Sticky Notes!!!

Sticky notes have many uses, but the newest use is for helping students learn.  They can be used in textbooks to cover definitions or words for studying.  They can be used as place holders.  They can be used for students to write questions on as they read the text.  Sticky notes can hold example math problems to guide students in their work.  They are used as reminders, summarizing reading materials, self-monitoring comprehension, record their thoughts during readings, and make predictions.  Not surprisingly, many students find that writing the notes helps them become more engaged in the story. Struggling readers often choose to write Post-it notes on almost every page of the book.  The ideas are endless.  

Glazer, S., & Bedard, B. (2003). Sticky Situations. Teaching Pre K-8, 34(3), 90-91.

Sacks, A. (2012). Reading Fiction Whole. Education Week, 17-20.

Stormont, M. A. (2008). Increase Academic Success for Children With ADHD Using Sticky Notes and    Highlighters. Intervention In School & Clinic, 43(5), 305-308.

Free E-Textbooks!!!

Free Online Textbook Title: Human Anatomy Online: Laboratory Dissections
Free Online Textbook Description:
This free online textbook is a dissection manual that provides a means to facilitate the learning of human anatomy. The focus is on concise descriptions of steps in the dissection process and provides key illustrations. Additionally, students can access a large videodisc image gallery which serves as a guide to the various steps of dissection.
Author: SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Subjects: Health Sciences & Medical
Download URL: http://ect.downstate.edu/courseware/haonline/index.htm

Free Online Textbook Title: DNA Replication: Current Advances
Free Online Textbook Description:
This free online etextbook offers to its readers 30 chapters on current trends in the field of DNA replication. As several contributions in this textbook show, the study of DNA will continue for a while to be a leading front of scientific activities.
Author: Herve Seligmann
Subjects: Biology
Download URL: http://www.intechopen.com/books/show/title/dna-replication-current-advances

Free Online Textbook Title: Essays on Wildlife Conservation
Free Online Textbook Description:
This is a free online textbook is suitable for an introductory course on wildlife conservation. The essays within the textbook were written for college students who are not only biology majors. The textbook chapters provide an introduction to the history of wildlife in North America, biodiversity, natural selection, conservation biology, ecology, conservation legislation, alien species, wildlife and pollution, and things we can all do to save wildlife.
Author: Peter Moyle
Subjects: Earth Sciences
Download URL: http://marinebio.org/Oceans/Conservation/Moyle/
 
Free Online Textbook Title: Introduction to Photosynthesis
Free Online Textbook Description:
This free online etextbook covers the following topics: Overall Chemistry of Photosynthesis, Energetics of Photosynthesis, Solar Energy and its Utilization, Structure and Composition of the Photosynthetic Apparatus, Action Spectrum and Quantum Yield of Photosynthesis, Fluorescence and The Two Pigment Systems.
Author: E. Rabinowitch, Govindjee
Subjects: Biology
Download URL: http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/photosynBook.html

Free Online Textbook Title: The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection
Free Online Textbook Description:
This free online etextbook provides a synthesis of Darwinian selection and Mendelian genetics and marking a turning point in the development of evolutionary thought, this work is one of the most frequently cited references in modern evolutionary biology.
Author: R. A. Fisher
Subjects: Biology
Download URL: http://www.archive.org/details/geneticaltheoryo031631mbp

E-Book Experience

I used the Books App on my Android Smartphone to read a few chapters of Pride and Prejudice.  This book was already in the app.  The font was a nice size and the background light could be varied.  Turning pages just takes a swipe of my finger!  It has a read-aloud option, but it is a robotic female voice--very monotone.  I would probably never use this feature unless it was a textbook and I was multitasking.  One of the nice features is that it returns to the page you were last on once you leave and come back.  This solves the bookmark issue.

I like that I can read books on my phone.  I can read anywhere without having to remember to bring a book.  Time is valuable to me, so multitasking is my way of life.  I usually read textbooks, grade papers, do lesson plans, etc while waiting on my daughter's taekwondo lessons to end or sitting in waiting rooms.  Also, the light feature makes it possible to read in bed without disturbing my husband.

Ebooks would be very useful for today's youth because they always have their phones with them everywhere they go.  I feel the odds that they will use them are greater than the odds they would use their heavy text.  Plus it has the added benefit of not having to remember to bring it home.  It's always there already.

E-Library: The Digestive System

Digestive System E-Reading

• http://sciencepoems.net/sciencepoems/digestion.aspx  Poetry
• http://vttlitblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/digestion-poem-from-grade-5.html Poetry
• http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/body_basics/digestive_system.html Teen Health Article
• http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter26/animation__organs_of_digestion.html Animation and quiz
• http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/yrdd/ information website
• http://www.biguniverse.com/readkidsbooks/read/784/the-digestive-system ebook
• http://www.slideshare.net/federicoblanco2009/digestive-system-teacher Slide show
• http://www.ivy-rose.co.uk/HumanBody/Digestion/Digestive-System.php Body map
• http://www.edupics.com/image-digestive-system-i7892.html images
• http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/digestive/lactose_intolerance.html article w audio
• http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/digestive/ulcers.html ulcer article w audio
• http://www.digestionblog.com/ blog

New Generation Sunshine State Standards:

• SC.912.L.14.7 Relate the structure of each of the major plant organs and tissues to physiological processes.
• SC.912.L.14.46 Describe the physiology of the digestive system, including mechanical digestion, chemical digestion, absorption and the neural and hormonal mechanisms of control.