Resources from the Library of Congress

The "Daring Librarian" shared this amazing infographic about "Teaching with the Library of Congress" on her blog today.  I hadn't taken the time to explore the resources available for teachers through the library... wow, are they impressive.  I share a few topics that I thought might be interesting for our students below:

Take a minute to explore the teacher resources (lesson plans, themed resources, primary source sets, presentations and activities, and collection connections): http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/

Keeping in mind the LOC is in our "neighborhood,"  it is interesting to point out there is a field trip program designed for 4th to 6th graders titled "The LOC Box Program."  Students complete the LOC Box activities to “unlock the secrets” of the historic Thomas Jefferson Building and learn about the Library of Congress and its resources. They must use four key skills: observe, analyze, communicate, and investigate. Working in small teams led by adult chaperones, students participate in hands-on activities such as drawing, solving puzzles and mosaic-making. The program provides take-home materials with additional activities to encourage the students to explore the Library’s online resources from home or school and to return for a visit with their families.  More information can be found here:  http://www.loc.gov/visit/tours/groups/locbox/

To give you a sense of some of the resources, following are four of the units that can be found in the "presentations and activities" section:

Inaugurations:

If you'd like to explore Inaugurations through history, take a look at this module.  Note that the picture of JFK was taken in front of our Lower School. Our own little piece of inaugural history

From Slavery to Civil Rights: A Timeline of African-American History:

 The Branding of America

This might be an interesting element of the decades project...

Fill up the Canvas: Lewis and Clark

Let me know if we can help you locate any additional resources from the LOC!

mb

Introducing MiddleWeb

I would like to introduce you to one of my new favorite blogs - MiddleWeb.

As you can see, this is a website designed for teachers from grades 4-8 in mind.  It is a treasure trove of resources, and I would encourage any of us who teach those grades not only to explore the website, but to subscribe to their newsletter, which is published twice a week.

I was struck by the lead article in today's newsletter, titled: "Taking a new approach to those children who challenge us."   I found it to be a fascinating read, and have included the link here:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/touch-kids-make-better-teachers-allen-mendler.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about MiddleWeb, I offer you the following screenshot:

Enjoy!

mb

E is for Explore!

I discovered this amazing blog this morning from the iLearn Technology Blog.  What a find!!  Blogger Erin Bittman is a graphic designer who has taught Pre-K and graphic design to kids.  The design of the blog is beautiful, and the hundreds of ideas are brilliant.  I think you will find ideas for every subject and grade level with this blog to help perk up lessons during those long January days.  Topics include discovery/exploration, science/engineering, mathematics, art, literacy, social studies and seasons/holidays. 

To quote: E for EXPLORE is a one-stop resource for teachers and parents.  We develop unique learning activities, and search the internet and compile additional great ideas from other sources.  Our index helps you find what you need quickly and easily.  Where we have posted ideas from other sources we provide easy links to those websites.  Please visit those as well to see what else they have to offer.  All E for Explore activities conform to state common core curriculum standards.

Following are a handful of activities I discovered this morning... but please, explore yourself:

http://eisforexplore.blogspot.com/

I Have a Dream...

Candy Heart Math

Lego Fractions

Snowman Construction

Popped vs. Unpopped

iPad ideas for Math and Science in the Upper School

As we are getting ready to implement sets of 10 iPads in some of our US Math and Science classes over the next few weeks, I thought it would be interesting to share a few resources.  A few 6th graders caught me shopping for Apps in the Media Center this morning, which reinforces their belief (and mine) that I have the best job in the school :)

First, I found a presentation titled "Introduction to iPads in Middle School" by a teacher named Gary Toews. I think it helps frame how to think about best using this mobile technology in your classrooms.

Not everything in the presentation lines up with how we will run things at HTS.  Gary is a big fan of Dropbox for sharing documents. I think Google Drive will make more sense for our students because they already have Google accounts set up (one less password to remember).

We'll also need to think about how best to print documents in the Upper School - more on this will follow...
 

Introduction to iPads in Middle School from Gary Toews

Next, I would like to share an article titled "5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make with iPads (and how to correct them)" from the edudemic website.  I would love to be able to have an entire meeting devoted to addressing the concerns raised in this article, but as time is always a bit short, if you have a chance to read it, I'd love to discuss it at any time.

And now for my App shopping project.  If the math and science nerds in the crowd would like to peruse the following sites and suggest any Apps that you'd like us to purchase to compliment current topics, please let me know:

First, I found a resource for free Secondary School Math Apps: http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/secondarymathematics

And some great ideas for Middle School Science Apps can be found on iear.org:
http://www.iear.org/iear/2010/7/26/ipads-in-science-by-al-gonzalez.html

This list of "100 Apps Perfect for Middle School" deserves a look as well:
http://www.fluency21.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=2402