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In light of the fact that we are all pursuing higher degrees in education, I found this debate forum to be very interesting. Some argue for and against and also bring factors such as using advance degrees as the basis for pay increases and promotions versus student performance into the debate.

In light of all the recent discussions about DC schools and dropout rates, I found this article to be particularly relevant and upsetting. According to the study, about 1 in 10 male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention (compared with 1 in 35 high school graduates).

The Valley of the Shadow (also called the Valley Project) website is a part of the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia. The material in the site documents the lives of two communities during the Civil War period; one community from the South and one community from the North. The site is an online library or an archive filled with primary resources such as letter, diaries, census records, government records, newspapers, speeches, maps, images and other materials. The site contains thousands of documents. The archive is divided into three sections: The Eve of War (Fall 1859-Spring 1861), The War Years (Spring 1861-Spring 1865), and The Aftermath (Spring 1865-Fall 1870). An example of one such document is a letter written in August, 1864 by a young militiaman to his parents telling them that he is well and that he will be sending home his pay. I have added a few lines because I find it so interesting and compelling. The letter comes from a camp near Petersburg. Dear Parents it is with the Greatest of Pleashure that I seat My self to inform you and My Brothers and Sisters that I like it well and am well feal Hartey like ite beter now than Ever I did I hope that youens Ar all well and all the Rest about [unclear: tomstorm] ile now state to you that I Received your Letter last Knight And was Glad to here from youens And was glad to here that Youenes wasened yet dissturbed By The Johneys Rebes you Stated in your letter that tha Wes moveing every thing out Of Town now if tha wold be men tha wold take In the same document but another page, the young man writes about his pay. Read this letter we ar getting Paid off to day I draw 1.20.10 that is one hundrad 20 dollars 10 cts Ile ex press 1 hundrade 10 dollars and mebbey fifteen dollars I dont want to ceep so mutch money here I cend it to you and if you want to make youse of it whi you may get the Chirldren wat ever tha want that is in the eating line And Close but you must be A littl

I ran out of room in the box above.....anyway, I am not certain what the citation rules are regarding this but I found the letter on the website that I have bookmarked, The Valley of the Shadow. Anyway, it is a great site….there is soooo much more.

The National Portrait Gallery is one of the Smithsonian Museums in the DC area. The great thing about NPG is that it has resources available online for teachers. There are a variety of school programs and teacher programs but the best offerings are the online exhibitions. It is like having the gallery right there in your classroom. Some of those exhibits include George Washington: A national Treasure, Presidents in Waiting, and A Brush with History. The online exhibits are usable in the classroom directly from a computer or lap top. For example, the George Washington online exhibit begins with a famous portrait accompanied by an audio explanation of the portrait and the symbolic and historical items found within the portrait. Using the portrait as a starting point provides students with a visual association of that person and the historical events surrounding that person. There is also a link to biographical information about Washington and his role in our country's history. The Teacher's Guide associated with the George Washington exhibit includes lesson plans, activities and other teaching ideas; all printable and useable in class. NPG also offers two publications both of which are available on line. "The Patriot Papers," designed for students, features various historical events in an interesting and engaging fashion. For example, there is a "Special Edition on Slavery" featuring information on slavery and the key players involved. One of the articles in this publication is "A Chat with Harried: 1869" and also includes her portrait. The second publication, NPG in your Classroom, provides information to teachers on how to integrate NPG into classroom lessons. There are many more valuable tools on this site such as a "Reading Portraiture Guide for Educators." Check out the site….it is awesome!!!

This link is a part of a school district website in the state of New York. I found it while searching for information on Socratic seminars. It is really great because it provides all the information one needs to learn about teaching the dialogue method. Informational filters include an overview, elements of a Socratic seminar, frequently asked questions by teachers and students, dialogue and behavior guidelines for using this dialogue method and suggestions for the types of readings or materials that work best with this method. If you like the idea of using the Socratic method in your classroom, you will want to visit this site.

From the website: "The Virtual Jamestown Archive is a digital research, teaching and learning project that explores the legacies of the Jamestown settlement and "the Virginia experiment." As a work in progress, Virtual Jamestown aims to shape the national dialogue on the occasion of the four hundred-year anniversary observance in 2007 of the founding of the Jamestown colony."

Yesterday I had to prepare and deliver a lesson on archaeology to our grade 7 classes (Ancient World History) for my practicum. I actually used this site in my preparation. Under "Outreach and Education," there is a section called Archaeology 101 where you can get basic information on archaeology. There is also a glossary, a list of books and a list movies. They have an archive of well developed lesson plans too. However, I found another lesson plan that I modified and used that was a smash with the kids……even to toughest, roughest, hardest to reach students were engaged. If anyone wants a copy of it let me know and I can post it on our Wiki. Anyway, since archaeology applies to almost all of history, this site is quite useful.

DC voting rights are the PERFECT way to get DC students engaged with politics and government. As one student told me, "nothing gets students motivated like being pissed off." One of the teachers that I'm working with has folks from DC Vote come into her classroom and teach about the history of DC voting rights (the 23rd amendment and all) and then has students do a project on it. It gets them heated and it's critically important for them to know about - more than just a license plate! Also, you might consider using Sweet Honey in the Rock's "No Taxation Without Representation" which outlines the entire history of DC voting rights and potential avenues for action in song. ;-) As they were a crucial part of the civil rights movement this might be a nice tie in of history and current events. From the website: "Founded in 1998, DC Vote is an educational and advocacy organization dedicated to securing full voting representation in Congress and full democracy for the more than half a million residents of the District of Columbia. DC residents pay full federal taxes, fight and die in wars and serve on juries yet are denied voting representation in the House and the Senate. DC Vote is working to end this injustice."

I found this article about individual teachers selling their lesson plans online to be very interesting. Over the past few years, many teachers have started selling their lesson plans online rather than just sharing them on free websites. One teacher has earned $36,000 in a year selling lesson plans. This trend has caused some school districts to question the idea of who owns material developed for public school classrooms and whether or not school districts should share some of the profits. Others worry that selling the lesson plans harms the idea of free swapping and sharing. But, some teachers argue that it validates their efforts and shows that people recognize their hard work and expertise. Whether using free or bought lessons from online, I did find the teachers who argued that they enjoy comparing their lessons and getting ideas to be very compelling.

FREE is a website pool of teaching and learning resources from various branches of the federal government. From the website: "More than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly. . . . FREE is maintained by Peter Kickbush and Kirk Winters, Office of Communications and Outreach, with support from the Development Services Team in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Education."

This site is amazing, I was just playing around with it and I am definitely using some of the resources for my unit. :)

Great lesson plans! "EDSITEment is a partnership among the National Endowment for the Humanities, Verizon Foundation, and the National Trust for the Humanities. EDSITEment offers a treasure trove for teachers, students, and parents searching for high-quality material on the Internet in the subject areas of literature and language arts, foreign languages, art and culture, and history and social studies. All websites linked to EDSITEment have been reviewed for content, design, and educational impact in the classroom. They cover a wide range of humanities subjects, from American history to literature, world history and culture, language, art, and archaeology, and have been judged by humanities specialists to be of high intellectual quality. EDSITEment is not intended to represent a complete curriculum in the humanities, nor does it prescribe any specific course of study."

The AP section was very helpful. Thanks for keeping me in mind. :)

This is one of the very best websites I have ever found addressing the First Amendment and religion in the public schools. It deals with student prayers, official participation, teaching about religion, student dress, etc.

How might teachers use this site? What makes this site so strong for you?

Website with infinite information on the First and Second Napoleonic Empires.

Even though Napoleon's empires often get skimmed over in world or European history courses, this website makes the subject worth an extra day or two. There are easily comprehended histories, research databases, pictures, and even a "kids' corner" that is accessible to even the most reluctant student.

Say what you will about Harry Truman, but his library website has a vast cache of social studies links and resources, organized by topic. Some of the items go beyond social studies and into the realm of homework help and other teaching strategies. You may need to a dig a little bit to find exactly what you are looking for, but you can probably somehow get to it from here.

The National Constitution Center in Philidelphia has a website that has information for the general public and educators. It has lots of information that teachers could find useful in a classroom setting.

This site educates teachers in issues surrounding discrimination and prejudice, gives them tips to avoid prejudicial behavior in the classroom. and offers resources surrounding these issues.

My hero - a radical, revolutionary & "bomb thrower" (figuratively). Authored 'The Crisis' which began with the famous quote "There are the times that try men's souls."

How might teachers use this? What does the site offer?