Teacher Gail Hennessey

Gail Hennessey has been teaching sixth-grade social studies for 31 years at Harpursville Central School in Harpursville, New York. She was named the National Council for the Social Studies 1988 Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year and the New York State Council for the Social Studies 1988 Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year.

Gail's social studies classes include cross-curricular topics in art, music and language arts as well as wireless technology. She is also the author of "Will the Real Paul Revere Please Stand Up?" (and 14 other biographical plays) published by Scholastic. Gail writes often for publications for children and teachers. You can contact Gail at http://www.gailhennessey.com.

Tips From Scholastic Teachers

I use Scholastic News Online in my classroom as an extension of the magazines, but also as a source of stand-alone computer activities, to teach computer skills, writing, and researching. I have developed my own structure for this, called "Scholastic Searching Safari."

I usually have students work in groups of two or three. I distribute a hand out of the "Scholastic Searching Safari" activity. Using computers, I then have the groups of students search for the answers to the different questions and in so doing become familiarized with all the different aspects of the Web.

Read a lesson.

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