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eNews

2009 October Edition


TCI eNews
October 2009

In this issue:

  1. Rejuvenate Yourself with Great Ideas
  2. TCI Blog: A Tale of Two Schools: Really So Far Apart?
  3. Spotlight on TCI in the Classroom
  4. Join Us at the NCSS Annual Conference in Atlanta
  5. Teacher-to-Teacher Tip: Social Studies Skill Builder
  6. Attend a Free TCI Webinar
  7. Create a TCI Tech Revolution in Your Classroom

Rejuvenate Yourself with Great Ideas

Fall conference season is in full swing. These events provide wonderful opportunities to network with peers, exchange best practices, and reinvigorate your teaching! What are some inspiring conferences you've been to in the past, and what great ideas did you take away with you? Share with your colleagues on the Discussion Groups.

Elementary School Middle School High School Classroom Technology

TCI Blog: A Tale of Two Schools: Really So Far Apart?
In the latest TCI Blog, Bert Bower, TCI's CEO and founder, talks about his recent experiences teaching at two different schools -- one an inner-city school with substandard facilities, the other a suburban school with beautiful buildings and modern amenities. Bert asks, "Which do you think has a greater impact on your teaching: the socioeconomic setting of your school or the individual 'personalities' of your classes?" Join in the discussion.

Spotlight on TCI in the Classroom
Our 2009-2010 catalog is now available. The catalog includes complete information on all of TCI's programs for elementary, middle, and high school, including details and pricing of our new technology products -- TeachTCI and LearnTCI. Here's how you can get your copy:When a teacher who's passionate about world history teaches TCI's History Alive! The Ancient World curriculum, the result is an exciting, interactive, engaging classroom. Chris Corcoran has been teaching for nearly 20 years, and instilling a lifetime interest in learning is his goal. In his classroom at the Del Dayo school in Carmichael, California, he's making learning world history fun with the hands-on History Alive! program. Students interact in pairs, groups, and with the entire class to examine and reflect on historical topics.

For more photos of Chris's classroom in action, check out his webpage at http://www.sanjuan.edu/webpages/ckcorcoran/inservice.cfm.

Join Us at the NCSS Annual Conference in Atlanta
We're heading to Georgia for a dose of southern hospitality! We hope to see you at the 89th Annual NCSS Conference, November 12-14, 2009.

Let's do lunch! Be TCI's guest for lunch at the Omni CNN on November 13 or 14. Bert Bower, TCI's founder and CEO, will showcase our new cutting-edge technology, TeachTCI and LearnTCI. Have you heard the cries across the nation of "Wow" and "Yippee!" and "I love social studies class!"? You guessed it -- those shouts of glee are from teachers and students who have discovered TCI's new online technology. Come see what all the fuss is about.

Both lunches require an RSVP to attend. Please call us today at 800-497-6138, ext. 0 to save a seat.

We'll also be presenting two preconference clinics on November 12th: Reading and Writing for Understanding in the Elementary Classrooms and Making Social Studies Dynamic for High School Learners.

For a complete listing of TCI's events and lunches at this year's NCSS conference, please visit our website events page.

Teacher-to-Teacher Tip: Social Studies Skill Builder
We love the Social Studies Skill Builder strategy for its effectiveness at teaching students new skills like mapping, categorizing, and graphing. Students work in pairs to repeat the new skill again and again because, well, practice makes perfect.

But what if not every pair has time to visit each station in a Social Studies Skill Builder? Here are some ideas for ensuring that all students are exposed to the historical content in the activity:

  • Have pairs become station or placard "experts." If a pair has completed all or most of their lesson, place those two students at a station or placard and ask them to share information with their classmates. Have other students circulate among the stations to gather information from the experts.
  • Set up a "New York Stock Exchange." Have pairs mingle around the classroom. One partner shouts the name of the placard or station about which they need information while the other shouts the name of the placard or station about which they can give information. When students find another pair that can help them, they go to the side of the room and share information. Too loud for you? Try a "secret" version of the activity in which pairs must whisper.

Attend a Free TCI Webinar
At TCI, we love technology and its ability to bring us closer together. Technology enables us to bring a TCI training to you at work, home, or your favorite WiFi coffee shop using online webinar software. You can think of a webinar as an online class. All you need to participate is a computer with Internet access, a phone, and a desire to learn.

At a TCI webinar, you can discover more about our technology and print programs, get a sneak peek at what we're developing, and exchange best practices with other educators. Check out our complete fall schedule at www.teachtci.com/tci-webinars.

Create a TCI Tech Revolution in Your Classroom
Teachers around the nation are singing (and yes, sometimes shouting) the praises of TeachTCI and LearnTCI, our new online technology.

Using TeachTCI online technology, you can plan, present, and manage your TCI lessons, all in one place. We think it's a revolution in teaching! LearnTCI is our online student technology and is available for upper elementary and high school students. On LearnTCI, students read their text online and test their comprehension in fun and engaging Reading Challenges.

We suspect that you're eager to use TeachTCI and LearnTCI, and we want to make it easier for you. For every 30 TCI Student Editions or LearnTCI subscriptions you purchase between October 1 and December 1, 2009, you'll receive a free TeachTCI subscription.

There is some fine print about how to place your order and when we need to receive it, so if you're interested, please contact us at 800-497-6138 or info@teachtci.com. If you want to know more about our new technology, visit www.teachtci.com/tci-approach/technology.html.

Take advantage of our offer, and we think you'll soon be singing TeachTCI and LearnTCI's praises, too!

For ordering information, call 800-497-6138, ext. 0 or visit the TCI Store.

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