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 Monthly Newsletter    Issue 27

 

SUMMER LEARNING, JULY 4TH ACTIVITIES, COIN/MONEY GAMES, ZOO IDEAS
JULY 2011
In This Issue
What's Happening
Teacher Resources
Parent Resources
Technology Tips
We Need Your Help
Quick Links 
Join Our Mailing List 
Read Our Blog
Did You Know There Are Other Reading Disorders Besides Dyslexia? Read About Irlen Syndrome.
Take Our Survey
 
 
 
FREE ACTIVITIES ALL SUMMER LONG! 
Greetings!      

Hello! Thanks so much for using Internet4Classrooms with your students and children. Our mission is to help you find the best educational online resources available to meet your individual needs. Our monthly newsletter focuses on sharing information, tips, and ideas on everything related to schooling inside the classroom and at home. Each month we'll be featuring resources and information on a variety of topics. We are constantly upating information on our site, and urge you to visit often!
 
Keep in Touch! 
If you need help, please email us. We answer questions about almost any subject matter/grade level.  We feel that this is a very important part of Internet4Classrooms. Internet4Classrooms is maintained and built for educators, parents, and students and this site is yours.  Comments and suggestions are appreciated and welcomed. Don't be afraid to email and ask!
 
Follow us on Twitter (internet4classr). Stay up to date with offerings and new sources/links for great educational and technology information for you, your students, and children.
  What's Happening This Month?
We're at the halfway mark of summer! We hope everyone is having a great summer break relaxing and learning all at the same time. Celebrate Independence Day. Explore the history of sunglasses, the Susan B. Anthony coin, our first U.S. zoo, and how zip codes came to be. Keep expanding that learning potential. Let's get started!
  
Sunglasses Were Invented (China  7-1-1200)
Did you know sunglasses were originally used to hide facial expressions of Chinese judges? There are so many types of glasses, even for kids now, that protect our eyes from the sun. Add some crazy style this summer and make your own sunglasses at home with this fun art project.
  
The First U.S. Zoo Opened (Philadelphia  7-1-1864)
Here's a fun fact: When the first U.S. zoo opened in Philadelphia, admission cost 25 cents for adults, 10 cents for kids. Since that day in 1864, a zoo trip continues to be a favorite pastime for families and friends. Taking a group can be a daunting process. Find tips on how to plan a trip to the zoo.  Need something to keep the kids occupied during your zoo trip? Print out educational worksheets that kids can take to the zoo, giving them a chance to learn about the animals they're seeing.
  
The U.S. Post Office Introduced 5 Digit Zip Codes (7-1-1963)
Ever wonder what the ZIP in zip code stands for? Zoning Improvement Plan. Can you imagine what it was like for mail carriers before addresses and zip codes! Remind your children of the "old days" of letter writing. Here are some Elementary level interactive resources to learn how to write friendly letters. We've got Pre-K writing practice resources. Here are Kindergarten handwriting tools like tracing papers, letter outlining, practice writing worksheets, and more.  Have kids sit down and write letters to family and friends.
  
Susan B. Anthony Coin Was Issued (7-1-1979)
  
Independence Day (7-4-1776) JULY FOURTH

 

Hotmail - The Free Internet Service Began (7-4-1996) 

Hotmail began development in 1995 by Jack Smith and Sabeer Bahtia. Once introduced in 1996, more electronic mail was sent than U.S. Postal mail for the first time in history. Microsoft aquired Hotmail in 1997 and it remains one of the most popular email services.  Fun fact: Who decided we should put @ in our email addresses? Did you know the first "laptop" weighed 55 lbs! Learn about how computers came to be. Explore the history of the Internet.

  Focus On:  Teacher Resources
Internet4Classrooms offers a wide variety of informative online resources, tips, tools, and tutorials regarding your classroom needs. There is always something you can utilize with your students. Each month we'll feature a few links to useful topics.  
  
Get free summer learning activities, summer reading lists, summer lesson reviews, and more.  Did you know tests show students lose about 2.5 months of math computation skills during summer break? Teachers spend on average 4-6 weeks of the new school year getting students back on track. We must keep our students thinking and challenged all year long.   
  
Did you know there is another reading disorder besides Dyslexia? It's called Irlen Syndrome. It involves the distortion of someone's visual perception and it can be corrected through overlays and colored lenses. Check out our Exceptional Children's resources. Learn how to identify Irlen Syndrome. You may be able to not only help identify, but treat and help your student's overcome their reading challenges.
  
Recycle your books with a Book Club Exchange. We all have books we could get rid of. Bag up a handful, and have your friends do the same. Have a book exchange get together, making a list of who's reading what. By the end of a month or two, you'll have discovered a whole new book collection for free and made friends along the way.
  
Gardening 101. Gardening can be a relaxing way to bring a sense of accomplishment, as well as offer economical choices in the kitchen. I4C has an Elementary Science and Plants page that has links to gardening and starting a garden. Here's a link to My First Garden and getting started. You can garden at school and right in your own backyard.
  
Game night. Stay in and have just as much fun as going out and spending money. Here's a page of game night ideas to keep everyone involved and happy from family to friends.
  
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Remember: One of our most clicked resources is the teacher tools page. You can access everything teachers need for the school year, including forms, planning, bulletin boards, and worksheets. 

Another popular section is our Grade Level Help. Click here for Pre-K - 8th grade level help and here for 7th - 12th grade resources. Find Skill Builders interactive sites for Language Arts and Math.  

Don't Forget: Free Online Practice for ACT Test and SAT Test Resources.  I4C now offers free SAT and ACT vocabulary and math quizzes. Become a free member and log in as much as you'd like. Students can take practice tests on 5000 vocabulary words.Take daily practice math quizzes on over 1000 questions.  Log in to monitor your students' scores - including seeing which vocabulary words or math questions they missed. Interactive quizzes allow the test taker to retake and study as much as they want. 
  Focus On:  Parent Resources
In addition to our teachers, parents can take advantage of our online resources as well. 
  
Get free summer learning activities, summer reading lists, summer review skills, and more.  Did you know tests show students lose about 2.5 months of math computation skills during summer break? Teachers spend on average 4-6 weeks of the new school year getting students back on track. We must keep our students thinking and challenged all year long.   
  
  
Think the school year is just for homework? You can find ways to sneak in summer-time assignments. Have your kids write a "book report" or give a mock presentation about where they just went. Write a story about the latest trip, whether it be a family vacation or an outting at the zoo. Practice math and reading in the car on long road trips with games of I Spy.
  
Is your child struggling to read or showing signs of discomfort while reading? There is another reading disorder besides Dyslexia called Irlen Syndrome. It involves the distortion of someone's visual perception and it can be corrected through overlays and colored lenses. Check out our Exceptional Children's resources and learn how to identify Irlen Syndrome.
  
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Find ACT Test and SAT Test Resources to get your children ready for the ACT and SATs! I4C now offers free SAT and ACT vocabulary and math quizzes. Become a free member and log in as much as you'd like. Students can take practice tests on 5000 vocabulary words and practice tests in math with over 1000 questions. As a parent, you can log in to monitor your children's scores - including seeing which words or math problems they missed. Interactive quizzes allow the test taker to retake and study as much as they want.
As always, if you don't see something of interest highlighted this month, we have the Parent Zone which is full of resources. You can find homework help, special needs resources, language tools, reading help, educational games and activities sorted by grade.
  Technology Tips

Tech Tip #1:  Send an email by clicking on a shortcut on your desktop.  Right click on your desktop. Click New - Shortcut. In the domain box type: mailto: (the email address here) with NO spaces. Click Next. Type in what you want to call the link. Click Finish. The next time you want to send an email, click the shortcut on your desktop, and it will automatically open a new email in your Outlook. Click for more PC and Mac shortcuts.

 

Tech Tip #2:  Make a "shutdown" shortcut on your desktop. Following Tech Tip #1 - Right click on your desktop. Select New and then click on Shortcut. Type in the domain box the following line:  

%windir%\system32\shutdown.exe -s -t 0  as you see it. Click Next. Rename it. Click Finish. You should see the shortcut on your desktop to click on next time you want to shutdown. Find more keyboard shortcuts.

 

Tech Tip #3:  Have you ever pushed the PrintScreen button and nothing happens? You need to go one step farther. Open a program like Paint or Word, and right click to PASTE or hit CTRL+V. The image will appear and you can alter, resize, and print to your liking. Find Print Screen Tutorials here.

  We Need Your Help
Please click here to fill out a short survey that will help us ensure that the advertising on our site is appropriate for our audience.
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Many thanks!

 This Month's Blog

Did you know there are other reading disorders besides Dyslexia? This month we're talking about  Irlen Syndrome, a visual processing disorder that involves distorted reading. Read the article by our guest writer, Rich Mintzer.

 
Internet4classrooms.com is a free educational portal for teachers, parents, homeschoolers and students. Visitors come from around the world to find Internet resources for their educational needs. One can find resources ranging from lesson plans to worksheets, individual grade level resources to templates, and even interactive learning games.  We were very honored when one teacher called the site a "Walmart for Teachers". If you cannot find what you need for instruction on any topic, please feel free to email us and we will help you find resources to fit your needs.
 
Sincerely,

Susan Brooks
Internet4classrooms.com