Welcome back to school!  Let us know how we can help as you use your PWImpact! books, and make sure send your questions and comments via the message board.

We stand ready to help! 

Yes, we provide pacing guides for PWImpact!  We have guides available for 20, 45, and 90 minute blocks of time. Perfect for summer school, after school, and block scheduling.....

Are there others that you might need? Let us know and we will create them!

Happy Summer!

Some of you will get a well-deserved rest, and we hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Others are back at it already, helping young people reach their goals in summer school.

Remember!  We're always here!      If you have questions or suggestions, post them here or call our office for assistance.  Make use of the professional development modules on Impact Integrity on our website, too. Each section of the ^PWImpact! books has its own module to help you deliver the most effective instruction to students. 

What has worked for you and your students this year in using the ^PWImpact! materials?

What would you like to see added or deleted from the books?

What topics are hot right now (we're getting ready to write Book 7!)?

Let's hear your experiences and your suggestions!

YES!  Each question is tied to a specific standard and the pattern is consistent throughout each PWImpact! unit. 

For example, in the Technical Extensions.....

Questions 1 and 2 are always vocabulary questions.

Question 3 requires students to draw conclusions.

Question 4 asks students to identify relevant details.

Question 5 requires students to identify patterns of organization.

Question 6 allows students to determine the main idea of the reading.

Question 7 identifies cause and effect relationships.

Question 8 has students A***yze the text to find similar/dissimilar elements and compare/contrast.

Question 9 asks students to check the validity and accuracy of information.

Question 10 requires students to apply evaluative criteria and summarize.

Question 11 takes students to the highest level of thinking where they synthesize information to draw conclusions.

Question 12 is a short answer question that incorporates one or more of the above standards.

^{We heard you!}

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5. Participation in the PWImpact! Buying Consortium to reduce cost of any additional materials purchased during the school year by 25%

Contact us now to be a part of this innovative, cost-effective, supported group!

   We're on Facebook!  Join the ^PWImpact! fan page and keep up with the latest news in teen literacy.  Jump on the discussion board and share your experiences in the classroom with the books.  Bring your friends with you!

Thanks for posting this list....I'm sending it on to our writers for future books!

If you are on Facebook, join our Fan Page (PWImpact!) and keep track of our news there, too!

I have some ideas for upcoming Impact books.

1. "extreme" sports entered in the Olympics (snowboarding, etc) or the process by which certain sports are accepted in the Olympics- such as, is there a movement to get skateboarding or surfing in the upcoming games?

2. Children's beauty pageants! There are numerous shows on TV now and a lot of discussion as to whether or not these pageants harm girl's self esteem

3. How life is for bands on the road touring

4. The pros and cons of a vegetarian lifestyle (a lot of kids experiment with this in high school)

5. pros and cons for uniforms in public schools

6. What about unusual scholarships available to students who are applying to college?

7. The earthquake in Haiti and perhaps from the perspective of a Haitian teenager

We will soon be planning Book 7!

                  So, what topics are hot with your students right now?

 One way to keep kids engaged is to put interesting material in front of them, and we need your help to tap into those subjects. 

Post your ideas NOW!

Our writers at ^PWImpact! pay attention to comments from the front lines in the classrooms. We were asked to increase the difficulty of the material to better mirror the FCAT.

 ".......the best article that the students have read in preparation for the FCAT has been the one that they just read, "Michael Vick."  Not only did it assist the students with endurance, but she also noted that the selections are increasing in difficulty. "

Keep those comments coming!

^{Teachers know their students better than anyone else in the educational setting. If a class lacks enough background knowledge to even begin  begin a discussion on the topic of a unit, start where they are. You can apply an image they will understand, such as football, gangs, etc and then extend the concepts into those of the unit.}

^{You may also skip around within the units to meet your needs. Interpreting the Data often contains interesting trivia that might catch student attention,so begin there if necessary. Then backtrack to the high interest article after your students have learned some of the new vocabulary during the discussion of the trivia.}

^{Watch for new professional developement components on ImpactIntegrity to deal with specific student demographics and extending background knowledge.  Let us know what YOU need to reach your students, and we will design activities for you!}

Did you know that the PWImpact! website offers numerous professional development modules to help you use the curriculum in your classrooms?

The modules are self-paced and cover topics like

• how to use the Reading Instructional Guides
• why the Interpreting the Facts section is so important to helping your students improve their test scores
• Discussing ethical issues in the classroom
• how to use ^PWImpact! with Tier 2 instruction
• connecting to the Vocational Extension and Ethical Dilemma

Check them out! (If you find that you need access, let us know.)

Did you know that Book 5 offers these topics?

• Plaxico Burress: Victim or Criminal?
• Is It Love or Abuse?: Rihanna and Chris Brown
• CSI
• Addict: The story of Josh Hamilton, major league baseball player
• Female Athletes
• Band for the Ages: The Eagles, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi
• Technology in Sports
• Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew: Helping or Hurting?     
• Street Racing
• Going Green: Environmentalism

The first step to getting teens to read is to grab their attention. Would these topics do it for your students? 

Let us know if there are current topics you would like us to add to future editions of ^PWImpact!