From the Editor

Welcome back to school and the latest issue of VariQuest eNews! As you prepare your classroom and lessons for the days and weeks ahead, we hope that you utilize your VariQuest Visual Learning Tools to help you quickly and easily create posters, banners, manipulatives, cutouts, bulletin board displays, flashcards and labels… just to name a few! In this issue, you'll learn how to build a classroom foundation for an organized and productive year. Don't forget to nominate your school for a future School Spotlight. We love hearing the creative ways different schools use their VariQuest tools. Here's to a successful 2010-11 school year!

Teacher Feature

Leslie Barrow
Grades 9-12 Social Studies and Business Teacher
White House Heritage High School
White House, TN

Give an example of a lesson you teach that incorporates visual learning?
A: To help improve comprehension of events in time, students work in groups to complete a storyboard key of events. Storyboards are similar to a child's picture book and are best described as graphic organizers compiled of photos only. Students are responsible for creating and explaining the storyboard using only visual effects.

Who or what motivates and inspires you to be a teacher?
A: I am motivated to teach because I believe it is the one profession that allows you to directly influence a person's life. There is nothing better than seeing a young adult understand the importance of education.

What teaching strategy do you find helps your students best grasp a lesson?
A: Students learn best when they can relate the material to everyday life. For each lesson I teach, I try to find a parallel between the topic and life outside the classroom. It's all about the connection.

Name the most important thing you hope students take away from your class.
A: I want my students to comprehend the basic, essential knowledge and material for every class I teach. However, I am more concerned that they learn the respect, responsibility, and confidence needed to be a successful, productive citizen in society.

What’s your favorite quote or comment from a student?
A: "Thank you for believing in me!"

Events

Stop by the VariQuest booth at a conference near you!

Sept. 11 - Premier Impressions, an authorized VariQuest dealer, will be at the Denver Council PTSA Vendor Fair in Denver, CO

Sept. 25 - Premier Impressions will be at the Jeffco PTA Fall Leadership Conference in Lakewood, CO

Sept. 29 - Spinitar, an authorized VariQuest dealer, will be at the Effective and Efficient Collaboration in Education 2010 Conference in Fresno, CA

Stay Connected

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School Spotlight

Berkley Middle School

More than 3,100 miles across the country from Berkeley, California is Berkley, Massachusetts, where 400 students in grades 5-8 attend Berkley Middle School. The school's principal, Kimberly Hebert, and her staff utilize the VariQuest Cutout Maker and Awards Maker in fun and creative ways to engage and recognize students and colleagues. Read more.

In the News

Learning Soars in Meaningful Contexts

In Educational Leadership's online article "Candlelit Learning," ASCD author Dr. Lynell Burmark discusses the importance of creating meaningful contexts to help students learn, such as through project-based learning, internships, and career and technical education classes. Read the full article here to learn how students at Lucy Addison Middle School gain real world business skills by running their own school store using VariQuest Visual Learning Tools.

Utilize Inspiration Software with the VariQuest Poster Maker

Did you know you can use Inspiration® Software with the VariQuest Poster Maker? Optimized to work together, Inspiration Software and the VariQuest Poster Maker allow you to seamlessly enlarge, print and display Inspiration 9's Diagram, Map and Outline View documents. After creating a document using Inspiration 9, print it directly to the Poster Maker for a poster size version in seconds. Learn more at http://www.variquest.com/partners.

Kingston Springs Elementary School Receives VariQuest Donation

Congratulations to the teachers and students at Kingston Springs Elementary School in Kingston, Tennessee! Last May the school was nearly destroyed by a flood, but thanks to the help of its community, NBC's new TV show "School Pride," and education companies, the school has been renovated and is ready for students and teachers to begin the new school year. At Varitronics, we were happy to help out by donating a VariQuest Visual Learning Tools product suite to the school.

Lesson Activities from Julia

Julia is a VariQuest content specialist and former teacher.

It's time to welcome students back to school and lay your classroom foundation for a successful and productive year. The below activities will help you do just that by outlining learning center setups and  project guidelines to foster both individual and group learning. Read on!

Grades K-5

Creating Literacy Centers: Start the school year off by creating centers that deliver differentiated instruction in a social context to students, while allowing time for you, as a teacher, to meet with small groups for guided reading.

One of the keys to effective learning center instruction is to make sure that student expectations are clear during independent work time. Identify the literacy centers you will create based on your student population, some options include "Poetry Center," "Computer Center," "Listening Center," and "Reading Center." Use VariQuest Visual Learning Tools to create signs, labels and shapes that will help reinforce the expectations of each center and communicate instructions that will ensure student success and independence. Read more.

Grades 6-8

Setting up Students for Success: Students crave safety and structure at school. Establishing consistent routines at the beginning of the school year will reduce off-task and sometimes disruptive behavior throughout the year.

At the beginning of the school year, explain the procedures for classroom routines, such as how to setup a notebook or journal entry page or organize a math binder. Using visual cues will allow students to work independently and stay organized! Read more.

Grades 9-12

Student-Centered Learning: Implement learning centers in your high school classroom to foster multisensory and differentiated activities that can meet the needs of the diverse range of students' skill levels, interests and needs.

Who says that the fun and exciting learning that takes place in elementary school classrooms has to end there? Create learning centers in your high school classroom that provide both individual and cooperative learning opportunities based around clear and measurable goals. Be sure to clearly communicate the expectations of each center as well as student expectations as they work independently to ensure that students are focused on essential learning. Read more.