May 2008

How May We Help You?

Hasn't the year flown? It's hard to believe it's coming to an end. It has been a great pleasure for us to work with you. As we have in the past three years of being in this position, we have learned so much during our time with you.

I would be delighted to help you with end of the year activities. Please let me know of any needs you may have.

gmoore@amherst.k12.va.us & mlewis@amherst.k12.va.us

Changes Next Year

In the past three years we have been your ITRTs, we have constantly been asked if there was any way that we could be in your classrooms several days in a row. That was not possible if we were visiting your school one day a week. Next year we have come up with a plan which will put us in your school for four instructional days in a row. The two small schools will have Gail two days in a row. This will permit us to help you do projects which take multiple days to complete. We are also planning to take two Wednesdays a month to visit schools. Both of us will be at the same school and will hang out all day. This will allow us to help with planning, provide one on one professional development, etc. We are looking forward to this and hope that you are as well. Please ask us if you have any questions about our new schedule.

Our last scheduled day in the schools is May 23

Wonderful Websites

Teacher Appreciation Week. Have you thanked a teacher?
For some ways to celebrate click here.
Teacher Appreciation Day Theme Unit

Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo Lesson Plans K-12
Cinco de Mayo Links - Lessons and more

United Streaming: Do a keyword search using "Cinco de Mayo" and/or "Mexico"

Mother's Day
Celebrate Mother's Day in a New Way!
Activities

Lewis and Clark started their expedition on May 14th
Lewis and Clark Classroom Resources from PBS - Interdisciplinary lessons
Lewis and Clark WebQuest - if you don't know what a WebQuest is, check out this one - it's terrific!

United Streaming: Do a keyword search using "Lewis and Clark" (lots of videos)

Memorial Day
Lessons from Education World
Memorial Day - many links to activities and websites (check out list on right of page)
Memorial Day Activities (Puzzles, Quizzes, Lessons)
The History of Memorial Day from The History Channel

United Streaming: Do a keyword search using "Memorial Day " and/or "war"

Fun + Review = Great SOL Scores!

Inside the technology folder on your servers are a ton of power point templates that you can type questions into for great SOL prep. However, if you find that you have 5-10 minutes and want to do some quick SOL review, there are also four power point games that require no preparation. They are Amherst Stakes, Boat Race, and Car Race. Plus now there is the Wheel of Fortune. All you need to play these games are some questions. These questions could be on index or flash cards, an old test you're reviewing, or even right out of your head. If you are not familiar with these games, please ask your ITRT to show you how to access these tools.