Tag archives for Teachers
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Hi, I’m Lucy Gammon, 13-year-old NG Kids reporter, and on Monday I got the chance to visit the Vice President’s residence for a reception honoring the National and State Teachers of the Year. Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, an educator herself, welcomed all the teachers to her house and talked about how important teachers are in the world.
Jeff Carbonneau, the 2013 National Teacher of the Year. Photograph by Anna Irwin
I got the chance to talk to the 2013 National Teacher of Year, Jeff Carbonneau, a high school teacher from Washington state. Jeff told me he was planning to be a vet, but took a tutoring job and “was hooked” on teaching. So he switched his major and became a teacher. He teaches science and engineering classes.
He also enjoys the outdoors. I decided to ask him what animal he would be if he could be any animal in the world. He said he would be a giraffe, because giraffes are able to look over everything and see things in a different perspective.
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BOOK NAME: The Secret School
AUTHOR: Avi
Ida Bidson is devastated when she hears that her teacher, Miss Fletcher, must travel to take care of her sick mother, and therefore her one-room school is closing. Since it is almost the end of the school year, Mr. Jordan, the mean head of the school board, decides to save money and refuses to hire another teacher to substitute. This ends all of Ida’s dreams of taking her exit exams, and maybe going to high school! But wait… could there be a solution?
Tom Kohl, Ida’s best friend who is in eighth grade with her, tells her that he thinks she should be the teacher. At first, Ida is quick to decline the idea. But as she thinks more about it, she starts to convince herself that maybe, just maybe, she could be the teacher! After all, that is what she wants to do in life! So after voting with the class, Ida Bidson, who is only 14 years old, becomes the teacher. Yet the kids know that if they tell the school board, Ida will not be allowed to be the teacher, so they make it a secret school. At first, Ida has some troubles. It’s not easy to teach seven children in one room, especially if the kids are from first to eighth grade! Yet soon enough, Ida begins to get
used to playing the role of “Miss Bidson”, and is a great teacher.
One day, the school board finds out about the secret school. Will they close the school down? Or will Ida speak up and find a way to allow the school to continue?
I really enjoyed this book. Although it is an easy reader, I would recommend it to anyone. The book is great for ages eight and up. The characters are well developed, and sometimes the suspense of the story is unbearable!
BOOK NAME: The Landry News
AUTHOR: Andrew Clements
Cara Landry was barely noticed. She liked it that way. She was a quiet, but very intelligent girl. She was very unlucky to end up in the worst teacher’s class, Mr. Larson’s class. Mr. Larson never taught. He just sat at his desk, every day, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee from his big, red thermos. Every parent hoped that their children wouldn’t end up in his class.
One day, Cara decided to put up her own newspaper, The Landry News, on the bulletin board. In it, she put an article stating that “there has been learning, but there has been no teaching” in Mr. Larson’s class. Mr. Larson banned the newspaper from the classroom. Cara then decided to work on her own project.
In this book, you will join Cara and Mr. Larson as they begin hating each other at first in the story, and end up being very close at the end. You’ll even accompany them as they try to save Mr. Larson’s job!
I really liked this book. I feel it is a great book for all ages. It was fun, cute, and very good. I kept on wanting to know what would happen next! I think I am the complete opposite of Cara, though. She’s quiet, while I am loud and outgoing. But even though she is so different from me, she’s my favorite character in the book. Reading The Landry News won’t be a waste of your time! You should read it!
Is your class looking for a green project to do together? Tell your teacher about the Find Your Footprint contest! Your classroom can choose one of three categories: Save Water, Reduce Waste, or Save Energy. Your class must think of a way to reduce your school’s footprint in one of these areas, and create a description of your proposal. The winning classroom or school will get some pretty cool prizes, including five Promethean ActivBoards and $1000 worth of National Geographic books.
All entries must be received by December 3, 2010, so go green and get going!
Send your teacher to the Find Your Footprint page for more information on the contest.
Want to find out how big your family’s water footprint is? Grab Mom or Dad and check out the Water Footprint Calculator.
Image Source / Getty Images
We all make an impact on the Earth with all the the stuff we buy, use, and throw away. This is called our human footprint. How your footprint changes the Earth is up to you.
Want to make a difference?
Work with your teacher to enter the Find Your Footprint Contest. You can learn about your footprint so you can help make the world greener and your school too! Your school could win five Promethean interactive whiteboards, which could help cut down on the amount of paper you use. So go green and have your teacher enter your classroom’s best idea now!
Get more information about the Find Your Footprint Contest.
Photographs by Pavel Losevsky, Shutterstock and altafulla/Shutterstock
