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This my second posting for Rosh Hashana. It is a fairly basic rundown of the holiday provided by Wikipedia. I believe it is useful for teachers to have a knowledge of and be able to explain the major religious holidays where classes or school events may be cancelled, or if some of their classmates may not be present in school.

Lists of best sellers, publisher book-sale data, and online booksellers can tell you which books are purchased most often, but they do not know, like we do, which books students actually open and read, cover to cover. It is never a bad idea to know what kids are reading in order to connect in the classroom.

This website deals with the History of Jim Crow and has many valuable resources for teachers. The History and Geography sections of this website are quite rich in information and I think well-organized and easy to use. The website provides the in-depth essays and/or other materials to be used in the lessons. The American Literature section provides some interesting unit and lesson plans for well-known books such as A Raisin in the Sun and To Kill a Mockingbird. The Teacher Resources section provides a variety of lessons… some involve images, music, literature, simulations, etc. Quite a few seem to incorporate the PBS series The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Overall, I am very impressed with this website. My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird and I think the Unit on this book is interesting in the way they link it to an integrated literature/social studies unit on the case of the Scottsboro Boys and life in the 1930s.

This article provides an interesting look at the concept of reading workshops and various degrees of student choice when picking literature books to read compared to more strictly selected books. It provids a solid background explaining some of the educators who have really pushed for the reading workshop technique.

Youtube Playlist The Civil War and Reconstruction - 1850 -1861 Discover how the issue of slavery came to dominate American politics, and how political leaders struggled and failed to resolve the growing crisis in the nation. A House Divided: The Road to Civil War, 1850-1861 is a course that begins by examining how generations of historians have explained the crisis of the Union. After discussing the institution of slavery and its central role in the southern and national economies, it turns to an account of the political and social history of the 1850s. It traces how the issue of the expansion of slavery came to dominate national politics, and how political leaders struggled, unsuccessfully, to resolve the growing crisis. We will examine the impact of key events such as Bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, and end with the dissolution of the Union in the winter of 1860-61. This course is part of the series, The Civil War and Reconstruction, which introduces students to the most pivotal era in American history. The Civil War transformed the nation by eliminating the threat of secession and destroying the institution of slavery. It raised questions that remain central to our understanding of ourselves as a people and a nation - the balance of power between local and national authority, the boundaries of citizenship, and the meanings of freedom and equality. The series will examine the causes of the war, the road to secession, the conduct of the Civil War, the coming of emancipation, and the struggle after the war to breathe meaning into the promise of freedom for four million emancipated slaves. One theme throughout the series is what might be called the politics of history - how the world in which a historian lives affects his or her view of the past, and how historical interpretations reinforce or challenge the social order of the present. Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor o

This is just the actual page that I was referring to in my previous post in case anyone is interested.

This is sort of a basic review of how and why we as teachers might use film in the classroom. This is my first post on this issue; I am searching for some more in-depth sites that might have models for lesson plans. Many sites have lesson plans based around a specific film; a site that provides lesson plan templates that are applicable across a wide variety of films would be more applicable/useful. However, the comments made here by Paris provide a good base from which to start thinking about the idea.

Just in case you don't have your book with you, you can access this website to read the necessary chapter online.

AdLit.org offers resources (articles, research, teaching strategies, book recommendations) for parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers.

Books, research papers, and genealogy emphasizing land and water issues of Hispanic and Native American communities in New Mexico and the Southwest. Most books available below list prices.

Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial! This year is the year of Lincoln and Lincoln has hundreds of books written about him. What is very interesting about this thesis, however, it takes on a global history perspective. I bet you never thought Lincoln mattered that much outside of the United States? In honor of the bicentennial, I couldn't resist posting at least one resource on the man. I also enjoy the fact that it is a podcast. Podcasts are the future and teachers need to embrace the possibilities. Enjoy.

I was at the National Book Festival yesterday, it was wonderful, great resources overall. They were really pushing eBooks and audiobook downloads and I think it is an important education trend we need to be aware of. The kids are becoming so tech-oriented, why fight it? We need to use it to our advantage.

I linked up the Virginia Military Institutes archive home page because it provides easy access to primary resources. Not only that, but they have a page dedicated to the real life subject of a Young Adult Historical Fiction Novel called The Ghost Cadet (which I have read and enjoyed.) You can find this page by clicking on the side bar "Civil War & New Market" and it's about the second or third option down. I think that in teaching a young audience about the Civil War, it could be useful to connect it back to a book about a boy nearly their age who fought in it. This web site could help wiht that.