Vol. 4, #2
October,
2003
Suitable for elementary schoolSuitable for middle schoolSuitable for high school Your View of the News
Suitable for elementary schoolSuitable for middle schoolSuitable for high school Literary Book Club
Suitable for elementary schoolSuitable for middle schoolSuitable for high school TALK
Editor's Page
Instruction
Into the Classroom
Assistive Technology
Literacy Online
Through a Student's Eyes
STLP News
Internet Resources
Connections
Professional Development
Peripherals
Staff Profiles
The Network is Down
The Archives

Jeffrey L. Jones, editor
jjones@fayette.k12.ky.us

FCPS Home Page

Your View of the News

http://teach.fcps.net/news/

In case you've missed it...Your View of the News is a website which supports newspapers, current events, and student writing in an online interactive environment. Quoting from the site...

"Making sense of the news is often difficult for adults and students to do. We each have a different perspective on the events of the day based on our own experiences, values and understanding of the world around us. This website is designed to give students ready access to a variety of sources of information on the happenings in their community, country and world. It is also designed to provide students a forum for sharing their reactions and reflections on the events of the world. Students are encouraged to read articles from various sources provided and share their thoughts with other students around the world..."

Each month TIPS will be featuring reactions to news stories by students which have been posted on "Your View of the News." For help with using this resource in your classroom, look at this tutorial, or contact your TRT. [examples resume next month...]

Literary Book Club

Attention, Teachers! Below is an example review from the Literary Book Club. Have your students submit their own book reviews! All grade levels welcome! Instructions are on the site.

Attention, kids! Students with featured reviews get free books!

Title: Message In a Bottle Reviewer: samantha
Author: Sparks, Nicholas Teacher: Schlich, Phyllis
Illustrator:   School: Tates Creek High

Review: 
Moving on with love

Have you ever been stuck in past relationships, and no matter what you do you just can’t move on with life? In the novel Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks you will see what happens to when people just can’t let go and lat the tides bring then where they may.

The story takes place in the hectic city of Boston, Mass. Where there is always something going on and people are never left being bored. It also takes place in a small town in North Carolina, where the two most important things are the Atlantic Ocean and great sea- food restaurants. These two places are completely different and the people live different life-styles.

Denise is a single mother who writes editorials for the Boston Times. She has a hectic life with running her eleven year-old son to soccer games, friends houses, getting her work done, cleaning the house and actually finding time for herself. She doesn’t have time to date but she longs for the companionship she once had.

Garret has an easy life-style. He owns his own business, a small shop where they sell scuba gear and other items people would need for the ocean. He also gives diving lessons, but even with all that work he doesn’t work often. He once loved a woman, but he lost her and he feels he can never love another.

Once a year Denise often goes to New England, for a vacation away from her life just to relax. One early morning, while jogging, she runs across a bottle that had drifted on the shore from the ocean. Inside there was a message. At first she didn’t want to open it because she felt as if she was invading someone else’s private life. She finally decides to open it, but she didn’t know it would change her life forever.
Inside was the most romantic letter that she had ever read. It was addressed to a woman named ”Catherine” and signed by a man named Garret. She felt tat she needed to find this man. She made some phone calls and does some research and finally finds the man who wrote it. She goes and visits him and it was an instant “love at first sight”. But there was something other than long distances that was holding them apart.

Message in a Bottle deals with people moving on with life after a tragic event and a love relationship is destroyed when people can’t let go of the past. Young adults as well as adult readers will enjoy this novel that keeps them wondero9ing what’s going to happen next. It is highly recommended


TALK

TALK

http://teach.fcps.net/talk/lesson_display.asp?lessonID=137

Visual ThesaurusStudents will have someone take a digital picture of them showing a facial expression that would have been shown during the special moment told about in a personal narrative. Then with the help of the Visual Thesaurus, students will create a list of words that describe the expression shown in the picture.

  • Submitted to TALK by: Joy Buckingham
  • Grade Levels: Primary/Intermediate
  • Technology Tools: Internet
  • Content Area(s): Social Studies, Language Arts
  • Keyword: word focus

We would love to include your technology based literacy activities on this site as well! If you would like to submit your own lessons, use our submission page, or you can contact Adam Brewer by email for assistance with any part of the site.