Dear Readers,

Welcome back. I trust you have enjoyed the summer and found some time for relaxation. Below you will find the first Quick Resource Sheet of the new academic year.

As always, I welcome your questions as well as your constructive comments.

With warm regards,

Gabriel Skop

QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #44

Back to school

PREVIOUS TOPICS LISTED AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

If you’re like most teachers, you approach the start of a new school year with a mixture of excitement and dread. It’s not easy to return to such a grueling schedule, but the joy of learning and helping others learn keeps us coming back year after year.

Would it help to have a few new ideas for getting to know your students, organizing your lessons, or making your classroom a more inviting place in which to work? Have a look at the resources below.

from www.baristanet.com/barista/images/first_day_of_school.jpg

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson346.shtml

“Education World has been collecting great icebreaker activities from teachers since 1997. This year, we take a look back and spotlight some of the best of the more than 150 ideas that teachers have shared.”

http://www.proteacher.com/030005.shtml

Links to thousands of ideas sent in by teachers on first-day activities, communication exercises, classroom management, plus a special section on ideas for new teachers.

http://www.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/backtoschool/

Again, more links to a wide variety of back-to-school ideas, organized by grade level, with separate categories for  Teacher Resources, Literature, and a link at the bottom of the page to a lesson plan search guide.

Previous editions of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET

#1 – Creating quizzes (and more) online                                                         

#2 – Vocabulary builders

#3 – Online discussion groups for English teachers                                    

#4 – Grammar headaches – and how to cure them

#5 – Resources for new teachers                                                     

#6 – International Education Week

#7 – Mentoring programs                                                                    

#8 – Education publications online

#9 – Applied Linguistics                                                                   

#10 – English for Young Learners

#11 – World AIDS Day                                                                      

#12 – Online writing guides

#13 – E-mail exchanges                                                                      

#14 – Free online English courses

#15 – Effective e-mail communication                                             

#16 – Libraries online

#17 – American Studies                                                                     

#18 – Teaching methodologies

#19 – Internet tutorials                                                                       

#20 – Using the newspaper – Part I

#21 – Making books                                                                           

#22 - Using the newspaper – Part II

#23 – Human rights in language teaching

#24 – Blogging

#25 – Poetry and language teaching

#26 – The communicative approach

#27 -  Idioms

#28 – Earth Day

#29 – Alternative assessment

#30 – Peer assessment

#31 – Self-assessment

#32 – Portfolio assessment – Part I

#33 -  Portfolio assessment - Part II (Online Portfolios)

#34 – Intercultural communication

#35 – Teaching Adults

#36 – Learning disorders / Special needs

#37 – Using computers in reading instruction

#38 – Use of authentic materials

#39 – English for Medical Purposes

#40 – Sources for authentic materials

#41 – Education and technology

#42 – Academic writing

#43 – Teaching and stress