No: 228
31
7
2017
TRILOBITES the Greatest Survivors in Earth's History
by CATHY BROWN

Hello Everyone
I love the above quote, not sure who first said it, but sometimes this is just what I want to do.

I have just finished a major overall of the Virtual Teacher site. Updating all the links and adding some extras. I hope you love it. Let me know if you find anything that doesn't work.

Michael Moore's video is a must see video about Finnish Schools. They don't do testing like our Naplan. And they do way better than us.
The annual approx $100m(from some sources) cost of conducting NAPLAN could be better spent.

In physics, the observer effect is the fact that simply observing a situation or phenomenon necessarily changes that phenomenon. Continuous testing of kids changes the way kids approach learning, kills enthusiasm and bores them to tears. NAPLAN needs to go, let's spend the money on making learning fabulous and kids happy.
To support VT it costs just $10.00 per year. Thanks in advance it helps a lot and covers the cost of hosting and distribution of the newsletter. AND I will send you the FREE Link to the 4BIG IDEAS ebook. Take a look at some of the pages here.
To become a VT supporter. Just click on this link & support VT.

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Have a great break, this is the last newsletter for this year. Have a great holiday.
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ciao

Cathy

Mind Candy
This is a fabulous video about the country with the best educational results in the world. well worth watching and discussing in a staff meeting.
What schools Don't Teach - Watch Video 5.36min. Some great reasons to teach coding if you are not already convinced.

26 FREE FONTS FOR TEACHERS
Here's one of my favourites. a nice relaxed style. You can download them for free. They are from TEACHJUNKIE

TRILOBITES the Greatest Survivors in Earth's History
Trilobites have survived for 50% of the time life has existed on earth. They lived for 300million years, dinosaurs lived for 175million years, the first modern humans evolved about 200,000 years ago. They were the first dominate life form on the earth.
We had a great time examining trilobites. We managed to get some samples from the local university. The kids researched 5 -10 facts that they thought were amazing and presented these to the class, some did an infographic, others stop-frame animation and others a Kahoots quiz etc. They drew also drew trilobites which were amazing.

Rare Fossils of Ancient Trilobites - Great Video

10 Terrific Facts About Trilobites
Great Fossil Images at the Plant Fossil Gallery, Animal Fossil Gallery
What is a Fossil?
Earth Facts - Fossils Enjoy these fun fossil facts for kids. Children will learn how fossils are formed, what the words paleontology and petrification mean, how we know so much about the dinosaurs and much more.
The word Trilobite means “three lobes”, and Trilobites are
a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods(like ants, spider, lobsters, prawns and most insects). Trilobites form one of the earliest known groups of arthropods.

The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record is in the Early Cambrian period (521 million years ago), and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era.
The trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, roaming the oceans for over 270 million years.

About Trilobites Word Doc.
Geological Time Scales
Clock with Trilobite Timeframe compared to other animals like humans and dinosaurs.
Some Trilobite biscuits - I don't think they will be the greatest survivors on earth.

Making Sound MAGIC

In Hollywood, everything is magic and make-believe, even sounds. When you watch a film that immerses you completely in its world, you’re probably hearing the work of sound artists.
Take a look at this great video.

The Magic of Making Sound | That's Amazing

What are Foley Effects?
Research sound effects on the internet.
Select 6 images, or make 6 photographs and create a sound effect for each of them.
Import them into iMovie and add the sound effects to each image.

Rubbing up against ART
Artist research, try out, experiment and discover, so this activity was a fabulous introduction to texture.
We used an A4 sheet of photocopy paper folded into 8.
This fits perfectly onto a standard sized piece of art paper(what luck) leaving room for headings and descriptions.

Then went out into the playground and found 8 different textures to use as rubbings. We experimented with graphic, black crayon and metallic crayons.
THE KIDS LOVED THE ACTIVITY
Then each rubbing was cut out and glued onto a sheet of art paper and labelled.
Here are the results.
I do answer all emails so send them along with your questions ideas and great sites.
Hi Cathy
Thank you for the awesome resources you've shared here: ( http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/disasters.html ) ! I'm very grateful for your work to try to keep your community safe. I'm putting together material for our local workshops on disaster safety, and I feel like I've found a kindred spirit by way of your page :)
Here are some other pieces I've found extremely useful, which you might be interested in as well:
CDC Guide to Extreme Heat
Disaster Preparedness at Home: Filter Out the Damage
Disaster Prep & Self Storage - What You Need to Know
PA DMV Emergency Driving Tips
Emergency Preparedness for Seniors & the Disabled
Humane Society - Protect Your Pets
Disaster Safety for Renters
Ready for Anything: First Aid for Pets
Please do keep up the great work!
Saran Brian
Thespringfieldlibrary.org
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for this I will include them in the next newsletter. Glad you like the resource but you are not subscribed to the newsletter - so I have subscribed hope that's OK.

ciao
Cathy
Hi Cathy
When the stress of life got overwhelming, I used to just clear my head and stare up at the stars...
...Until my inner science nerd wouldn’t stop asking questions. Which constellation is that? Is that bright one a star or a planet? Which part of the sky is Mars in?
It seemed like the perfect chance to dip my toes into astronomy—and it’s been one of the best hobbies I’ve ever picked up! I’ve even managed to recruit a few fellow stargazers in my wife and kids, and it’s brought us closer than ever before.
I’d love to inspire others to embrace astronomy, but a guy can only do so much social media posting. I thought your site seemed like a great place to share some of the cool resources I’ve found in my endeavor—any chance you’d add them here: http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/astrophysics.html?
Astronomy at Home: A Guide for Exploring Outer Space from Your Backyard
Urban astronomy 101: Stargazing for beginners
Spot the International Space Station
Ten tips to minimise light pollution
Useful Filters For Viewing Deep-Sky Objects
What to Bring for a Night of Stargazing: The Ultimate Guide
There’s something kind of cool about realizing we’re all just tiny little specks of stardust—it certainly gives you perspective!
Cheers,
Michael
Michael Bourke | beaker@scicamps.org
http://scicamps.org/

Thanks for the resources Michael some great ideas for the amateur astronomer.
ciao Cathy
Hi Cathy,
I came across a broken link on one of your pages and thought you’d want to know.
It’s this page - http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/classroom/mouse.html and the broken link is the Internet Society page covering the history of the Internet (http://www.isoc.org/internet-history/brief.html).
A colleague of mine has written a similar ‘brief history of the Internet’ -https://www.comparitech.com/internet-providers/a-brief-history-of-the-internet/ that could be a good replacement.
Perhaps you could update your page with a link to us instead?
Thanks,
Anthony
Hi Anthony,
I don't upgrade the archival part of the site but I liked your link, very comprehensive, so I will include it in the next newsletter and on the science page of my site.
Thanks for the link.
ciao

Cathy
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The opinions expressed here are purely those of the editor, Cathy Brown. All other small print clauses apply. Such as: Use at your own risk. Nothing in life is guaranteed. If it doesn't work for you send an email or tweet me.
Editor: Cathy Brown cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
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