Welcome to Our
"Of Particular Interest" Archives (cont'd)

TEACHING ADOLESCENT WRITERS
In his recent book about adolescent writers, full-time teacher Kelly Gallagher offers a teaching model that focuses on six key student needs: ample practice, teacher modeling, reading exemplary writers, topic choice, authentic purposes, and meaningful feedback. Gallagher shares strategies and practices that he uses to help students sharpen essential writing skills. He also identifies "Top 10 Writing Wrongs" that he has seen in his consulting work in middle and high schools. "We have a long way to go," he says, "to bring many of our students up to the levels of writing proficiency they will need to walk through those key gateways awaiting them." We're mentioning Gallagher's book here because, for a limited time, you can download free PDF files of the entire text at the publisher's website. You can't print it—but if you like it that much, you may want to buy it!

GREAT ONLINE COURSEWARE FOR MATH
Math teachers are gonna love this! Some science folks, too. Project Interactivate, developed by the Shodor Education Foundation, offers free courseware for the exploration of math and math-related science, including activities, lessons and discussions. Dozens and dozens of virtual manipulables that can be used online with a java-enabled browser. The site, developed with support from NSF, includes both a student and a teacher section—it even aligns the available materials with several popular math textbooks. If you're a math teacher and you've not yet discovered this resource, set aside one of your vacation days because you're going to enjoy this! ALSO: Visit the foundation's homepage to find out about other math and science resource sites.

STUDENT-LED PORTFOLIO CONFERENCES
The use of student work portfolios—and student-led conferences with teachers and parents—has risen significantly over the last decade. The idea, as presented in this article at the National Middle School Association website, is to create regular opportunities for students to reflect on their own learning and growth by discussing products of their classroom work. As author Carol Smith tells us: "Students hold important information about what they know and what they are able to do, as well as what they don't know and are unable to do. Given the opportunity, students can discuss their learning and their growth competently with others. A portfolio of work contains concrete evidence of that learning and growth, and offers the perfect vehicle for discussing progress." Smith, a Vermont teacher who regularly uses the portfolio process, offers ideas about portfolio organization; suggests roles for students, teachers and parents; and includes a useful bibliography.

CLASSROOM BLOG — SIXTH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES
Bill Ferriter, one of our middle school teacher friends in North Carolina, has recently gotten VERY excited about using web-based tools in his sixth grade social studies classes. Here's an example of a blog his students are using ("The Blurb") that connects to their study of current events and Bill's focus on an important 21st Century skill—global awareness. The students are incorporating podcasts and including "Where in the World" type games, and they're beginning to attract the attention of students in other parts of the US and the world. You'll also find a link to another of Bill's class blogs—Our Opus. One thing to notice about these blogs: Student identities and even locations are masked to insure safety. Bill writes: "My kids are really excited and they're doing a great job becoming active contributors to the body of knowledge that is being created on the web."

THE SCHOOL OF SECOND LIFE
If you haven't already, it's time to explore a remarkable phenomenon called Second Life. In this web-based world, players (or Residents, in the SL lingo) maneuver their stylized avatars, or alter egos, through a lush three-dimensional landscape of forests, mountains, and plains, typing chat messages to other users, and interacting with them at parties, events, and so on. Unlike online games, Second Life is entirely user created. It is, in fact, a virtual world where some users literally live a "second life" there (it even has its own economy). Sound scary? Perhaps—but we mention it because in the last year, some educators have been exploring Second Life's potential as a pedagogical tool. Read this story at the Edutopia magazine website and surf over to Second Life (and Teen Second Life) to learn more about what education in the 21st Century could one day resemble. What would your teacher avatar look like?

HISTORY -- PHILIP REID & THE STATUE OF FREEDOM
This special issue of Middle Level Learning, published by the National Council for the Social Studies, describes how Philip Reid, an enslaved black man, solved a technical problem concerning the Statue of Freedom that now stands atop the Capitol Dome in Washington, D.C. Download this PDF which contains narrative material, primary historical documents (including a political cartoon and a pay voucher for Reid's services) and classroom handouts. Absolutely first rate material! You'll need to supply your own irony.

GOOD RESOURCE ABOUT "CHARLOTTE'S WEB"
The new movie version of Charlotte's Web has prompted the folks at Awesome Stories to assemble helpful background information about the classic book (and the movies). Students can learn about spiders like Charlotte (how they spin their webs, eat, lay eggs and balloon); "meet" E.B. White (as a young boy and a grown man); see where White lived and wrote his stories; view White's barn (which was the model for Zuckerman's farm); hear White read from the book; and learn about pigs (like Wilbur) and rats (like Templeton). Also included are links to lesson plans, scientific links for older students and two of the new film's trailers.The Awesome Stories website is free for all educators, schools and libraries. Sign up here.

FIVE GREAT STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IDEAS
Performance assessment expert Douglas Reeves says one of the most frequently asked questions he has from school audiences is "How can I get my students more engaged?" In this recent newsletter article, Reeves offers five ideas "for improved student engagement from teachers, research, and my personal experiences with students." Download this MS Word file to read his excellent tips and subscribe to the Center for Performance Assessment's free monthly e-newsletter.

HOW TO CREATE A PODCAST
We've hearing great stories from teachers about how their students are getting engaged in learning by creating their own "podcasts" — audio reports, interviews and stories that can be posted on the Web and shared with families, communities and the world! This link leads to a simple podcasting tutorial. Just scroll down to the Guide index and select various segments. If you'd like to find out more about how schools and teachers might use podcasts, here's an article at a British website full of great ideas. Also visit this page at the Mabry Middle School website (Cobb County GA), where students and faculty have gone podcast-crazy!

TIPS FOR MATH TEACHERS
Here's a nice feature at the website of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and it's free to non-members! Each month, NCTM posts a list of tips on a particular topic of interest to math teachers. The November list, for example, offers thoughts about Grading from NCTM members and publications — and includes a downloadable spreadsheet with built-in macros to make grading easier. To explore the Tips Archives, just scroll down to the bottom of the webpage.

USING YOUNG ADULT FICTION IN ANTI-BULLYING PROGRAMS
Several years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that more than 160,000 students skip school every day because they are anxious and fearful of being bullied by other students. In response to these concerns, educators at Wood Oaks Junior High in Northbrook IL created an anti-bullying program with young adult literature as its centerpiece. In this article from the Middle School Journal, they explore the prevalence of bullying in schools and describe how YA books have strengthened their ability to combat bullying. "One solution," they write, "is to turn to the subject matter taught as an entry to handling (the problems of student violence). If this can be accomplished, the students become more available for learning while being immersed in the subject matter."

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE
Education World gives an A-plus to this site from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which provides students and teachers with resources and classroom materials that increase awareness of the link between the environment and human health. Teachers will find lots of curricular materials, including lesson plans, Web-based activities, presentations, and videos. The section intended for scientists who plan to present in schools will also interest teachers. See, for example, the list of activities to "effectively communicate complex ideas on toxicology to students," including 10 that are expressly for the middle grades.

STRATEGIES TO STRENGTHEN ADOLESCENT WRITING
A new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education underscores the importance of good writing ability to future success in a global economy where communication skills will be valued more than ever. Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High School discusses eleven specific teaching techniques that can help improve the writing abilities of America's 4th- to 12th-grade students. Based on a meta-analysis of research on effective strategies, the report addresses the learning needs of a wide range of students. This link leads to an information page where you can download the report, listen to an audio or video discussion, and read selections online.

A SAFE PLACE FOR STUDENTS TO COLLABORATE ONLINE
More and more schools are eager to engage their students in online learning opportunities, but they worry about Internet safety. This site, developed by the Oracle Education Foundation, offers a free learning community environment to accredited elementary and secondary schools. Think.com is password-protected and provides a way for students to write and interact with a protected national and global audience. Check out the features at this site and compare them to IMBEE, another free and secure social networking service developed with classrooms in mind.

STUDY SKILLS GUIDE FOR STUDENTS
We've sampled some of the more than 20 resources included on this study skills page at the Education Atlas website and liked what we saw. You'll find a range of short, easy-to-read articles on topics like note-taking, textbook and novel reading strategies, and managing study time. There are also materials that can be used to build test-taking skills, like "Direction Words in Essay Tests." Some items are targeted for high school and college students but can be adapted. Oh, and while you're at the site, click on "K-12" in the left navigation bar and then choose Lesson Plans for a nice collection of sites covering many different subjects!

BETTER K-8 SCIENCE WILL REQUIRE MAJOR SHIFTS
Improving science education in kindergarten through eight grade will require major changes in how science is taught in America's classrooms, says a new book from the National Research Council, Taking Science to School. Today's standards are too broad, the report finds, and result in superficial coverage of science that fails to link concepts or develop them over successive grades. It also says teachers need more opportunities to learn how to teach science as an integrated whole and to diverse student populations. The book's authors found the commonly held view that young children are simplistic thinkers is outmoded. Instead, studies show that children think in surprisingly sophisticated ways. All children, the report says, have basic reasoning skills, personal knowledge of the natural world and curiosity that teachers can build on to achieve proficiency in science. (Follow this link to browse this NSF-sponsored book for free.)

A TALL ORDER — INTEGRATED MATH & HISTORY LESSON!
Here's a fun "integratable" lesson from the New York Times Learning Network. Students explore statistics (and intelligence) by creating classroom data about U.S. presidential candidates, using mean, median, mode, range and variance! The lesson plan is based on a recent NYT article titled "Success Is Relative, and Height Isn't Everything." Begin by having students examine data documenting the relative heights of American presidential winners and runners up and discuss how height is often viewed as a marker of intelligence and success. Designed for middle and high school students by the folks at the Bank Street College of Education.

THE SUPERGIRL DILEMMA
A new research report from Girls, Inc. (formerly Girls Clubs of America) finds that girls today experience intense pressure, at ever younger ages, to be everything to everyone all of the time. Girls are particularly frustrated, says The Supergirl Dilemma, with the growing expectations that girls should please everyone, be very thin, and dress "right." And while stereotypes about girls' leadership capabilities and math and science abilities have diminished, persistent gender stereotypes and escalating stress levels limit girls' potential and undermine their quality of life. Click on the link above to download a press release summarizing the report and learn how to order it.

WEATHER STATIONS
If you're a science teacher with access to an electronic weather station (or an interest in acquiring one), the resources on this "Weather Station Education Center" page at the WeatherShack website will be of interest. We liked the history of weather observing tools in particular. You'll also find details about the anemometer, thermometer, hygrometer, barometer, and the rain gauge.

OVERCOMING STERILIZED HISTORY TEXTS
"My current world history text's attempt to cover 10,000 years is about as rich as a loaf of soft white bread," says middle school teacher Max Fischer. "Yes, its ingredients include the basic facts, causes, and effects, but the nutritious fiber of interest has been removed." In his "Voice of Experience" column at the Education World website, Fischer tells how he infuses selections from quality literature into his history lessons to bring the content alive. "Literature can often inspire new teaching ideas too," he says. Are there challenges to this approach? Absolutely, and Fischer discusses several, including time and money. The article also includes a link to a great list of social-studies related literature.

RESOURCE SITE FOR E.L.L. TEACHERS
Subscriber Larry Ferlazzo has put together a great resources site for teachers of English Language Learners. Larry is a ninth grade teacher at Luther Burbank High in Sacramento, but as he notes, the thousands of categorized links and resources he's included "are certainly appropriate for middle school and even lower grades." While you're checking out the site, click on the "Published Articles" link and then go to Larry's article from a recent issue of the TechLearning e-zine, which describes some of his own teaching strategies. "I've got no ego investment in it," Larry says. " We developed it for students at our school, but I thought others might find it useful, too."

CENTER FOR MIDDLE LEVEL LEADERSHIP
The new Center for Middle Level Leadership promises to provide "practical resources to help middle level leaders improve their schools" and offer "relevant, job-embedded professional development for new and experienced middle level leaders." Just launched by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Center will focus much of its work on furthering the recommendations of the NASSP report Breaking Ranks in the Middle: Strategies for Leading Middle Level Reform. A national task force of 15 middle level leaders from across the United States will serve as advisers. When you visit the site, sign up for the free e-newsletter "The Middle Level Leader."

AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE
November is National American Indian Heritage Month and the folks at Awesome Stories have assembled an awesome collection of narratives and primary sources about Native American history. Among the many features: Paintings and engravings dating before the Western Expansion; a complete history of Sacajawea, with many related resources; the story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, and several units about the Navajo People. ALSO, don't miss the Awesome Stories history of the Pilgrims, generously salted with links to original documents and supplementary resources on the Web. It's the perfect tool to explore the real story of Thanksgiving. Remember that schools and libraries can sign up for a free membership to Awesome Stories.

PROMOTE COLLEGE IN AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
This short article at the Harvard Family Research Project website describes how a collaborative after-school initiative links with universities and families to promote college and career preparation among middle school youth. The pilot project, supported by The After-School Corporation (TASC) using the College Board's "CollegeEd" curriculum, focuses on building high educational aspirations and improved knowledge about the importance of planning early for college, particularly for less educated and immigrant populations. If you're looking for after-school ideas and resources, browse this TASC Tool Box.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH/SCIENCE PORTAL
This site, developed with National Science Foundation support, offers teachers a direct path to resources from the National Science Digital Library. Enter the Science or Math subject pathway to browse a list of topics and take an in-depth look at teachable concepts.The resources have been selected by math and science educators and include publications like "What's the Chance? Concepts of Probability"; "Geometry in 3-D"; "Seeing Math Through Fractals"; "Oceans, Climate, and Weather"; "The Trip of a Drip"; "The Powerful Punch of Hurricanes"; and "What's Making You Sick?" Browse resources or search by keyword.

BLOGGERS ARE WRITERS! – A WEBQUEST
This excellent Webquest was developed by Anne Davis, a leader in integrating Web tools into everyday instruction. In her own research (she's a professor at Georgia State U), Davis is documenting the power of student blogging to strengthen writing and higher order thinking skills. She's aimed this Webquest at older elementary students but it's appropriate for middle schoolers as well. If the word "elementary" is a barrier, it's easily adaptable--and permission to adapt is already granted in the "Credits" section. The link above leads to the Student pages--click on "Teacher Page" in the left navigation bar for a guide to the materials. Davis also interviewed Zachery, an 11-year old student who has used the Webquest. He tells how blogging has spurred his interest in writing. Don't miss this audio-only podcast! You can also visit Zachery's blog. ANOTHER TIP: Anne's Webquest was developed using the free, easy-to-use QuestGarden tool developed by Webquest guru Bernie Dodge. Try it!

COMPUTER CLASS RESOURCES
Here's a idea-rich site that supports the computer curriculum at Mountain Ridge Middle School in Colorado Springs, CO. Teacher Chris Clementi spurs students to learn software programs like PhotoShop by engaging them in project- and problem-based learning. See especially the "Students" webpage. A friend of ours who teaches digital photography at the high school level says "Chris is really doing great things...quite inspiring." After you've visited with Chris, you might drop by the Mountain Ridge MS website—nicely done!

FUNDAMENTALS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT SUCCESS
This free resource from the National Middle School Association offers a presentation tool appropriate for advocacy work with school boards, parent/family groups, school staff, and community members. The presentation is a 17-minute overview of the characteristics of young adolescents, the national recommendations for their education, and current research on middle level education. The presentation is web-based (no extra software required) and can be viewed in its entirety, or in segments tailored to your specific needs.

SCIENTISTS PROMOTE ED VIDEO GAMES
A new report from the Federation of American Scientists finds that "Educational video games have great potential to hone critical-thinking skills, help teach academic curricula, and evaluate what students learn." To take advantage of these potential benefits, the Federation says, the U.S. departments of Education and Labor, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, should work with the video game industry to research and develop games that enhance learning. Educators will want to read the section of the report "Digital Games, Schools and Instructional Practices" (page 41), which notes that "the structure of instruction and instructional practices would need to change, if schools are to take full advantage of games, simulations, and their features for learning." This report may change your thinking about video games! (1.3 mg PDF file)

WHOPPING CRANE MIGRATION
Students will be fascinated by the story of this year's Whooping Crane Migration, which began on October 5 when 18 chicks from the nearly extinct species began their first journey south with ultralight airplanes leading the way. If you're familiar with the web-based interactive science projects of "Journey North ," you know this is a high-quality website with lots of resources, activities and lessons. The migration will continue into December, so it's not too late to catch up with the chicks! Click on the Latest News button to review the progress of the migration and then visit the "Journey North for Kids" area to find highly engaging background material and teacher tips.

OUTTA RAY'S HEAD – LITERATURE, WRITING, POETRY
Subscriber Deborah Nordlie recommends a teacher resources website that is truly an "oldie but a goodie." Ray Saitz has been maintaining this simple but wonderful teacher website for as long as we can remember, and, with the help of many educator friends, he's built a huge collection of writing, poetry and literature assignments. Deborah notes that most lesson ideas have detailed descriptions and "are not only creative, but fit state standards as well." You'll even find the e-mail addresses of authors. The varied topics, she says, are "mostly for high school, but easily adapted to middle school. Many of my ideas and lessons are from, well, Outta Ray's Head!"

BALTIMORE'S "NEW" MIDDLE SCHOOLS
One of the most intractable problems facing urban schools is the low performance of middle school-aged children. Among Baltimore's 21 traditional middle schools (6th-8th grades), not one school met adequate yearly progress (AYP) in 2006. Two anomalies in the disappointing landscape are KIPP Ujima Village and The Crossroads School. This report (September 2006) from the Abell Foundation examines how these two schools achieved success and reflects on whether their strategies and practices can be adopted or adapted in more traditional settings. (150k PDF file)

ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND SELF-IMAGE
We've heard a lot of buzz about this site among teachers involved in helping middle and high school girls with "image" issues. Teddi, a teacher in Wyoming, wrote: "I have been working with students who have issues with very low self-esteem (some to the point of being emotionally disturbed), and this site ties in perfectly with that work." Teddi adds: "There are also some valid points to share with guys." Watch the one-minute video, "Evolution" (you may have seen it on TV–this campaign is sponsored by Dove). It really communicates! There are message boards where students can get involved in conversation with other kids. A great discussion starter in advisory settings.

GREAT MIDDLE SCHOOL ARTICLES
Tne New England League of Middle Schools generously posts its three-times-a-year Journal on the Web where you can download it free in PDF format. The refereed publication offers many practice-oriented articles. Five issues are currently available. The most recent (Winter/Spring 2006) includes an interesting piece on "Reading Comprehension for the Middle School Student: Retaining, Organizing and Evaluating Information", another article on teaching "The Diary of Anne Frank" in historical context, and reflections on the unique characteristics of professional learning communities in the middle grades. Explore!

FAULTLINE — SEISMIC SCIENCE
If it's from the Exploratorium, you can bet it's good! Here's everything students need to know about earthquakes, presented through video, graphics, photos, interactive classroom projects, webcasts and more. The information is divided into five primary sections: Live Eye on the Earth, Great Shakes, Quake Basics, Damage Control, and Active Zone. Education World, which gave this site an A+ rating, says students may want to begin with Quake Basics where they can learn about plate tectonics, faults, waves and how the earth's movements are measured. Great Shakes includes information about earthquakes in and around San Francisco, including video from the World Series game when the 1989 earthquake started. You'll also find links to other sites that track daily movements of the earth.

HUGE WEB 2.0 RESOURCE!
Teachers and other educators are staging a rather amazing K-12 Online Conference where you'll find fresh classroom-tested ideas and perspectives that can help teachers embrace 21st Century teaching strategies. We've provided a link to the "Week in the Classroom" conference strand, just to get you started. But be sure to click in the right navigation bar and visit Basic/Advanced Training, Overcoming Obstacles, and Keynotes. Among topics of particular interest: "Blog If You Love Learning," "I Did Not Know You Could Do THAT with Free Web Tools," and "Publish Your Podcast in Less Than Five Minutes." This is an asynchronous affair, meaning all the presentations are archived at the website and can be viewed or examined at your convenience. Some of the top Web 2.0 educators are participating -- so surf on over!

EXPRESSIONS FROM THE MIDDLE
October is almost over, but it's not too late to check out these materials developed in connection with NSMA's "Month of the Young Adolescent" campaign. This collection, "Expressions from the Middle," features student artwork, reviews of young adolescent literature, and a list of the top 20 favorite books as selected by the votes of over 12,00 young adolescents! You'll also find articles by middle grades educator and storyteller Chris Stevenson, including "Writing for a 'Real' Audience," and tips on using all this material in classrooms.

HOW TO MAKE READING MATTER AGAIN
In this "timely, wise, and often witty book," educator and author David Booth argues that teachers must redefine reading as an activity that embraces the needs and interests of students. Reading isn't just about great literature or traditional chapter books more. "It's about the Internet, comic books, technical manuals, graphic novels, iPods, and much more." Booth offers 12 simple steps to help teachers and parents revolutionize the way they view–and encourage–student reading in all kinds of genres and formats. One of our favorites: How to "help students build strong reading muscles." And this: "Remember that story is the heart of literacy." We mention this book here because the entire text can be viewed and read (but not printed) for free online. Just scroll to the bottom of the promotion page at Stenhouse Publishers. Browse and learn!

PLAYING HOUSE – A HISTORY RESOURCE
In the late 19th and early 20th century, many books and manuals were created to instruct women and young girls in "the fine arts of cookery, laundry, and other areas." At this webpage, you'll find an interesting resource developed by the University of Wisconsin—a digital collection of five typical manuals from the era, including a 1917 book Things Girls Like to Do and a long-time classic from 1916, Housekeeping. Works can be viewed in their entirety or searched by keyword across the the entire collection. An unusual primary source!

ONLINE MATH AND SCIENCE FUN – Fun-Based Learning offers several free science and math games that teach chemistry concepts, graphing, and more. You'll also find several lesson plans and a quiz maker that lets you put quizzes and surveys on your own website page. It's free, but if you subscribe the Google ads go away. ALSO: Would your students benefit from some extra integer activities? Math teacher Rebecca Newburn edits this Squidoo Math Integers page, which offers sites and videos that can help students integrate integers into their learning. While you're visiting, find out more about becoming a "lensmaster." Intriguing!

TAKE YOUR STUDENTS TO THE MOVIES!
In a joint statement in 1996, the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association declared that "being literate in contemporary society means being active critical and creative users not only of print and spoken language but also of the visual language of film and television." Authors David M. Considine and Frank Baker use this declaration as a jumping-off point for their article, "Learning It Through the Movies," published in the latest issue of Middle Ground magazine (NMSA, October 2006). Considine and Baker demonstrate how clips from popular films can be effectively woven into the middle grades curriculum. "When students are engaged with the content through a medium they love," says the article's teaser, "they learn better and retain more."

TIMSS 8TH GRADE SCIENCE VIDEO CLIPS
Last spring we featured the latest report from TIMSS, the international math/science research project, which found distinct differences in eighth-grade science teaching among the United States and four higher-achieving nations (Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan, and the Netherlands). The report analyzed classroom videotapes from each country, but the videos themselves were not released. Now TIMSS has posted16 illustrative video clips at the NCES website. Here's a good way to access these clips: Visit the TIMSS pages highlighting the differences in instruction among the countries. Click on our link above, which will lead you to a page of commentary about "instructional organization," augmented by video examples. Then click in the left navigation bar to visit the pages about differences in "science content" and "student action." All the clips have subtitles.

GOODBYE CURSIVE
When the Washington Post reported recently on the decline of handwriting instruction and the likelihood that future generations will not acquire the cursive handwriting skill, members of the Teacher Leaders Network chimed in. Says one 30-something teacher: "If my students can sign their names in cursive, then I am a happy teacher. In today's world students really don't need cursive writing. Everything they read from emails to textbooks are done in print." But another TLN teacher makes his case "for why teaching the next generation cursive handwriting is still wise in a high-technology world." Visit the TLN Teacher Voices blog to read all the dialog, find a direct link to the WP story, and add comments of your own.

NEW ORLEANS KID CAMERA PROJECT
The New Orleans Kid Camera Project was created to allow children from flooded neighborhoods to explore their environment and express themselves, their stories and feelings with their friends. Through weekly meetings with the project's organizers, the young people (many of them middle-school aged) have the opportunity to learn a host of skills and also share their photographs. The Internet Scout says the images "are quite stark and honest." Visit the photo galleries where pictures are arranged by month and by specific areas of the city. We leave it to you to consider how best to share this experience with students in your own schools. Perhaps the project will spark some ideas about how simple paper cameras might be incorporated into explorations of your own community.

INSPIRED BY LEMONY SNICKET
The End has come for the Lemony Snicket series, and the New York Times Learning Network has put together a great lesson plan built around an NYT article marking the occasion., As always, the lesson is co-authored by Bank Street College, aligned with Grades 6-8 national content standards, and bolstered by excellent outside resources. In this activity, students write scenes for stories using their own original characters and employing literary and plot devices found in the Unfortunate Events book series. With Halloween fast approaching, spending some time with Count Olaf and the Baudelaire children seems just right!

MIDDLE SCHOOL TECHNOLOGIES
An online journal dedicated to middle school computer technologies seems an unlikely product, but a revolving team of graduate students at North Carolina State University has been publishing Meridian for just that purpose since 1998. The latest issue includes research and feature articles that explore current attitudes of young adolescents toward today's computer culture, how to integrate PDAs into the middle school curriculum, and the negative effects of overly aggressive Internet filtering policies. Meridian is free, its archives are full of ideas and information about 21st Century learning, and its editors are actively soliciting articles for upcoming issues. A great resource!

CLIMATE DISCOVERY TEACHER GUIDE
This teacher's guide from the National Center for Atmospheric Research includes lessons on how the sun's magnetism interacts with the earth's magnetic field, how scientists study ancient climates, how the earth system works, how climate changes over time, and how climate models are used to predict the future of earth's climate. A complete "Climate Future" unit will be added in 2007.

ONLINE HISTORY INVESTIGATIONS
"With increasing demands on teachers to cover an ever-expanding content base, teachers simply lack the time to devote to sustained investigations in the classroom," say the authors of this article from Learning and Leading with Technology (May 2006). They've designed the Historical Scene Investigation "to address these pragmatic classroom concerns and to help bridge the gap between the potential of Web-based historical documents and the theoretical frameworks that guide historical thinking." The recommended instructional model is not only highly engaging but scaffolds the analysis process for students. As the article notes, nine activities centering primarily on U.S. history have been developed to date (including "When Elvis Met Nixon"), with accompanying teacher materials. These activities are available at the HSI website at no cost. You can receive Learning and Leading with Technology every month as part of a membership in the International Society for Technology in Education. Here's how to join.

THE ED INDEX
Here's another resource tip from subscriber Wally Fuller, a technology teacher in Upper Lake, CA. Wally writes: "Bernie Poole is truly a technology guru for educators. He is supportive, knowledgeable, understanding, and helpful. The Ed Index website is proof of that. The best K-12 resources in all subject areas, as well as publications and tutorials. I always come back to this site when I need to gather information for a teaching unit or staff presentation." And lest you drawn the conclusion this is a site for geeks only, the resources and lesson plans span the entire school curriculum.

VOICES FROM THE MIDDLE GRADES
What do students in the middle grades most need from their teachers? The What Kids Can Do organization talked in depth with 40 middle school students around the country to find out. Their answers appear in a new WKCD book, Fires in the Middle School Bathroom: Teaching and Learning According to Middle Grades Students by Kathleen Cushman and Laura Rogers. The first-person answers kids gave are "piercing, funny, eloquent, and revealing." You can read excerpts, and the authors' reflections, in this feature article at the WKCD website.

POOR PLUTO
Last month, when an international astronomy group declared that Pluto is no longer a planet, many science teachers sensed a teachable moment. If you're one of those teachers, but haven't seized the moment quite yet, you may benefit from these resources assembled by Barbara Feldman, editor of Surfing the Web with Kids. You'll find items from Newsweek, NASA, and the New York Times. We also recommend the Wikipedia entry, which includes links to reactions about the decision. While you're checking out these resources, we'll be up in the attic, removing that dark ball of clay from our 6th grade science project.

THE NEW FACE OF LEARNING
What happens to the time-worn concepts of classrooms and teaching when we can now go online and learn anything, anywhere, anytime? That's the question raised by teacher-consultant Will Richardson in this cover story from Edutopia Magazine (October 2006). Our students are digital natives, Richardson says, and many of them "are already building networks far beyond our classroom walls, forming communities around their passions and their talents, (so) it's not hard to understand why rows of desks and time-constrained schedules and standardized tests are feeling more and more limiting and ineffective." The advent of the World Wide Web has not made teachers obsolete, Richardson contends, but the Web IS challenging educators to redefine themselves if they expect to remain relevant.

ALGEBASICS
Not long after an 8th grade math teacher told us about this site, it was reviewed by the wonderful Internet Scout Project. Here's some of what they had to say: "Under the motto 'Show me how, now!', Algebasics is a fine online mathematics instructional resource that takes young and old alike through the basics of algebra. The breadth of the material is divided into sixteen sections, which begin with, well, 'the basics', and proceed all the way to a section on applying algebra to real-world situations. The interface is quite user-friendly, as each problem is narrated so that users will better understand the process." It's free and will come in handy if you're busy with small-group instruction!

THE SOCIALLY INTELLIGENT LEADER
Ms. Smith, a seasoned middle school principal, prided herself on acclimating new teachers to her school's practices. She modeled lessons for teachers and made herself available to answer their questions. She remained frustrated, however, when three of her newly hired teachers were slow to use strategies that she knew would help their students. So Ms. Smith took them to lunch--and everything changed for the better. In this article from Educational Leadership (September 2006), Daniel Goleman, a leading researcher on emotional intelligence and human relationships, shares recent findings on the social nature of the brain and how principals can use this new knowledge to strengthen school cultures.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM BLOG
Here's an unusual blog, where four members of a sixth grade teacher team have begun sharing experiences and insights about their teaching and their collaborative work. Hear Our Voices is brand-new, with three or four entries, so bookmark it and keep dropping by. In the first entry (click on "Attempting the Impossible"), science teacher Bill Ferriter says his head is "absolutely spinning" as he reviews his state's standard course of study. He's trying to figure out how he can possibly cover all that content and still help his students become critical thinkers and problem solvers. Sound familiar? You can share your thoughts with these teacher bloggers by clicking on the Comments link at the end of any entry.

AN AWESOME INDEX STORY
We're big fans of the Awesome Stories website, where teachers and students can find primary sources linked to significant historical and current events. And it's all done through storytelling. To make the site easier to use, the AS editors have just completed an exhaustive Subject Index that relies on alphabetical sorting. For example, click on the letter "H" and begin scrolling through Hadrian's Wall, Hammurabi, Harper's Ferry, Helicopters, Henry VIII, etc. As always, academic memberships are free for teachers, schools and libraries. Sign up here.

TRIAGE FOR STRUGGLING READERS
To improve achievement for struggling adolescent readers, Linda Diamond says, middle and high schools must design programs and curricula to address students' lack of background knowledge, delayed English language development and limited success in reading. The best approach is a systems approach, says Diamond, executive vice president of the Consortium on Reading Excellence. The Consortium's model is an "educational triage," she says, "with well-run intensive care units for the most at-risk students, specialized care for those moderately at-risk and excellent core instruction for capable readers. In our model, school systems help all teachers effectively teach an increasingly diverse population." Diamond describes how a California middle school put the model to work. (School Administrator, April 2006).

DAILY QUOTATIONS
Read this story at Education World for creative ideas about using a daily quotation in your school or classroom. Sound hokey? You'll likely change your mind! The article includes tips from sixth grade teacher Nancy Crossley, who uses quotations as a daily warmup activity. "The participation level is high. It is one of the few times they want to talk so badly that they actually bite their lips and wave their arms around in the air. I usually have to move on to the lesson, leaving some to groan that they didn't get to read theirs." You'll find all the details at this link. To get you started, Education World provides 180 quotations by everyone from Charles Schulz to Madeleine Albright.

ANSWERS.COM
Answers.com calls itself an encyclo*diction*almanac*apedia. Teacher Jeff Kash says it's "a great place for students to begin research on any topic." The classroom-friendly site features a lively homepage with a prominent search tool and offers a toolkit for teachers to help with lesson planning, plagiarism discussions, and much more. The site won the 2006 Codie Award for Best Education Reference or Search Service. We should add that Jeff Kash's own website— Mr. Kash's History Page— is a long-time favorite of middle school teachers looking for social studies resources. The site includes monthly highlights of special celebrations and important events.

A SATISFYING APPROACH TO CURRICULAR OBJECTIVES
Using the curriculum-as-culture model, teachers at a North Carolina middle school found the freedom to have students create rather than merely display knowledge, says this research report from the Middle School Journal (September 2006). "They found ways to satisfy state curricular objectives as minimal accomplishment, with student-created understandings far surpassing that level as the norm." Author Lisa Schnuit writes that even though research "has shown positive outcomes for student-centered learning, and even though a huge number of middle level students are not engaged by traditional pedagogical methods, many middle level teachers feel they have to teach every objective as efficiently as possible to get it all in." The concepts described in this paper may help fulfill teachers' desire to teach creatively and engagingly as they meet standards.

NCTM'S NEW "CURRICULUM POINTS" FOR MATH
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has released new curriculum recommendations that some observers on both sides of the "Math Wars" say could be a significant step toward reconciliation. The new report urges that math teaching in kindergarten through eighth grade focus on a few basic skills, rather than addressing dozens of math topics in each grade. Follow this link to read a New York Times story about the report. You'll find an embedded link in that story that will lead you to the NCTM's new recommendations and a grade-by-grade description of the new math "curriculum focal points."

TEACHER DIARY: "ATTEMPTING THE IMPOSSIBLE"
As diarist Bill Ferriter reviews the "standard course of study" for sixth grade science in his state, his head is absolutely spinning. "As a teacher, I feel obligated to work through this curriculum in a systematic way, regardless of how overwhelming it appears. With a singular focus on delivering content and a dedicated aversion to 'getting off track,' I can certainly touch on every topic listed." But Ferriter raises the question asked by so many accomplished teachers in an era of prescribed curriculum. "What if what I want students to know and be able to do—what I value most about teaching and learning—doesn't totally align with what I've been asked to teach?"

VALUE-ADDED ASSIGNMENT IMPROVES PERFORMANCE
A new study published in the journal Science (9/1/06) found that black students who wrote a short essay on their values at the start of the school year got a lasting boost in academic performance. The researchers believe the assignment helped the students affirm their self-worth and negate the negative stereotypes that many black students feel in school. "Our performance is really affected by what other people think of us," said Geoffrey Cohen, a psychologist at the University of Colorado, who coauthored the study. This link leads to a news item at the Teacher Magazine "Web Watch." Click there to read an article about the study. You can also comment at the blog.

IRON SCIENCE TEACHER
And the secret ingredient is...Rocks! "Iron Science Teacher started as a joke," admits Linda Shore, informal host and director of the Teacher Institute at the Exploratorium science museum. "It was just a one-time thing, but it was so popular we've made it a regular program." This story from the Christian Science Monitor describes a recent competition among seven science and math teachers for the coveted title, and highlights the effort of Linda Paparella, a sixth-grade science teacher from New York City. If you want to skip the journalism and go straight to the science, here's the link to the Exploratorium's Iron Science Teacher page. You'll be able to view videos of some of the best IST competitions, all archived by content. Click on "Rocks" to see this year's Battle for Supremacy!