HAPPY RETURNS
Make sure classroom paperbacks and textbooks are returned by using inexpensive return
address labels ordered from any supplier, suggests middle school teacher Rob Nosbush of
Buffalo, Minn. He orders the labels with the message "Please return to Mr. Nosbush's
library" along with his school address and sticks one in each book. "I've had
books returned from parents, students, staff members and even the public library," he
notes.
VIDEO VIEW
As a reading teacher, it's sometimes hard to get middle schoolers to describe a setting in
a book, says Carol S. Larson of Woodstock, Ill. She has the students pretend that they are
making a video, and they are asked to describe what they would see in their video.
"This makes the conversation come alive as they describe the details of the 'set'
from the book they are reading."
ALWAYS DELIVERED
Every time a classroom newsletter is scheduled to go home, ask one student to decorate the
borders with a dark marker before you copy the original, suggests Ellen Muscato of
Larkspur, Colo. This student becomes the "artist of the week," and both parents
and students look forward to seeing the newsletters come home. Use a check-off chart to
keep track of the artists so that each student gets a turn.
