TCI eNews

Back to School Tips: Organizing Materials, Make and Take, and More

Hate to admit you have the back to school blues? We all know making the transition from vacation to work is a hard one. Never fear...TCI is here. We're easing you into the school year by providing some back to school tips.

We hope you find these tips helpful. Better yet, we would love to learn your tricks of the trade. Please post your tips on one of our discussion groups. Your ideas and best practices will help other teachers. After all, we are all in this together. Here's to a successful school year!

Getting the Most out of Parents' Night

It's important to nail Parents' Night. Why, you may wonder? Well, think of Parents' Night as an opportunity to recruit the parents as your partners. Show them how your class is different, why they should care, and how they can help their children be successful. Here are some ideas how:

Visit our Breaking News section for a more in-depth look into preparing for Parents' Night.

Bert's Blog: Creating a Cooperative and Tolerant Classroom

In his latest blog, Bert reflects on how he starts out each new academic year. Officially he'll tell you that the goal is to promote a cooperative and tolerant classroom right off the bat. Unofficially, Bert reveals how he deviously creates a positive classroom environment. Yes...that's right. Our fearless leader has a devious streak in him. Read his technique and decide what you think. Bert asks, "Does my method seem too draconian? If so, what alternatives have worked for you to immediately and effectively create a positive classroom environment where students feel safe because they know you are indisputably in charge of the learning process?" Join in the conversation and share your insights. Bert wants to hear from YOU!

Developer Spotlight: Nicole Boylan, a Face Behind History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals

Over the past 18 years, you've heard us say that TCI's programs are "by teachers, for teachers." To prove our point, we thought we'd take you behind the scenes to meet one of the teachers behind History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals. Meet Nicole Boylan. Nicole started out as a TCI Trainer before signing on as a full-time curriculum developer in November 2005. Before joining TCI, Nicole taught high school U.S. history, world history, and government in Detroit, Chicago, and Nashville.

Nicole's role is to create lessons that correspond to the chapters in the Student Edition. She developed ten lessons that incorporate rich primary sources like political cartoons from the Imperialist Era, President Warren Harding's campaign song, testimony from the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, World War II's "Rosie the Riveter" song, and eyewitness accounts of the attacks of September 11th.

Nicole's favorite lesson to create was Chapter 42: Rebelling Against Conformity. In this Experiential Exercise, students "visit" three venues from the 1950's. In a Beatnik coffee house, students learn Beatnik slang and listen to a poetry reading by Jack Kerouac. They then attend a high school sock-hop where they learn to dance the hand-jive. Finally, they view paintings from artists like Jackson Pollack and Helen Frankenthaler at an abstract Expressionist art exhibit. The lesson concludes with a Processing where students answer the essential question by writing a Beatnik poem, composing a song, or creating an abstract painting.

Students agree that this Experiential Exercise is a powerful lesson - creating a deeper understanding of the content they read in Chapter 42.

A big thank you to Nicole Boylan and the rest of the team for their hard work in creating History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals.

Meet us at Fall Professional Conferences

Our trainers are already packing their bags in anticipation of visiting some exciting locations this fall. First on the itinerary is Kentucky to kick off the fall professional conference season. We'll be in the full swing of things come October, with professional conferences in: Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. We are excited for November. We'll be in New Jersey (specifically Atlantic City)! And of course the biggest professional conference of all, NCSS, will be held November 30-December 2 in San Diego, California.

Please visit our Events page for more details on where you can find us. We can't wait to see you.

For ordering information, call 800-497-6138, ext. 0 or visit the TCI Store.

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