Online Election Resource
When History Happens is a new, unique way for educators and students of all levels and disciplines to gain knowledge through studying and participating in a current event. Educators can combine 21st-century-learning skills, such as critical thinking, inference, perspective, and compare and contrast, with standards-based toolkits, including background, context, lessons, primary sources, and digital newspapers. Teachers can also use collaborative technologies like wikis, blogs, community journalism, and text messaging, along with proper assessment, to generate eventful learning that would otherwise be impossible to foster.
Go to www.WhenHistoryHappens.org for materials that effectively compare the presidential elections of 1908 and 2008.
Contest awards cash and prizes to Texas middle and high school students. Students compete by creating materials that motivate people to register and vote.
Click here for details
TEACH KINDNESS TO ANIMALS
Grade 1, Dog Safety, click here
Grade 2, Helping Hounds, click here
Grade 3, Animals Do Many Things Lesson, click here
Grade 4, Add It Up, click here
Be Kind to Animals Educational Supplement, click here
Electing the President, a guide to the 2008 Presidential Election, provided by the League of Women Voters.
Click here to download
Visit the League of Women Voter's website at www.lwv.org
Introducing the Five Freedoms Project, supporting the work of all educators, students and citizens who share a commitment to First Amendment freedoms, democratic schools, and the idea that children should be seen and heard. Visitors will find resources that stretch across the Five Freedoms Project's four primary areas of concentration:
- Individual Rights (the Five Freedoms): Legal quizzes, lesson plans, resources, and discussion topics that will help people develop a fuller understanding of the First Amendment's five freedoms – and their role in a democratic society.
- Leadership (the Five Foundations): An actionable five-part framework for leadership that identifies the essential skills we must cultivate, in ourselves and in others, in order to create more equitable, democratic learning communities.
- Voice (the Five Features): A five-stage map of the learning cycle we must experience in order to discover the power and uniqueness of our own voice – and how to utilize it effectively and with integrity.
- Impact (the Five Factors): A set of five essential categories school leaders and school communities must understand and monitor to further safe and civil schools that intentionally work to promote students' social, emotional, ethical and civic – as well as intellectual – learning.
Interested in learning more? Visit www.fivefreedoms.org to find out "Five Things You Can Do!"
National Student/Parent Mock Election
Educators, Parents, Students Get Involved!
Click here to visit the NSPME site, which includes teacher's guides, sample ballots and the Road to the Capitol game.
Teacher Instructional Resources Page
(Over 200 free teaching tools in one place!)
Click here to access curriculum guides, serial stories, student supplements, character education materials, numerous subject-specific resources, video & audio teacher training modules, and the popular NIE Instructional Calendar.
These resources address the standards-based curriculum focus of schools and teachers. There are curriculum materials for every subject area and grade level. Click on any resource to access it. All resources may be copied for classroom use or for homework assignments.
Click here to access information and to join in on conversation about education in Central Texas.
The American Trustees project is a compelling new way to teach young people about civic participation, and it uses film to provide students with an experience that goes far beyond your average classroom activities. The short films (6-8 minutes) help students understand the possibilities when we share the responsibility for our world. Captivating footage allows the viewers to discover how citizens can be influential in the civic arena, what motivates people to change the world, and most importantly, it helps them to uncover how they can become trustees of their community.
In the American Trustees Online Video Library, you can gain free access to all of the videos with a brief description of the American Trustee. The American Trustees project has an online collection of secondary-level lesson plans for your home and classroom use. Each American Trustee will have at least one lesson explicitly associated with his/her contribution or teaching point. You will also find lesson plans that require you to watch multiple videos.
Click here to link to www.AmericanTrusteesproject.org.
Outstanding Online Resources
High School Journalism
An online resource that provides expert help in journalism for students and teachers. This website was created by the ASNE, whose members are the top editors of daily newspapers. Highlights include "Ask a Pro" mentoring, lesson plans, scholarships and contests and links to college journalism schools.
http://www.highschooljournalism.org
The Mint
The Mint is an economics and finance site for students, teachers and parents. This interactive site teaches the ins and outs of personal finance and basic economics. Students learn about creating a sound financial future for themselves by actually making the decisions they face as adults. Teachers and parents have their own section that includes lesson plans, quizzes, and links to other good sites. The Mint is a collaborative effort between the Northwestern Mutual Life Foundation and the National Council on Economic Education.
http://themint.org
Marketing
Easy-to-follow, 15- to 30-minute lessons on just about every marketing topic. Each short lesson includes an exercise that shows how the concept works.
http://www.marketingteacher.com
The Currency Gallery
The Currency Gallery and Research Foundation presents a "pictorial, historical, and informational tour of United States currency."
http://www.currencygallery.org
The Mariner's Museum - The Age of Exploration
At the "Mariners' Museum - The Age of Exploration" site, students can learn about the history of seafaring peoples of the world. The site offers a brief history and timeline of events related to the Age of Exploration dating back into ancient times.
http://www.mariner.org/educationalad/ageofex
The Food Timeline
A great resource for history and social studies teachers looking for a new angle on their subjects. Links to sites that feature such things as a comprehensive biography of Christopher Columbus which includes the gastronomical delights of his day or the history of the hot dog and which German city may or may not be able to claim it's creation. Links to curriculum resources and lesson plans. Bookmark this site and browse periodically to find fun tidbits to add a little "flavor" to your classes.
http://www.foodtimeline.org
Click here to view the special sections offered Monday-Friday.
Click here to view the multiple special sections offered on Sunday.
