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"Of Particular Interest" Archives

STILL READY TO ROCK AND ROLL
In a recent post at her Teacher Magazine blog A Place at the Table, middle school teacher Susan Graham highlights a new report urging America not to waste the advanced skills and knowledge of veteran teachers. Her post is appropriately titled "Not Ready for the Rocking Chair" and it perfectly captures the feelings of so many 50- and 60-something teachers whose spirit is strong even if their stamina is faltering a bit. Our favorite quote: "My own children are grown, my personal life is in order, my professional network is strong, my knowledge is current, and my skills are refined by practice. I'm not ready to quit. I'm ready to do more." More includes hybrid roles that could involve mentoring, coaching and helping advise on policy matters.

ART EDUCATION: SMART HISTORY
Smarthistory.org is built around a multi-media webbook designed as a dynamic enhancement (or even substitute) for the traditional art history textbook. It's a great resource for art teachers and others who pull art history into their lessons. At present, 220 representative artworks and 160 instructive videos are available for viewing. The resources are sorted by time, style, artist and themes. Sponsored by the Kress Foundation, the site is a finalist for the 2009 Webby Award in education.

MOVING BEYOND THE 21ST CENTURY SKILLS FUSS
"The mere mention of 21st-century skills always seems to elicit lively debate among people who are either for the concept or against it," writes educator Bob Lenz at Edutopia's Spiral Notebook blog. "The conversation about it is a good one to have, but we should move beyond this particular debate and toward an inclusive discussion that helps students win on all sides." Lenz challenges all educators to act on the knowledge that the greatest motivator for today's students "is the opportunity for them to creatively express their understanding through interpretive work for a real audience outside the classroom."

STUDENTS LEARNING TO HATE SCIENCE?
So says Bruce Alberts, editor of the journal Science and former president of the National Academies of Science, who is calling for a "revolution" in science education, away from recitation of facts and towards inquiry-based learning and assessments. Some policymakers in Texas are beginning to pay attention, according to this Houston Chronicle story. Savvy science teachers, of course, have been saying this for years. It brings to mind another article by middle grades science coach Anthony Cody, previously featured here. It's called "Students in the Driver's Seat."

TEACHING WITH INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS
If you don't yet have an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, the impending shower of Stimulus dollars may soon change that. So how can teachers maximize the learning potential of a new SmartBoard, ActivBoard or other brand -- and not just use it as a glorified (and power-consuming) version of the wipeboard? Thanks to Heather, a CA middle school teacher, we recently learned about the Interactive Whiteboard Revolution, a NING-based educator community that's emerged around a discussion of the book of the same title. But it's not primarily a book promotion -- lots of teachers are involved in a genuine exploration of the rise of the IWB. Check it all out and see if it's helpful to you. And read Heather's post about Robert Marzano's research on interactive whiteboards.

REMOVING THE TARNISH FROM TEACHER PD
Hayes Mizell is the godfather of MiddleWeb. His support during his days as a foundation officer nearly 15 years ago made our first Web efforts possible. Hayes will soon be retiring from his post as the Distinguished Senior Fellow at the National Staff Development Council, where he continues to produce on-target commentaries about what it will take to making lasting positive changes in schools. In a new article for the Journal of Staff Development, he considers how teacher professional development has become a "tarnished brand" in the public eye and among many educators as well. A more vocal advocacy on several fronts can restore professional learning's image, Mizell says, and assure sufficient funding and support for the very best PD.

THE RIGHT WAY TO ASK CLASSROOM QUESTIONS
In a recent article at Edutopia, education consultant Ben Johnson wondered: "What does a teacher asking questions to a class expect the class to learn from the questioning process?" In less than week, Johnson's frank discussion has drawn more than 50 comments, mostly from classroom teachers. A great think piece exploring Johnson's contention that teachers ask far too many "useless" questions of students.

USING TWITTER FOR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
Are you starting to notice the Twitter craze? "Twitter has become THE most important digital tool in my learning," sixth grade teacher and Web 2.0 advocate Bill Ferriter told us recently. "The messages there are short, so I can scan them quickly rather than get lost in hours of reading." The key, he says, is to "follow" other Twitterers who share your professional interests, like to suggest resources, and jump in with ideas when you pose a teaching question to your Twitter network. "Building a network -- like building a reputation anywhere -- takes time," Bill says. One good place to start is Twitter for Teachers (link above). OTHER TWITTER RESOURCES: 9 Reasons Why Teachers Should Tweet; Collaborate Using Twitter; 21 Classroom Uses of Twitter.

CLASSROOM MATH ASSESSMENT
The creative folks at the Ohio State-based Middle School Portal have received funding to expand their offerings for middle school math and science teachers, adding new content, pertinent blogs, and participatory communities to the mix. An early outcome of the new MSP approach is this resource on middle grades Math Assessment, created in the wiki of the National Science Digital Library. Assessment, the introduction notes, has become the "big stick" in public schools. Here you'll find background info, opportunities for teacher-to-teacher discussion, and instructional modules linked to resources for building effective classroom assessments.

HAS THE WEB DOOMED MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARIANS?
Not if they're thinking like the librarians described in this February 2009 story from the New York Times. The key to survival today is to become a "Digital" or "21st Century" librarian who can fend off budget-cutting central office bureaucrats by displaying their skills as "multi-faceted information specialists who guide students through the flood of digital information that confronts them on a daily basis." If you're a school librarian or an educator who believes librarians still play a critical role in school quality, be sure to read this piece.

STUDENT GUIDANCE:  FIND A LIFE THEME
"In middle school, you'll spend countless hours reading stories and analyzing their themes. But what may surprise you is that your own life is a story waiting to be written and analyzed." So begins a student advice column by middle grades teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron, published in Imagine, a magazine for gifted secondary students. Gawron describes how she discovered her own life "theme" in her middle school years. "Recognizing your theme -- finding that motto that describes your way of thinking -- is an important process in growing as a student and as a lifelong learner." Learn more about Imagine magazine here.

MEDIA LITERACY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
Who in your school has responsibility for helping students become "media literate"? The National Council for the Social Studies agrees with web-based learning expert Howard Rheingold that "In the twenty-first century, participatory media education and civic education are inextricable." This new NCSS position statement on Media Literacy is not the stale commentary so often associated with official pronouncements. It lays out the rationale for media literacy instruction and defines terms -- but it also addresses the critical question of "what is required to teach media literacy," offers examples of classroom activities, and recommends 10 websites where you can find further lessons and resources.

SCIENCE NEWS FOR TWEENS
Many middle school science teachers expect their students to keep up with science news and trends. If you're looking for a news source aimed at early adolescents, check out TweenTribune, which uses a blog tool to share fresh science news each week. This link leads directly to the science-tagged stories on the site. TweenTribune also provides national and world news, entertainment, and a growing list of book reviews written for tweens.

MIDDLE LEADERS: LEARNING FROM THE PAST
NASSP has proclaimed March as Middle Level Education Month and declared this year's theme to be "Celebrating Our Past, Looking to the Future." The celebration is less about festivities than "significant lessons learned." And who better to deliver such lessons than these Voices of Wisdom from the middle grades reform movement of the past four decades: Gayle Davis Andrews (Turning Points 2000), Don and Sally Clark, Nancy Doda, Paul George, John Lounsbury, Ken McEwin, Hayes Mizell and Sue Swaim. Listen as they podcast their responses to the question: "What do you see as significant lessons from the past that today's middle level leaders must not forget as we move into the future?" ALSO, if you find yourself preoccupied with the present gritty reality, check out NASSP's current Middle Level Leader newsletter. The theme: PREPARING FOR THE TEST.

TEACH WITH PICTURE BOOKS
Teacher Keith Schoch contends that middle schoolers are not too old for picture books. In fact, he says, you can TEACH important skills and encourage creative and imaginative thinking with both fiction and non-fiction illustrated books. This link leads directly to Keith's 13-point "rationale" so you can decide for yourself. If you continue to be intrigued, explore Keith's resource-oriented blog for picture book summaries, guiding questions, and cross-curricular extensions, "with the upper primary and middle school teacher in mind." For ease of searching, he's tagged books using both universal themes and 21st Century skills.

TEST PREP MAGIC
Ten-year teaching veteran Heather Wolpert-Gawron is no great fan of standardized testing, but the middle grades ELA teacher figures: if you gotta do it, don't be a bubblehead -- do the prep! In this article at the Teacher Magazine website, the former California regional teacher of the year shares several ways in which teachers can help students develop self-defense skills that will protect them (and you) in the testing wars. 

THE GLOBAL LIBRARY
The vast Internet Archive, a global library that provides "universal access to human knowledge," continues to grow at a rapid pace. It includes not only text, but moving images, audio and live music. The Archive currently houses nearly 1.25 million texts (85 billion pages), nearly 160,000 movies, close to 60,000 concerts, and more than 300,000 recordings. It's all copyright-free and open to the general public. The link above leads to the Archive itself where you can, for example, sample nearly 500 youth media products http://sn.im/ia-youthmedia. If you're intrigued by the "mass mind" of the Internet, here's a recent news story telling how the Recaptcha anti-spamming software doubles as a human translator for the library.

LOW-COST DROPOUT PREVENTION
In these difficult economic times, what school system can afford to bypass a proven, low-cost method of lowering the dropout rate? In this article for the Dallas Morning News, middle grades teacher Bill Betzen describes the evolution of the School Archive Project, an initiative that -- unlike daytimes curfews, truancy fines and other coercive stay-in-school approaches -- seeks "to focus students on their own futures in as concrete and physical a way as possible." All for pennies a day.

10 STEPS TO BETTER STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
The ideas offered in this Edutopia magazine article by teacher-coach Tristan de Frondeville could provide some savory food for thought at your next professional brainstorming session (or conversation with yourself in the mirror). Underlying these seemingly simple suggestions are profound statements about what makes for effective teaching. Take suggestion #6, "Create a culture of explanation instead of a culture of the right answer." You'll know you've created "a rich learning event," de Frondeville says, "when all students are engaged in arguing about the best approach to the assignment." If school is just too crazy to think these big thoughts right now, print them out and save them for summer. Sooner or later, we have to admit: It all begins with engagement.

RAPTORING IN THE CONTENT AREA
We've written before about teacher Deborah Mathies and her annual effort to promote Raptors in the City -- a project that engages students in the life cycle of peregrine falcons who nest in a Cleveland Ohio skyscraper. We heard from Deborah recently about a video that tells how a middle school reading teacher has used the falcon "focus" to draw reluctant readers into content area reading in science and social studies. The link above leads you to that video. Also visit Deborah's website and be sure to subscribe to the e-newsletter Falcon Flash, which provides weekly updates during the falcon mating season. "It's a wonderful subject because there are so many cross curricular activities," Deborah says, including math, writing and technology integration.

BUILDING FOUNDATIONS FOR ALGEBRA
The 2008 report Critical Foundations for Algebra from the National Mathematics Advisory Panel is distilled into three component parts (Essential Concepts, Recommended Practices, and Planning Templates) at this federal Doing What Works website. Developed by WestEd's Innovation Studies program, the site offers videos and diagrams to further the panel's arguments and recommendations. For more perspective on the report itself, see this critique by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

TROUBLED TIMES – HELPING TEENS & PARENTS
This timely resource created by the National Association of School Psychologists and adapted by the Teachers and Families web community, recognizes that for students "tough economic times can be as distant as a television news story or as close as an unemployed parent or leaving the home they know." Included are methods for spotting signs of stress, ideas about easing children's fears, and, in particular, "What teachers and schools can do." One important piece of academic advice: All schools should strive to help students "build a better understanding of real world economics and financial basics so that similar financial crises can be averted in the future and our students can be better stewards of the world economy."

AYP: A TALE OF TWO SCHOOLS
This story from Educational Leadership (Dec 2008) tells the story of two Montgomery County MD middle schools with very different student demographics – one "stable" and rural, the other urban and diverse. Faculties at both schools found themselves struggling to make adequate yearly progress (AYP). Each school developed a strategic monitoring and intervention program that required them to look closely at student data and tailor their interventions to student needs. Teams of educators met together regularly to discuss student progress and adjust plans as needed. By 2008, both schools had made AYP for two years in a row and moved out of school improvement status.

NYT LESSON PLAN – POPULAR TOYS
This lesson, inspired by the hoopla over the 50 anniversary of That Doll, guides students in some exploration of the cultural significance of toys. Using a recent New York Times article ("Barbie at 50: Unwrinkled and None the Wiser") as a springboard, students investigate the origins and historical contexts of favorite toys from their own past, create a game to share their knowledge, and write reflective letters to their prized childhood playthings. Sounds like fun. Can we have fun this time of year? Perhaps if we make this lesson a "strategic intervention" (see above)

MATH FOCAL POINTS – GRADE 8
Last year we highlighted a great series of in-depth mathematics resources at the NSDL Middle School Portal called "Math Focal Points." We pointed you to the resources for Grades 5-7 and indicated that Grade 8 would appear soon. It did, but we failed to note its appearance last summer. We're doing so now! NCTM recommends that students in grade 8 analyze linear functions in a variety of ways, and this excellent resource from NSDL and Ohio State U offers "tutorials, games, carefully crafted lessons, and online simulations that provide varied approaches to these algebraic concepts. You will also find opportunity for the practice needed for understanding." If you teach math in grades 5-7 or need resources for review of earlier concepts, you'll find links to Math Focal Points for those grades too.

VISUAL ARTS AS AUTHENTIC LEARNING
Exploratory and electives teachers often express a concern that "core" teachers in the middle grades have a narrow view of these non-core subjects (art, music, physical education, etc.) and don't always see the opportunities to integrate them with other disciplines. In this refreshing article from the February 2009 issue of NMSA's Middle Ground, arts teacher (now college dean) Jacqueline McDowell describes a "curriculum brokering" process that eventually led McDowell to become an effective advocate of "art as authentic learning" -- a subject with real world application that promotes higher order thinking and other valued skills.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – BEHIND THE SCENES
Slumdog Millionaire recently won eight Oscars, including best picture of the year. The movies tells the tale of a teenage orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is just one question away from winning a staggering sum on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" when he accused (wrongfully) of cheating. Awesome Stories, says site founder Carole Bos, has documented the reailty behind the film "to provide helpful background so that people can better understand the storyline."

TEACHING THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE
This new module at the Pedagogy in Action website was created by Stanford University's Anne E. Egger and addresses practical teaching questions like "what is the process of science," "why should I teach it," and "how do I teach it." The module also includes several how-to examples and a list of additional resources. Egger writes: "We expect our students to gain not only content knowledge from our courses (for example, what happens to pH when acids and bases are mixed in varying proportions), but process knowledge -- how we know what we know. These pages will help you integrate the process of science into your teaching at all levels, using a variety of different techniques."

MIDDLE SCHOOL RESOURCES AT EDUCATION.COM
Almost everyone on our subscriber list enjoys hearing about another good teacher resources website, full of ideas and materials that will enrich lessons and spark new ideas. If you're not a regular visitor to Education.com, you may decide to bookmark this one. This link jumps you right to the main activities page for the middle grades, where (today) we see featured a spatial observation game, a tutorial on how to make paper in the classroom, a hands-on demonstration of scientific classification and ideas about creating a grandparents history book. There's also a regularly undated list of activities other visitors find most interesting (like the cause-and-effect card game). You can ask questions, leave comments, or contribute ideas at this site that serves both parents and teachers. 

UPDATE: STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES
Thanks to MS librarian Sarah Thompson for prodding us to update our collection of resources on the student-led parent/teacher conference - a "best practice" that we've championed for many years. We've checked all the links, tracked down URL changes, removed hopeless causes and, best of all, added new materials, including an excellent, detailed PowerPoint made available by the Arkansas Department of Education – Sarah's own state.

NEW AWESOME STORIES WEBSITE
If you've been a MiddleWeb OPI subscriber for long, you know we're BIG fans of the Awesome Stories website, where students and teachers can access hundreds of narratives from history and current events, all peppered with links to primary resource material. The site is the passion of Carole Bos, a successful trial lawyer in Michigan, whose intellectual hobby has turned into a most amazing educational tool. Carole and her colleagues have just finished completely revamping the site with lots of new functionality. You can read about the improvements here.

MIDDLE SCHOOLERS BECOME JUNIOR NOVELISTS
The first year that 6th-grade teacher Luke Perry tried this strategy, fully a third of students at urban Springfield Middle School agreed to write novels. "Piling into classrooms before school and staying on after, students even skipped lunch to tap away at their stories," recounts this Edutopia story. The students are among 22,000 in 600 schools who now participate in the Young Writers Program, an outgrowth of National Novel Writing Month. In the allotted month (November), first graders are asked to produce a few hundred words, fifth graders about 5,000, middle school students 10,000. Perry says it's been the most amazing experience of his 10-year career. It's free for schools "which receive buttons, stickers, posters, and access to an interactive Web site intended to make writing fun." Direct link to Young Writers Program.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE BOOK WINNER
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has announced winners in its 2009 AAAS/Subaru Science Books & Film competition. The middle grades science book winner is How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientist and Kids Explore Global Warming, which children's science author Lynne Cherry describes as "a non-scary book about climate change science." The book examines evidence from the natural world, with the underlying message that children can help make a positive difference. This link leads to a book review at the National Science Teachers Association website.

CHALLENGES NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS FACE
We came across this 2007 study by the non-profit survey group Public Agenda and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and thought it might be useful to school leaders, university folks and new teachers themselves (you're not the lone ranger!). Titled They're Not Little Kids Anymore: The Special Challenges of New Teachers in High Schools and Middle Schools, the report finds that secondary teachers are more likely to express frustrations with student motivation and be concerned about lack of admin support, less likely to believe good teachers can lead all students to learn, and less likely to see teaching as a long-term career. The report also highlights new teachers' views of special challenges in high-needs schools -- and most important, how they would improve the profession.

A TEACHER BLOG – ABOUT SHOP!
This isn't your father's shop class - at least, it wasn't *this* father's class, back in the 1960s. Galyn Wiemers has a great teacher blog highlighting the hands-on opportunities he gives students in grades 6-8 at Grimes Middle School in Dallas Center, Iowa. It's called, simply, Mr Wiemer's Shop. The titles of a couple of recent posts will clue you in that Galyn is not usually discussing the relative merits of brands of wood glue. "Knowing vs. Understanding," "Entrepreneur Class," "A Vision for Small Districts." But there are plenty of posts showing student project work, too! We're reminded of a 2008 report from the Southern Regional Education Board noting that secondary content teachers could learn a lot from the project-based teaching going in in good voc-tech classrooms.

DEMOCRACY WEB
This new website from Freedom House and the Albert Shanker Institute fills a need "seldom met by secondary school textbooks" to examine the U.S. experience with democracy and to compare it to the political systems of every other country in the world. "The systematic presentation of reality abroad must be an integral part of the curriculum. What are the political systems in competition with our own, and what is life like for the people under them?" Democracy Web is composed of two sections: an interactive world Map of Freedom and an online study guide designed to help teachers prepare lesson plans. The project, supported by the American Federation of Teachers, is an excellent resource for government and social studies teachers in grades 6-12.

A FRAGMENTED SYSTEM OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
A recent report on the status of professional development describes the condition of teacher learning in America as generally fragmented, often isolated, and largely passive -- with little sustained commitment to create ongoing school-based professional learning environments that draw on teachers' collective knowledge and skills. Released by the National Staff Development Council in early 2009, the study (co-authored by Linda Darling-Hammond and Nikole Richardson of Stanford) is part of a multi-year research effort. This page at the NSDC website provides access to the report and to a presentation by the authors that highlights PD comparisons among the U.S. and more high-achieving countries. It also notes bright spots and areas of progress in some states and school systems.

ARE YOUR STUDENTS HIGH MAINTENANCE?
Middle school teacher Tracy McCalla got really tired of giving directions multiple times to her eighth graders. "During sixth period one day in November, I counted 19 questions in nine minutes. I realized that I needed to change my students' behavior. I told them the truth. They were one of my favorite groups of students whom I had taught during my 21 years of teaching. I loved their personalities, their work ethic, and their behavior, but I had one complaint. They were high-maintenance." Sound all too familiar?? See how McCalla's action research helped her devise an effective strategy to create a more "low maintenance" classroom -- by tapping into students' natural instinct for competition. (Teacher Magazine - free registration)

MR. McCLUNG'S SIXTH GRADE WORLD
Subtitled, simply, "the Sixth Grade Blog of Noel Elementary," this intriguing chronicle of life in Joe McClung's Missouri classroom is notable for its graphics, lively mix of topics, and engaging style. Aimed primarily at helping parents and community members peep into sixth grade life, McClung's blog can serve as a model for other teachers to consider. But there's also visual documentation of science lessons and labs, music, writing, online networking, and student video. Did I mention history and civics? Check out the Jan. 19 lesson for MLK Day, exploring Jim Crow Laws with help from Dr. Seuss's book The Sneetches. Excellent work, Joe!

THINKFINITY: BLACK HISTORY MONTH
We were listening in on a virtual teacher chat the other day and someone mentioned the Thinkfinity website. "Fabulous!" exclaimed one middle grades teacher. "I go there all the time." A curriculum coach replied: "I always ask teachers who are searching for a different angle: 'Have you looked on Thinkfinity yet?'" Here at MiddleWeb, we're long-time fans of the site -- in fact, it's still listed in our Top Ten Sites for Teachers. Thinkfinity is an amalgam of the earlier Marco Polo and Thinkfinity Literacy Network sites and is now partnering with other stellar resources like Illuminations and Read/Write/Think. You can see why for yourself why teachers love this resource, by following the link above. You might start out by perusing the specially organized resources for Black History Month -- or just dive into your favorite content area.

21ST CENTURY JOBS
To help middle- and high-school students learn about the 21st-century jobs awaiting them "and take charge of their own education," Michigan educators and the Microsoft U.S. Partners in Learning program are offering the self-paced online course CareerForward at no charge. The career awareness program helps students think about future work and what skills and training they'll need. At this page you can watch a six-minute video overview of content, read a detailed press release, and learn how to gain free access to the complete course.

STUDENTS IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT
"My science students enjoy doing hands-on investigations," writes middle school teacher and content coach Anthony Cody, "but I have found they sometimes get bored when the procedure is laid out for them like a recipe in a cookbook. Mix part A with Part B, observe, record, and answer the questions that follow. Ho hum." Teachers need to take the next step, says Cody in this recent Teacher Magazine column. "The key is to put the student in the driver's seat." Trade in the "cookbook labs" for true questioning -- let students pose queries and search for answers. Cody goes on to describe his process of "guided inquiry," which provides both classroom management and opportunities for exciting learning. Also see his related blog post on improving science instruction.

SAFE WIKIS FOR EDUCATORS
Several years ago, a friend of ours approached the folks at a new wiki service called WIKISPACES and said something along the lines of: "Wikis are perfect for the classroom. You should give away free accounts to educators." They did. Today there are over 130,000 private teacher/student wikis hosted by Wikispaces, and they're still giving them away. We've mentioned this resource before, but Wikispaces has a fresh feature that allows teachers to create new student accounts without having to use a customer service rep as a go-between. That, plus the security factor, plus the fact that students don't need email addresses to engage with these wikis, should win the approval of most school IT staff and firewall keepers. If not, check out the reasonably priced "K-12 private label" option. Don't know about wikis? See this wonderfully simple explanation.

MATH: CELEBRATING PI DAY
Back in the 1980s, the San Francisco Exploratorium unilaterally declared a new international math holiday -- Pi Day -- which of course occurs on March 14 (3.14, also Einstein's birthday!). This link leads to a Pi Day support page at the Exploratorium website, where you'll find a "short history" of Pi, Pi Day activities, Pi limericks, posters and haiku, and offsite links to other Pi resources. If you are a true math geek, go to this page and watch last year's two-hour long Pi Day 20th Anniversary webcast, complete with a pie-throwing contest and events in Second Life.

CURRICULUM INTEGRATION: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
This article from the Middle School Journal (January 2009) begins with four vignettes that help readers quickly distinguish the differences among various levels of curriculum integration. What's especially good about the authors' research-based discussion is their frank acknowledgement that curriculum integration is hard work, and it's okay to approach it incrementally. “We believe that any teacher or team of teachers can change or overcome (the) material, relational, structural/organizational, and cultural conditions that can impede curriculum integration,” say the authors (a current middle school teacher and two teachers turned professors). They go on to share “some examples of incremental steps our teams have taken to develop and implement more integrative learning experiences for our students.”

SIMPLE GIFTS
Middle school teacher Susan Graham lives and teaches on the edge of Washington DC. Her blog post on the inauguration, addressed to her fellow classroom educators, is simply beautiful. Read it at Teacher Magazine.

HISTORY: THE GREAT DEPRESSION
We're long-time fans of “Surfing the Net with Kids” where webmeister Barbara J. Feldman assembles weekly “best of” collections, built around a theme. Her Great Depression set includes the five-star “America in the 30s” collection at the U of Virginia. It alone is worth a visit to Feldman's enterprising website, where she writes: “It is common to hear people comparing today's economic problems to the Great Depression. Are these comparisons legitimate or ridiculous?” She points you to the answers.

BUILD COLLABORATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
The International Education and Resource Network (iEARN), a K-12 global education cooperative, is 20 years old this year -- and more relevant than ever. The non-profit virtual community “enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world.” As momentum grows to reconsider the K-12 curriculum in light of the Web's connectivity potential, organizations like iEARN and ePALS (epals.com) are increasingly sought out by educators looking for opportunities to build collaborations around the world for themselves and their students. You can introduce yourself to iEARN's partnership potential by visiting its project database (link above), searchable by subject, age level, language and keywords. And see the ePAL project database here.

SIXTH GRADE SCIENTIST CONFOUNDS ADULTS
We figure you can just read our headline to your middle school science students and achieve a rare level of engagement. This recent story in the Sacramento Bee reports that agricultural scientists are redirecting their research “after a professor's son discovered that a major agricultural pest prefers pistachios over other nuts.” The sixth-grader's experimental results “shocked us,” said a university ecologist. The grown-ups will now try to better control the navel orangeworm by baiting traps with the green seed of the pistachio tree.