Extra Credit: Goodies for the Teacher and Student

Credit: Thinking Reader

Thinking Reader

$250 per title
www.tomsnyder.com [1]

Do some of your students struggle while the rest of the class breezes through My Brother Sam Is Dead or The Giver? Thinking Reader can help them develop skills for their grade level. Teachers set the instruction level for each student, who then read electronic text of core literature titles -- nine books have been adapted so far -- at their level. Along the way, embedded prompts ask readers what they recall or infer from the story, while "agents" check with users if any parts are confusing. They can click on unknown words to learn vocabulary, and Spanish translations are handy, too. Both students and teachers can track progress with a work log, which keeps a record of student responses to quizzes and prompts throughout the journey. Thinking Reader presents a smart and interactive approach to reading comprehension.

Credit: Bill Duke

Power Politics III

Kellogg Creek Software; 2004
version free, Historical/Fantasy
version and one-year
subscription $30
www.powerpolitics.us [2]

Just in time for Election Day comes Power Politics. If you re-created the 2004 election, could you outmaneuver the Bush administration and help Kerry take Ohio? Your students assume the role of campaign managers for real-life candidates -- historical and future. The Candidate Creator feature (available with subscription) even allows them to build their own candidates, while a new simulation will set up a race featuring U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as a 2008 presidential nominee. No word whether there's a mud-slinging feature.

Credit: Bill Duke

BrainPOP

home/family access $79,
unlimited school access $850,
school and home access
$1,350 (one-year subscriptions)
www.brainpop.com [3]

Though its bright colors alone stimulate a sleepy mind, the site overall is a refreshing learning tool. Ask on-screen hosts Tim and Moby anything: Who were the Sumerians? How do I write the dreaded five-paragraph essay on Of Mice and Men? Enjoy mini-movie lessons on probability, the Pax Romana, the difficult writing lesson of "show, don't tell" -- you name it. Enhanced with easy-to-read maps, illustrations, and definitions, cartoon clips on hundreds of topics introduce them clearly in a conversational, engaging tone.

Credit: Bill Duke

Focus on Early Childhood Education

www.hel-earlyed.org [4]

For the little guys (and gals). The Harvard Education Letter's free online resource is a one-stop spot for articles and links to the latest research on early childhood education, highlighting trends and best practices in learning environments ranging from preschools to third-grade classrooms. From a call for changes to ECE to an analysis of standardized testing in preschools, the new site is a launching pad for educators and parents alike to ensure that the youngest students get that head start they deserve.

Credit: Bill Duke

The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life

By Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens; $25;
Jossey-Bass (368 pages)
www.josseybass.com [5]

Here's a startling fact: Eighty percent of high school dropouts aremale. It doesn't have to be that way, though. The authors urge parents and educators not to brush these boys' social and emotional difficulties aside with quick fixes. Combining step-bystep guidance with gender-based brain science, the text explores the environments in which boys flourish, and how they learn differently from their female classmates.