TCR Connections for Kids

Welcome to the next generation of on-line learning!

TCR is proud to announce an exciting expansion of our acclaimed Internet-delivered curriculum ... Connections for Kids!

Building on TCR Connections for middle and high schools, TCR Connections for Kids helps elementary educators improve student learning by connecting:

• Classroom topics to the real world

• Reading and writing across all subjects

• Information technology with learning standards

• Staff development using technology with best instructional practices

• Core content with critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills

• School learning to home learning

Program Overview

At the heart of the program is a bank of interactive student activities and corresponding lesson plans organized around high-interest subjects and themes. Designed for Independent readers (level 2-5), these activities link to corresponding lesson plans with guidelines for use as teacher-guided activities with Early Readers (levels K-2).

The TCR Connections for Kids menu was designed in a kid-friendly way to reflect the way elementary students think about topics.

Internet-delivered to the school and home, TCR's student activities develop content-area reading, writing and critical thinking skills in all subject areas ... skills that will help students both in school and in life!

Student View

High-interest activities feature:

• A kid-friendly interface with colorful icons and easy-to-understand vocabulary. Categories selected to complement classroom topics, themes and state/local curriculum frameworks.

• Focus on real-world essential questions that show the true importance of each topic

• Links to primary sources and children's publications

• Only authenticated content from reliable sources and related web sites, providing "safe and efficient" Internet use

• An advertising-free learning zone ... no commercial content!

• Support for multiple assessment models, including:

  • Standards-based assessment: all student activities are aligned with state standards

  • Criterion-referenced assessment: "self-checks" on vocabulary and comprehension skills targeted on state assessments

  • Standardized assessment: "self-checks" give students experience with common standardized testing formats using both open and closed items.

  • Project-based: all activities require students to apply/demonstrate skills and knowledge in a real-world context, using on-line performance rubrics

• A kid-friendly step-by-step process for information literacy development ... START - READ - COLLECT - SHOW - SHARE

Teacher View

Complete lesson plans corresponding to each on-line student activity help teachers link Internet technology with the daily curriculum:

• Correlations to state and national learning standards

• Guidelines for using as teacher-guided activities with Early Readers (K-2)

Parent View

Home access via the Internet provides new opportunities for involving parents in the educational process. This is achieved by:

• Introducing parents to the problem-solving process students need to learn to use the Internet effectively with their children

• Offering guidelines for helping children with homework

KidsPage Search

All activities and lesson plans draw from the SchoolMate KidsPage collection:

• Thousands of articles from kids' sections of newspapers and publications for young readers, such as Calliope, Cobblestone, Highlights for Children, Monkeyshines, Weekly Reader, Scholastic News and World Almanac for Kids

• A kid-friendly interface that guides students through over 200 topics

• Flexible keyword searching for intermediate-level researchers

NewsBank ToolKit

The NewsBank ToolKit is a bank of interactive graphic organizers ideal for developing reading comprehension and writing skills.