Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
---April 2005 Edition--- (current subscribers: 14,804)-
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News and updates to http://brains.org and Kathie Nunley's
Layered Curriculum (tm) Site for Educators: http://help4teachers.com

Newsletter subscription available at: http://help4teachers.com/newsletter.htm
UNSUBSCRIBE & email change information/link at the bottom of this newsletter

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SECTION ONE: Teaching Tips -
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Teaching Tip #1: In teaching 8th grade World History 5 times a day, I often
find myself answering the same questions over and over - especially the
"What did I miss?" question from students who were absent. I have
created a "What Did I Miss?" board on a cabinet in my classroom.
I have listed each day of the nine weeks on a separate index card.
I write what the class and home work was for that day. If I gave out
a worksheet that day, I write the students name on the worksheet
and place it in an "Assignments Missed" folder next to the board.
The students know to check this first before seeing me for any
clarification. Button Smith, Pizitz M.S., Vestavia Hills, AL.


Teaching Tip # 2: Put something informative or educational (like a current
event) on the clipboard you use as a hall pass. Students are usually
isolated as they use the hall pass and may actually read something!

Teaching Tip #3: Mount a toilet paper dispenser on the side of your
desk (teacher's desk). Use this instead of Kleenex. It's less costly
and lasts longer. No name, Michigan.

Send your favorite teaching tip to: kathie@brains.org

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SECTION TWO: Hot Topics
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HOT TOPIC #1. Researchers in New South Wales have investigated
the relationship between severe head trauma and an impairment of
theory of mind. (Theory of Mind is the ability to understand the
perspective of other people. For example one of the big differences
between persons with Autism and Asperger's is that those with Autism
really struggle with theory of mind tasks). These researchers found that
people who had sustained serious brain trauma did struggle with theory
of mind and other tasks that require making inferences. This, in
addition to working memory limitations associated with TBI and linguistic
problems leads to poor performance on a multitude of tasks.
Bibby, H. & McDonald, S. (2005). Neuropsychologia, Vol 43(1), 99-114.

HOT TOPIC #2: From Beijing, China we see an interesting study looking
at the different responses to the use of methylphenidate (brand name,
Ritalin) for ADHD and a very specific gene. Some children respond well to
Ritalin for inattention, some for impulsivity and some for both. What these
researcher found is that those children who responded well to Ritalin for
impulsivity were also children who have a very specific version of the gene
responsible for norepinephrine transport. So the inattention and impulsivity
components to ADHD may come from separate genetic factors.
Yang, L. et al (2004). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent
Psychiatry. Vol 43(9), 1154-1158.

HOT TOPIC #3: A recent Greek study looked at verbal memory and recall
times for children with and without ADHD. Their subjects were school
children 7 - 11 years old. They gave them numbers and phrases to be
learned for later recall. While both the children with ADHD and those without
scored equally well on accuracy when later tested, the ADHD children took
a significantly longer time to recall their answers and a much longer time
to articulate them. Kourakis, L. et al (2004). Developmental
Neuropsychology. Vol 26(2), 565-570.

More Hot Topics at the websites!

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SECTION THREE: What's new at the Websites
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**** New Layered Curriculum Units
The new elementary units are now posted. I'm sorry that many of you were looking
for them last month and couldn't find them. We had a technical glitch which is now fixed.
You will find the new ones including, If you Gave a Mouse a Cookie, Flat Stanley,
The Cay, and Chasing Redbird.

**** BRAINS.org Shop
This month's bestsellers are the new paperback version of Shaywitz's
"Overcoming Dyslexia," 101 Stunts for Principals by Sennett and Sylwester's
new "How to Explain A Brain". You'll find an assortment of my recommended
reading as well as my books, "A Student's Brain" and "Layered Curriculum"
at the shop. http://brains.org/store/

**** Newsletter: If your ISP is filtering your mail and you get this
newsletter only sporadically because of it, you can always read the
latest version online at: http://www.nunley.blogspot.com/

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SECTION FOUR: Kathie's Email
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Dear Kathie,
I was wondering if you pretest students at the beginning of each unit
or if students are able to test out of the layer C work? --Diane, Wisconsin.

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Hi Diane,
Personally I never felt the need to pretest my students, but that is certainly
something you may want to do with some populations if you are unsure
of their current level. I don't like to see students ever "test out" of the
entire C layer as that layer is designed to add to a student's bank of
knowledge and I've never met a person who knows all there is to know about
a topic. Even very bright students can learn some new basic material. - Kathie

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Dear Kathie,
I've been reading a lot on the brain and am interested if there is any new research
that investigates how watching television can affect how our children's brains
are wiring. Also, has this been extended from television to computer usage
in young children? What about all the new "baby Einstein" videos for infants?
A concerned parent and educator, K. S.

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Dear K.S.
Yes, in the last few years we have seen a lot of new research on the effects
of TV and other video on the brain. There has been so much in fact, that
as of a year ago the American Pediatric Association is now advising parents
that children under the age of 2 should have no TV. None whatsoever, and yes,
that includes those videos designed specifically for babies. You may want to
look at their research. You'll find some of the original research in
Christakis, et al (2004). Pediatrics, Vol 113(4), 708-713.

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SECTION FIVE: Workshops/calendar schedule/misc
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I know a lot of you are coming back from Spring break, and many of you
are already into your final term of the school year. Please enjoy the seasons
changing wherever you may be. I hope you didn't get too fooled for April fool's day
today. Don't forget also to change your clocks back this Sunday here in most
of the US or you'll be fooled for sure on Monday morning.

I have just finished the manuscript for my new book on differentiating high school
classrooms so I am feeling quite free and lighter this week. The book will be
published under Corwin Press and hopefully will be available in early 2006. I'll
keep you posted.

I'm heading down to sunny Florida next week to do some work with the teachers
in Miami. After that I'll be in central Pennsylvania and then up in Ontario Canada
for a couple of days working with teachers and administrators in the Prince
Edward School District.

I am starting to open up my 2006 calendar this week. I am very limited on spots
however, so I'm going to have to limit trips to schools and conferences within
50 miles of a commercial airport. If that won't work for your school, remember
there are several licensed Layered Curriculum trainers now around North American
who may be able to help you. Email me if you need help with that. We also have
video training packages which allow you to train your teachers at your convenience.

If you'd like to see when I'll be in your region, you can check my calendar on line at:
http://help4teachers.com/calendar.htm

As usual, my best to you and yours,

Kathie
=================================================

Dr. Kathie F. Nunley
http://help4teachers.com
http://brains.org
Layered Curriculum (tm) - because every student deserves a special education (tm)
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Workshop information is available at the website
http://help4teachers.com/workshops.htm
or
call: 603-249-9521
email: kathie@brains.org
Brains.org and Help4Teachers is located at:
54 Ponemah Road
Amherst, NH 03031
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- posted by Kathie @ 11:49 AM