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April 15, 2008
Timely reminders, fabulous freebies, best sites & more "worth the surf"
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In Partnership With:
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The
American Honda Foundation makes grants to K–12 schools,
colleges, universities, trade schools and other youth-focused
nonprofit organizations for programs that benefit youth and
scientific education. To determine if your program/project meets the
qualifications for consideration, the online application process
begins with an Eligibility Quiz.
Deadline: May 1, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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The
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Young Scholars Program
selects high-achieving youth with financial needs and provides them,
throughout their high school years, with individualized educational
funding and services that enable them to develop their talents and
abilities. To be eligible, students must be entering the eighth grade
in the fall of 2008 and planning to enter a U.S. high school.
Approximately 70 scholarships are awarded each year.
Deadline: May 5, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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Women’s
Sports Foundation GoGirlGo! Grants provide financial assistance
to sports/physical activity programs seeking to add new or expand
program participation opportunities for an underserved population of
girls, particularly economically disadvantaged girls and/or girls
from populations with high incidences of health-risk behaviors.
Applicants must provide a minimum eight-week sports/physical activity
program, with preference given to organizations working consistently
with girls throughout the year. Two GoGirlGo! educational
curricula, one for girls in grades 3–8 and one for high school
girls, are available free of charge from the Women’s Sports
Foundation.
Deadline: May 9, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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EBOOK DESTINATION
NEW
Look! MORE Savings!
Join
the growing list of teachers enjoying the eBookDestination Rewards
Program. On the first day of each month, a digital coupon
(representing 5 percent of your total purchases in the previous
month) will be added to your shopping cart. You’ll then be notified
via email of the presence (and amount) of this coupon.
There’s
no application to complete, no points to collect, no cards to carry,
no codes to enter and (most important) no fees to pay. Quite simply,
you are repaid for your loyalty with a 5 percent credit toward future
purchases. It’s as easy as that!
Browse
the eBookstore now! You’ll receive an automatic discount
on thousands of ebook titles, many of which are bundled
with downloadable audio MP3 files, from major educational
publishers. Plus, there’s always a selection of the most popular
titles on sale!
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On
April 15, Microsoft unveiled the third version of its robotic
software and a series of simulation contests called RoboChamps.
The
first RoboChamps contest, a virtual maze, will be launched on April
21. Thereafter, Microsoft plans to run a new contest every two
months. Contests later in the year will involve a Mars rover mission
and a self-driving car charged with navigating city streets, similar
to the real-world DARPA Urban Grand Challenge. And yet another will
involve a search-and-rescue mission.
Deadlines: Visit Web site for specific dates
Click Here for More Information
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The
Lance Armstrong Foundation is challenging educators to get
students involved in the fight against cancer. Participating classes
will have the opportunity to win a visit from champion cyclist and
cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. Through LIVESTRONG at School,
the foundation offers free online lessons to teach K–12
students about cancer in an age-appropriate and empowering way. To
enter the LIVESTRONG at School contest, educators must complete a
lesson from the LIVESTRONG at School curriculum and answer this
question with their students: “What does LIVESTRONG mean to you?”
Deadline: May 1, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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The
People Speak, in partnership with the Radio and Television
News Directors Foundation (RTNDF) and SchoolTube,
have announced the Think Globally, Report Locally Contest.
Participating students choose one of the four global issues selected
for the contest, find a local angle to the story and create a one- to
two-minute broadcast news story. Three winners will receive an
all-expenses-paid trip to attend the United Nations Foundation Youth
Leadership Summit held in July at the United Nations headquarters in
New York.
Deadline: May 2, 2008
Click Here for More Information
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From
Tijuana to Tel Aviv and many points in between, schools will
participate in the worldwide Pangea Day on May 10. The
goal of Pangea Day, created by documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim,
is to use the power of film to enhance empathy, compassion and peace
among people of all nationalities. The program will feature a
selection of short films—fiction, nonfiction and animation—with
many from filmmakers in disadvantaged areas and conflict zones. The
live broadcast is offered free, and the signal will be
sent through the Internet, television, digital cinemas and mobile
phones.
Click Here for More Information
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Teachers
of students in grades 5–9 can participate in Using Technology
and Problem Solving to Build Algebraic Reasoning, an online
workshop sponsored by The Math Forum @ Drexel. The $100
workshop fee is currently covered by a grant from the National
Science Foundation. Applications are open to apply for the next
session starting April 21, 2008.
Click
Here for More Information
Click Here to Sign Up for Free Online Workshop
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Plus:
Invite students to try the Technology Problems of the Week.
Students use the link “Submit your answer” to share their
solutions and then “self-mentor” with specially designed hints,
checks and suggestions for extensions.
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The
Mathematics Across the Curriculum project at Dartmouth
College features an “electronic bookshelf” of
materials for teaching math in art, history, literature and music, as
well as science, engineering and other disciplines traditionally
associated with math. Topics include misleading averages, bar codes,
crime statistics, DNA, data analysis, gasoline, music and computers,
nutrition, polls, population growth, probability, remote sensing,
vaccines—and more.
Click Here to Access Free Interdisciplinary Resources
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With
separate editions for elementary school, middle school and high
school grades, the Chicken Soup for the Soul in the Classroom
series is filled with lesson plans, stories and
activities designed to touch on many aspects of student life,
including social, emotional, physical and artistic. Sample ideas
include asking primary students to discuss what they like about
themselves and what they are proud of, and having middle school
students design a bumper sticker and discuss why their message is
important.
Click Here to Download Sample Lesson Plans
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Take
advantage of “gardening moments” with your kids every week
in your own backyard and front yard and in the garage and at the
windowsill and in the basement ... Through the seasons, there are big
projects and little opportunities for gardening with
kids that can fit seamlessly into your life. The National
Gardening Association’s free downloadable primer will
help you learn to recognize those opportunities and turn your kids’
questions into fun discoveries.
Click Here to Access Free Gardening Resource
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Building
a 21st Century U.S. Education System, a new book
recently published by the National Commission on Teaching and
America’s Future, brings together the visionary thinking of
some of the nation’s finest education thought leaders and presents
a diverse set of strategies and solutions to provide every child with
a high-quality, world-class educational opportunity.
Click Here to Download Full Book or Individual Chapters
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Real
Journeys in Technology is a core K–12 technology curriculum
built around a scope and sequence of 500 learning objectives in 10
key technology areas: Operating Environments; Databases;
Wordprocessing; Spreadsheets; Graphics; Internet; Multimedia;
Programming; Desktop Publishing; and Applied Technology. Using
projects that are linked with language arts, social studies, math and
science content, the program promotes active student learning. The
materials for each level are organized into color-coded classroom
kits so that teachers may choose the level most appropriate for
their classes. Each kit contains a comprehensive Teacher Guide, 15
Student Workbooks and a CD-ROM containing electronic templates,
samples and handouts.
Click Here to Access Sample Lessons for Grades 5 and 8
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The
100th anniversary of the 1908 New York-to-Paris “Great Race”—one
of the most remarkable automotive adventures of the 20th
century—will be celebrated in 2008 with a repeat motor trek
around the world, from New York to Paris. This time, reflecting
concerns about global warming and uncertain worldwide gasoline
supplies, some of the participants will travel using renewable fuels.
The 2008 Great Race will depart New York City on May 30, 2008.
The 21st Century Schools is designing an interdisciplinary,
project-based unit of curriculum in which students can be a
part of history, connect the past to the present and the future, and
participate in this real-world, live, historically significant event.
The curriculum will be adaptable to all subject areas and grade
levels. There are no fees to participate in the 2008 Great
Race Project.
Click Here for More Information
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A
new nationwide survey of girls and boys found that a majority of
children and youths in the United States have little or no interest
with achieving leadership roles when they become adults, ranking
“being a leader” behind other goals such as “fitting in,”
“making a lot of money” and “helping animals or the
environment.” The study, commissioned by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI),
determined that three-quarters of African American girls and boys and
Hispanic girls surveyed already identify themselves as leaders, a
much larger group than white youths, about half of whom think of
themselves this way. The youths defined leaders as people who prize
collaboration, stand up for their beliefs and values, and try to
improve society. Girls in particular endorsed these approaches,
although a majority of boys did, as well. Yet when asked in focus
groups about leadership styles among adults, students described
traditional top-down management.
Click Here to Access Full Report
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THE
BIG DEAL BOOK TECH CENTER
Interactive
Experiences for the 21st Century Classroom
Check
out the new look of The Big Deal Book
Web site. And be sure to explore the Tech Center,
which offers resources and activities for integrating technology into
your classroom. In the Tech Center is a feature that
changes mid-week, every week, appropriately called Web
Wednesday! Here you’ll find new interactive
experiences and resources that incorporate 21st century
themes and skills into the study of core subjects.
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If
you think your brain and memory are dulling down, head to
SharpBrain’s teasers and challenge yourself. This
free site offers 50 fun ways to give your brain an
entertaining workout. And as a bonus, you can read all about what
actually makes your brain work.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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Exploratorium
Online features dozens of online learning activities and
exhibits. Make a mold terrarium, pinhole projector, telescope
or hair hygrometer. Explore the brain, biodiversity, Antarctica, DNA,
frogs, structures or illusions. Learn about magnetism, electricity,
motors, eyeballs, perception, Mars, chocolate, seasonings or the
science of cooking, sports and music. Search more than 3,000 photos
and movies and watch Webcasts of science
demonstrations by teachers.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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MakeBeliefsComix
is an online educational comic generator for all ages. You
can use it to help children and adults share their ideas or as a
therapy tool to help the deaf and the autistic communicate. You can
also use it as a resource to encourage writing skills and to practice
vocabulary or storytelling skills. The comic strip comes together at
this site, where children choose a human or animal character, pick a
mood and then fill in a talk or thought balloon (in English or
Spanish).
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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A
new Web site, The Dr. Seuss Story Maker, leads students
through several steps to create a dialogue between two Dr. Seuss
characters. This particular aspect of the site could be helpful for
English language learners in practicing English. In addition, the
site includes a host of other fun activities.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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A
new documentary, Put to the Test, follows the students,
teachers and administrators of Western Guilford High School, located
in Greensboro, North Carolina, as they navigate the requirements of
No Child Left Behind (NCLB). On America RadioWorks® you
can listen to the hour-long radio documentary or read the
transcript.
Click Here to Visit Web Site
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