end-of-year special in Issue 13 of the magazine - there’s over $100 worth of Pan Macmillan books on offer.
Giveaway: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Tale of Despereaux, published by Walker Books, has enchanted children and adults around the globe since it was first published in 2004, and has more than two million copies in print. A major motion picture is to be released in January 2009.
The story is about a mouse who is in love with music, stories and a princess named Pea.
In Teachers’ Toolkit magazine Issue 13, you will find a Tale of Despereaux poster with teachers’ notes that offer an ideal opportunity to teach your students about values, storytelling and critical thinking in using the text.
We have 10 copies of Walker Books’ The Tale of Despereaux to give away!
Be the first person in your state or territory to correctly answer the following question to receive a copy of Kate DiCamillo’s book. Email your answer to info@teacherstoolkit.net.au
Q: What was unusual about Despereaux when he was born?
Unlimited FREE Macquarie Online trial access until 1 March 2009
| and/or |  www.macquariedictionary.com.au |
Macquarie Online is offering extended FREE trial access for teachers and students to the Macquarie Dictionary Online and/or MacquarieNet until 1 March 2009.
Complete and fax the insert page from Teachers’ Toolkit magazine Issue 13, or obtain a copy of from the Teachers’ Toolkit website by clicking on this link:
Special and significant days
- Universal Children’s Day - 20 November
- World Hello Day - 21 November
- Buy Nothing Day - 28 November
- World AIDS Day - 1 December
- Eureka Stockade anniversary - 3 December
- International Human Rights Day - 10 December
We acknowledge the use of the resource-rich EDNA Australian Schools Calendar website, where you will find many other events to enjoy and celebrate with your students:
Teaching handbooks
Insights into excellent primary practice.
Written for teachers at any stage of their career - from trainee, to newly qualified, to experienced classroom teacher - this series of topical guides from the UK picks up on key issues affecting teaching and learning in today’s classrooms. Ranging from subject leadership to subject knowledge, each book is a concise resource to support teachers’ on-going learning and professional development.
| Title | Author | ISBN | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achieving your Masters in Teaching and Learning | Lisa McAteer | 9781844452149 | $49.95 |
| Children’s Errors in Mathematics | Alice Hansen | 9781844450329 | $49.95 |
| Inspiring Primary Teaching | Denis Hayes | 9781844450725 | $39.95 |
| Joyful Teaching and Learning in the Primary School | Denis Hayes | 9781844451227 | $49.95 |
| Teaching Synthetic Phonics | Rhona S Johnston | 9781844451210 | $49.95 |
All titles available from Palgrave Macmillan. Contact Customer Service on:
Tel: 1300 135 113 Fax: 1300 135 103 Email: customer.service@macmillan.com.au
Buddies in the backyard
A great way to help promote biodiversity is by creating a wildlife corridor. Plant vegetation that will not only enhance the environment, but will also attract birds and wildlife. Grow plants that will attract birds and provide shelter for frogs and lizards. There are some very useful resources available to help you and your students get started:
- Backyard Buddies - information from the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife on identifying plants and animals and many more resources
- Birds in Backyards - great for monitoring and identifying the birds in your backyard.
For a teaching unit on Birds in Backyards, see Teachers’ Toolkit magazine Issue 2 or download from the ‘Lesson Plans’ section of the Teachers’ Toolkit website: www.teacherstoolkit.net.au
Emoticons
What are ‘emoticons’?
Emoticons are a combination of keystrokes which form a picture relating to a feeling. The word ‘emoticon’ is derived from the words ‘emotion’ and ‘icon’. Emoticons can be used in any communication over the internet but are particularly popular with chat rooms, instant messaging and SMS on mobile phones. Some popular emoticons include:
| :) | Happy face |
| :( | Sad face |
| :-) | Happy face with a nose |
| :-D | Laughing face |
| ;-) | Winking face |
| 8-) | Person with glasses |
Have your students create their own emoticons and/or research different ones from the internet.
Thanks to NetAlert: www.netalert.gov.au
In Teachers’ Toolkit Issue 13, we offer some advice to share with your students, and for parent information, on how to be ‘cybersmart’ these holidays.
Classroom/staff room discussion: text messages
CU L8R 2NITE M8
As people communicate with each other via text messages, is the use of numbers and letters instead of words harming literacy development?
Wash those hands
Any time is a good time to remind students of the importance of washing their hands. The simple act of washing hands can go a long way towards stopping the spread of germs and bugs.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is taking advantage of the international popularity of The Wiggles and has launched Global Hand Washing Day. To emphasise the importance of the practice of hand-washing, UNICEF has cited figures which show 5000 children die every day as a result of waterborne diseases. Basic washing of hands with soap can reduce child death rates drastically.
Check out the UNICEF or Wiggles website for details: www.unicef.org/infobycountry/australia_45881.html
New Kids’ Books in Oz
Don’t forget to visit Chris Cheng’s blog featuring the latest Australian children’s book releases. Go to http://newkidsbooksinoz.blogspot.com to view the list.
Eleanor Spence
Eleanor Spence, who made an outstanding contribution to Australian children’s literature for over five decades, passed away recently at the age of 79. Spence started writing stories about Australia when she was only 10 years old. Her first full-length story, Patterson’s Track, was published in 1958. Many of Spence’s stories focused on social changes within family life and an increasingly complex Australian society. In 1976 Spence wrote The October Child, about the challenging experience of a boy with autism. In total, she wrote 21 books.
Have students research the work of this great Australian author. Perhaps branch out and explore some other Australian authors of the similar era - here are a few to consider: Joan Phipson, Patricia Wrightson, Ethel Turner, Mary Grant Bruce, Pixie O'Harris, Nan Chauncey, May Gibbs, Colin Thiele, Hesba (HF) Brinsmead or Ivan Southall.
Classroom/staff room discussion: Australian children’s books
Do Australians appreciate the depth and richness of children’s books from this country?
What did you read as a child and what are your kids reading now?
Odd spot
Did you read about an unnamed sheik from Qatar who had his Lamborghini flown to London and back for an oil change? The 10,500 km round trip and oil change would probably have cost around $50,000, not to mention the environmental impact. Hmmmm!
As 2008 starts to wind up ...
As this is our final Teachers’ Toolkit e-newsletter for 2008, we wanted to say a big thank you to you, the teaching community, for the great support you have given us throughout the year. It has been a pleasure providing you with resources in print and online, and to benefit from the flow of feedback and responses on what we produce.
We are already hatching some new ideas and new plans for 2009, so stay tuned.
On behalf of the Teachers’ Toolkit team, I wish you, your families and friends all the very best for a peaceful and safe summer holiday break and look forward to our ongoing contact in 2009.
And in the event that you have not previously seen Pat Edwards’ ‘Recipe for Educational Broth’, click on the link to go directly to the section on the Teachers’ Toolkit website and download the small PDF file: Recipe for Educational Broth.
Please encourage your colleagues to subscribe to this newsletter by forwarding a copy to them. Subscription to the newsletter is free and ensures that teachers do not miss out on any of our classroom-friendly ideas and resources.
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