My Students are ROCKSTARS!

I'm making my students blog, so I guess I should do some blogging myself.

In the Fall of 2008, I taught a course called CEL 560: Fostering Online Learning Communities. Some of my students from 560 are now with me and a bunch of brand new students in CEL 580: Tools and Techniques for Teaching Online. And I have to say that I'm blown away by the immediate community development in 580 because of the leadership of the 560 students and the participation of all the students. This is what I love about teaching.

So for the next two weeks, we all will blog and comment on each others blogs. It's gonna be fun keeping track of all of their blogs. I wonder if I should let them in on the friendfeed trick? You know the one I'm talking about, that's me blogging about it, it's at http://friendfeed.com/nmsuotl...

;)

~julz

Free Teacher Resource to help students comprehend racial challenges in the USA

From szq --

With MLK Day and Inauguration Day on the horizon, this resource sounds like it will be pertinent. =;->

A lesson plan to help students understand that beliefs and behaviors have roots.  Only by knowing our roots can we change the present.  Most people agree that individual acts of racism and discrimination are wrong but often grow defensive when issues of systemic or institutional racism arise.  No one wants to see him or herself as a racist, and we all fear being blamed for the unequal conditions in our country. Instead of facing the issues, we too often resort to defensiveness when faced with the “other” who has been oppressed: whites when facing African-Americans; men when facing women; the rich facing the poor.  Instead of facing our national and personal histories, we often find excuses for the way things are.  We’ve all heard the justifications: “I’m not a racist, but . . . ”
  
 “Slavery happened a long time ago.”
  
 “My grandparents were immigrants; they pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps.  These people just want to complain?” This lesson plan helps students understand how history influences our present, whether that’s the state of race relations today or their own attitudes towards another group of people. There are three brief activities in this lesson plan that teachers can use separately to introduce the topic or together to reinforce the message that we must know our history if we seek NOT to repeat it.  Go to www.racebridgesforschools.com <http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/lists/lt.php?id=eU9WXwxUWl5eSlIEA04GAgBcBwBW>  to download a free copy of What’s Racism Got to do with Me?   How Our History and Context Shape Us and Others. Help your students understand race, class, and gender in context.  Use this lesson to supplement a lesson that requires that students understand the importance of our past and our context.   One of these activities will make your history and English students more receptive to your lessons!    

Check out our other lesson plans that are ideal for use around the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 19)  and African American Heritage Month (February) . . . "We All Have A Race" and "From Flint Michigan to Your Front Door : Tracing the Roots of Racism" (with audio downloads).           

Go to www.racebridgesforschools.com

http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/lists/lt.php?id=eU9WXwxUWl5eSlIEA04GAgBcBwBW  

to download your complimentary copy of this and other lesson plans and resources for schools.

       

 

    


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2009 Presidential Inauguration Lesson Plans

From Bonnie Bracey Sutton :)

You can turn television watching into a real set of learning lessons using the event and these lesson plans to structure the day.

http://www.pic2009.org/page/content/lessonplans

Lots of links, interactive blog, and much much more.

2009 Presidential Inauguration Lesson Plans

Jointly Produced by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA)


On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Teachers across the country can bring this historic event to life in their classrooms using a wide array of free resources and technologies. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) have jointly developed a series of general instructional activities to give teachers lesson ideas to help their students understand the historic significance of this presidential inauguration.
 Use these instructional activities to teach students about the history of the inauguration and the connections between Obama and previous U.S. presidents (Learning History); to prepare students to witness the Obama inauguration (Making History); and to follow the events during President Obama’s term (Living History). Teachers should use their professional judgment to adapt these materials to the particular needs (grade, reading level, etc.) of their classrooms and to best determine how much time should be spent on the activities. The materials have been designed to allow teachers to adapt them to fit into a single class period or to extend over several class periods.

LEARNING HISTORY Two Presidents from Illinois (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan1>
Students will compare and contrast the background and inaugurations of President Lincoln and President Obama. They will develop knowledge of some of the characteristics of the two presidents and their inaugurations. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5) History of the Inaugural Address (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan2>

Students will examine the text of various presidents’ inaugural addresses to understand how the context of events influenced the way they addressed the American people on Inauguration Day. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5)

MAKING HISTORY Inaugural Address of Barack Obama (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan3>
Students will discuss quotes from Barack Obama’s inaugural address, and identify the challenges facing their families and other Americans today that he highlighted in his speech. They will then identify “calls to action” in his inaugural address, and compare and contrast those priorities with those raised in his past speeches. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5) 2009 Inaugural Events (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan4>

Students will learn about the various activities and events scheduled in the days leading up to and during the inauguration of Barack Obama. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5)

LIVING HISTORY Beyond the Inauguration (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan5>
Use these activities to extend learning beyond the presidential inauguration.

An Interview with Lincoln (Grades 6-12)
The First 100 Days (Grades 6-12)

RECOMMENDED READING Reading List (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/readinglist>

Use these resources to start or supplement your school or classroom library. Titles are provided for early elementary, late elementary, middle school and high school students.

I would add some art, poetry ( cinquains and diamantes)    science.. using weather as a constant,
and some databases to research the weather as well. Can they make videos.. they can also blog on this site.
Bonnie Bracey Sutton