Design for the Other 90% http://designother90.org View solutions that improve access to water, sanitation, food security, electricity, health, transportation, and education. -- Virtual exchange of ideas as solutions to these real world problems.

Think "fantasy football for social studies and literacy standards". It's a social learning game that follows countries and world leaders as they compete for news headlines. Teachers sign up, have a draft in class, and use scores and resources however they want. Students draft teams of countries, become more aware, and automatically score points every time their countries are mentioned in the NY Times. FGP engages students in the study of how politics, geography, humans, economics, and foreign policy interact.

Breaking News is a current events news-reader designed in an intriguing way. You can type in whatever topic you want to read about - soccer, major news, refugees - and you're provided with a list of headlines to stories about it. Clicking on the headlines will take you to the story. But the real interesting part of the site is that if you click on a globe icon on the upper right of the page, you'll go to a world map showing you the location of the where the stories are originating. Clicking on the dots will also take you to the story.

"Think "fantasy football for social studies and literacy standards". Teachers sign up, have a draft in class, and use scores and resources however they want. Students draft teams of countries, become more aware, and automatically score points every time their countries are mentioned in the NY Times. FGP engages students in the study of how politics, geography, humans, economics, and foreign policy interact."

7th grade resources from ASU

Here's a great global collabo for Feb mainly 4th-10th grades ... focusing on geography & landmarks from around the world via skype, blog, ... landmark project

Current events for students

Might be an interesting formative for students and teachers for how current students are with the world... especially after having a week of fall break.

JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest -- Write for authentic audience The contest deadline is January 6, 2014. Profile In Courage - What political leader has shown courage. Fits in great to social studies and language arts.

Be The Change - Wonderful idea for social studies and any class promoting positive change.

"Mystery Skype is an educational game, invented by teachers, played by two classrooms on Skype. The aim of the game is to guess the location of the other classroom by asking each other questions. It's suitable for all age groups and can be used to teach subjects like geography, history, languages, mathematics and science."

"In 1954, the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declared segregated schools unconstitutional and sparkeda decade of groundbreaking civil rights activism and legislation.Using archival news footage, primary sources, and interview segments filmed for Eyes on the Prize, this collection captures the voices,images, and events of the Civil Rights movement and the ongoing struggle for racial equality in America. "

There's a few ideas/resources in here that might be worth sharing.

This is based on the PD we did on Tuesday morning with AJHS.

close reading sample lessons -- it has literature and nonfiction -- some is for science, some for Social Studies, some for Eng class... so scroll through the list for your grade level and content area Note: I haven't gone through all of them and I don't know if they have all the steps, but it's a start to work with

Historians read the first part, then jump to the end and ask themselves: Who wrote this? When was it written? What else do I need to know to make a considered and valued judgment?  What is the author's point of view? Why was it written? Is this source believable? Why? Why not? ----------------- Before we accept this as fact or true, we ask ourselves the above questions. (This is called Sourcing) It's critical thinking and evaluation. It's worthwhile. Not just filling in worksheets. 

Create your own "Choose Your Own Adventure" story -------------- I can see this as a fab way to incorporate research, creativity, and critical thinking (21st century learning) with historical events. For example, what if George Washington hadn't decided to have his troops inoculated against the smallpox epidemic during the Revolutionary War? -- How would that have affected the casualty rate? -- and from there the adventure could show a possible different outcome. 

Digital Storytelling is great for ELA writing, speaking & listening standards, and for content areas, such as Social Studies. There are a few examples at bottom of page.

Digital Storytelling is great for ELA writing, speaking & listening standards, and for Social Studies. There are a few examples at bottom of page.