| THIS IS A COOL LIST OF WEB SITES 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 Go back to the HOME page of NewFCAT.com |
| 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 |
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| "Whom will you listen to, that guy on the left or me, Big Bird? By the way, I hope you learned some lessons from the Darwin Awards..." |
| 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) |
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| 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 Do you remember Mr. Tillman? Fascinating person... |
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| Vocabulary words -- find the words in the stories below… underline each word
ZEALOUS = really enthusiastic and really eager. Remember… skip over the city names. You don’t need to know the exact names of the people, just get a general idea. Look for the important information. MILLEPEDE = one thousand feet, a long insect, like a centipede. PROPANE = a gas for barbecues FLABBERGASTED = very disappointed and “at the end of his rope.” He doesn’t know what to do next. PACHYDERM = elephant ENEMA = if you can’t make a BM, then this procedure puts water or other liquids up your rear. DEFECATION = a cool university word that means “bowel movement.” AILING = he’s sick POSTHUMOUSLY = after death ======================================================= Subject: THE NEW DARWIN AWARDS: www.darwinawards.com Go ahead, find more funny things to read about! SADLY, ALL OF THESE AWARDS WERE GIVEN POSTHUMOUSLY AND THE RECIPIENT NEVER ENJOYED EVEN ONE DAY OF FAME. =================================================- 1. According to police in Windsor, Ontario, Daniel Kolta, 27, and Randy Taylor, 33, died in a head-on collision, thus earning a tie in the game of chicken they were playing with their Snowmobiles. 2. In Detroit, a 41-year-old man got stuck and drowned in two feet of water after squeezing head first through an 18-inch-wide sewer grate to retrieve his car keys. 3. A 49-year-old San Francisco stockbroker, who "totally zoned when he ran," accidentally jogged off a 100-foot-high cliff on his daily run. 4. Buxton, NC: A man died on a beach when an 8-foot-deep hole he had dug into the sand caved in as he sat inside it. Beach-goers said Daniel Jones, 21, dug the hole for fun, or protection from the wind, and had been sitting in a beach chair at the bottom Thursday afternoon when it collapsed, burying him beneath 5 feet of sand. People on the beach, on the outer banks, used their hands and shovels, trying to claw their way to Jones, a resident of Woodbridge, VA, but could not reach him. It took rescue workers using heavy equipment almost an hour to free him while about 200 people looked on. Jones was pronounced dead at a hospital. 5. According to police in Dahlonega, GA, ROTC cadet Nick Berrena, 20, was stabbed to death in January by fellow cadet Jeffrey Hoffman, 23, who was trying to prove that a knife could not penetrate the flak vest Berrena was wearing. 6. In Guthrie, Oklahoma,, in October, Jason Heck tried to kill a millipede with a shot from his 22 caliber rifle, but the bullet ricocheted off a rock near the hole and hit pal Antonio Martinez in the head, fracturing his skull. 7. In Elyria, Ohio, in October, Martyn Eskins, attempting to clean out cobwebs in his basement, declined to use a broom in favor of a propane torch and caused a fire that burned the first and second floors of his house. 8. Paul Stiller, 47, was hospitalized in Andover Township, NJ, and his wife Bonnie was also injured, when a quarter-stick of dynamite blew up in their car. While driving around at 2 AM, the bored couple lit the dynamite and tried to toss it out the window to see what would happen, but apparently failed to notice the window was closed. 9. TACOMA, WA - - Kerry Bingham was with several friends when one of them said they knew a person who had bungee-jumped from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the middle of traffic. The conversation grew more heated and at least 10 men trooped along the walkway of the bridge at 4:30 am. Upon arrival at the midpoint of the bridge, they discovered that no one had brought a bungee rope. Bingham volunteered and pointed out that a coil of lineman's cable lay nearby. One end of the cable was secured around Bingham's leg and the other end was tied to the bridge. His fall lasted 40 feet before the cable tightened and tore his foot off at the ankle. He miraculously survived his fall into the icy river water and was rescued by two nearby fishermen. "All I can say " said Bingham "is that God was watching out for me on that night." "There's just no other explanation for it." Bingham's foot was never located. 10. Overzealous zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt (Paderborn, Germany) fed his constipated elephant, Stefan, 22 doses of animal laxative and more than a bushel of berries, figs and prunes before the plugged-up pachyderm finally let it fly, and suffocated the keeper under 200 pounds of poop! Investigators say ill-fated Friedrich, 46, was attempting to give the ailing elephant an olive oil enema when the relieved beast unloaded on him. "The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr. Riesfeldt to the ground, where he struck his head on a rock and lay unconscious as the elephant continued to evacuate his bowels on top of him" said flabbergasted Paderborn police detective Erik Dern. With no one there to help him, he lay under all that dung for at least an hour before a watchman came along, and during that time he suffocated." Extra crdit: go to www.darwinAwards.com and look for another cool story. You have to do some hunting and clicking. When yo ufind a cool story, email it to Mr. Mac or just print it out. Or, even better, memorize the basic idea of the story and tell it to Mr. Mac’s videocamera when he comes to school. See your choice at www.NewFCAT.com |
11. Tunnel Vision (19 March 2004, Virginia) Paul, 48, was an electrician for the state Department of Transportation (DOT). He and Charles were part of a 15-person crew assigned to replace the lights in the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. The crew would ride through the tunnel in a converted dump truck that had a ledge on the back used to hold tools during the procedure. DOT uses a different truck for each side of the tube, because the eastbound tube is three feet higher above the truck than the westbound tube. The taller truck had a tight squeeze returning through the westbound tube. Paul and Charles should have paid more attention to this fact. The crew had finished working on the eastbound tube. On the return trip to the tunnel office for their lunch break, Paul and Charles chose to ride on the high platform facing backwards, rather than climbing into the cab. This was in violation of safety rules. Paul and Charles learned one major reason for the rules when the truck turned into the westbound tunnel. Perhaps they had forgotten that this tunnel was three feet lower than the one they had recently left. Perhaps they felt their safety helmets protected them from just about anything. They soon learned otherwise. Paul was knocked off the truck when his head hit the entrance of the tunnel and died of massive head injuries. Charles was lower down, and survived with minor injuries. Find Victoria Falls on the map... 12. Closer Look at Victoria Falls (31 December 2004, Zimbabwe) The 100-year-old Victoria Falls Bridge, linking Zimbabwe and Zambia, offers a spectacular view of the 80-meter chasm. Continuous spray from the massive waterfall makes the rocks and vegetation along the lip as slippery as a slide at a water park, but far less tolerant of error. While taking pictures at the falls with his girlfriend on New Year's Eve, Michael, 50, dropped his spectacles over the rim. He would hardly be able to enjoy the view without them, so he decided to retrieve them. He was intelligent enough to be aware of the risk. Headmaster at Summit College in Johannesburg, and a highly regarded lecturer at geography conferences, he knew how to assess the physical world. Edging out on the slick rim, reaching towards his glasses -- he slipped -- and fell 40 meters to his death. His body was recovered by helicopter. Where is UKRAINE? 13. The Army's a Blast (6 May 2004, Ukraine) Piling up live artillery ammunition is hard, grueling work, so it makes perfect sense that a group of soldiers would take a smoking break at lunchtime. The warehouse in southern Ukraine was filled with 92,000 tons of ammunition--until the soldiers lit up their cigarettes and inhaled deeply, ignoring warnings that smoking can cause cancer. They flicked the butts away and went back to work. The hot tobacco acted like a slow fuse, which started a small fire, which nobody noticed until a chain reaction of massive explosions began. The explosions lasted for a week, tossing debris as far as 25 miles away, destroying buildings in a two-mile radius, and forcing the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. Red-hot shrapnel set off additional fires in nearby towns and ruptured a minor gas pipeline. Total damage from the smoke break was estimated at $750 million. Miraculously, only one of the soldiers at the arsenal died in the disaster. Six soldiers were charged with "grossly neglecting the fire safety rules and smoking on the ammunition site." Where is "Netherlands"? 14. Stepping Out (12 April 2004, Netherlands) Certain land animals have evolved over the millennia to use speed in the pursuit or prey or avoidance of predators. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) can run as fast as 60 mph over the plains of Africa, and the pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) can reach 55 mph over the plains of North America. Humans (Homo sapiens) are not among these animals built for speed. The very fastest human can achieve a maximum sprint of 16 mph for short distances. So things were bound to go wrong when a 19-year-old male, driving the A67 highway near the Dutch town of Blerick, sought to impress his two passengers by putting his car on cruise control at 20 mph, getting out of the car, and running alongside it. He planned to jump back in and drive on, but the moment his feet hit the ground, he fell over and slammed headfirst into the asphalt. He was admitted to the hospital with severe brain damage, and died the next day. Where is Taiwan? 15. Rutting Contest (October 2004, Chiayi, Taiwan) Most rutting contests involve two male mammals, like the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis dallis), which ram into each other at high speed in order to impress a female sheep and win the right to procreate. These mammals tend to have unusually thick skulls and extra fluid surrounding the brain to prevent damage from the competition. Humans tend not to have such thick skulls and other natural adaptations, and therefore do not generally rut. Of course man, the tool user, can find artificial means to overcome natural limitations. One well-known example of this behavior is the medieval jousting contest in which participants wear armor and ride horses toward each other at high speed. The most recent observation of human rutting behavior occurred when two Taiwanese university students donned protective helmets and revved their motor scooters in an effort to impress a comely female of their species. The two were the same class, but not friends. Other classmates reported that both men fancied the same female student. After indulging in a few drinks during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the two encountered each other, and words were spoken. The gauntlet was thrown down. In lieu of horses, the two would ride their motor scooters at each other at high speed, and the one who didn't turn away would win the exclusive right to pursue the female. Obviously both were very keen on her, because neither of them turned away. Their scooters collided head-on at 50 mph. Both died instantly. The girl at the center of the rut refused to comment, other than to say that she "wasn't interested in either of them." "Rutting" is a ritual that animals go through... Where is Chiavenna? (maybe look on Google) 16. Do-It-Yourself Landmine (27 May 2004, Italy) When Peraldo found sticks of old dynamite in an abandoned stable on the hill above his vineyard, he decided to bury the problem. Some might think that burying unstable dynamite would be...unwise. But not Peraldo, a 67-year-old retired entrepreneur, who had been an explosives expert in the army. He had also worked as a licensed "fuochino" in charge of explosives at construction sites prior to his retirement. He knew the ways of things that go boom. This dynamite had been sitting around for some time, decaying and sweating highly unstable nitroglycerin. Peraldo carefully placed the high explosives in a hole thirty meters away from the stable, and gently covered them with loose earth. Apparently the mound was a little too high to be aesthetically attractive, so Peraldo began patting it down with his hands... The massive blast rocked the entire town of Chiavenna. Police rushed to the vineyard to investigate. Peraldo was found torn to shreds, but miraculously, still alive and able to explain what had happened before he died from internal injuries. DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2006 Submitted by: Flavio Rizzardi Reference: www.espressonline.it Cold Call (20 January 2004, Ventnor, New Jersey) A high school student accidentally dropped his cell phone from the Dorset Avenue Bridge on a wintry Sunday. Fortunately the river had iced over, so the phone landed on the ice, apparently intact. To a dedicated cell-phone user, losing the phone can be like losing an appendage, And what loyal friend would not try to retrieve your arm or leg if it had somehow fallen off a bridge and landed on thin ice? The survival of our species depends on mutual support. So on Tuesday, Bruce, 17, volunteered to fetch the phone. He figured the ice, which was only an inch thick in places, was strong enough to hold him for the rescue mission. Another friend urged Bruce to give up and go back to shore. "I can do it," Bruce insisted. A bridge attendant also warned him to stay off the ice, but, as his mother explained, "It's just something Bruce would have done." The attendant rushed to his post to call the police. He was on the phone when a bystander told him that someone had fallen in. A police officer arrived at the scene a moment later to find Bruce partially submerged in the 35-degree water. The officer dashed to his car for a rescue buoy. When he returned, Bruce had already gone under. His body was recovered the next morning. He did not die in vain. The cell phone was recovered. (10 February 2004, New York) Exactly three weeks later, 18-year-old Lina, of Queens, New York, jumped onto the subway tracks to retrieve her new $80 cell phone just as the V train was rounding the corner into the Grand Ave.-Newtown station in Elmhurst. She apparently expected to hop right back up onto the platform, five feet above the tracks, but after two attempts, she was still stuck. As the lights of the oncoming train shone in the tunnel, two men tried to pull her up, but she was knocked out of their hands as the train rushed into the station, emergency brakes squealing. She died instantly. |
| Find a photo of Taiwan... or several photos... and recommend them to place here... |
| Find a photo of Netherlands... or several photos... and recommend them to place here... |
| Find a photo of Ukraine... what is the capital of Ukraine!?..... Please recommend several photos to place here... |
| How far is Victoria Falls from Miami? Give hours on an airplane if the plane travels at 500 mph. |