This is old but comes to me again through a library colleague.
The Danger of a Single Story
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story#t-13655
Librarians and Teachers:
-analyze your school library and classroom collection
-does your collection represent a single story of people and children of color?
???where are your holes? who is not represented in your collection? which voices are absent?
???biography - who's point of view is most prevalent?
???which books need to be weeded due to biased and out-dated content?
-for summer project of continuous learning, have students evaluate and create a list of books that represent them and interest them for your collection
Monday, June 8, 2020
Thursday, May 21, 2020
great opportunities from Lisa Adeli
[from Lisa Adeli - LOVE her resources!!!]
I said no more e-bulletins for this year, so this isn't one! However, here are a few virtual opportunities you might want to see:
Note: CMES is telling you about these opportunities/resources and does not endorse them. We are required to put a disclaimer for non-sponsored events; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.
1. Here's a virtual institute for teachers and community college educators from the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburg: "Ecological Civilization: Exploring China as a Model." It will be held on Saturday, May 30 from 9:00 am -12:00 noon Eastern Time. (That's WAY early for those of us in the West, but at least you can attend in your jammies!!) There's a great flyer about it as well as the registration link if you go to https://communitycollegeoutreach.arizona.edu/pd-programs-community-college-educators and click on the links.
2. Foreign Language instructors: Here is an online summer series, from the University of Pittsburg's Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies: "The Nuts and Bolts of Online Language Teaching." There are 4 different workshop sessions held from May 26-June 5, from 4:30-6:30 pm EDT (which is 1:30-3:30 pm Arizona or Pacific Time). For a whole lot more information and registration materials, go to: https://communitycollegeoutreach.arizona.edu/pd-programs-community-college-educators to see the info and find the registration link.
3. The Centers for Latin American Studies at the University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University, and Tulane University are holding a 2020 virtualsummer teacher institute for high school and community college educators "Central America: People and the Environment." It will run from June 8-12. To find out more info and the registration link, go to: https://lacsi.uga.edu/summer-research-institute
4. Here's a virtual talk on "The Lives of Two Ancient Pandemics and Their Modern Resonance" by Dr. Irene Bald Romano of the University of Arizona. It will take place on June 5 at 9:30 am Arizona time (which is 12:30 pm EDT). For more information and to register, go to: https://arizona.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IB5M-Lp9R7y9FuUyH2-D7w?_x_zm_rtaid=ewh7a6PaRgyxduPyf7S1yg.1590077933309.efbdc55012e13aa9cf9bc3fca4b2471d&_x_zm_rhtaid=482
5. The Asian Society has a whole website "Learn with Asia Society at Home." There's everything from a Virtual Reading Room, Cooking with 'STEAM,' a series of activities (May 18-30) on the Muslim festival of Eid, and a lot more. Check them out at: https://asiasociety.org/education/learn-asia-society-home
Take care, and happy summer!!
Lisa Adeli, PhD, Director of Educational Outreach
University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies
adeli@arizona.edu
I said no more e-bulletins for this year, so this isn't one! However, here are a few virtual opportunities you might want to see:
Note: CMES is telling you about these opportunities/resources and does not endorse them. We are required to put a disclaimer for non-sponsored events; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.
1. Here's a virtual institute for teachers and community college educators from the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburg: "Ecological Civilization: Exploring China as a Model." It will be held on Saturday, May 30 from 9:00 am -12:00 noon Eastern Time. (That's WAY early for those of us in the West, but at least you can attend in your jammies!!) There's a great flyer about it as well as the registration link if you go to https://communitycollegeoutreach.arizona.edu/pd-programs-community-college-educators and click on the links.
2. Foreign Language instructors: Here is an online summer series, from the University of Pittsburg's Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies: "The Nuts and Bolts of Online Language Teaching." There are 4 different workshop sessions held from May 26-June 5, from 4:30-6:30 pm EDT (which is 1:30-3:30 pm Arizona or Pacific Time). For a whole lot more information and registration materials, go to: https://communitycollegeoutreach.arizona.edu/pd-programs-community-college-educators to see the info and find the registration link.
3. The Centers for Latin American Studies at the University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University, and Tulane University are holding a 2020 virtualsummer teacher institute for high school and community college educators "Central America: People and the Environment." It will run from June 8-12. To find out more info and the registration link, go to: https://lacsi.uga.edu/summer-research-institute
4. Here's a virtual talk on "The Lives of Two Ancient Pandemics and Their Modern Resonance" by Dr. Irene Bald Romano of the University of Arizona. It will take place on June 5 at 9:30 am Arizona time (which is 12:30 pm EDT). For more information and to register, go to: https://arizona.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IB5M-Lp9R7y9FuUyH2-D7w?_x_zm_rtaid=ewh7a6PaRgyxduPyf7S1yg.1590077933309.efbdc55012e13aa9cf9bc3fca4b2471d&_x_zm_rhtaid=482
5. The Asian Society has a whole website "Learn with Asia Society at Home." There's everything from a Virtual Reading Room, Cooking with 'STEAM,' a series of activities (May 18-30) on the Muslim festival of Eid, and a lot more. Check them out at: https://asiasociety.org/education/learn-asia-society-home
Take care, and happy summer!!
Lisa Adeli, PhD, Director of Educational Outreach
University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies
adeli@arizona.edu
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Best NEW TECH Tuesday!!!!! Wide Open School!!!!
This is AMAZING!!!! Need one activity for 20 minutes? Need a resource for an older teen or a toddler? It's all here. One stop shop for educators and families.
Forget about a posting or bookmarking a laundry list of links, just point families to this vetted, free site with quality resources and they do not collect data either. It's just Common Sense.
Thank you Common Sense Media for Wide Open School
https://wideopenschool.org/
Easy way to find great resources, activities, information for educators and families. This is my favorite tool.
Check-out the Daily Schedule for families with live events and static links for different times in the day. Three best activities for each block of the day. Rarely have a log-in or sign-up, is doable and FREE.
Educator resources are amazing, curated, and FREE.
Also include English Learner resources as well as links and ideas for families needing resources to support children with special needs.
There's even a social emotional Life Skills section with a link to "Laundry Lessons".
We are going to watch the Field-trip to the toilet paper factory. So very relevant, no?
Forget about a posting or bookmarking a laundry list of links, just point families to this vetted, free site with quality resources and they do not collect data either. It's just Common Sense.
Thank you Common Sense Media for Wide Open School
https://wideopenschool.org/
Easy way to find great resources, activities, information for educators and families. This is my favorite tool.
Check-out the Daily Schedule for families with live events and static links for different times in the day. Three best activities for each block of the day. Rarely have a log-in or sign-up, is doable and FREE.
Educator resources are amazing, curated, and FREE.
Also include English Learner resources as well as links and ideas for families needing resources to support children with special needs.
There's even a social emotional Life Skills section with a link to "Laundry Lessons".
We are going to watch the Field-trip to the toilet paper factory. So very relevant, no?
Tour Marine Fish Hatchery
Tour the only marine fish hatchery on the west coast with HUBBS Marine Scientist Mike Shane.
[from HUBBS post] Premiering today, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Scientist, Mike Shane takes you on a tour at our finfish hatchery. Mike joined the Institute in 1988 as a field research technician on the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP) and now oversees the program as Director of Replenishment Operations. Thousands of fish at the Institute's hatchery are spawned, tagged and tracked each year. Watch as Mike shares what is involved in this process!
Take ACTION! Save your white SeaBass heads and turn-in to the White SeaBass Project.
[from HUBBS post] Premiering today, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Scientist, Mike Shane takes you on a tour at our finfish hatchery. Mike joined the Institute in 1988 as a field research technician on the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP) and now oversees the program as Director of Replenishment Operations. Thousands of fish at the Institute's hatchery are spawned, tagged and tracked each year. Watch as Mike shares what is involved in this process!
Take ACTION! Save your white SeaBass heads and turn-in to the White SeaBass Project.
Monday, April 27, 2020
My Top 2 Resources to Share with Parents
K-12 Parents Guide to History / Social Studies
-vetted and inclusive primary and secondary sources for each grade level
-overview of the driving questions based
-major time-periods.
Common Sense Media Ultimate Guides for Parents. Easy one pagers to help inform your parents about these popular apps.
-Discord
-TikTok
-Twitch
-Instagram
-Fortnite
-Snapchat
-vetted and inclusive primary and secondary sources for each grade level
-overview of the driving questions based
-major time-periods.
Common Sense Media Ultimate Guides for Parents. Easy one pagers to help inform your parents about these popular apps.
-Discord
-TikTok
-Twitch
-Fortnite
-Snapchat
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
International Baccalaureate COVID webpage
IB Schools be sure to check the IB COVID page for updates.
https://www.ibo.org/news/news-about-the-ib/covid-19-coronavirus-updates/
https://www.ibo.org/news/news-about-the-ib/covid-19-coronavirus-updates/
Internationally-Themed Opportunities and Resources (with permission from Lisa Adeli)
I love Lisa's work and appreciate her permission to share her post here...
Internationally-Themed Opportunities and Resources for K-12 Teachers and Teacher-Educators – 4/6/2020
As always, brief descriptors are immediately below (organized by category). Scroll down further for extended descriptions of anything that interests you. An asterisk (*) designates a University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies activity; a plus (+) is an item new to the listserv.
Note: My colleagues and I are compiling a list of films that you can access online for use at different grade levels - or for your own lockdown enjoyment:)
Short Descriptors:
---Competitions, PD, and Short-Term Travel Opportunities for Educators:
(Note: Some of these programs are open to pre-service teachers too. If there is any question, contact the program person on the program website and ask!)
*1. Enter now to win $50 in free books for your classroom/school library. Monthly drawings.
*2. Online exchange program for US teachers and Middle East-North African K-12 teachers. Program: fall 2020-spring 2021. Deadline to apply: Apr. 30.
3. FUNDED Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching short term (fall 2021 semester) programs abroad. Columbia, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, or Vietnam. Application deadline: Apr. 27.
4. Foreign language teachers (in US): FREE online summer institute. June 22-July 2. Apply by: May 1.
+ 5. FREE virtual teachers' conference - daily from April 6 through May. (Register to attend any session OR apply to present.)
+ 6. Online Holocaust/genocide-education programs for teachers. Echoes & Reflections.
+ 7. FREE webinar for educators: "Global Views on Covid-19: Lessons from the 1918 Flu Pandemic in India and Indonesia." Tuesday, April 7.
+*8. Lesson plan competition - win cash and prizes for Middle East-related lessons. Deadline: Sept. 20.
---Resources for Educators:
*9. K-12 teachers: CMES lesson plans has a SEARCH ENGINE to help peruse almost 200 lessons. Also, find background sheets, film guides, Youtube lectures, book lists - for all grade levels. (Check out our Morocco lesson plans.)
*10. Virtual (online or video-recorded) speaker for your class on Middle East-related topic? No charge for teachers.
+ 11. Qatar Foundation International grants for high school teachers to provide them with online Middle East-related curriculum units from Choices. (These are the units you normally have to pay for.)
+ 12. Great online teaching ideas from the Arizona Council for History Education (webinars, virtual museum tours, etc.).
+ 13.FREE Covid-19 3-day teaching module for social studies teachers.
+ 14. "I Shall Not Be Silent" - film on a Jewish Holocaust survivor turned US civil rights activist. Screenings and teacher trainings for middle/high school teachers.
+ 15. Virtual International Cultural Festival for students and teachers. April 13 - sessions all day.
16. FREE teaching resources (lesson plans, primary sources, hands-on activities) on impact of technology throughout history.
17. K-12 teaching resources from Arizona State University (not us, but another AZ university) for K-12 students/teachers.
18. FREE Rosetta Stone language learning subscription for kids. (Lots of languages to choose from!)
19. Pulitzer Center for International Journalism holding a 2020 Fighting Words (Poetry in Response to Current Events) Poetry Contest for K-12 student. Deadline: May 15.
20. Teaching & learning resources from Mediawell (about media literacy).
21. Free magazine (online or print) with articles/photos about cultures of Islamic world.
22. Excellent K-12 teacher-created lessons on geography (with literature, history, and/or STEM overlap). And join their listserv for so many online and in-person opportunities!!
23. K-12 book awards for multi-cultural literature - good books to suggest to kids/parents.
a. Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC) awards for picture books, youth literature, youth non-fiction.
b. K-12 book awards in other world areas, including Africa, East Asia, Asia, Latin America.
Detailed Information:
*1. Enter now to win $50 in free books for your classroom/school library! It takes only 10 minutes or so to get entered into the University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies’ monthly drawing. All you have to do is: (1) go to: https://cmes.arizona.edu/book_drawing, (2) look at one lesson plan for your grade level/subject area on our website (link provided on the website), and (3) fill out your information so that, when you win, we can select the appropriate books and mail them to you. Do this today! You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain!!
*2. We all need something to look forward to, sooooo here's an opportunity to participate during the 2020-2021 academic year in an online program that will bring together US and Middle Eastern K-12 teachers. 30 teachers will meet both asynchronously and synchronously through Zoom every other Sunday from September through November. Participants will also plan a classroom project of their choice (working with people from at least one other country), which they will implement in spring 2021. For A LOT more information and application materials, go to: https://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/TCAB_program
3. The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching (DAT) short term semester) programs abroad are accepting applications for US K-12 educators to run projects for several months in Columbia, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, or Vietnam. This US government-sponsored program is, of course, fully funded. There are a variety of projects, mostly on STEM or English-language education. Check out all the details at: https://www.fulbrightteacherexchanges.org/programs/dast/ (and click on all the links). The application deadline is Apr. 27.
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
4. Middle school, high school, and community college foreign language teachers: Want to cultivate new skills and ideas for creating a more exciting and interactive classroom environment? Register today for the University of Florida's Language Teacher Summer Institute 2020. This year's institute is online, between June 22-July 2, M-F. The seminar is free, but space is limited so you have to apply (competitively). For a lot more information, and the application materials, go to: https://ces.ufl.edu/outreach/k-12/language-teacher-summer-institute/ . Application deadline: May 1.
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 5. Check out the Learning Revolution virtual teachers' conference! You can attend any sessions for free - and they are on all teaching topics - and/or apply to present. For a lot more information, go to: https://learningrevolution.com/
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 6. Echoes & Reflections has really good FREE Holocaust and genocide-related webinars for educators. For upcoming ones, see: https://echoesandreflections.org/prepare/?class=webinars&filter=webinar&request_month=4&request_year=2020&dir=dec&utm_source=hs_automation&utm_medium=email&utm_content=85550121&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9DsdPB-61Vjh_vH3Q6cqRpn-B4Cn0MV2iizrmL2YBeee3Fus5d8pFU-IB7y2sCczCmfjcQAZXiD71ypY2U4Zp0Y_yZTg&_hsmi=85550121
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 7. Here's another free webinar for educators, this one from the University of Califronia-Berkeley: "Global Views on Covid-19: Lessons from the 1918 Flu Pandemic in India and Indonesia." It will take place on Tuesday, April 7, from 4:00-5:00 pm (I assume Western Time). Registration is free, but you need to register: https://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/pded.html?event_ID=132607&date=2020-04-07&filter=Secondary%20Event%20Type&filtersel=
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+*8. Do you have a great K-12 lesson plan that you have developed related to the Middle East-North Africa? The University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies would love to offer you the possibility of cash, books, and recognition for them! Check out our 2020 lesson plan competition at : https://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/lesson_plan_competition. The deadline isn't until Sept. 2020, but you can enter at any time.
*9. K-12 teachers: CMES has so many great, FREE online materials for teachers! Be sure to see our “Innovative Lessons on Morocco” page: https://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/resources/lessonsonmorocco
--- Our lesson plan page has a SEARCH ENGINE, so that you can quickly search our almost 200 lesson plans by grade, subject, and/or content area. Go to: http://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/lessons.
--- There are plenty of handouts and background sheets and powerpoints at: http://cmes.arizona.edu/node/771 . For example, there are some powerpoints on the Jewish High Holy Days, info on the Persian New Year, teachable ideas about the Ottoman Empire, and lots, lots more.
--- Check out the other resources such as suggested book lists for K-12 classrooms (by grade level), film guides (for films available at our Center or through Netflix), links to websites to counter Islamophobia, and AP World History resources: http://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/resources
--- We have a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/sbscmes/videos
--- Like our Facebook page (for K-12 and community college educators - including pre-service teachers): https://www.facebook.com/cmesoutreach
+*10. As we all struggle to work totally online, would you like a virtual speaker for your class on a Middle East-related topic? If so, just email me (Lisa Adeli - adeli@arizona.edu), and tell me exactly what topic you would like covered and when you need it by. I will get a graduate student-expert or someone from the area (depending on your topic). I can help organize Q&A sessions, asynchronously or synchronously, depending on your needs.
+ 11. Qatar Foundation International is offering grants for public or charter school high school teachers to provide them with online Middle East-related curriculum units from Choices. (These are not the free "Teaching with the News" mini-units, but the full ones that you normally have to pay for.) There are ones on Iran, Syria, and a lot of others that you could choose from. To find out more about the grant, and to apply for it, go to: https://www.qfi.org/opportunities/curriculum-award-program/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 12. The Arizona Council for History Education is a great organization (so says someone on the Board!!!), and now they have even more to offer. They are putting on their website links to webinars, virtual museum tours, and other things to help teachers educate students in these challenging times. Check them out at: https://azhistorycouncil.org/online-learning-resources/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 13. Here is a great free Covid-19 3-day teaching module for social studies teachers. One day is a comparison with the Spanish Flu of 1917, another about the geographic diffusion of the current crisis, and a third day on globalization and economic impact. To access the full unit, go to: https://www.worldhistoryde.org/COVID-19/ and click on the links.
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 14. A friend told me about "I Shall Not Be Silent," a film about a Rabbi who escapes the Holocaust and later becomes active in the US civil rights movement. Unfortunately, the free online film screening ended before I could get out the e-bulletin. However, you might want to check out the website for teacher trainings and screenings for middle/high school teachers who want to use it in their classes. Also, maybe you can contact the film producers to find out more ways to access it. Check out the resources at: http://www.prinzdocumentary.org/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 15. What could be more fun and more educational in these trying times than North Carolina's Virtual International Cultural Festival for students and teachers. (They said people nationwide are invited to attend. There are 4 sessions, all on April 13, on different topics and world areas - and different age levels. For a lot more information, go to: https://navigators.unc.edu/event/spring-2020-virtual-cultural-festival/ . To register, go to:
https://unc.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6153d754c03c13f5a09dde06f&id=08ab2026f0
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
16. IEEE Reach (Raising Engineering Awareness through the Conduit of History) has all kinds of free online materials for you to use in teaching about the impact of technology throughout history. The site has inquiry units, primary sources, multimedia, and hands-on activities. Check them out at: https://reach.ieee.org/inquiry-units/
(CMES is telling you about these resources as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.)
17. Here are some great online teaching resources from Arizona State University for K-12 students/teachers. There are a lot of different web resources. Elementary teachers: Be sure to scroll down to the last item on the page for some things specifically for you. (Well, some of the others are good too.....) https://asuforyou.asu.edu/
(CMES is telling you about these resources as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.)
18. Rosetta Stone is offering FREE 3-month subscriptions for kids to learn foreign languages!! There are lots of languages to choose from: from Latin American Spanish to critical languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish (the four MENA languages we focus on at CMES). Check it out at: https://www.rosettastone.com/freeforstudents/. Plus, I like how you can sign up for more than one language if you have more than one kid!!
(CMES is telling you about these resources as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.)
19. Pulitzer Center for International Journalism is holding a 2020 Fighting Words (Poetry in Response to Current Events) Poetry Contest for K-12 student. It would be a great reading/writing/social studies assignment - and kids can win cash prizes! For a lot more information, go to: https://pulitzercenter.org/builder/lesson/fighting-words-poetry-response-current-events-contest-and-workshop-24262?utm_source=email&utm_medium=educationnewsletter&utm_campaign=3182020. The deadline to enter is May 15.
(CMES is telling you about this competition as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
20. If you are working with your students on evaluating different kinds of media and information, check out the free materials from MediaWell. They have everything from information to courses and course modules. Just go to: https://mediawell.ssrc.org/teaching-and-learning/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
21. Aramco World is a lovely, colorful, free magazine with very non-political articles about the different cultures of Islamic world. It’s great to use with kids! There are articles on art, food, cities, great historical figures, and so many other things. You can access the magazine online - https://www.aramcoworld.com/Home - OR you can contact them to put you on the list to receive free hard copies. Also, if you like one particular article and wish you had a classroom set printed in full-color, if you email them, they will send you a classroom set of the article at no cost.
(CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.)
22. One of the most excellent, best organized lesson plan site for K-12 teacher-created lessons on geography is from the Geographic Alliance in my home state:) Go to their main webpage - https://geoalliance.asu.edu/ - and click on the links to the right for GeoLiteracy, Geo STEM, and GEOHistory lessons, organized by grade level. You'll find a lot of great, very practical materials to use in your classroom. Also, if you go to their webpage, sign up to be a member. It's free, and you get so much good information. I tell you about a lot of it, but there are other things that are US-only, so I don't....
(CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.)
23. Here are some awards (and the organizations that organize them) for multi-cultural and internationally-themed children’s/teen literature in a variety of world areas. Note that the Middle East winners were recently announced.
(CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.)
23a. The Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC), an organization of K-12 educators interested in the Middle East, has just announced its 2019 award-winners!! Awards are given for in 3 categories – picture books, youth literature, and youth non-fiction - for recently-released books about the Middle East that are well-written, appeal to kids at the intended grade level, and give an accurate, nuanced portrayal of life in the Middle East (or of Middle Eastern-Americans). This year’s winners include an early-elementary book “A Drop in the Sea,” an older elementary book on Mulla Nasruddin folktales, a middle school novel “Darius the Great Is Not Okay” (about a socially awkward American boy’s trip to Iran), a non-fiction graphic novel about Syrian refugees, and several more. For a list and description of the new winners, go to: http://www.meoc.us/ and click on the “Announcing the Winners….” link to the right. For all the winners (previous years too), see:http://www.meoc.us/book-awards/complete-list-of-middle-east-book-award-winners-2000-2017. And consider joining MEOC. It’s free for classroom teachers; $10 if you want to be a voting member and/or participate on a book awards sub-committee.
23b. There are K-12 book awards in other world areas:
- The Americas Awards (for books about Latin America or Latinos in the U.S.) from CLASP (Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs): http://www.claspprograms.org/americasaward
- CABA (Children’s Africana Book Awards) for books about Africa or African-Americans: http://africaaccessreview.org/childrens-africana-book-awards/
- SABA (South Asia Book Awards) for books about South Asia: http://southasiabookaward.org/
- Freeman Book Awards (honoring East and Southeast Asian titles): http://nctasia.org/freeman-book-awards/
Take care, and stay healthy!
Lisa Adeli, Director of Educational Outreach
University of Arizona
(permission to share granted 04/07/20)
Internationally-Themed Opportunities and Resources for K-12 Teachers and Teacher-Educators – 4/6/2020
As always, brief descriptors are immediately below (organized by category). Scroll down further for extended descriptions of anything that interests you. An asterisk (*) designates a University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies activity; a plus (+) is an item new to the listserv.
Note: My colleagues and I are compiling a list of films that you can access online for use at different grade levels - or for your own lockdown enjoyment:)
Short Descriptors:
---Competitions, PD, and Short-Term Travel Opportunities for Educators:
(Note: Some of these programs are open to pre-service teachers too. If there is any question, contact the program person on the program website and ask!)
*1. Enter now to win $50 in free books for your classroom/school library. Monthly drawings.
*2. Online exchange program for US teachers and Middle East-North African K-12 teachers. Program: fall 2020-spring 2021. Deadline to apply: Apr. 30.
3. FUNDED Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching short term (fall 2021 semester) programs abroad. Columbia, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, or Vietnam. Application deadline: Apr. 27.
4. Foreign language teachers (in US): FREE online summer institute. June 22-July 2. Apply by: May 1.
+ 5. FREE virtual teachers' conference - daily from April 6 through May. (Register to attend any session OR apply to present.)
+ 6. Online Holocaust/genocide-education programs for teachers. Echoes & Reflections.
+ 7. FREE webinar for educators: "Global Views on Covid-19: Lessons from the 1918 Flu Pandemic in India and Indonesia." Tuesday, April 7.
+*8. Lesson plan competition - win cash and prizes for Middle East-related lessons. Deadline: Sept. 20.
---Resources for Educators:
*9. K-12 teachers: CMES lesson plans has a SEARCH ENGINE to help peruse almost 200 lessons. Also, find background sheets, film guides, Youtube lectures, book lists - for all grade levels. (Check out our Morocco lesson plans.)
*10. Virtual (online or video-recorded) speaker for your class on Middle East-related topic? No charge for teachers.
+ 11. Qatar Foundation International grants for high school teachers to provide them with online Middle East-related curriculum units from Choices. (These are the units you normally have to pay for.)
+ 12. Great online teaching ideas from the Arizona Council for History Education (webinars, virtual museum tours, etc.).
+ 13.FREE Covid-19 3-day teaching module for social studies teachers.
+ 14. "I Shall Not Be Silent" - film on a Jewish Holocaust survivor turned US civil rights activist. Screenings and teacher trainings for middle/high school teachers.
+ 15. Virtual International Cultural Festival for students and teachers. April 13 - sessions all day.
16. FREE teaching resources (lesson plans, primary sources, hands-on activities) on impact of technology throughout history.
17. K-12 teaching resources from Arizona State University (not us, but another AZ university) for K-12 students/teachers.
18. FREE Rosetta Stone language learning subscription for kids. (Lots of languages to choose from!)
19. Pulitzer Center for International Journalism holding a 2020 Fighting Words (Poetry in Response to Current Events) Poetry Contest for K-12 student. Deadline: May 15.
20. Teaching & learning resources from Mediawell (about media literacy).
21. Free magazine (online or print) with articles/photos about cultures of Islamic world.
22. Excellent K-12 teacher-created lessons on geography (with literature, history, and/or STEM overlap). And join their listserv for so many online and in-person opportunities!!
23. K-12 book awards for multi-cultural literature - good books to suggest to kids/parents.
a. Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC) awards for picture books, youth literature, youth non-fiction.
b. K-12 book awards in other world areas, including Africa, East Asia, Asia, Latin America.
Detailed Information:
*1. Enter now to win $50 in free books for your classroom/school library! It takes only 10 minutes or so to get entered into the University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies’ monthly drawing. All you have to do is: (1) go to: https://cmes.arizona.edu/book_drawing, (2) look at one lesson plan for your grade level/subject area on our website (link provided on the website), and (3) fill out your information so that, when you win, we can select the appropriate books and mail them to you. Do this today! You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain!!
*2. We all need something to look forward to, sooooo here's an opportunity to participate during the 2020-2021 academic year in an online program that will bring together US and Middle Eastern K-12 teachers. 30 teachers will meet both asynchronously and synchronously through Zoom every other Sunday from September through November. Participants will also plan a classroom project of their choice (working with people from at least one other country), which they will implement in spring 2021. For A LOT more information and application materials, go to: https://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/TCAB_program
3. The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching (DAT) short term semester) programs abroad are accepting applications for US K-12 educators to run projects for several months in Columbia, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, or Vietnam. This US government-sponsored program is, of course, fully funded. There are a variety of projects, mostly on STEM or English-language education. Check out all the details at: https://www.fulbrightteacherexchanges.org/programs/dast/ (and click on all the links). The application deadline is Apr. 27.
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
4. Middle school, high school, and community college foreign language teachers: Want to cultivate new skills and ideas for creating a more exciting and interactive classroom environment? Register today for the University of Florida's Language Teacher Summer Institute 2020. This year's institute is online, between June 22-July 2, M-F. The seminar is free, but space is limited so you have to apply (competitively). For a lot more information, and the application materials, go to: https://ces.ufl.edu/outreach/k-12/language-teacher-summer-institute/ . Application deadline: May 1.
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 5. Check out the Learning Revolution virtual teachers' conference! You can attend any sessions for free - and they are on all teaching topics - and/or apply to present. For a lot more information, go to: https://learningrevolution.com/
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 6. Echoes & Reflections has really good FREE Holocaust and genocide-related webinars for educators. For upcoming ones, see: https://echoesandreflections.org/prepare/?class=webinars&filter=webinar&request_month=4&request_year=2020&dir=dec&utm_source=hs_automation&utm_medium=email&utm_content=85550121&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9DsdPB-61Vjh_vH3Q6cqRpn-B4Cn0MV2iizrmL2YBeee3Fus5d8pFU-IB7y2sCczCmfjcQAZXiD71ypY2U4Zp0Y_yZTg&_hsmi=85550121
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 7. Here's another free webinar for educators, this one from the University of Califronia-Berkeley: "Global Views on Covid-19: Lessons from the 1918 Flu Pandemic in India and Indonesia." It will take place on Tuesday, April 7, from 4:00-5:00 pm (I assume Western Time). Registration is free, but you need to register: https://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/pded.html?event_ID=132607&date=2020-04-07&filter=Secondary%20Event%20Type&filtersel=
(CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+*8. Do you have a great K-12 lesson plan that you have developed related to the Middle East-North Africa? The University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies would love to offer you the possibility of cash, books, and recognition for them! Check out our 2020 lesson plan competition at : https://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/lesson_plan_competition. The deadline isn't until Sept. 2020, but you can enter at any time.
*9. K-12 teachers: CMES has so many great, FREE online materials for teachers! Be sure to see our “Innovative Lessons on Morocco” page: https://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/resources/lessonsonmorocco
--- Our lesson plan page has a SEARCH ENGINE, so that you can quickly search our almost 200 lesson plans by grade, subject, and/or content area. Go to: http://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/lessons.
--- There are plenty of handouts and background sheets and powerpoints at: http://cmes.arizona.edu/node/771 . For example, there are some powerpoints on the Jewish High Holy Days, info on the Persian New Year, teachable ideas about the Ottoman Empire, and lots, lots more.
--- Check out the other resources such as suggested book lists for K-12 classrooms (by grade level), film guides (for films available at our Center or through Netflix), links to websites to counter Islamophobia, and AP World History resources: http://cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/resources
--- We have a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/sbscmes/videos
--- Like our Facebook page (for K-12 and community college educators - including pre-service teachers): https://www.facebook.com/cmesoutreach
+*10. As we all struggle to work totally online, would you like a virtual speaker for your class on a Middle East-related topic? If so, just email me (Lisa Adeli - adeli@arizona.edu), and tell me exactly what topic you would like covered and when you need it by. I will get a graduate student-expert or someone from the area (depending on your topic). I can help organize Q&A sessions, asynchronously or synchronously, depending on your needs.
+ 11. Qatar Foundation International is offering grants for public or charter school high school teachers to provide them with online Middle East-related curriculum units from Choices. (These are not the free "Teaching with the News" mini-units, but the full ones that you normally have to pay for.) There are ones on Iran, Syria, and a lot of others that you could choose from. To find out more about the grant, and to apply for it, go to: https://www.qfi.org/opportunities/curriculum-award-program/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 12. The Arizona Council for History Education is a great organization (so says someone on the Board!!!), and now they have even more to offer. They are putting on their website links to webinars, virtual museum tours, and other things to help teachers educate students in these challenging times. Check them out at: https://azhistorycouncil.org/online-learning-resources/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 13. Here is a great free Covid-19 3-day teaching module for social studies teachers. One day is a comparison with the Spanish Flu of 1917, another about the geographic diffusion of the current crisis, and a third day on globalization and economic impact. To access the full unit, go to: https://www.worldhistoryde.org/COVID-19/ and click on the links.
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 14. A friend told me about "I Shall Not Be Silent," a film about a Rabbi who escapes the Holocaust and later becomes active in the US civil rights movement. Unfortunately, the free online film screening ended before I could get out the e-bulletin. However, you might want to check out the website for teacher trainings and screenings for middle/high school teachers who want to use it in their classes. Also, maybe you can contact the film producers to find out more ways to access it. Check out the resources at: http://www.prinzdocumentary.org/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
+ 15. What could be more fun and more educational in these trying times than North Carolina's Virtual International Cultural Festival for students and teachers. (They said people nationwide are invited to attend. There are 4 sessions, all on April 13, on different topics and world areas - and different age levels. For a lot more information, go to: https://navigators.unc.edu/event/spring-2020-virtual-cultural-festival/ . To register, go to:
https://unc.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6153d754c03c13f5a09dde06f&id=08ab2026f0
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
16. IEEE Reach (Raising Engineering Awareness through the Conduit of History) has all kinds of free online materials for you to use in teaching about the impact of technology throughout history. The site has inquiry units, primary sources, multimedia, and hands-on activities. Check them out at: https://reach.ieee.org/inquiry-units/
(CMES is telling you about these resources as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.)
17. Here are some great online teaching resources from Arizona State University for K-12 students/teachers. There are a lot of different web resources. Elementary teachers: Be sure to scroll down to the last item on the page for some things specifically for you. (Well, some of the others are good too.....) https://asuforyou.asu.edu/
(CMES is telling you about these resources as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.)
18. Rosetta Stone is offering FREE 3-month subscriptions for kids to learn foreign languages!! There are lots of languages to choose from: from Latin American Spanish to critical languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish (the four MENA languages we focus on at CMES). Check it out at: https://www.rosettastone.com/freeforstudents/. Plus, I like how you can sign up for more than one language if you have more than one kid!!
(CMES is telling you about these resources as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about these particular ones that has triggered this comment.)
19. Pulitzer Center for International Journalism is holding a 2020 Fighting Words (Poetry in Response to Current Events) Poetry Contest for K-12 student. It would be a great reading/writing/social studies assignment - and kids can win cash prizes! For a lot more information, go to: https://pulitzercenter.org/builder/lesson/fighting-words-poetry-response-current-events-contest-and-workshop-24262?utm_source=email&utm_medium=educationnewsletter&utm_campaign=3182020. The deadline to enter is May 15.
(CMES is telling you about this competition as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
20. If you are working with your students on evaluating different kinds of media and information, check out the free materials from MediaWell. They have everything from information to courses and course modules. Just go to: https://mediawell.ssrc.org/teaching-and-learning/
(CMES is telling you about this resource as a courtesy and does not endorse it. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA resources; there is nothing about this particular one that has triggered this comment.)
21. Aramco World is a lovely, colorful, free magazine with very non-political articles about the different cultures of Islamic world. It’s great to use with kids! There are articles on art, food, cities, great historical figures, and so many other things. You can access the magazine online - https://www.aramcoworld.com/Home - OR you can contact them to put you on the list to receive free hard copies. Also, if you like one particular article and wish you had a classroom set printed in full-color, if you email them, they will send you a classroom set of the article at no cost.
(CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.)
22. One of the most excellent, best organized lesson plan site for K-12 teacher-created lessons on geography is from the Geographic Alliance in my home state:) Go to their main webpage - https://geoalliance.asu.edu/ - and click on the links to the right for GeoLiteracy, Geo STEM, and GEOHistory lessons, organized by grade level. You'll find a lot of great, very practical materials to use in your classroom. Also, if you go to their webpage, sign up to be a member. It's free, and you get so much good information. I tell you about a lot of it, but there are other things that are US-only, so I don't....
(CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.)
23. Here are some awards (and the organizations that organize them) for multi-cultural and internationally-themed children’s/teen literature in a variety of world areas. Note that the Middle East winners were recently announced.
(CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.)
23a. The Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC), an organization of K-12 educators interested in the Middle East, has just announced its 2019 award-winners!! Awards are given for in 3 categories – picture books, youth literature, and youth non-fiction - for recently-released books about the Middle East that are well-written, appeal to kids at the intended grade level, and give an accurate, nuanced portrayal of life in the Middle East (or of Middle Eastern-Americans). This year’s winners include an early-elementary book “A Drop in the Sea,” an older elementary book on Mulla Nasruddin folktales, a middle school novel “Darius the Great Is Not Okay” (about a socially awkward American boy’s trip to Iran), a non-fiction graphic novel about Syrian refugees, and several more. For a list and description of the new winners, go to: http://www.meoc.us/ and click on the “Announcing the Winners….” link to the right. For all the winners (previous years too), see:http://www.meoc.us/book-awards/complete-list-of-middle-east-book-award-winners-2000-2017. And consider joining MEOC. It’s free for classroom teachers; $10 if you want to be a voting member and/or participate on a book awards sub-committee.
23b. There are K-12 book awards in other world areas:
- The Americas Awards (for books about Latin America or Latinos in the U.S.) from CLASP (Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs): http://www.claspprograms.org/americasaward
- CABA (Children’s Africana Book Awards) for books about Africa or African-Americans: http://africaaccessreview.org/childrens-africana-book-awards/
- SABA (South Asia Book Awards) for books about South Asia: http://southasiabookaward.org/
- Freeman Book Awards (honoring East and Southeast Asian titles): http://nctasia.org/freeman-book-awards/
Take care, and stay healthy!
Lisa Adeli, Director of Educational Outreach
University of Arizona
(permission to share granted 04/07/20)
Saturday, March 28, 2020
How to Be a Virtual Teacher! Dunno beyond facilitating Engenuity which was an out of the box, super easy tool, but gonna learn now from scratch.
...but if we hold our breath and jump, keep a sense of humor, keep kids with juice away from on our computer, and have amazon account ready for when the dog eats our USB cord, we'll be okay.
Balance is tough. Already, when working from home I'm bouncing between totally obsessed and can't stop typing away, looking at the computer and throwing daggers as I fold laundry, or griping at family to quiet down because I can't focus. I am definitely not there YET. If teaching's any indication, I'll never get "there" but can get better.
Here's the best check-list I've seen for getting started.
How to Be a Successful Virtual Teacher
How to Be More Productive When Working from Home - ADD Resource Center
...but if we hold our breath and jump, keep a sense of humor, keep kids with juice away from on our computer, and have amazon account ready for when the dog eats our USB cord, we'll be okay.
Balance is tough. Already, when working from home I'm bouncing between totally obsessed and can't stop typing away, looking at the computer and throwing daggers as I fold laundry, or griping at family to quiet down because I can't focus. I am definitely not there YET. If teaching's any indication, I'll never get "there" but can get better.
Here's the best check-list I've seen for getting started.
How to Be a Successful Virtual Teacher
How to Be More Productive When Working from Home - ADD Resource Center
Approaches to Learning with Distance Learning
Some Online ATL Resources for Digital and Home-School Learning
Self-Management
Game - teacher directed, collaborate with other students Classcraft Online Management Game
Communication
Online Safety - Video - The Power of Words lesson is also available
Finding Credible News - Common Sense Media
Research
Google Search AWESOME - PPT lessons and daily research challenges - use tomorrow - organized beginner, intermediate, and advanced searchers
https://www.google.com.hk/insidesearch/searcheducation/lessons.html
Social Skills
Zoo U - Online Collaboration Game - Tools to assign and teacher can observe how students work together c
Building Empathy - video with ideas to build empathy in your digital classroom
Links for tools for online collaboration - add your own to the list
Thinking Skills
Finding My Media Balance - Common Sense Media
Self-Management
Game - teacher directed, collaborate with other students Classcraft Online Management Game
Communication
Online Safety - Video - The Power of Words lesson is also available
Finding Credible News - Common Sense Media
Research
Google Search AWESOME - PPT lessons and daily research challenges - use tomorrow - organized beginner, intermediate, and advanced searchers
https://www.google.com.hk/insidesearch/searcheducation/lessons.html
Social Skills
Zoo U - Online Collaboration Game - Tools to assign and teacher can observe how students work together c
Building Empathy - video with ideas to build empathy in your digital classroom
Links for tools for online collaboration - add your own to the list
Thinking Skills
Finding My Media Balance - Common Sense Media
Friday, March 27, 2020
Academic Honesty - This is definitely a test of the emergency broadcast system! Copyright in the time of COVID
This is a not a test. Working from home and moving learning online is our new reality. Let's see how our democratic values of ownership and authority still hold strong in a time of uncertainty and online learning.
Will you still demonstrate being principled and follow copyright laws? It's not going to be easy. Call me out too if I make a mistake too. These are extraodinary times indeed.
Here are updated guidelines and policies for video-taping read-alouds:
https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=publishers-adapt-policies-to-help-educators-coronavirus-covid19
Will you still demonstrate being principled and follow copyright laws? It's not going to be easy. Call me out too if I make a mistake too. These are extraodinary times indeed.
Here are updated guidelines and policies for video-taping read-alouds:
https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=publishers-adapt-policies-to-help-educators-coronavirus-covid19
Thursday, March 26, 2020
FREE Resources for Educators for School Closures
FREE Resources - My awesome principal and resourceful colleagues are sharing amazing resources. So many. As they come I'll post and curate them here for all to use. Keep them coming.
https://www.weareteachers.com/free-online-learning-resources/
https://time.com/tfk-free/?fbclid=IwAR35tK7NPJnGOFciaHtdi3UEWwUVI1CZKXIaI7XlSQdqvLB9lgMbN5sPAxM
Copyright Policy Updates during School Closures - Publishers are allowing copyright use in agreement for following these procedures and policies. Thank you for using academic honesty. The true test is if we as a society will follow academic honesty during difficult times.
CA Council for Social Studies Supporting distance learning in social studies - indexed by grade. Includes financial literacy and civis links.
Teaching Books
130 FREE online resources
Common Sense Media - Best Games for Online Learning, Digital Citizenship Badges, Lessons and More
https://www.weareteachers.com/free-online-learning-resources/
https://time.com/tfk-free/?fbclid=IwAR35tK7NPJnGOFciaHtdi3UEWwUVI1CZKXIaI7XlSQdqvLB9lgMbN5sPAxM
Copyright Policy Updates during School Closures - Publishers are allowing copyright use in agreement for following these procedures and policies. Thank you for using academic honesty. The true test is if we as a society will follow academic honesty during difficult times.
CA Council for Social Studies Supporting distance learning in social studies - indexed by grade. Includes financial literacy and civis links.
Teaching Books
130 FREE online resources
Common Sense Media - Best Games for Online Learning, Digital Citizenship Badges, Lessons and More
Relevant Learning - Perfect time to collect oral histories
Help our students stay in touch with relatives and friends by collecting oral histories. Boost writing, listening and speaking strategies.
Oral History Project from UC Berkeley History Social Science Project
Tell Us How it Was: Students Interview Their Elders - What Can Kids Do
Oral History Project - Teaching Tolerance
Oral Interviews - Teaching Tolerance
Oral Histories - National Council for Social Studies
Oral History Upper Elementary Lesson Plan (grade 4/5)- great ideas to have our students interview each other and publish their experiences of Sheltering in Place. -Tenement Museum
How do I Engage Students in Oral History Projects? - Oral History Association
Interviewing Veterans - Library of Congress
Story Corps - Interviewing Tips
Story Corps DIY - getting your students started
How to use primary resources in your online teaching:
National Archives
Oral History Project from UC Berkeley History Social Science Project
Tell Us How it Was: Students Interview Their Elders - What Can Kids Do
Oral History Project - Teaching Tolerance
Oral Interviews - Teaching Tolerance
Oral Histories - National Council for Social Studies
Oral History Upper Elementary Lesson Plan (grade 4/5)- great ideas to have our students interview each other and publish their experiences of Sheltering in Place. -Tenement Museum
How do I Engage Students in Oral History Projects? - Oral History Association
Interviewing Veterans - Library of Congress
Story Corps - Interviewing Tips
Story Corps DIY - getting your students started
How to use primary resources in your online teaching:
National Archives
Dive Deep - Our Oceans
What is the greatest source of ocean pollution? What kelp-based products do you use/eat everyday? Do you know the value of the global ocean economy? Can you name one marine-related career? Curate your marine related curriculum to inspire students to explore and take action.
Did you know Soymilk and Toothpaste are made with seaweed?
Kelp Forest Digital Teachers Guide - AWESOME resources including a game from Monterey Bay Aquarium
Watersheds, Flooding, and Pollution - educator's resources from NOAA because all streets and all streams lead to the ocean
Cigarette Butts the Worlds Greatest Source of Ocean Pollution - inspire your students to take action
Stuck inside and can't get to the beach for spring break? Put on your snorkel and fins and dive deep with these online underwater resources:
All ages Ocean Education - National Geographic
Be sure to sign-up for FREE Mysteryscience.com teacher account!
California State Parks PORTS is also free right now. Search it up and have your families join in for a free video-conference at a state park
K-8 - BrainPop Oceans - Learn about oceans with animated video, quizzes, and related topics (sign-up for FREE teacher account)
K-8 - NEWSELA ocean-related articles FREE for online teachers - Sign-up now!
Did you know the value of the global ocean economy is estimated to grow from $1.5 Trillion (2010) to $3.0 Trillion by 2030 - "The Ocean Economy in 2030," OECD (April 2016)
grade 10+ The Maritime Alliance ocean-related companies (the movers and the shakers), click on links to research these blue-tech innovators
grade 8+ NASA links for ocean problem sets using Pi
grade 7+ The Maritime Alliance Ocean Report US Ocean Enterprise - one of the fastest and most lucrative economies is ocean-related economies, check-out what jobs and careers will be needed
grade 7+ The Martitime Alliance Blue Stem Career videos - there are so many more ocean-related jobs than one might think
grade 6+ Elephant Seals articles from California State Parks (cam is available when parks are open)
grade 6+ Experiencing Marine Protected Areas - how to keep MPA's safe (plan ahead for when you are out and about again)
grade 6+ Ocean Facts from NOAA with links to 100+ ocean-related video
grade 6+ - virtual adventure - FREE teacher membership required - Find a Vent online exploration with American History Museum https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/find-a-vent
grade 6+ - article - "Oceanography" Scholastic Article
grade 4+ - article - 11 Ocean-friendly companies like Patagonia and Adidas are removing plastic from our seas and transforming it into cool new products - Business Insider
grade 2 - video - Why is the ocean salty?
COOL OCEAN CAMS - IF YOU CAN'T BE THERE IN PERSON
LIVE Scripps Pier Cam (La Jolla Shores, San Diego)
Kelp Cam - Birch Aquarium
Coral Reef Cam - Monterey Bay Aquarium
All Monterey Bay Aquarium Cams including penguins, sharks, and Monterey Bay - Monterey Bay Aquarium
National Aquarium Cams are recorded during COVID but click here to find animals in their ocean environment - National Aquarium
Shark Tracker - National Conservation
Channel Islands LIVE Kelp cam - California Channel Islands
Ocean cams at explore.org
Did you know Soymilk and Toothpaste are made with seaweed?
Kelp Forest Digital Teachers Guide - AWESOME resources including a game from Monterey Bay Aquarium
Watersheds, Flooding, and Pollution - educator's resources from NOAA because all streets and all streams lead to the ocean
Cigarette Butts the Worlds Greatest Source of Ocean Pollution - inspire your students to take action
Stuck inside and can't get to the beach for spring break? Put on your snorkel and fins and dive deep with these online underwater resources:
All ages Ocean Education - National Geographic
Be sure to sign-up for FREE Mysteryscience.com teacher account!
California State Parks PORTS is also free right now. Search it up and have your families join in for a free video-conference at a state park
K-8 - BrainPop Oceans - Learn about oceans with animated video, quizzes, and related topics (sign-up for FREE teacher account)
K-8 - NEWSELA ocean-related articles FREE for online teachers - Sign-up now!
Did you know the value of the global ocean economy is estimated to grow from $1.5 Trillion (2010) to $3.0 Trillion by 2030 - "The Ocean Economy in 2030," OECD (April 2016)
grade 10+ The Maritime Alliance ocean-related companies (the movers and the shakers), click on links to research these blue-tech innovators
grade 8+ NASA links for ocean problem sets using Pi
grade 7+ The Maritime Alliance Ocean Report US Ocean Enterprise - one of the fastest and most lucrative economies is ocean-related economies, check-out what jobs and careers will be needed
grade 7+ The Martitime Alliance Blue Stem Career videos - there are so many more ocean-related jobs than one might think
grade 6+ Elephant Seals articles from California State Parks (cam is available when parks are open)
grade 6+ Experiencing Marine Protected Areas - how to keep MPA's safe (plan ahead for when you are out and about again)
grade 6+ Ocean Facts from NOAA with links to 100+ ocean-related video
grade 6+ - virtual adventure - FREE teacher membership required - Find a Vent online exploration with American History Museum https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/find-a-vent
grade 6+ - article - "Oceanography" Scholastic Article
grade 4+ - article - 11 Ocean-friendly companies like Patagonia and Adidas are removing plastic from our seas and transforming it into cool new products - Business Insider
grade 2 - video - Why is the ocean salty?
COOL OCEAN CAMS - IF YOU CAN'T BE THERE IN PERSON
LIVE Scripps Pier Cam (La Jolla Shores, San Diego)
Kelp Cam - Birch Aquarium
Coral Reef Cam - Monterey Bay Aquarium
All Monterey Bay Aquarium Cams including penguins, sharks, and Monterey Bay - Monterey Bay Aquarium
National Aquarium Cams are recorded during COVID but click here to find animals in their ocean environment - National Aquarium
Shark Tracker - National Conservation
Channel Islands LIVE Kelp cam - California Channel Islands
Ocean cams at explore.org
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Ooops - Persian New Year
Thank you Lisa Adeli from University of Arizona for this "good stuff!" and reminding us that a Happy New Day can, and is being celebrated, even when inside trying to quell the COVID virus.
Please forgive this late posting...Happy Nowruz to families celebrating around the world.
Last week was a blur getting children and household settled for "sheltering in place" in California. Now that we are settling into a routine I'm finally working my way through 200+ emails. A friend of ours is from Iran and practices Zoroastrian religion here in San Diego so when I saw this post I was so happy to learn more about his religion and tonight we will have Shah Toot jam on our ice-cream as a nod to his wonderful family and all that they graciously share with our family. Every year we are invited to their home to help harvest Shah Toot berries from the beautiful trees in their back yard. He brought the cuttings from Iran years ago. Over the years we have learned more about the berries and realized what a special treat they are not only to us, but to other middle-eastern families. According to our friend an berry cultivator...Shah means King or Leader and Toot means berries so he says they are the King's Berries. They are the most delicious berry I have ever tasted and to me taste as the color purple would taste if it were food. Hard to explain. They are also known as Persian Red Mulberries and are found in few places in the United States but if you can try them, please do. The darker the better. http://www.mypersiankitchen.com/shahtoot-persian-red-mulberries/
The Persian New Year is the biggest holiday in Iran, Kurdish lands, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other places - and it's being celebrated now (the first day of the spring equinox, calculated to the minute!). It's a 5,000-year-old secular holiday (since its roots are in the ancient Zoroastrian religion, which isn't very widely practiced today), which combines some features of Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. If you want to teach about it, here's a very short intro that young people can read: https://cmes.arizona.edu/sites/cmes.arizona.edu/files/Nowruz%20explanation_1.pdf AND you can check out a great website at: https://surfiran.com/nowruz-2020-iranian-new-year-2020/
Short videos - compare different celebrations in different countries:
BBC intro to Nowruz (2 min., 19 sec.)
Silk Road Dance Company (3 min., 14 sec.)
Nowruz in Iran (2 min., 11 sec.)
Nowruz in Azerbaijan (4 minutes, 22 sec.)
Nowruz in Iraqi Kurdistan (2 minute, 8 sec.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGsCx1nx9-Q and (1 min., 34 sec.)
Nowruz in Uzbekistan (4 min., 53 sec.)
Nowruz in Tajikistan (3 min., 27 sec.)
Nowruz in Afghanistan (3 min., 16 sec.) --Lisa Adeli, University of Arizona
Listserv: Be sure to visit the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at University of Arizona and sign-up for their newsletter. They don't fill-up your inbox and the resources are timely, unique and quality.
Book List: good list to buy for your school library so everyone has FREE access to read and enjoy...
http://www.middleeastpdx.org/resources/original/recommended-books-for-elementary-school/
Please forgive this late posting...Happy Nowruz to families celebrating around the world.
Last week was a blur getting children and household settled for "sheltering in place" in California. Now that we are settling into a routine I'm finally working my way through 200+ emails. A friend of ours is from Iran and practices Zoroastrian religion here in San Diego so when I saw this post I was so happy to learn more about his religion and tonight we will have Shah Toot jam on our ice-cream as a nod to his wonderful family and all that they graciously share with our family. Every year we are invited to their home to help harvest Shah Toot berries from the beautiful trees in their back yard. He brought the cuttings from Iran years ago. Over the years we have learned more about the berries and realized what a special treat they are not only to us, but to other middle-eastern families. According to our friend an berry cultivator...Shah means King or Leader and Toot means berries so he says they are the King's Berries. They are the most delicious berry I have ever tasted and to me taste as the color purple would taste if it were food. Hard to explain. They are also known as Persian Red Mulberries and are found in few places in the United States but if you can try them, please do. The darker the better. http://www.mypersiankitchen.com/shahtoot-persian-red-mulberries/
The Persian New Year is the biggest holiday in Iran, Kurdish lands, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other places - and it's being celebrated now (the first day of the spring equinox, calculated to the minute!). It's a 5,000-year-old secular holiday (since its roots are in the ancient Zoroastrian religion, which isn't very widely practiced today), which combines some features of Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. If you want to teach about it, here's a very short intro that young people can read: https://cmes.arizona.edu/sites/cmes.arizona.edu/files/Nowruz%20explanation_1.pdf AND you can check out a great website at: https://surfiran.com/nowruz-2020-iranian-new-year-2020/
Short videos - compare different celebrations in different countries:
BBC intro to Nowruz (2 min., 19 sec.)
Silk Road Dance Company (3 min., 14 sec.)
Nowruz in Iran (2 min., 11 sec.)
Nowruz in Azerbaijan (4 minutes, 22 sec.)
Nowruz in Iraqi Kurdistan (2 minute, 8 sec.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGsCx1nx9-Q and (1 min., 34 sec.)
Nowruz in Uzbekistan (4 min., 53 sec.)
Nowruz in Tajikistan (3 min., 27 sec.)
Nowruz in Afghanistan (3 min., 16 sec.) --Lisa Adeli, University of Arizona
Listserv: Be sure to visit the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at University of Arizona and sign-up for their newsletter. They don't fill-up your inbox and the resources are timely, unique and quality.
Book List: good list to buy for your school library so everyone has FREE access to read and enjoy...
http://www.middleeastpdx.org/resources/original/recommended-books-for-elementary-school/
Monday, March 23, 2020
Measurement - great activity at home
With little ones:
Have students use all kind of things in the house to measure - non-standard measurement
Explore comparing non-standard measurements
https://thekindergartenconnection.com/secrets-developing-measuring-skills/
With older children:
read recipes; bake; measure their rooms; estimate elapsed time of a walk around the block
Challenge:
baking - give them a 1/4 cup or a tsp to bake a recipe. See how they need to use repeated addition or multiply to complete the recipe
math or spelling drill - measure how much time it takes to complete a drill sheet and keep a graph of how much faster it's completed each time
Service learning:
We are cleaning-up a section of the cat-walk behind us and then estimating how much time it would take to complete and/or how many people to complete in an hour. We are also going to measure the stairwell and estimate the amount of paint it would take to repaint it. When not on stay at home orders, I'm hoping to have daughter write message and I'll post on Nextdoor for white paint donations, and then see how close we are to how many gallons we estimated for the project. She can document the project in a process journal and then share with other families in our neighborhood and hopefully do the same once we can all head outside. Maybe we'll do a community hike around the different stairwells in our neighborhood and celebrate when we can or do a Zoom celebration all together if we are inside for the long haul.
Have students use all kind of things in the house to measure - non-standard measurement
Explore comparing non-standard measurements
https://thekindergartenconnection.com/secrets-developing-measuring-skills/
With older children:
read recipes; bake; measure their rooms; estimate elapsed time of a walk around the block
Challenge:
baking - give them a 1/4 cup or a tsp to bake a recipe. See how they need to use repeated addition or multiply to complete the recipe
math or spelling drill - measure how much time it takes to complete a drill sheet and keep a graph of how much faster it's completed each time
Service learning:
We are cleaning-up a section of the cat-walk behind us and then estimating how much time it would take to complete and/or how many people to complete in an hour. We are also going to measure the stairwell and estimate the amount of paint it would take to repaint it. When not on stay at home orders, I'm hoping to have daughter write message and I'll post on Nextdoor for white paint donations, and then see how close we are to how many gallons we estimated for the project. She can document the project in a process journal and then share with other families in our neighborhood and hopefully do the same once we can all head outside. Maybe we'll do a community hike around the different stairwells in our neighborhood and celebrate when we can or do a Zoom celebration all together if we are inside for the long haul.
Sending this reflection as a parent/educator:
Here's a "realistic" article at pushing stuff out to parents. I know I am totally overwhelmed and I only have one kiddo to manage and even thought I taught 3/4th, I'm having trouble interpreting instructions sent by others who think and plan differently than I do let alone have different backgrounds, philosophies, and resources we are trained to use. I can only imagine how this might be even more difficult for families who aren't educators and families that do not have electronic access or speak a different home language than English. Add the stress of this pandemic, not knowing the future, trying to shop, cook, and clean while families are home, setting up different schedules, negotiating space to study and work in small quarters with everyone stuck at home, expectations from family, teachers, and friends who do things differently, and this is a crazy amount of stress even if everyone's well and you have toilet paper. Put trauma and social/emotion stressors and health, financial or mental health problems on top of this and we are lucky to get through the day. I bet some of you are feeling the same. Take it easy, take it one day at a time, one minute at a time. Turn-off texts, news and Fb and take a nap if needed too. Everyone will benefit if we are having a hard time and just need a break. Teachers do this in their classrooms all the time. Rainy days are movie days.
In the classroom, students aren't' learning for 6 hours straight. Time on task is WAAAY less. Our children are learning to be flexible and this experience will define their lives and their generation. They will remember if we take it simple and allow them to do the same.
Remember the rule: plan activities that are around double the age of the child, then change or take a break.
“When it comes to remote teaching, start with reassurances to students. Our goal is not to create a fully-featured, 6 hrs/day online learning experience for all students. The goal is to prevent students from losing any ground while school is out and work on fluency or automaticity for what they’ve already learned. Start with reading, then add some writing and math,” says Hilary Scharton, VP of K-12 Strategy for Canvas. “Kids can do lots of age-appropriate science ‘experiments’ at home just cooking with mom or dad. Next steps could be replicating what happens in your face-to-face class online. There are lots of free tools that will let you upload a PDF so your students can annotate on a worksheet. You could do a video call with a conferencing app. Send your students links to newspapers or content sites. If you’re already using different apps in your classroom, use them more.” https://www.eschoolnews.com/2020/03/20/10-things-to-help-students-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/?ps=jsims@sandi.net-0013000000j0SzL-0033000000q5nY0&esmc=196698
This reaffirmed some of what maybe, I am doing right??? We are cooking for fractions and she's learning some hands-on sklls I know she doesn't get at school. I let her do it alone and then the cupcakes were super duper dry. On her own, she realized recipe said 3/4 cups so she measured 3 cups then 1/4 cup. Doh! We went back and measured 3 1/4 cups of rice and poured it into a measuring bowl and it filled to 3/4 cup. I'm so happy she failed and was able to figure out her mistake. Kind of bummed we had to through away the cupcakes though. Chocolate and stress go together. One good outcome...500+ more errors and mistakes to go.
I don't have a printer so PDF's lesson plans and ideas with worksheets to print-out don't work for us. Please don't post anything that needs specific materials beyond pencil/pen and paper. grrrrr. Right after I forwarded a ton of links I realized I am not appreciating teachers and friends sending a ton of new apps, passwords, and links where we have to sign-up and wait for confirmation.It's taking a ton of time with passwords, updates, etc. I am giving up on some, and I'm a "trained professional". I'm going to find a few things that work for us and master those so we can open them and get her started.
I understand the companies need metrics but if they are going to make it free, it would be great it if were kid accessible and easy to navigate. The amount of resources flying at us from publishers, well-meaning educators, companies, etc. are awesome but take it all with a grain of salt. Less is more, especially when many families are stressed at a level we've never encountered before. This situation is affecting everyone on a social-emotional level and many families on a financial level as well. Less is more.
After last week and many head-butting lessons, I reflected on what the article says above and decided to build automaticity, practicing what she's already learned and filling in some holes. Last week I was trying so hard to prepare lessons for her, introduce new learning and move forward and ended up frustrating her and stressing our relationship because she's arguing I don't do it the same as how her teacher explains it and I was feeling like I was failing my profession and at home, all at once and getting grumpy. Caught myself arguing back, "I know what I'm doing...I taught 4th grade before!!!"
Maybe I'm just really lame and taking the easy road, I don't know and I'm feel guilty every day that I'm not doing enough, but I'm trying to set things up to be FREE and SIMPLE - I have my daughter writing in a journal and reflecting on what she's done, setting a goal for the next day; all written in a spiral notebook. We are also reading what we have on hand; what's free. Read magazines, read pamphlets, read instructions for electronics we already own. 'reading bags and boxes in the kitchen as well as recipe books. I will check-out eBooks if needed but for now "reading around the house" is awesome, and helpful! She is also buying something using money she has saved, so has spent the last three evenings listening to and reading reviews to evaluate different products before she orders it to be delivered.
Keep it super simple. If you are feeling pressure to assign a ton of work online, I'm sure you know a family who doesn't have internet too. Please consider assignments and relevant activities that can be jotted down by families or students over the phone.
LANGUAGE
Writing / Reading: older students can write books for the younger ones to read; keep a journal comparing "then and now" before and during the pandemic; write down family stories and document oral histories of people that are special to them (over the phone, in person, Zoom/Google Hang-out); text friends and family; play Pictionary and Apples to Apples; ;keep a gratitude journal or a list of birds seen while walking around the neighborhood at different times of the day
Language Learning: If family has a second language, younger students can spend time teaching family members English and vice versa with additional home languages; call family members and talk on the phone.
Listening / Speaking: They can all listen and tell oral stories, interview each other; play games; make up games on cardboard and play each other's games and/or write instructions in home language or English
MATH
Basic skills: siblings create word problems and give younger students lessons. Cousins can do it on the phone too or over Zoom/Google hang-out/FaceTime. They can create drill sheets for themselves and others and do the same drill and time themselves to see if they can beat their time. Create stories and games with word problems and puzzles.
Measurement: children can learn to cook. Give them a 1/4 cup measurement instead of the cup with different measurements and have them figure out how to measure one cup using the 1/4 cup or 1/3. Can do the same with conversions of tsp/Tbs
Can write down a favorite family recipe and share on phone or take a photo and share with family to make at the same time.
If nothing else, reassure families and each others to be kind and gentle on themselves. At our home we are going to review what the teacher has posted and use what I think we can fit into our day. I'll double-check if this is expected or optional, but honestly, for equity issues, we as educators cannot make online learning required. After the pressure and failures of last week I will have my daughter practice learned skills, and get better at those skills, go for more walks, nap, and use this time to creatively reconnect with our families and our home and connect that to communication, research, social, thinking, and self-management skills we use in the International Baccalaureate program. They are solid skills and useful in life. What is your strategy for getting through all this with relationships and house in one piece?
Here's a "realistic" article at pushing stuff out to parents. I know I am totally overwhelmed and I only have one kiddo to manage and even thought I taught 3/4th, I'm having trouble interpreting instructions sent by others who think and plan differently than I do let alone have different backgrounds, philosophies, and resources we are trained to use. I can only imagine how this might be even more difficult for families who aren't educators and families that do not have electronic access or speak a different home language than English. Add the stress of this pandemic, not knowing the future, trying to shop, cook, and clean while families are home, setting up different schedules, negotiating space to study and work in small quarters with everyone stuck at home, expectations from family, teachers, and friends who do things differently, and this is a crazy amount of stress even if everyone's well and you have toilet paper. Put trauma and social/emotion stressors and health, financial or mental health problems on top of this and we are lucky to get through the day. I bet some of you are feeling the same. Take it easy, take it one day at a time, one minute at a time. Turn-off texts, news and Fb and take a nap if needed too. Everyone will benefit if we are having a hard time and just need a break. Teachers do this in their classrooms all the time. Rainy days are movie days.
In the classroom, students aren't' learning for 6 hours straight. Time on task is WAAAY less. Our children are learning to be flexible and this experience will define their lives and their generation. They will remember if we take it simple and allow them to do the same.
Remember the rule: plan activities that are around double the age of the child, then change or take a break.
“When it comes to remote teaching, start with reassurances to students. Our goal is not to create a fully-featured, 6 hrs/day online learning experience for all students. The goal is to prevent students from losing any ground while school is out and work on fluency or automaticity for what they’ve already learned. Start with reading, then add some writing and math,” says Hilary Scharton, VP of K-12 Strategy for Canvas. “Kids can do lots of age-appropriate science ‘experiments’ at home just cooking with mom or dad. Next steps could be replicating what happens in your face-to-face class online. There are lots of free tools that will let you upload a PDF so your students can annotate on a worksheet. You could do a video call with a conferencing app. Send your students links to newspapers or content sites. If you’re already using different apps in your classroom, use them more.” https://www.eschoolnews.com/2020/03/20/10-things-to-help-students-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/?ps=jsims@sandi.net-0013000000j0SzL-0033000000q5nY0&esmc=196698
This reaffirmed some of what maybe, I am doing right??? We are cooking for fractions and she's learning some hands-on sklls I know she doesn't get at school. I let her do it alone and then the cupcakes were super duper dry. On her own, she realized recipe said 3/4 cups so she measured 3 cups then 1/4 cup. Doh! We went back and measured 3 1/4 cups of rice and poured it into a measuring bowl and it filled to 3/4 cup. I'm so happy she failed and was able to figure out her mistake. Kind of bummed we had to through away the cupcakes though. Chocolate and stress go together. One good outcome...500+ more errors and mistakes to go.
I don't have a printer so PDF's lesson plans and ideas with worksheets to print-out don't work for us. Please don't post anything that needs specific materials beyond pencil/pen and paper. grrrrr. Right after I forwarded a ton of links I realized I am not appreciating teachers and friends sending a ton of new apps, passwords, and links where we have to sign-up and wait for confirmation.It's taking a ton of time with passwords, updates, etc. I am giving up on some, and I'm a "trained professional". I'm going to find a few things that work for us and master those so we can open them and get her started.
I understand the companies need metrics but if they are going to make it free, it would be great it if were kid accessible and easy to navigate. The amount of resources flying at us from publishers, well-meaning educators, companies, etc. are awesome but take it all with a grain of salt. Less is more, especially when many families are stressed at a level we've never encountered before. This situation is affecting everyone on a social-emotional level and many families on a financial level as well. Less is more.
After last week and many head-butting lessons, I reflected on what the article says above and decided to build automaticity, practicing what she's already learned and filling in some holes. Last week I was trying so hard to prepare lessons for her, introduce new learning and move forward and ended up frustrating her and stressing our relationship because she's arguing I don't do it the same as how her teacher explains it and I was feeling like I was failing my profession and at home, all at once and getting grumpy. Caught myself arguing back, "I know what I'm doing...I taught 4th grade before!!!"
Maybe I'm just really lame and taking the easy road, I don't know and I'm feel guilty every day that I'm not doing enough, but I'm trying to set things up to be FREE and SIMPLE - I have my daughter writing in a journal and reflecting on what she's done, setting a goal for the next day; all written in a spiral notebook. We are also reading what we have on hand; what's free. Read magazines, read pamphlets, read instructions for electronics we already own. 'reading bags and boxes in the kitchen as well as recipe books. I will check-out eBooks if needed but for now "reading around the house" is awesome, and helpful! She is also buying something using money she has saved, so has spent the last three evenings listening to and reading reviews to evaluate different products before she orders it to be delivered.
Keep it super simple. If you are feeling pressure to assign a ton of work online, I'm sure you know a family who doesn't have internet too. Please consider assignments and relevant activities that can be jotted down by families or students over the phone.
LANGUAGE
Writing / Reading: older students can write books for the younger ones to read; keep a journal comparing "then and now" before and during the pandemic; write down family stories and document oral histories of people that are special to them (over the phone, in person, Zoom/Google Hang-out); text friends and family; play Pictionary and Apples to Apples; ;keep a gratitude journal or a list of birds seen while walking around the neighborhood at different times of the day
Language Learning: If family has a second language, younger students can spend time teaching family members English and vice versa with additional home languages; call family members and talk on the phone.
Listening / Speaking: They can all listen and tell oral stories, interview each other; play games; make up games on cardboard and play each other's games and/or write instructions in home language or English
MATH
Basic skills: siblings create word problems and give younger students lessons. Cousins can do it on the phone too or over Zoom/Google hang-out/FaceTime. They can create drill sheets for themselves and others and do the same drill and time themselves to see if they can beat their time. Create stories and games with word problems and puzzles.
Measurement: children can learn to cook. Give them a 1/4 cup measurement instead of the cup with different measurements and have them figure out how to measure one cup using the 1/4 cup or 1/3. Can do the same with conversions of tsp/Tbs
Can write down a favorite family recipe and share on phone or take a photo and share with family to make at the same time.
If nothing else, reassure families and each others to be kind and gentle on themselves. At our home we are going to review what the teacher has posted and use what I think we can fit into our day. I'll double-check if this is expected or optional, but honestly, for equity issues, we as educators cannot make online learning required. After the pressure and failures of last week I will have my daughter practice learned skills, and get better at those skills, go for more walks, nap, and use this time to creatively reconnect with our families and our home and connect that to communication, research, social, thinking, and self-management skills we use in the International Baccalaureate program. They are solid skills and useful in life. What is your strategy for getting through all this with relationships and house in one piece?
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