Improve Academic Achievement of All Students
The NEA Foundation’s Student Achievement Grants provide funds to improve the academic achievement of students by deepening the knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work also should improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning and critical reflection. All practicing U.S. public school teachers, public school education support professionals, or faculty or staff at public higher education institutions are eligible for the $5,000 grant.
Deadline: February 1, 2008
Click Here for More Information

Continue Your Professional Development
The NEA Foundation’s Learning and Leadership Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of two purposes: to fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences (such as summer institutes or action research); and to fund collegial study (including study groups, action research, lesson study or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment). The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study.
Deadline: February 1, 2008
Click Here for More Information

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 some 3,000 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!

Find Solutions for Helping English Language Learners
Sign up at The Big Deal Book Web site for hELLo!, a free monthly ELL e-newsletter that includes information about new grants, upcoming contests, the latest educational research and a wealth of information on interactive print and online resources for students, teachers, librarians, principals and others involved in the education of English language learners
Click Here to Sign Up for Free Newsletter

Combine Imagination with Science
The Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association’s ExploraVision Awards Program encourages K–12 students to create and explore a vision of future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. First Prize (4 teams) is a U.S. EE Savings Bond worth $10,000 at maturity for each student. Second Prize (4 teams) is a U.S. EE Savings Bond worth $5,000 at maturity for each student. Regional Prize (24 teams) is a notebook computer for each regional winning school, and a special gift for each student, teacher and mentor.
Deadline: January 29, 2008
Click Here for More Information

Build a Bridge to Understanding
The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) is seeking applications for the 2008 Bridge to Understanding Award. The $1,000 award recognizes a program that promotes reading as a way to expand a child’s world. Any organization (schools, libraries, clubs, scout troops) within the United States that presents a program for children using books and reading as a way of promoting an understanding of one or more cultures of countries outside the United States is eligible to apply.
Deadline: January 31, 2008
Click Here for More Information

Become a School of Distinction
The Intel Foundation Schools of Distinction Program honors K–12 schools in the United States that have demonstrated excellence in math and science education. To be considered as an Intel School of Distinction, schools must develop an environment and curricula that meet or exceed benchmarks, including national mathematics and science content standards. Three winners will be selected: one at the elementary level (K–5), one at the middle school level (6–8) and one at the high school level (9–12). The maximum award is $100,000.
Deadline: February 14, 2008
Click Here for More Information

Meet Ordinary People, Hear Extraordinary Stories
AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the Library of Congress have teamed up to collect and preserve personal accounts of America’s struggle to fulfill the promise of equality for all. Voices of Civil Rights is a tribute to those who were a part of the civil rights experience and to the continuing quest for equality.
Click Here To Visit Web Site

Send a Tribute of Thanks to Teachers
To acknowledge America’s 3 million public school teachers, the National Education Association and the Parent Teacher Association are building the Nation’s Largest Teacher Thank-You Card. It’s easy to participate: either personalize a provided template or mail in a special one-of-a-kind design. All submissions will be compiled into a larger-than-life card that will be unveiled in Spring 2008 and travel to major cities throughout the year.
Click Here to Sign the Thank-You Card

Deepen Your Understanding of NETS-T Standards
PBS TeacherLine provides professional development through facilitated, online courses, collaborative learning communities and Internet-based resources. Currently more than 100 courses across multiple subject areas are offered to help teachers acquire the skills they need in order to prepare students for a successful future. In 2007, PBS TeacherLine and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) launched the Certificate of Proficiency Capstone Program. In three courses, educators deepen and demonstrate their mastery of ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) to earn a certificate.
Click Here to Learn More About PBS TeacherLine

Learn Best Practices in Literacy, Science and Math
The presentations and materials from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2007 Teacher-to-Teacher Workshops were developed by various individuals and are provided online, free of charge, as illustrative examples of what might be useful to teachers around the nation. Presentation materials and handouts are available for downloading on a number of subjects, including the following:

Literacy: Reading, comprehension, vocabulary and writing in every classroom, struggling adolescent readers, narrative writing, expository compositions, persuasive writing, reading and writing in math and science, reading and writing for English language learners, literature and the arts and more.
Click Here for Literacy Resources

Science: Analogical reasoning, motion and forces, oceans, particle nature of matter, periodic table, scientific process, science of CSI, solids and liquids (and gases), thinking like a scientist and more.
Click Here for Science Resources

Math: Algebra, algorithms, computation, data collection, cooperative learning, decimals and fractions, density, geometry, integers, linear equations, multiplication and division, nature and mathematics, polynomials, problem solving in a primary classroom, vocabulary in math, word problems in elementary math and more.
Click Here for Math Resources

Integrate Virtual Manipulatives into Your Teaching
More than 60 virtual manipulatives and activities from the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) function as a concept tutorial. The virtual manipulatives are designed to facilitate mathematics learning at PreK–2, 3–5, 6–8 and 9–12. By encouraging active exploration with computers, the virtual manipulatives help students visualize mathematical relationships. The manipulatives are organized into five categories based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards: Number & Operations; Algebra; Geometry; Measurement; and Data Analysis & Probability. The site is also accessible in Spanish
Click Here for Virtual Manipulatives

Plus: eNLVM eModules include interactive online math activities that draw heavily from the resources of NLVM. The online learning units are intended for students in grades 3–12. Activities target identified objectives corresponding to state and national standards. With the online adaptation tools, teachers can modify lessons and activities to tailor them to the needs of their students. The eModules also include online assessments. All of the eModules may be used freely, but registration is required.
Click Here for eModules

Foster Global Understanding
The Asia Society and the George Lucas Educational Foundation have released A World Class Education: Volume 2. This DVD, comprised of five documentary films, features innovative K–12 schools that foster global understanding. The film also outlines steps that schools, communities and policymakers can take to globalize education.
Click Here to View Free Videoclips

Send Students on a Globetrotting Adventure
Created by George Lucas, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones is a coming-of-age adventure that takes the young Indiana on incredible journeys through the 20th century and brings to life some of the most important historical events of the era. Throughout his exploits, he encounters a host of renowned historical figures, including Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Ho Chi Minh, Eliot Ness, Louis Armstrong, Pablo Picasso, Winston Churchill, Sigmund Freud, George Gershwin, and even Mata Hari. Volumes 1 and 2 include feature-length episodes as well as in-depth companion documentaries, an interactive game and interviews with such people as Martin Scorsese, James Earl Jones and Colin Powell. Volume 3 is scheduled for a spring 2008 release.
Click Here to Watch the Trailer

Get free unlimited online access to all the print content in The Big Deal Book for Educators of Struggling Students, Middle School Through High School, The Big Deal Book for Teachers of English Language Learners and The Big Deal Book of Technology for K–12 Educators. Explore the many opportunities to fund your special programs, access timely reports and articles, locate free and inexpensive resources and identify engaging interactive Web sites.

Design Your Own Flag
You’re one in 7 billion. Create a flag that conveys your uniqueness. Using the digital art on this site, you can make your own flag. First let your mouse wander over the flags that others have created on this site. Read about the dreams reflected in their flag designs. Then design your own flag by combining elements of the flag from your home country, the flag from another country that has affected you and the flag of a country to which you’ve dreamed of going. Be sure to check out the meaning of colors and shapes in different countries before you create your flag.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Explore the World of Science
San Francisco’s Exploratorium was one of the first science museums to build a site on the World Wide Web. The site features dozens of online learning activities and exhibits. Students can make a mold terrarium, pinhole projector, telescope or hair hygrometer. They can explore the brain, biodiversity, Antarctica, DNA, frogs, structures or illusions. They can learn about magnetism, electricity, motors, eyeballs, perception, Mars, chocolate, seasonings or the science of cooking, sports and music. And they can search more than 3,000 photos and movies and watch Webcasts of science demonstrations by teachers.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Become a History Detective
On this interactive site from Annenberg Media, students become document detectives. They use their sleuthing skills to figure out when and where historical events took place by examining some primary sources and using an educated guess to pinpoint them on a map and timeline. Then they test their document expertise and analytical skills by answering questions about the events.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Find Out About the Mathematics Behind Polls
In Cast Your Vote!, students follow a year in a fictitious election campaign for an inside look at the mathematics behind the polls and the news they hear everyday.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Discover the Natural World
From the California Academy of Sciences, the Science in Action series presents 90-second snippets of its biweekly audio and video programs. Listen to a researcher reflect on how the scientific community has been affected by the Internet. Or take a look at the connection between science and art offered by a scientist and an artist.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Celebrate Improbable Research
The Annals of Improbable Research, best known as the host of the Ig Nobel Awards, offers a free online version of its journal. The Ig Nobel Prizes ceremony, an annual event held at Harvard University and parody of the Nobel Prizes, honors discoveries in science and technology that “first make people laugh and then make them think.” Past winners include Mayu Yamamoto of the International Medical Center of Japan, who invented a way to extract vanilla fragrance and flavoring from cow dung, and Howard Stapleton for his so-called electromechanical teenager repellent device that produces a sound audible only to those 30 or younger.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Join the Geography Challenge
A Broader View runs the world’s largest online geography quiz that challenges visitors to locate 10 randomly selected countries on a map of the world. The quiz is different every time it’s accessed. To join the Geography Challenge in support of your country, simply select which country you will be representing and identify the countries on the map in 2 minutes. Since starting the contest in 2003, the site has registered more than 2 million visitors from 192 countries. See how well your country and state are doing compared to others in the competition.
Click Here to Visit Web Site

Interact with History
The extensive site for A Biography of America is an integral part of an Annenberg/CPB telecourse that also includes videos and print materials. Twenty-six programs covering major topics in U.S. history each include interactive features (maps, timelines, debates or annotated images), a list of key events, a map, video transcripts and Web links.
Click Here to Visit Web Site