December 2014 Picks

Online Practice | Printables | Common Core |
SAT and ACT Test Preparation | December Blog | App of The Month |
What's Happening | Teacher Resources | Parent Resources |
Technology Tips | Other Areas of Interest

December brings Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the First Day of Winter, and much more. Visit our monthly newsletter to see all the details. Below are just a few highlights.

NEW! ONLINE PRACTICE AT I4C

Internet4Classrooms now offers Online Practice and Interactives, covering Kindergarten to Sixth Grade Common Core Mathematics. Look for a rapidly growing variety of thousands of practice quizzes tied to the Common Core State Standards, School Subjects, Activities, and Holidays.

Check out our NEW Online Practice Quizzes! More grades and subjects coming soon!

COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS PRINTABLES AT I4C

Internet4Classrooms offers Printables, covering Kindergarten to Sixth Grade Mathematics. Look for a rapidly growing variety of thousands of practice worksheets tied to the Common Core State Standards, School Subjects, Activities, and Holidays.

Check out our Common Core Printables! More grades and subjects coming soon!

Request teacher access for our Printables' answer guides here.

Common Core State Standards at I4C

Our Common Core State Standards are full of resources for every individual standard. Students can take control of their own learning by clicking on the page with the standard number, and choosing their own resource to practice that skill.

Check out our Common Core Math High School Algebra Standards, Common Core Math Standards, and Common Core ELA Standards.

SAT and ACT Test Preparation

Free Online Practice Resources for ACT Tests and SAT Tests! I4C now offers free SAT and ACT vocabulary and math quizzes. Join our SAT and ACT Test Preparation program and log in as much as you'd like. Students can take practice tests on 5000 vocabulary words or over 1000 math problems. Parents and Mentors can log in to monitor your scores - including seeing which vocabulary words that were missed. Interactive quizzes allow the test taker to retake and study as much as they want.

Sign Up Here for ACT Test & SAT Test Preparation!

December Blog: Blogging for Students

Blogging for Students: Reinforcing Study through Online Engagement

Guest Blogger Ogi Djuraskovic from First Site Guide discusses how using blogs can help students see how they are improving and help retain information for exams.

App of the Month

Every month we are going to feature a different, and hopefully FREE, iPad/iPod/iPhone educational application. Visit our ever-changing app page.

The December App of the Month is Learn with Homer. This educational game helps develop young children's literacy skills through interesting activities. Kids learn about phonics, pronunciation of letter sounds, spelling, vocabulary, and more through the app. New content is loaded every week and parents can track progress from an online dashboard.

Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPad.

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS MONTH?

Here are some of the December events that you can celebrate this month:

1. Read a New Book Month - What book are you going to read this month? To help you find a new book, Scholastic has a compilation of book lists ranging over many subjects. I4C also has a collection of stories for elementary students, library resources, information on physical and virtual libraries, grade level help with reading and literature, and reading assessment practice.


2. Special Education Day (12/2) - I4C offers a whole section of Exceptional Children resources, including Special Education for the classroom, teachers, and parents. Take advantage of tools on Autism, ADHD, Gifted, and Learning Disorders.


3. 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, ratified (12/6/1865) - Today, the 13th Amendment of the Constutitution was ratified, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. I4C has resources about slavery for elementary schoolers and middle schoolers and check out this link to find Civil War resources.


4. Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (12/7/1941) - Remember the attack on Pearl Harbor in your history lessons today. From Scholastic, meet witnesses, view a timeline of the events leading up to Pearl Harbor, and find a Pearl Harbor teaching guide. Use Primary and Secondary Sources to identify conclusions based on the event. View videos, use interactive maps, and find other World War II resources for your lesson from the History Channel.


5. National Cocoa Day (12/13) - Celebrate National Cocoa Day in your classroom! We have chocolate themed activities and lesson plans, chocolate recipes, and lesson plans based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!


6. Bill of Rights Day (12/15) - The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments to the Constitution, guaranteeing our personal freedoms as U.S. citizens. Today, read the Bill of Rights on the National Archives website and find educator resources from the Bill of Rights Institute. I4C also has Bill of Rights resources like games, quizzes, and lesson plans for fourth graders and eighth graders.


7. Boston Tea Party (12/16/1773) - On this day in 1773, Sam Adams led the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians, to British Ships at port in the Boston Harbor and dumped the ships' tea into the water. Learn about the Boston Tea Party from the History Channel and check out these great resources about the Revolutionary War from Mr. Nussbaum.


8. Hanukkah (12/16-12/24) - Happy Hanukkah! Check out I4C's Hanukkah page to learn about the holiday and to find games, activities, recipies and songs to celebrate Hanukkah!


9. First Day of Winter (12/21) - Did you know that today is the shortest day of the year? Find out what causes the seasons, what animals do in the winter, and explore how the environment adapts to winter. Here are some great winter themed math worksheets for elementary school and classroom crafts and activities to use today!


10. Christmas (12/25) - Celebrate Christmas with Interent4Classrooms! Our Christmas page has fun resources like activities, crafts, recipes and even a Santa tracker!


11. Kwanzaa (12/26-1/1) - Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration, honoring African heritage and culture. Learn about Kwanzaa, its history and rituals, and find recipes, printables, and games on I4C's Kwanzaa resource page.

TEACHER RESOURCES



1. Many historical events happened this month which you can cover in your classroom. Check outI4C's History page for lesson plans, videos, activities, and other resources to supplement your lessons!


2. Be sure to check out I4C's holiday pages to find resources for your classroom! We have Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa pages for you to use!


3. This month is Read a New Book Month - what a great time to get your students interested in reading! To help your students find a new book, Scholastic has a compilation of book lists ranging over many subjects. Check out this article on how to keep your students reading over Winter Break. I4C also has a collection of stories for elementary students, library resources, information on physical and virtual libraries, grade level help with reading and literature, and reading assessment practice.


4. I4C offers a whole section of Exceptional Children resources, including Special Education for the classroom, teachers, and parents. Take advantage of tools on Autism, ADHD, Gifted, and Learning Disorders.


5. Remember to visit our Teacher Tools section! This home page contains all the topics you may need to use during the school year.


6. Go to our grade level help for lesson plans, activities, instructionals, and tools organized by grade and subject.



PARENT RESOURCES



1. This month is Read a New Book Month and is a great time to get your kids interested in reading. Here are 10 great tips to help make reading fun and Scholastic has great children's book lists and reading resources for parents!


2. Teach your children about different winter holidays and find resources for the holidays you celebrate! I4C has Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa pages!


3. On December 13th, it's National Cocoa Day! We have chocolate themed activities, chocolate recipes, and activities based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for you to do with your child!


4. Parents, check out I4C's Exceptional Children resources, including a Special Education page as well as resources on Autism, ADHD, Gifted, and Learning Disorders.


5. You can always visit our Parent Resources page to get grade level practice sites, find online sources, and information pertaining to homework, special needs, reading help, and more.


6. Don't forget our Technology Tutorial section in case you need refresher courses in your computer skills.





TECHNOLOGY TIPS



1. Save Files as PDFs - Need to send a document to someone who doesn't have Microsoft Office? Save the file as a PDF! When you save your document in Office 2010, you can change the file type to PDF. More Microsoft Office tips here.


2. Clear Your History - Delete your browsing history and cookies in Internet Explorer quickly by using this shortcut method: Ctrl + Shift + Delete. More keyboard shortcuts here.


3. Search by Reading Level - Did you know you can filter Google results by reading level? Search the term you're looking for, then press Search Tools. Click on "All results" and then on "Reading level". From there, you can choose basic, intermediate, and advanced. Find more search engine tips here.






We also have other basic instruction in Microsoft Office, including Word 2007, Excel 2007, Powerpoint 2007.





OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST



1. Resources for Educators - In this section you can find classroom resources for Exceptional Children, Smartboards, Character Education, Web 2.0 Resources and other topics.
2. Resources for Parents - Parents can find resources
   on assisting their children with homework, time management, Internet Safety, subject area resources, grade level resources and more.