Capitalizing Titles

Sometimes we find something online, and can only ask, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Here is an instant title capitalization service. Enter your title in the box, and presto, it's correctly capitalized for you. Ingenious!

Girls Who Code: Encouraging Young Women to Study Computer Science

"Women represent 12% of all computer science graduates. In 1984, they represented 37% of all computer science graduates." This, according to Girls Who Code, an organization aimed at introducing girls to the world of computer coding. Clubs are forming around the United States.

Computer coding--creating and maintaining the blips and bleeps behind the technology (cell phone apps, computer programs, software, etc.) that we all rely on more and more each day--is a growing and lucrative field. The diminishing number of females studying in this area means that many women will be locked out of the computing career field.

This is a field with which we all should be familiar in order to participate in the career market of the future. If you have a daughter or teach female students, the Girls Who Code website is worth checking out.

Free 2014-2015 Monthly School Calendar

This simple 12-month academic calendar, with plenty of space for writing notes, is free to print here. It runs from August of 2014 through July of 2015.

Our Visitors Are Growing

We're thrilled to see the number of worldwide visitors to the site continue to grow. Today, our top countries so far are:

1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. India
6. Philippines
7. United Arab Emirates
8. Thailand
9. Pakistan
10. South Africa

To learn more about these countries, click on them!

Why Students Should Learn Cursive Writing

Time last week published an article on recent legislative overtures to require the teaching of cursive script handwriting in schools. The article lists requirements for signatures, benefits to cognition, and the ability to read important documents (such as the Declaration of Independence), among the reasons students should learn cursive in school. Writer Katy Steinmetz states, regarding historical documents: "(W)hat a travesty it is to raise Americans who would look at those documents as if they were written in hieroglyphics."

As a classroom teacher, I witnessed instruction in cursive script writing diminish as No Child Left Behind was implemented. Reasons given were that test preparation left no time for cursive. And besides, everyone will forego writing by hand in favor of computers. As a junior and senior high school history teacher, I found these reasons appalling.

Time writer Katy Steinmetz is correct in pointing out what a travesty it would be if American students could not read the Emancipation Proclamation in its original form. But there are other, more pragmatic reasons for learning cursive writing.

• People write in cursive. All around the world, people write using cursive script. These people could be future employers, coworkers, instructors, and the like. Imagine a child getting a letter in cursive that he or she cannot decipher. Imagine this child as an adult at a job, being handed a piece of paper that cannot be read because it is written in cursive. Students who do not learn cursive are at a disadvantage in the larger world of work (and life).

• Most tests and exams are still written by hand. This is why the focus on test preparation over cursive instruction was so perplexing to me. Had these anti-cursive teachers never taken a college admissions exam, or blue book test in college? Standardized tests require pen and paper, seldom offering an online typing option. Write in print, you say? I challenge anyone to start copying this article. Do a few paragraphs in print, then a few paragraphs in cursive. Which is faster? Which allows your hand to better keep pace with your brain? For the vast majority of people, the answer is cursive. Writing in cursive means writing more quickly. Additionally, you will likely find that the fluid movement means that writing in cursive causes less hand and arm strain. You not only write more quickly, but you do not tire out as easily as you do when writing in print manuscript.

No cursive means looking like a dumbie at work, and possibly receiving lower scores on written tests and exams. To elaborate on the first point--effectiveness on the job--allow me to list a few professions in which one could never succeed without cursive reading and writing skills.

• Lawyer. Lawyers must sift through mountains of documents, many handwritten in cursive. A lawyer who can't read documents is not much of a lawyer.

• Teacher. Many teachers forego cursive instruction in their classrooms, but need it themselves to read notes from parents, etc. And how could such a teacher teach, in a school where cursive writing is taught?

• Historian. As noted above, historical documents are often in cursive. Likewise, most personal letters, diaries, and private memoirs are in script. A historian who can't read history is not much of a historian.

• Police officer or detective. Again, these are careers that involve the reading of written words.

Challenge yourself. Take a week, and note each time you come into contact with cursive writing. Chances are high that it's often. Each time you see cursive writing, imagine what it would be like if it were written in an alphabet you do not know--perhaps Cyrillic or ancient Sumerian. Then ask yourself if students should be taught cursive writing in school. If your answer is yes, then you might enjoy our cursive writing practice worksheets. They're completely free to print and use. (Psst...we offer free worksheets for print manuscript handwriting practice, as well.)

Classroom Rewards Spelling Game

Here is a fun classroom rewards game that will not cost you anything.

#1 Print out two sets of these sheets. We recommend one set on white paper, and one set on colored paper. (The contrast makes it easier to see, at a glance, how much progress has been made.)

#2 Cut apart the letters on the colored sheets and place them into a bag or jar.

#3 Cut apart the whole phrases on the white sheets (such as "movie day") and place them on the board. You might want to laminate these sheets first for durability.

#4 When a child does something extraordinarily well, that child gets to pull a letter from the jar and place it over a corresponding letter on the board.

#5 When a reward has been completely spelled, the class gets to do the reward.

Benefits: (1) Free for the teacher! (2) Students get credit for individual merit. (3) All students ultimately benefit, and therefore are predisposed to encourage their classmates to do well and earn letters.

Tip: Don't like a reward? Leave it out! You don't have to use all of them.

Click here to print and for complete instructions and tips.

Centurion (2010)

Written and directed by Neil Marshall, Centurion seizes upon the legend of Rome's Ninth Legion, believed for centuries to have been lost to the Picts of ancient Scotland. The story begins with the decimation of the Ninth Legion, then follows a small group of Roman survivors as they try to escape their native enemies. The big problem for history teachers is that there is no evidence for any of this. On the contrary, archaeologists working in Germany have discovered evidence of the Ninth Legion along the Rhine River years after this story, indicating that the legion was relocated rather than wiped out. Continue reading...