| SAT VIDEOS www.satVideos.com CLICK HERE to visit my video samples Bring a tutor into your home at the fraction of the cost of a tutor. I videotape some of my classes, so you can join me in learning. I charge $60-75 an hour, depending on the course and the subject, but you can view an hour or more of my teaching for less... call 954 646 8246 for discounts and special arrangements, such as "partial refunds" when you return the CD or DVD or VHS to me. Rent a tape or a DVD from the SAT VIDEOS library Each tape is $20, postpaid in the USA. If you return a tape with your order, you get $8 off. Subjects currently available Math with Leslie (ONE) for the Artistic Learner Wet Math with Dr. McAlister The founder of Ocean Engineering at Florida Atlantic University gives his tips on how to find a favorite reef and other useful tips. Math with Viviana SOCIAL MATH for the Interpersonal Learner SAT with John (May 30, 2005) A male approach or a hunter approach. Including 5 tips to prepare for the SAT, with a remedy for learning vocabulary FIVE HOURS (including May 23) Three DVDs or three VHS ================================================================== A List of Web Sites that some teachers have recommended (for more reading practice!) This paper should be near your child’s computer – in easy reach. There will be additions to this list…this is just the first edition. These sites are suggested because parents ask teachers “where can my child learn more?” This list is for “Extra Learning.” Your child can not get extra credit by visiting these sites except by special arrangement and agreement with a teacher. These sites are NOT for extra credit. These web sites are for Extra Learning. This is the first of several lists that will be sent home during the year. Please keep this list in a prominent place. You can also find this list at www.TeachersToTeachers.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FCAT www.newFCAT.com (to help with FCAT preparations, FREE) www.fcatexplorer.com (you need a user ID and password) EXTRA ACTIVITES www.LookForPatterns.com (when you are finished with homework – time for more!) www.infoplease.com/homework (lots of categories to explore) www.thebeehive.org click on “SCHOOL” in the left hand margin “Homework Help” school.discovery.com/students/ Lots of activities from the Discovery Channel http://www.factmonster.com/ Big green screen with many categories Cultural Understanding and Pen Pals www.BuildingInternationalBridges.com (to learn about interesting cultures) Get an email account with a disposable service like yahoo or hotmail to participate OTHER LANGUAGES Spanish.about.com a general web site for learning Spanish Italian.about.com A general web site for learning Italian http://www.homeworkspot.com/middle/foreignlanguage/ links to other sites --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCIENCES http://www.homeworkspot.com/middle/science/ help for Science homework http://quizhub.com/quiz/quizhub.cfm Quizhub.com lots of fun and education http://www.refdesk.com/homework.html a useful gateway to a variety of web sites SOCIAL STUDIES www.History.com (of course!) www.nationalgeographic.com (for social studies) www.WhatDoYaKnow.com A site created by a Social Studies teacher in Palm Beach County. http://www.bpl.org/kids/socialstudies.htm Boston Public Library’s page for Kids (fun) http://www.socialstudies.org/ National Council for Social Studies www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/res.cgi/Subjects/Social_Studies for teachers. Did you ever wonder where teachers learned so much? www.Geographyolympics.com They created a world puzzle. Lifetime Transitions and Anger Management www.Pat-Harris.com (audio letters are available for you to download and hear) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.DowntownAcademy.org our school’s web site! READING Practice reading on these sites. http://www.ncte.org/middle/topics/content/117565.htm National Council for Teachers of English has a book list www.snopes.com Read about urban legends and find the truth. www.gutenberg.org Over 10,000 books online (FREE) http://www.refdesk.com/homework.html More Homework Help http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Olympus/1333/kids.htm For kids who love books http://nancykeane.com/rl/ Book lists to give you ideas about what to read next! SEARCH on “reading for middle school” Middleschoolhub.org a collection of interesting quizzes Quia.com more quizzes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MATH www.algebra.com (for general help with math) www.mathForArtists.com (an artistic and visual way of learning about math) Click on “challenging problems” for interesting math exercises. http://www.math.com/ Good pages for review www.number2.com (for advanced math training) nctm.org (the National Council for Teachers of Math) www.RetireThePenny.org A math exercise Take the Middle School Math Challenge http://www.figurethis.org/index40.htm Test Your Math Skills (requires Shockwave plug-in) http://timssonline.cse.ucla.edu/index02.htm Internet Math Library http://mathforum.org/library/ Math Counts-Math for Middle School http://206.152.229.6/ Franklin Institute-Open Ended Math Problems for Middle School Students sln.fi.edu/school/math2/index.html Ask Dr. Math http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/ Do you have other web sites that you enjoy? Send your suggestions to mistermath@comcast.net or smccrea@downtownacademy.org |
| It's a new attitude Print the poster Print the bumper sticker Expand the FCAT First version of this page Teaching to the Test (Documentary film) Multiple Intelligences, EQ, and other areas to assess, measure. What does "FCAT" stand for? My students tell me that FCAT means: Floridians Can Achieve Together Let's practice on FCAT Explorer Practice at Teachers to Teachers |
| Welcome to newFCAT.com <<< "Perform your understanding" Here are places where you can practice skills that you need on the FCAT and other assessment tests. <<<<<<<<<<<< TIP: Try the "READING" with the three asterixes *** Interesting game and quiz.... Do you want to learn more about this web site? Click here Students are encouraged to say the "Positive Pledge" THE POSITIVE PLEDGE I choose to create a positive mental attitude about FCAT and other tests. I choose to think about ways to make the FCAT work for me. I choose to turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts, to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.. I know that FCAT means Floridians Can Achieve Together, so I will volunteer five minutes each day to show someone how I do FCAT exercises and I will keep an open mind about other ways to find the answers. I agree to support other students with a positive attitude and with positive suggestions. Letters from STUDENTS |
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| Take a deep breath...exhale and another deep breath...exhale Close your eyes, exhale, take a deep breath and exhale. Open your eyes. Feels better, right? See the Vornle Method. See the best essay Here's an article from March 2005 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-atest06mar06,0,2935592.story SAT writes a new chapter in testing College Board hopes essays will be useful and fair gauge of students. By Justin Pope The Associated Press March 6, 2005 LEWISTON, Maine · The wave of anxiety over the new SAT, which includes an essay, finally breaks Saturday, when an estimated 300,000 high school students will take the test for the first time. For them the exam may seem all-important, but it doesn't matter everywhere -- and Bates College is a prime example. Twenty years ago, the liberal arts college decided students could submit standardized test scores voluntarily but stopped requiring them -- convinced they did little to identify who will contribute and thrive. Today, Bates says the data have only verified that hunch. "When I'm stuck, I go back to the recommendations, to the student's writing, to the interview," said admissions dean Wylie Mitchell. "Who do you want? A highly motivated student, or a good tester?" Bates partly credits the policy for more than doubling applications. One student said the policy helps lure passionate students, and adds it may be no coincidence that an environmental campaign against cruise ship pollution took off on campus last year, or that the College Republicans are exceptionally active. The changes to the SAT, which also include shaking up some multiple-choice sections, are an effort by its owner, the College Board, to persuade the admissions world that the test remains useful and fair. If it succeeds, Bates may be seen as an oddity in another 20 years. If it fails, Bates may be seen as a pioneer. The huge University of California system, which threatened to drop the SAT in 2001, will study results of the new exam for three years to make sure it is really an improvement. Other colleges have already decided. Just last month, Lawrence University in Wisconsin and St. Lawrence University in New York dropped their testing requirements. The colleges say the SAT isn't worth the cost in money and stress -- to them, and to students and parents. And they are increasingly concerned that the SAT, designed to level the playing field for all, has now become a barrier to poor and minority students. "I think a lot of colleges are just looking at how much emotional and psychic energy, how much real estate it's taking up," said Brad MacGowan, guidance counselor at Newton North High School in suburban Boston. "They're saying this should not be driving education." By many measures, the SAT is still going strong. The test was taken 2.8 million times last year by 2.3 million students -- some took it twice -- while the ACT, which is more popular in about half the states and began offering an optional essay last month, was taken 2.1 million times. For most students hoping to attend college, skipping the SAT or ACT (most colleges accept either) would be a big risk. In fact, even though scores are usually comparable, some schools in traditional SAT states report more students are taking both exams to hedge their bets -- fearing they might tank the new SAT and could do better on the ACT. A recent National Association for College Admission Counseling survey found 60 percent of colleges place "considerable importance" on standardized test scores, up from 46 percent in 1993 (grades still count the most). The "considerable importance" figure rises to more than 90 percent at the largest schools, where admissions officers are harder pressed to give applications close, individual attention. The SAT was created in the 1940s and '50s to replace the clubby, wink-and-nod pipeline from boarding schools to elite institutions with a genuine meritocracy. In Yale's class of 1941, six boarding schools contributed more members than all public schools combined, there were quotas for Jews and Roman Catholics, and 30 percent were sons of alumni, according to Nicholas Lemann's 1999 history of the SAT, The Big Test. Today, Yale and its peers look much more like America, with most students coming from public schools. "What would the admissions process look like if there wasn't an SAT?" said College Board president Gaston Caperton. "As a parent, I would not want students accepted to college if there was not an objective measurement, professionally proven, to be part of the admissions process." ==================================== Think about someone like Pat Tillman and then ask this important question again: "Whom do you want (in your college, in your organization)? A highly motivated student, or a good tester?" I'm sure that Mr. Tillman was a good student, but the core of his character was what made him a good person, someone to admire and a leader (not his test scores). Someone saw his character and accepted him in college. ........................................................................................................ So... Is the FCAT important? Is the SAT important? Will the sun come up tomorrow? Will you wake up tomorrow with a new chance to make things better? If you get a combined 1400 (700 700) plus a great written score (5 or 6 out of 6), will you be a better person than Mr. Tillman? Hmmmm. Tomorrow, tomorrow, we love ya, tomorrow, you're always a day away! More Perspective I met a mother who reminded me that one of her children got a 1520 and another one got around 1000 and the other two got somewhere in between. She loves them all, and they all are making contributions to society. All graduated from college, none of them beats their spouses and none of them has been in a fatal car accident. She asked me, "Isn't that more important than a test score? Visit www.WhatShouldStudentsLearn.com "Hey! Lighten up! It's just your life that you're preparing for!" Do something useful like visiting www.geographyolympics.com FREE SAT LESSONS BCC SAT SAT WORDS Mr. Mac works with DVD, video and audio. His web sites: FREEENGLISHLESSONS.COM I'm an ESOL teacher GRANDMOTHERSAYS.COM Kay Latona's ideas IHATETOREAD.COM Let's read graphic novels LOOKFORPATTERNS.COM Gifted students MATH-SUCCESS.COM a list of fun math sites MATHFORARTISTS.COM math for artistic thinkers MCCREAMARKETING.COM my marketing company NEWFCAT.COM this site PAT-HARRIS.com If you don't like math, you might want to get over your anger to get the best results from math tutoring ROADLOVERS.COM an online travel newsletter STEVEMCCREA.COM My marketing company TEACHERSTOTEACHERS.COM My first site with Cary Elcome, perhaps the most creative EFL teacher on the planet TEACHINGTOTHETEST.ORG Documentary about FCAT BUILDINGINTERNATIONALBRIDGES.COM My effort to build bridges by Internet through email DEMOCRACYBONDS.COM a response to Thomas Friedman's call for a "moon shot" effort for new energy sources FREELYRICSFOREDUCATION.COM for ESOL classes FREEUSEFOREDUCATION.COM for middle school GLOBALCOOLINGCAMPAIGN.COM plant trees RADIOJOURNEYS.COM My radio show VISUALANDACTIVE.COM My teaching style WHATSHOULDSTUDENTSLEARN.COM don't let school get in the way of your education... What is your story? What do you want to communicate? The following web sites show some of the work Mr. Mac does with clients. Need a simple web site? Get your brochure on the Internet using www.godaddy.com and www.Geocities.com Clients International Oasis Leslie954 Language School AIGLONAUCTION.ORG Non profit site for a school ARTIFACTSEEKER.COM An art buyer DRKURTWAGNER.COM a plastic surgeon EDUCATIONALEXCELLENCE.NET an excellent teacher GAIGLOBAL.ORG a non profit group in Peru LONGTERMCAPITALCOMPANY.COM PASTORSTOSPASTORS.COM a preacher PAT-HARRIS.COM Anger Management LFMT RESOLVETOHEAL.COM Pat Harris, LFMT ROBERTKENJI.COM author SEVENISLES.COM homeowner's community STATUEOFWORLDPEACE.COM STATUEOFWORLDPEACE.ORG STREETJUDO.COM Paolo Quaglia's video XNTRIKWERX.COM Stephen Shasha, artist BYTHETAIL.NET Scott Solochek, songwriter FOREVERPILL.COM JKMCCREA.COM My sweetheart's site NOAHSOLOCHEK.COM My great-nephew's site OAXACATRANSTOUR.COM A tour guide in Mexico SCOTTSOLOCHEK.COM Scott's site SEEOAXACA.COM The same tour guide TAKE-COVER.COM My wife's invention THETIGHTESTBEAT.COM A site by Marcus |
| Millions of students take a written test that consumes the entire year's curriculum All of the teachers in 15 countries have to follow the same curriculum, reading the same books The test is important for deciding whether or not you get into Cambridge There's terrific pressure and only 5 to 10% of the students get high enough scores to get into college. Mr. Mac took these tests and got a B in Economics, a B in Chemistry and a B in Mathematics... all A-levels. He got accepted in Yale, Princeton, Haverford, Swarthmore, Brown and MIT. He would not have made it to Cambridge or Oxford in England. The test was call the GCE, the General Certificate Exam operated in the British A-Level system. Please don't complain about the SAT being "unfair" -- it just "is." It is what it is, a test that measures about 2/7ths of the student's abilities. Mr. Mac did well on the SAT (1520, 800 and 720) and he can show you how to improve your score (see SATBCC and SATWORDS), but remember that there are more important tests in life and those tests are not administered by the College Board or any university. Enough said. If you believe that the SAT is the most important test that your child will face, then please hire a tutor who will agree with you and charge you $50 an hour for at least 20 hours of tutoring... or do it yourself by following the suggestions at SATBCC. number2.com SATLINKS FreeVocabulary.com SAT Interactive Hire a high school student who knows how to do Math (at $20 per hour or less) Take a deep breath Okay, if you insist on paying someone $50 an hour, please call 954.646. 8246 and I'll find a smart kid to help your kid... but I really don't want to be part of the SAT frenzy. A month without TV and video games is the best remedy... My sister's kids are studying with a tutor instead of doing my Visual and Active method... oh, well, don't listen to the uncle... :-) The Visual Method is describe in several places on the Internet VISUAL Learning Styles Learn about Pat Tillman |
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| "Stop complaining and start memorizing the words ... yes, click here!" |
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| Did you get your pen? Did you figure out how to get to this web page? newFCAT.com Tell other students about PMA the power of positive mental attitude |
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| "Whom will you listen to, that guy on the left or me, Big Bird?" |
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| Large Times Tables |
| <<<<<<< Mike Math Rapper |
| Learn 5 phrases in another language Find out your "learning style" GO FARTHER Look for Patterns (for gifted students...and everyone is gifted at something) Meet a penpal VISUAL AND ACTIVE Learn phrases in Italian smartphrase.com/Italian/it_general_words_phr.shtml WHAT SHOULD STUDENTS LEARN wmdistos wmdistu Free SAT Lessons CHALLENGING Math Exercises (International Points) |
| CREATIVE STUDENTS: April made this >>>> |
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| SAT VIDEOS www.satVideos.com CLICK HERE to visit my video samples Bring a tutor into your home at the fraction of the cost of a tutor. |
| FCAT and SAT VIDEOS www.satVideos.com CLICK HERE to visit my video samples Bring a tutor into your home at the fraction of the cost of a tutor. |
| Pat Tillman |
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