Free Teacher Resource to help students comprehend racial challenges in the USA

From szq --

With MLK Day and Inauguration Day on the horizon, this resource sounds like it will be pertinent. =;->

A lesson plan to help students understand that beliefs and behaviors have roots.  Only by knowing our roots can we change the present.  Most people agree that individual acts of racism and discrimination are wrong but often grow defensive when issues of systemic or institutional racism arise.  No one wants to see him or herself as a racist, and we all fear being blamed for the unequal conditions in our country. Instead of facing the issues, we too often resort to defensiveness when faced with the “other” who has been oppressed: whites when facing African-Americans; men when facing women; the rich facing the poor.  Instead of facing our national and personal histories, we often find excuses for the way things are.  We’ve all heard the justifications: “I’m not a racist, but . . . ”
  
 “Slavery happened a long time ago.”
  
 “My grandparents were immigrants; they pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps.  These people just want to complain?” This lesson plan helps students understand how history influences our present, whether that’s the state of race relations today or their own attitudes towards another group of people. There are three brief activities in this lesson plan that teachers can use separately to introduce the topic or together to reinforce the message that we must know our history if we seek NOT to repeat it.  Go to www.racebridgesforschools.com <http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/lists/lt.php?id=eU9WXwxUWl5eSlIEA04GAgBcBwBW>  to download a free copy of What’s Racism Got to do with Me?   How Our History and Context Shape Us and Others. Help your students understand race, class, and gender in context.  Use this lesson to supplement a lesson that requires that students understand the importance of our past and our context.   One of these activities will make your history and English students more receptive to your lessons!    

Check out our other lesson plans that are ideal for use around the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 19)  and African American Heritage Month (February) . . . "We All Have A Race" and "From Flint Michigan to Your Front Door : Tracing the Roots of Racism" (with audio downloads).           

Go to www.racebridgesforschools.com

http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/lists/lt.php?id=eU9WXwxUWl5eSlIEA04GAgBcBwBW  

to download your complimentary copy of this and other lesson plans and resources for schools.

       

 

    


--
This mailing is intended for teachers, educators, storytellers, lovers of story or anyone interested in social justice issues.  

If you have received this message in error please accept our apologies.  You may easily unsubscribe from any future mailings by clicking on the following link: this link <http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/lists/lt.php?id=eU9WXwxUWl5fSlIEA04GAgBcBwBW>

 



<http://www.phplist.com>


------ End of Forwarded Message


------ End of Forwarded Message

2009 Presidential Inauguration Lesson Plans

From Bonnie Bracey Sutton :)

You can turn television watching into a real set of learning lessons using the event and these lesson plans to structure the day.

http://www.pic2009.org/page/content/lessonplans

Lots of links, interactive blog, and much much more.

2009 Presidential Inauguration Lesson Plans

Jointly Produced by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA)


On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Teachers across the country can bring this historic event to life in their classrooms using a wide array of free resources and technologies. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) have jointly developed a series of general instructional activities to give teachers lesson ideas to help their students understand the historic significance of this presidential inauguration.
 Use these instructional activities to teach students about the history of the inauguration and the connections between Obama and previous U.S. presidents (Learning History); to prepare students to witness the Obama inauguration (Making History); and to follow the events during President Obama’s term (Living History). Teachers should use their professional judgment to adapt these materials to the particular needs (grade, reading level, etc.) of their classrooms and to best determine how much time should be spent on the activities. The materials have been designed to allow teachers to adapt them to fit into a single class period or to extend over several class periods.

LEARNING HISTORY Two Presidents from Illinois (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan1>
Students will compare and contrast the background and inaugurations of President Lincoln and President Obama. They will develop knowledge of some of the characteristics of the two presidents and their inaugurations. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5) History of the Inaugural Address (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan2>

Students will examine the text of various presidents’ inaugural addresses to understand how the context of events influenced the way they addressed the American people on Inauguration Day. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5)

MAKING HISTORY Inaugural Address of Barack Obama (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan3>
Students will discuss quotes from Barack Obama’s inaugural address, and identify the challenges facing their families and other Americans today that he highlighted in his speech. They will then identify “calls to action” in his inaugural address, and compare and contrast those priorities with those raised in his past speeches. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5) 2009 Inaugural Events (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan4>

Students will learn about the various activities and events scheduled in the days leading up to and during the inauguration of Barack Obama. (Grades 6-12, with adaptations for grades K-5)

LIVING HISTORY Beyond the Inauguration (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/lessonplan5>
Use these activities to extend learning beyond the presidential inauguration.

An Interview with Lincoln (Grades 6-12)
The First 100 Days (Grades 6-12)

RECOMMENDED READING Reading List (click to download) <http://www.pic2009.org/readinglist>

Use these resources to start or supplement your school or classroom library. Titles are provided for early elementary, late elementary, middle school and high school students.

I would add some art, poetry ( cinquains and diamantes)    science.. using weather as a constant,
and some databases to research the weather as well. Can they make videos.. they can also blog on this site.
Bonnie Bracey Sutton

Free Online Career Development Course Now Available to 16 Million Students Nationwide

Thanks to Larry for this information!

Microsoft, Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Virtual University
offer CareerForward to help students prepare for a 21st-century workplace.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/dec08/12-02CareerForwardPR.msp
x

FW: [RETAzens Blog] [NMSUWebinars] Spring Webinar Schedule

The last notice had an error, here it is again:

Dear Educator,

RETA would like to invite you to visit our website, http://webinars.nmsu.edu, to
view our recently updated Spring Webinar schedule under the K-12 Educators section!  

We are very excited to inform you that we NOW have two different Webinar Strands.

RETA Webinar Series: Increasing Interaction with Audio/Video Tools will
take place on Mondays at 6:00pm MST.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies will take place
on Thursdays at 6:00pm MST.

The RETA team has prepared these two great series of professional
development webinars to help you learn practical and effective technology
skills to engage your 21st century learners. We continue to be committed
to providing you with "free", innovative webinars that fit into your busy
schedule. Let us support you as you begin implementing technology tools
and techniques in your 21st century classroom.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague, and raise your eQ with us.

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM  88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax:  (575) 646-2004

[NMSUWebinars] Spring Webinar Schedule

Dear Educator,

RETA would like to invite you to visit our website, webinars@nmsu.edu, to
view our recently updated Spring Webinar schedule! We are very excited to
inform you that we NOW have two different Webinar Strands.

RETA Webinar Series: Increasing Interaction with Audio/Video Tools will
take place on Mondays at 6:00pm MST.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies will take place
on Thursdays at 6:00pm MST.

The RETA team has prepared these two great series of professional
development webinars to help you learn practical and effective technology
skills to engage your 21st century learners. We continue to be committed
to providing you with "free", innovative webinars that fit into your busy
schedule. Let us support you as you begin implementing technology tools
and techniques in your 21st century classroom.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague, and raise your eQ with us.

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

What's a wordle?

From Susie :)

Have some fun!

Wordle is a toy for generating ³word clouds² from text that you provide. The
clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the
source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and
color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however
you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to
share with your friends.

http://www.wordle.net/

Copyright for Educators III - Town Hall, 12/1/08, 6:00pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to remind you about TONIGHT's professional development
Webinar.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies

Webinar Event: Copyright for Educators III Town Hall

Date: Monday, December 1, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Whether you joined us for Blogging I or not, this session will surely help
any educator take their blogs to a heightened level. Here we will go more
in depth with the other options in managing and adding features to your
blogs (RSS feeds, widgets, polls, images, slideshows, etc.) as well as
discussing ideas on how to keep your curriculum continually evolving
eLearning-style

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/copyed3fa08/

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu <http://webinars.nmsu.edu/> or contact us at
webinars@nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

------ End of Forwarded Message