Internet4Classrooms Newsletter: April 2012

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.

App Of The Month

**NEW!**

Every month we are going to feature a different, and hopefully FREE, iPad/iPod/iPhone educational application. In addition to our ever-changing apps page. Stay tuned!

In celebration of Autism Awareness Month, we're featuring Autism Apps by Touch Autism. This application let's you search a comprehensive list of apps related to Autism and other special needs - sorting by rating, price, and name - to find apps for your iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

Things To Celebrate This Month

April is full of national events like Autism Awareness, Math, Poetry, and School Library Months. There's also Easter, Passover, Earth Day, and pertinent events related to the American Revolution. It's a busy month! We encourage you to take some time to click through our site. You never know what wonderful resources you can find to enrich your classroom experience. Let's get started!

Autism Awareness Month

I4C has an Autism Spectrum Disorder page where you can find information and websites. Visit our Autism classroom tools as well as our Autism parent resources. We also have an entire area dedicated to exceptional children, including ADHD, assistive technology, learning disorders, and more.

National School Library Month

Explore our extensive section of Library Resources. Find librarian resources, physical libraries, virtual libraries, presidential libraries, and museums.

National Poetry Month

Celebrate Poetry Month and get creative! Find an overview of poetry, poetry definitions, how to write poetry tips, and more. Click on Elementary Language Arts for poetry resources and lesson plans too. Go to Middle/High School Language Arts for a poem a day and poetry lessons.

Math Awareness Month

Math is arguably the most widely used subject in the world! I4C's Math Resources page covers all grades and all subjects.

Passover 4/6/12

Passover begins at sundown on April 6th. Learn about the history of the Passover, and find recipes and crafts.

Easter 4/8/12

Hop into Easter and explore these fun Easter crafts, printables, and activities.

Civil Rights Act was Signed 4/11/1964

Discover some major features of the Civil Rights Act including voting and employment opportunity. Take advantage of these Civil Rights lesson plans for grades 6-12.

Civil War Began 4/12/1861

Civil War for kids offers great lessons and overviews with age-appropriate material. Find Civil War timelines that illustrate events and circumstances taking place. Get firsthand accounts of the Civil War and what is was like for both the North and the South in a community project called The Valley of the Shadow (#5). Recognize Civil War Leaders and view biographies here.

Thomas Jefferson's Birthday 4/13/1743

Did you know Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence? Learn more about Thomas Jefferson's life and accomplishments. Explore the Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress.

Paul Revere's Famous Ride 4/18/1775

Did you know the phrase "The British are coming" is actually NOT what Paul Revere said? He said "The regulars are coming out!" Learn more about Paul Revere's story here.

Revolutionary War Began 4/19/1775-1783

Explore timelines and events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Understand and recognize causes of conflict while learning about the American Revolution.

Earth Day 4/22/12

Did you know Earth is roughly 4.6 billion years old? Celebrate Earth with these Earth Day lessons, activities, printables, and explore the history behind this day.

William Shakespeare's Birthday 4/23/1564

The actual birthdate of William Shakespeare is questionable, and it's based off his baptism date of April 26th. Click for a Shakespeare biography in addition to study guides of his works. Number 14 on this page is a complete list of Shakespeare works, including all text, on the web.

** We Want Your Input! **

I4C already has Free Vocabulary Quizzes and Free Math Quizzes in our ACT/SAT Test Preparation Guide.

We're looking for new ideas for quizzes and informational resources that you'd feel are useful to you and your students. Please email us and let us know what you could use to make your teaching experience better.

Write to: susan.brooks@internet4classrooms.com

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.

Did you know it's widely thought that Shakespeare didn't get past grammar school? In honor of Shakespeare's birthday, enjoy these fun fact-filled games, mazes, and crosswords. Play Shakespearean "Who Am I?" by reading the description and identifying the correct character from Shakespeare's works.

We are beginning to understand more about Autism through research and helpful websites like these that offer Autism teaching methods, Autism communication tools, and other classroom Autism resources.

Math, math, and more math! I4C has many math pages to explore. To steer you in the right direction here are a few categories:

General Math

Elementary Math

Secondary Middle/High School Math

Special Topics Math

Money - Math

Interactive Online Math Games - By Grade

Algebra I

Algebra II

Geometry

Why was there a Midnight Ride? Watch this great video of how kids describe Paul Revere and the Longfellow Poem "Paul Revere's Ride." (NOTE: There is an advertisement before the video that I4C does not control.)

Don't forget about our Assessment Assistance section to get everyone ready for TCAP: Find practice tests and online tests by grade and subject. Here are printable released Assessment Tests to practice with as well.

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I4C OVERVIEW

Whether you are a newcomer or an old pro, it's easy to get "lost" in everything I4C has to offer. We have subject help by grade level on almost all school topics. Don't forget to click and explore when you are looking for teacher resources. Here are a few main topics to get you started.

Early Childhood

Elementary Math

Elementary Language Arts

Elementary Science

Elementary Social Studies

Middle/High School Language Arts

Middle/High School Math

Middle/High School Science

Middle/High School Social Studies/History

Middle/High School Foreign Languages

SkillBuilders provide online interactives per subject and grade.

Tech Tutorials provide online support as well as printables.

Assessment Assistance offers online and printable tests.

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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.

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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.

Focus On: Parent Resources

In addition to our teachers, parents can take advantage of our online resources as well.

April is Autism Awareness Month. Learn about visual symbols and timetables that can aid in communication and find other parent resources on Autism.

In honor of Math month, spend time at home sharpening math skills with our interactive online math games - organized by grade level.

Celebrate Shakespeare's birthday and explore Shakespeare's world. Discover how people lived, their fashion, daily activities, what they read, and more.

You can help your kids get ready for TCAP by using these printable released Assessment Tests. There's no such thing as too much preparation!

Easter and Passover fall around the same time this year. Find fun Easter projects and Easter brunch ideas. Learn the history behind Passover, including the holiday's traditional foods and customs.

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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: Space Bar and the Internet. Scroll through web pages quick and easy. Hitting the space bar will move the screen down one page at a time. Space bar + SHIFT will scroll back up. Other tutorials.

Tech Tip #2: Double Click to Highlight. A quick way to highlight a word in most programs is to double click. Here are more tutorials and shortcuts.

Tech Tip #3: Google Can Solve Math Problems: Have a quick math problem or equation you need the answer to? Type it in Google's search window for a quick response. You can also convert measurements and currency. More tech help.

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.

Many thanks!

This Month's Blog

This month's blog: Get the Spring Sillies Out! Have you noticed the behavioral shift in your students? Spring has sprung, and our children are raring to go. Try these techniques and tips for creating a calmer classroom.

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

Bill Byles

Internet4classrooms.com