The Teachers' Lounge from Really Good Stuff

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November 2009

November is such a lovely time of the school year. You are all settled in. You know each other so much more than at the start of the year. Even in the chilliest parts of the country, the weather still lends itself to outdoor exploration. You are, no doubt, into the juiciest parts of teaching and learning.

All that and Thanksgiving, too! Here are some other special days and dates in November you might want to celebrate with your students.

Did you know November is:
*Aviation Month *Child Safety and Protection Month *Good Nutrition Month *International Drum Month *Latin American Month *National Adoption Month?

Did you know that…
The 2nd Week in November is National Children's Book Week and the 3rd Week in November is American Education Week?

Did you know these November dates?

Nov. 1st: * National Author's Day * National Family Literacy Day
Nov. 2nd: * Cookie Monster's Birthday * Daniel Boone's Birthday—born in 1734 in PA * National Deviled Egg Day
Nov. 3rd * U.S.A. Election Day * Sandwich Day: Birthday of John Montague, the creator of the sandwich
Nov. 5th * National Donut Day
Nov. 6th * Basketball Day
Nov. 7th * Hug-a-Bear Day * Magazine Day
Nov. 8th * X-Ray Day—discovered in 1895 * Veterans Day
Nov.13th * Mom's and Dad's Day
Nov. 14th * National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day
Nov. 15th * America Recycles Day
Nov. 16th * Button Day
Nov.17th * Homemade Bread Day * National Young Reader's Day * Take A Hike Day
Nov.18th * Mickey Mouse's Birthday: Created in 1928.
Nov. 19th * Gettysburg Address Delivered in 1863 by President Lincoln
Nov. 26th * Charles Schulz's Birthday: Born in 1922 * National Cake Day * Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.]

As usual, we are serving up a cornucopia of teacher-tested ideas here to help you teach, learn, and celebrate the whole month long. We have Thanksgiving ideas, “green” ideas for reducing paper waste, organizational ideas, plus tips to make gearing up for test taking more fun and meaningful.

Thinking Outside the Box Idea: Last month we invited you to submit ideas telling what do you do to give your students a quick break to boost attention levels. You’ll find some ideas below.

For our next newsletter, we invite you to submit your ideas explaining how you and your class celebrate the 100th Day of School. Along with your submission, include when that day falls on the calendar for you. Please share!

Remember, if we publish your “Out of the Box” idea - or any Activities and Ideas, New Teacher Suggestions, Dealing with Parents, Management Tip, or Story of the Month - we’ll send you a Really Good Stuff $25 gift certificate as a token of our appreciation. Plus you’ll be helping teachers and students across the country enhance their teaching and learning experiences. We look forward to hearing from you! Remember, if we publish your “Out of the Box” idea - or any Activities and Ideas, New Teacher Suggestions , Dealing with Parents, Management Tip, or Story of the Month - we’ll send you a Really Good Stuff^® $25 gift certificate as a token of our appreciation. Plus you’ll be helping teachers and students across the country enhance their teaching and learning experiences.

Out of the Box Ideas From October

Send Students’ Energy and Enthusiasm Through the Roof!
Ideas by Kristen, Kindergarten Teacher, Green Valley, Arizona, Stephanie, 1st Grade Teacher, Palmyra, New York, and Susan, 3rd-5th Grade Teacher, Bend, Oregon:
Here’s a collection of ideas that really work to both calm and focus wiggle worms of all ages. more...

Classic and Innovative Attention-Getters that Work.
Idea by Carolyn, 1st Grade Teacher, San Jose, California:
Here’s a little list of tips that work for me whenever I want to give my students an energy lift. more...

Musical Solutions Help Skyrocket Student Energy Levels.
Ideas by Heather Burke, 4th Grade Teacher, Austin, Texas, and Erica, 5th Grade Teacher, San Jose, California:
Here are ideas from two teachers who rely on music to pump up the volume on students’ enthusiasm. more...

Want Their Enthusiasm for School to “Pop?” Just Break Open the Bubbly!
Idea by Sarah, 1st Grade Teacher, Beaumont, Texas:
Whenever we have reason to celebrate—we’ve finished a test, we’ve completed a basal reader, we’ve answered... more...

Story of the Month

Mid-Year Math Assessment.
By Colleen, Kindergarten Teacher, Avon, Illinois:
As part of our mid-year math assessment, we ask our children to attempt to print the numbers 1-20 independently and without visual cues. more...

New Teacher Suggestion

Strip Lists Streamline Paper Organization (And Help Reduce Paper Use, Too!)
Idea by Seri, 4th Grade Teacher, Fairfield, Connecticut:
Rather than using a whole piece of paper to record my class list, I type the list of names into three columns on one sheet of copy paper and then print out multiple copies of this page. more...

Dealing With Parents

Align Yourself with Parents for Positive Results!
Idea by Maralee, 6th Grade Teacher, Rancho Murieta, California:
Parents who learn their child is not progressing smoothly in school can quickly move into panic mode. more...

Management Tips

This Attention-Getter Will be Music to Your Ears.
Idea by Cathy, 1st Grade Teacher, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee:
One management tip I’ve found especially effective is using a music box to signal classroom transitions times. more...

Here’s the Ticket to Establishing Good Habits.
Idea by Allyson, 2nd Grade Teacher, North Port, Florida:
At the beginning of each day, I give my students the opportunity to earn three Really Good Stuff “Incentive Tickets.” more...

Ingenious System Helps Save Money while Reducing Paper Use.
Idea by Debra, Kindergarten Teacher, Howard, Colorado:
To help children organize pieces of scrap construction paper for reuse, I set up a portable hanging file system. more...

Classroom Activities

This Cross-Curricular Thematic Activity Combines Thanksgiving, Writing & Math.
Idea by Catherine, 4th Grade Teacher, Oakdale, Minnesota:
In preparation for celebrating Thanksgiving, my class brainstorms questions for a “Thanksgiving Day Survey.” more...

Public Library Cards Encourage a Love of Reading.
Idea by Theresa, 2nd Grade Teacher, Newark, Delaware:
Each year, I ask families to help the children in my class obtain a public library card. more...

Fun-filled Practice Tests Help Strengthen Serious Test-Taking Skills.
Idea by Michelle, 2nd Grade Teacher, Lancaster, Pennsylvania:
To help my second graders prepare for upcoming standardized testing, I create a fun mock test each student is sure to ace. more...

The Question And Answer Forum

This month's question was sent in by Amanda, who teaches in Rockville, MD:
I'm looking for whole-class strategies to keep ADHD kids on task during independent work times (like when I'm teaching reading groups). More than half the kids in my class display the inattentive, overactive behaviors of ADHD, so I need tips that I can use with the whole class, not just individual students (I'm already doing that!). THANK YOU!
Click here to respond...

Ask a question.
Would you like to ask a question and have teachers from around the country give you their responses? Click here!

Last month's question was sent in by Kathy, who teaches in Charlotte, NC:
How do you manage lunchroom behavior? I want to let them socialize but they go crazy! HELP?
Click here to read what teachers had to say!

You're Invited.

Really Good Stuff is now on Facebook! Come visit us and become a fan. We are featuring special offers, contests, teaching tips and more. Just click on the blue invitation and join in the fun!

"I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow."
Woodrow Wilson

Want another chance to contribute to our OUT OF THE BOX feature? If so, we invite you to submit ideas on how you and your class celebrate the 100th Day of School. Along with your submission, include when that day falls on the calendar for you. Please be sure to let us know what grade you teach, so we can share ideas from a cross section of grade levels. If we publish your response, we’ll send you a $25 gift certificate. CLICK HERE!

Of course, we continue to welcome your Management Tips, Craft Ideas, Dealing with Parents and Story of the Month submissions.Whenever your idea is published, you receive a $25 gift certificate!

Create a Product - WIN A PRIZE! We’re always interested in hearing your ideas for new products. And if we turn your suggestion into a product, we’ll send you a $25 gift certificate plus a free copy of the finished product*
click here to enter!

*Must be an original idea not already in development. In case more than one teacher supplies a similar idea, the first one submitted will receive the prize.

Treasure Hunt For Bargains!
Visit the Really Good Stuff^® Outlet Store! Savings up to 80% off!
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Store More Sentence Strip Boxes

Constructed of colorful and durable high-quality molded plastic, these boxes are divided into three sections to organize and protect all your sentence strips against the curling effect of humidity.