Archived
email messages may be found at
http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/lmcindex.htm
Total 22 messages
1. Do you find periodicals a difficult part of collection development? On the other hand, do you have magazines that just seem to fly off the periodical stand?
As part of the MASL Spring Conference Professional Gallery this year, we are hoping to provide examination copies of magazines that kids really enjoy and read. To get ready for this, your input is needed. Do you know of or subscribe to a magazine that your students consistently check out, “lose”, or just like to sit and read? Please share this information with Susan Mayes, SC Professional Gallery chair 2007 smayes@bssd.net
Be sure to include the title of the periodical, its most appropriate grade level(s) and, if applicable, boy or girl interest.
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2. MASL Early Bird Rate -- Expires January 12, 2007
FULL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEES AND DEADLINES:
MASL Member
Early Bird (by Jan. 12) = $200
Regular (Jan. 12-Feb. 28) = $225
Late (After Feb. 28) = $250
Non-MASL Member
Early Bird (by Jan. 12) = $300
Regular (Jan. 12- Feb. 28) = $325
Late (After Feb. 28) - $350
Student
Early Bird (by Jan. 12) = $160
Regular (Jan. 12 - Feb. 28) = $160
Late (After Feb. 28) = $185
Retired = $25 (anytime)
Link to Spring Conference information:
http://www.maslonline.org/ Click here and follow the links to the pre-conference flyer and online registration.
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3. Missouri's Early Slave Laws: A History in Documents This lesson, developed by the Missouri State Archives for ninth through twelfth grade students, will instill student appreciation for original documents by introducing them to primary sources relevant to slave law legislation and the struggles of an imprisoned abolitionist. This lesson plan, which may be presented in whole or divided into two parts, may also be adapted to suit eighth grade students.
Students are provided images of an 1837 Missouri law related to abolitionist publications, and an 1847 Missouri law concerning the education of “slaves, free negroes, and mulattoes.” Students will also view a set of documents relating to the struggle of George Thompson, an Illinois abolitionist imprisoned in 1841 for violating a Missouri statute against stealing slaves. An accompanying history of slave laws in Missouri will help students in their analysis of the relevant documents.
http://sos.mo.gov/archives/education/aahi/earlyslavelaws/overview.asp
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4. NCEE distributes free virtual economics CD-ROM to U.S. schools The National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) announced in December that it is shipping over 14,000 Virtual Economics 3.0 CD-ROMs to every school district in the country, through funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), as part of the No Child Left Behind "Excellence in Economic Education" program. NCEE is providing every school district with one complimentary copy of Virtual Economics, addressed to the district-level curriculum director or superintendent. Intended to provide lesson planning and professional development resource for K-12 teachers, the discs contain a searchable database of over 1,250 activity-based economics, personal finance and entrepreneurship lesson plans from NCEE's extensive library of more than 80 publications and websites. There is also a 500-term glossary and 51 interactive multimedia demonstrations of key concepts. In addition, every lesson plan is correlated to each state's content standards in economics. See: http://store.ncee.net/virtualeconomics.html.
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5. NASA launches Google collaboration NASA, seeking to give the public easy access to its massive trove of images and data about Earth and outer space, has entered into a formal agreement with Google to post material from the agency’s many missions on the Internet. As the technology improves and the collaboration grows, officials said viewers could one day be treated to live video from the moon, Mars, and beyond. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121801119.html?referrer=mail.
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6. While this is not good news from an education standpoint, this adds fuel to the fire of needing quality professional library media specialists who teach, libraries and information literacy. New Study Shows Students Lack Tech Literacy A report released by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) finds that high school and college students do not have many basic information literacy skills, including the ability to solve information problems using technology. Researchers observed 6,300 students who were asked to perform a variety of information- related tasks, such as locate reliable information online, and communicate information effectively. Over half of participants were unable to evaluate the quality of a Web site, and students demonstrated especially poor skills in being able to narrow search engine results. Experts hope the study will raise awareness about the importance of young people's mastering these skills. Alexius Macklin, Associate Professor of Library Science at Purdue University, said, 'It's important to help our students better evaluate, manage and communicate information so that they can succeed in school, at work and in life.' http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/11/15/infolit
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7. A Safe Place for Students to Collaborate Online More and more schools are eager to engage their students in online learning opportunities, but they worry about Internet safety. This site, developed by the Oracle Education Foundation, offers a free learning community environment to accredited elementary and secondary schools. Think.com is password- protected and provides a way for students to write and interact with a protected national and global audience. Check out the features at this site and compare them to IMBEE, another free and secure social networking service developed with classrooms in mind. http://www.think.com/en_us/ and http://www.imbee.com/
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8. Blue Zones Quest The Quest Network will begin a no-charge, three week, inquiry based online adventure project beginning January 29, 2007. Named the Blue Zones quest, the project is designed to cover longevity and healthy living issues. Sponsored by Allianz and Davisco Foods, the quest has a curriculum guide for teachers, also at no charge. The curriculum guide is for students in grades 4-8. Additional activities at the Blue Zones Web site include a four-week challenge health and fitness program that is open to students and families from around the world. An iPod shuffle is among the prizes being offered in the challenge section. Other sponsors include the National Institute on Aging and the National Geographic Society. http://bluezones.com/pages/index.php
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9. Blue Web'n This site continues to be a great place to find top-notch learning resources on the Internet. http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/
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10. Research Proves that Media Literacy Builds Comprehension and Critical Analysis Skills Professor Renee Hobbs documented the work of a team of high school English teachers in New Hampshire who implemented a required media literacy course, finding that students' reading comprehension, listening skills, and critical viewing improved dramatically compared to a matched control group. Her book, Reading the Media: Media Literacy in High School English, tells the story of how teachers developed the course and provides the first empirical evidence for the effectiveness of media literacy at the school district level. http://store.tcpress.com/0807747386.shtml
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11. Online Safety Parents, teachers and young people still worry about how to navigate the Internet safely, but fortunately, there are tons of resources available online. Recently YouthLearn Director Tony Streit gave a presentation on safety issues and the Internet to a local Boston area parent's support group. We've added the PowerPoint to our website. URL: http://www.youthlearn.org/techno/YL-InternetNav.ppt
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12. Plagiarism & Digital Cheating The proliferation of information and commerce on the Internet makes cheating effortless. Administrators and educators find and use their own technology tools and codes of ethics, among other measures-in order to stop the cheating. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0302/p12s01-legn.html
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13. "We All Use Math
Every Day" program Texas Instruments (TI) is leading this math education
initiative based on the hit series "NUMB3RS." In partnership with CBS, and
working in association with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM), TI has created an educational outreach program promoting the many uses
of mathematics and supporting math teaching. The program includes TI and
NCTM-developed math education activities for teachers and students based on the
"NUMB3RS" TV show. The activities are based on the mathematics presented in each
episode.
The math used in each episode of NUMB3RS is based on real FBI cases. By tying
the math used within each episode of NUMB3RS to classroom activities for
teachers, teachers can increase student interest with these real-world examples.
Each activity has been derived from the math used in the TV show and created by
practicing classroom teachers and mathematicians especially for grades 9 - 12.
For activities and guides, visit
http://www.weallusematheveryday.com/tools/waumed/home.htm
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14. Author Study: Robert Frost and Modern American Poets These resources are about the poet Robert Frost and his contemporaries. Find biographical information, full-text poems, audio files, images, and lesson plans. Included are sites about other modern American poets such as Carl Sandburg, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and William Carlos Williams. Included are three related eThemes resources on poetry. http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001939.shtml
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15. Cultures: Japanese and Navajo Comparison Students can discover the similarities and differences between the Japanese and Navajo cultures by using these sites. There is particular focus on the native herbs, foods, and ceremonies of each culture. Some of the sites include information on the Navajo Code Talkers. Included are eThemes resources on Japan, Navajo Indians, and world recipes. http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001925.shtml
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16. Library Skills: Copyright Law and Citation Styles Students can learn about copyright law by using these sites. Proper citation methodology is also provided. Included is an eThemes resource on information searching strategies. http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001928.shtml
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17. Literature: "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck These sites are about "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. Includes a biography, book summaries, discussion questions, suggested activities, and online quizzes. There is also a link to an eThemes Resource on the decade of the 1930s. http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001946.shtml
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18. Math: Visual Arts These websites are about the importance of math to the visual arts. There are many lesson plans and activities where students can create artwork based on mathematical concepts such as pattern, symmetry, geometry, and perspective. Included are eThemes resources on pattern and tessellations. http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001920.shtml
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19. Teaching Tips: Fluency Teachers can use these sites to help students build fluency with their oral reading skills. Included are eThemes resources on Reader's Theater, syllables, and phonemic awareness. http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001937.shtml
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20. Reader's Theater These sites are about Reader's Theater. Learn how to use reader's theater in the classroom to promote an interest in literature. There are tips on how to adapt stories to scripts. Includes many sample scripts. There is a link to an eThemes Resource on online stories that can be adapted into scripts, plus a link to drama for students. http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000969.shtml
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21. Oregon Trail Ecosystems: Learning about Ecosystems along the Oregon Trail by Trish Alexander, Sarah Nepple, and Amanda Collier, Valley Park School District Students will investigate the different ecosystems found in the United States and focus on the ecosystems the pioneers traveled through. Project includes websites and scaffolding to offer support of activity. This activity is also aligned to Missouri Standards. http://my-ecoach.com/online/activity.php?projectid=9471
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22. Westward HO! The Journey of 2007 (Ages 5 – 19) Project Begin & End Dates: 1/16/07 to 2/16/07
Project Summary: Back for its fifteenth year, this simulated journey west allows classes to travel the trail as part of the Westward HO! Wagon Train. In classrooms across the country, collaborative families, based on real families from America's past, make daily decisions (travel and fate scenarios are provided) that will influence their safe arrival in Oregon.
Class wagons meet weekly in online Trail Meetings (chat), to make crucial decisions for the wagon train and to have a rollicking good time! Teachers meet in Campfire Meetings (chat) to ask questions and share successful curriculum and strategies with other participating educators.
Thematic learning activity and the online project go hand in hand. Reading lists, suggested projects (e.g., wagon construction, quilting, cooking) and learning activity (e.g., fine arts, P.E., core curriculum) are provided by moderators and collaborating teachers.
As we travel the trail, classes will engage in RESEARCH using pre-selected websites and print/media classroom resources (what is the best cure for snake bite? how do you calk a wagon?); PUBLISHING (classroom diaries, journals, Newsletters, online want ads, announcements and webpage Museum Projects); and COMMUNICATION/COLLABORATION within the classroom and with the national wagon train (through the student/pioneer Bulletin board, Trading Post and Museum, and teacher/scout Fireside Stories). Culminating celebrations occur in classrooms across the nation, and occur, globally, in our online Reunion, after the wagon train's safe arrival in Oregon.
Registration Instructions: Registration is accepted through submission of the form on the project website, only. Follow the link from the project's main page to "Register". The registration form will be "live" until January 12, 2007. Please be sure to fill in all fields of the form.
http://www.cyberbee.com/wwho/wwho_reg3.html
Leni Donlan, ldonlan@comcast.net Cyberbee, Alexandria, Virginia