Planets - acrostic poem

research project on the planets with second graders ... . The end product was an acrostic poem on one of the planets... a webquest format for their research ... : it's here online

Debunking the Myth about Girls and Math

The myth that girls aren’t good at math must be put to rest—otherwise it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, says a new report.

Many people still hold the belief that females intrinsically have less aptitude than males to excel in math at the very highest levels. Even former Harvard University President Lawrence Summers gave credence to this notion in 2005, suggesting that it might explain the shortage of women mathematicians among the tenured faculty of elite American research universities. more » » »

Philly Event to Consider News Literacy

As Americans continue to lose faith in the fourth estate, Temple University’s Media Education Lab hopes to bring some thoughtful engagement to the topic—especially for those who work with our youngest citizens.For three days this week, Oct. 23–25, educators, journalists, researchers, and all those interested are invited to Philadelphia for “Rebooting the News: Reconsidering an Agenda for American Civic Education.” The goal? To finds ways to bring young people back into a civic mindset—helping them learn how to navigate the news in ways that make them feel more connected to their world. read more...

Patnership Lists Geography as a Critical 21st Century skill

[Via mywonderfulworld]

A report from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills addresses the need for new competencies among American students, highlighting geography and geographic themes such as global awareness, social and cross-cultural skills, and civic literacy. The Partnership proposes a solution with (surprise, surprise) educational reform.

Songs for teaching

http://songsforteaching.com/

"The Definitive Source for Educational Music"

Resources for Halloween

Looking for lesson plans and resources for Halloween? I've just put together a page for you. You can check it out here. http://www.consultpivotal.om/halloween_teachers.htm

The is also a list of books and poems to share, and a page of activities to support fiction about Halloween.

Follow the links from those pages for ideas for costumes, parties, craft activities and colouring pages.

Simple science

Middle-school science teachers have a new resource at their disposal: SIMPLE Science, an online collection of science activities created by Tucson, Ariz.-based education company Science Approach with funding from the National Science Foundation.

SIMPLE Science lets students explore X-rays of animal skeletons, measure snow and ice cover over time, explore bipedal locomotion, manipulate photographs, diagnose lung disease, and much more. Each topic can be covered in a 50-minute class session.

The site is free and is available to anyone with high-speed internet access and a Java-enabled browser.

The site's goal is to help overcome barriers to the use of image processing and analysis in K-12 classrooms by giving educators access to extensive, updatable archives of imaging data, while designing a pedagogical structure that helps teachers use imaging data in a way that supports middle-school science standards.

SIMPLE Science consists of a three-tired structure that scaffolds students’ use of image processing and analysis, from basic explorations of how imaging is used in various fields of science, to lessons developed from an archive of images and data housed on the site's server.

Quote for the week

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car;

but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.

-- Theodore Roosevelt

GIS and Geographic Inquiry

"Geospatial" technologies--which include geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing (RS) tools--are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. These technologies use "smart" maps that can display, query, and analyze geographic databases; receivers that provide location and navigation; and global-to-local imagery and tools that provide context and analysis.

More here ...

Reale Books

RealeBooks (“Really Books”) are picture books created with RealeWriter (“Really Writer”) software. (which is free).

You can read RealeBooks in your web browser or download them with RealeWriter to print or modify.

RealeLibraries (“Really Libraries”) are websites where schools, organizations, and businesses share their RealeBooks.

2 fruits and 5 vegetables - Kids only

http://www.gofor2and5.com.au/article.aspx?c=7&a=136&n=1

This website outlines the benefits of fruit and vegetables, suggests ways of increasing fruit and vegetable intake and provides easy recipes. The Kids Only section provides activities designated lower primary, middle primary, and upper primary.

Multimedia / Video Tools

From data projectors and digital video to interactive whiteboards, educators today have a wide array of multimedia presentation tools at their disposal to enhance visual instruction--allowing them to share ideas, information, charts, images, animations, audio, and video more effectively.

... more

Video - 21st Century Decision-Making

Author James Surowiecki explains how the decision-making ability of a diverse group of people is more effective than that of individuals.

Video - Online Safety - "Growing up online"

[From ITmadesimple.com]
"a must watch for all teachers, parents and anyone involved with students or children going online. The video was released in the US on the PBS network as part of the Frontline program. Growing Up Online explores a large number of issues about students growing up online and the challenges that everyone face from parents to teachers and most importantly students.

There are teacher notes and these should be useful, the website as a whole has lots of information and links and provides a lot of good useful information. It is important to note that the show does focus on the negative side of going online, and that anyone using or showing clips need to ensure audiences know that going online has a lot of advantages and positives - we just need to get a balance and educate our children and their parents and teachers."

Watch the video

Teacher's Guide

Typing Games

http://www.freetypinggame.net/play.asp

A collection of interactive free online typing games for beginner touch typists.

Food time line

Via Gary Price's Resourceshelf:

The Food Timeline <http://www.foodtimeline.org/>

Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream?

What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip,and why?

Welcome to the Food Timeline! Food history presents a fascinating buffet of popular lore and contradictory facts. Some people will tell you it's impossible to express this topic in exact timeline format. They are correct. Most foods we eat are not invented; they evolve.

This site is the work of Lynne Olver, "(a) reference librarian with apassion for food history."

There is a section of this site that covers Historic Food Prices. Seems like somebody always wants to know what a gallon of milk cost Back In The Day <http://digbig.com/4xfxq>(PDF; 2.2 MB; scroll downto page 31). Some data from other countries can be found here as well.

A Vision of Students Today

List of Films Based on Poems - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_poems

And far more of them than you would ever guess. It's not just Beowulf and Dr. Seuss books that have inspired moviemakers, but also Gunga Din, The Raven, Jabberwocky, The Cremation of Sam McGee and many others.

Third World Farmer

Third World Farmer is an online simulation game which gives insight into the real-world mechanisms that cause and sustain poverty in developing countries. Players have to manage issues that arise from drought and illness as they try to make ends meet on their African farm. It challenges them to think more deeply about the difficult choices that poverty and conflict necessitate. http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com

BugWise

http://www.bugwise.net.au/

The BugWise program has been designed by the Australian Museum Online to enable schools and other groups to get involved in ecological research. Here you will find out what invertebrates are, what they do, their incredible diversity and why they are vitally important to a healthy planet. The Invertebrate Guide provides a fact page with image of each insect.