May 2015 Picks

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

May brings Physical Fitness Month, Teacher Appreciation Week, Mother's Day, 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!

May Blog: Essay Writing Guide for Students

Essay Writing Guide for Students

College and university professors emphasize academic writing as an essential skill that all successful students should obtain. Finish out the school year strong by helping students improve their essay writing skills before summer vacation begins. It may not be easy to write great papers for all students, but you can make the process easier with the help of the tools discussed in this month's blog.

App of the Month

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

The App of the Month for May is NFL Play 60. Whether or not your child is a football fan keep them active with this endless runner game brought to you by the National Football League and the American Heart Association. Characters in the app will move just as the user does while holding the device. If the user runs, jumps, or turns while holding their device their character does the same on the screen. Available for both Android and Apple devices.

Compatibility: Requires Android 4.1 and up. Requires iOS 7.0 or later.

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS MONTH?

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

1. Physical Fitness Month - Exercising is a vital part of living a healthy lifestyle. Find resources about exercise, physical education, team sports, and more on our Physical Education page. Also check out our pages about Health and Nutrition and Wellness to find more information about living a healthy lifestyle.


2. Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month - Celebrate the contributions that Asian and Pacific Americans have made to society this month! Learn about notable Asian American writers, athletes, and scientists. Find book lists, lesson plans, and student activities from Scholastic. Use primary sources in your lesson plans from the Library of Congress and the National Archives and find teacher resources from the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art here.


3. National Weather Observer's Day (5/4) - Learn about the weather in your classroom today. Find a variety of lesson plans from Discovery Education and Scholastic. Also check out our Earth Science resource page and Weather page for elementary schoolers for interactives, activities, and more.


4. Teacher Appreciation Week (5/4-5/8) - Show your appreciation to the teachers in your life this week! Find printables, crafts, and other great ways how to show your thanks on our Teacher and Staff Appreciation page.


5. Cinco de Mayo (5/5)- Happy Cinco de Mayo! Learn about the history of this holiday and facts and misconceptions about Cinco de Mayo. Find crafts, projects, and printables you can do today.


6. Mother's Day (5/10) - Celebrate your mom and show her how much you care and appreciate her today! I4C has a Mother's Day resource page, filled with crafts, activities, and printables you can incorporate into your lesson plans or use at home.


7. National Children's Book Week (5/4-10) - Celebrate Children's Book Week in your classroom! Find teacher and librarian resources for this week here. Here are some great book lists for all ages and lesson plans from Scholastic. 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.


8. Lewis and Clark Expedition Begins (5/14/1804)- Learn about the men who explored the Louisiana Purchase territory. Who were Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery? You can find Classroom Resources and Interactive maps from PBS, National Geographic, and the National Archives. Determine the influence of Lewis and Clark's expedition westward with I4C's Lewis and Clark lesson plan page.


9. Biographer's Day (5/16) - Today, learn about famous figures through reading their biographies! Find biographies for our Founding Fathers, Nobel Prize Winners, famous authors, and more on our Biography Topics page.


10. Memorial Day (5/25) - Enjoy the day off of work and school today but this Memorial Day, remember those who have died for our country. Find lesson plans, crafts, activities, and more on our Memorial Day 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. Teach your students the importance of staying active this month. We have great Physical Education resources about the muscular system, strength training, team sports, and more. Also visit ourHealth and Nutrition and Wellness pages to find more information about living a healthy lifestyle.


3. Celebrate Children's Book Week in your classroom! Here are some great book lists for all ages and lesson plans from Scholastic. 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. Check out our Mother's Day page to find crafts you can make with your students to take home and show mom, as well as fun activities and printables.


5. Memorial Day is a great day to relax before the end of the school year but remember those who have died for our country. Teach your students about why we have the day off and the meaning behind the holiday. Find lesson plans, crafts, and activities on our Memorial Day page.


6. Did you know that teachers typically spend 4 to 6 weeks re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer? Help your students retain what they learned this school year by telling them about our Free Summer Learning Program.


7. Be sure to check out I4C's collection of free educational iPhone and iPad apps!


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


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



PARENT RESOURCES



1. Don't let your kids waste time sitting on the couch! Fitness is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Check out our Physical Education page for resources about exercise, team sports, and more. Also visit our pages about Health and Nutrition and Wellness to find more information about living a healthy lifestyle.


2. Help your kids show their appreciation for their teachers this week. Find printables, crafts, and other great ways how to show your thanks on our Teacher and Staff Appreciation page.


3. Thank all the mothers and grandmothers in your life this Mothers' Day. I4C has a Mother's Day resource page, filled with crafts for kids, activities, and printables you can incorporate into your Mother's Day celebration.


4. Did you know all students experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer? Help your child remember and retain what they learned this year with I4C's Free Summer Learning Program.


5. Be sure to check out I4C's collection of free educational iPhone and iPad apps for you and your child!


6. 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.


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





TECHNOLOGY TIPS



1. Don't Forget to Restrict! Before you hand over the iPod, iPad, or iPhone to the kids, make sure you go to the General settings area and set your Restrictions - especially turning off app purchases, deleting apps, and even YouTube.


2. Free Thank You Notes: Teacher and Nurse Appreciation can bring lots of goodies. Here are some printable thank you note options to recognize those that took the time to give thanks.


3. Quickly Add the Date a Word Document - Save time while working with this little Word shortcut! To quickly add the date to a Word document, press CTRL+ALT+D. Find more keyboard shortcuts for Word.






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.