Issue 18, Volume 12 January 5, 2012     Thought for the Week The first and most important step toward success is the feeling that we can succeed. -- Nelson Boswell   Teacher Resources for Martin Luther King Day - January 16th Celebrated this year on Monday, January 16, 2012, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is always observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15th. The MLK Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate him, as well as the timeless values he taught us through his example -- the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. Find lots of ideas and activities for the classroom to help remember him on that day. Here are just a few that we found for you to use. NEA Classroom Resources http://www.nea.org/home/mlk-day.html  Help students put in perspective Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, his impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and his significance to American culture and history. This National Education Association’s website has classroom resources for elementary, middle, and high school. MLK Activities, Projects, and More http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson046.shtml Just in time to celebrate his birthday, Education World has several activities across the grades for learning about the life of Martin Luther King! There are even several questions from a Test Your Knowledge Quiz that is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Web pages created by the Seattle Times that you could use as a catalyst for studying the famous civil rights leader. You will also find tons of project ideas in multiple subject areas. MLK Day & English Activities for High School http://www.ehow.com/list_5798221_mlk-english-activities-high-school.html  The words "I have a dream" are now ingrained in the fabric of American history, but as we are now nearly a half-century removed from that famous utterance it becomes increasingly important that our high school students learn their importance and their origins. Reading the words from a high school history or English textbook is one thing, but to truly experience the full effect of those words as they are being spoken from the lips of Dr. King are another. There are a number of activities high school English students can do to enhance the experience of seeing and hearing those dramatic words. Learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/life-and-words-martin-luther-king-jr-part-1-2  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/life-and-words-martin-luther-king-jr-part-2-2 Read all about the life and words of Dr. Martin Luther King this week, and then have your 4th and 5th grade students work in small groups to illustrate and write about one significant event. When finished, either create a bulletin board display or a class book, assembling all pages in order. Another idea would be to create a classroom "clothesline timeline", adding entries where appropriate, each illustrated and annotated with correct notations. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scavenger Hunt http://tstrong.com/Martin.htm  Students will visit online resources on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to learn more about his life, as well as his important work in the civil rights movement. (*As always, please ensure that all current links are appropriate before allowing unsupervised student access.) Celebrating Martin Luther King Day http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/martin.html  Upper elementary classes can use biographies of Dr. King and collaborate in small groups to complete one of the projects suggested here at this site. Examining The "I Have A Dream" Speech http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/x201ci-have-dreamx201d  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm Section-by-section, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most famous speech is analyzed. Have students take turns reading the speech before beginning this analysis, asking them to place emphasis where they think it is due. Use the 2nd link above for an audio rendition online, and then have your students translate the speech into modern terms, while keeping the same emphasis on important concepts. Dr. Martin Luther King Lined Journal Page http://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net/seasonal/martin-luther-king-jr/martin-luther-king-journal5.pdf  Download and print out this lined journal page for your upper elementary students to write about what "I Have a Dream" means to them. Top 100 Sites of 2011 The year 2011 has come and gone, and there were many great Internet sites reviewed this past year in the popular online magazine Tech & Learning. David Kapuler, an educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience working in the K-12 environment and a frequently featured writer in Tech & Learning magazine, shares his top 100 sites that he reviewed in 2011. The list covers a wide range of sites, from flash card creators to digital storytelling and, of course, social networks, which really shined in 2011. Kapuler’s reviews come with personal comments about each site to help you sort through the top 100 list of sites. Find the full list at http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3467 and click on the ones that you might be able to use in your classroom. Teaching Books - Use It or Lose It! Don't forget the many available resources from TeachingBooks.net, a resource provided to Calcasieu teachers, students, and parents by CPSB. If you haven’t been to TeachingBooks in a while, it’s time to go check it out again! TeachingBooks.net is an easy-to-use website that adds a multimedia dimension to the reading experiences of children's and young adult books. This online database is developed and maintained to include thousands of resources about fiction and nonfiction books used in the K–12 environment, with every resource selected to encourage the integration of multimedia author and book materials into reading and library activities. For access from inside the CPSB network, go to http://www.teachingbooks.net/home; No password is required. For home access, a password is required; so, please check with your school librarian. Remember, TeachingBooks is a paid resource from the district. If you don’t use it, we may lose it! The site has video demos to help you learn to use the site to best benefit you and your students. Attention Science Teachers! We Can Change the World Challenge The purpose of the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is to enable K-12 students to identify and solve local environmental problems, utilize their creativity, and involve their communities. The Challenge is also aimed at promoting good use of science practice. Challenge teams should consist of a teacher or other adult mentor and 2-3 students. The wonderful prizes vary among grade levels (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12) and include money, a Discovery Adventure trip, technology, and much more. Register to get started now; the challenge takes time to do! The deadline to submit everything is March 15, 2012. The URL: http://www.wecanchange.com/  Windows 7 – It's a Snap! Snap is a quick new way to resize open windows, simply by dragging them to the edges of your screen. Depending on where you drag a window, you can make it expand vertically, take up the entire screen, or appear side-by-side with another window. Here's how: Drag the title bar of the window to the top of the screen until the window's outline expands to fill the screen then release the mouse to maximize the window. Drag the title bar of a window to the left or right side of the screen until an outline of the expanded window appears then release the mouse to expand the window. Point to the top or bottom edge of an open window until the pointer changes into a double-headed arrow . Drag the edge of the window to the top or bottom of the screen to expand the window to the entire height of the desktop. The width of the window doesn't change. To return the window to its original size, drag the title bar away from the top of the desktop and then release. It's just that easy! Louisiana Young Heroes Awards 2012 Nominate one of your students as a Louisiana Young Hero! A lot of attention is given to the young people who get into trouble or underachieve in school, but often the students who do exceptionally well in the classroom or make a huge difference in their community do not receive the recognition they deserve. The Louisiana Young Heroes Awards honor students in grades 7-12 who have excelled in the classroom, have served their community or have shown great courage in overcoming adversity in their own lives. Students must be enrolled in a Louisiana school or homeschooled and cannot be older than 19 years of age. Nomination forms can be downloaded from the LPB website (www.lpb.org/heroes) or submitted through the online form. Letters of recognition and other supporting materials should be sent to support the nomination. Students who have been nominated in past years may be re-nominated for this year’s awards. Previous winners are not eligible. The deadline for entries is February 3, 2012. Louisiana Young Heroes Day will be April 18, 2012. The Young Heroes will be treated to a day full of activities including lunch on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion. The day will culminate in a banquet that night Baton Rouge. For more information, call Margaret Schlaudecker at (800) 272-8161, ext. 4276. History in Your Pocket The History In Your Pocket (H.I.P.) Pocket Change site showcases the connection between this country's coins and its people. Through games, stories, and other engaging activities, the site brings to life both the extraordinary individuals who appear on U.S. coinage and the generations of citizens who've used this pocket change. H.I.P. Pocket Change is all about fun and information, especially coin information. It all started in 1997, when President Clinton asked federal agencies to find resources that could "enrich the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning." In response, agencies joined forces to form the Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) Working Group. The FREE group has pooled hundreds of educational treasures and posted them on the U.S. Department of Education's Web site. FREE also provided grants for finding ways to help teachers and federal agencies work together. In 1998, the United States Mint was awarded one of those grants. It created the H.I.P. Pocket Change Web site to link the Mint with teachers across the country and around the world. Once all that was in place, all that was left to do was to find seven coin-loving animals who wanted to learn more about coins and share that knowledge with you. The H.I.P. Pocket Change Pals are your coin currency dream team! The site is recommended for Grades PreK- 5. Check out all the engaging activities at http://www.usmint.gov/kids/flashIndex.cfm. Best on the Net!! -- Visit this site for hundreds of websites for teachers! We would love to hear from you about the best educational sites you have found on the web. Please submit, via email, the sites you feel merit inclusion. Send to tech.connect@cpsb.org. Please include the URL and a short sentence about the site.  Featured Sites: (These sites were submitted by teachers in Calcasieu Parish) Academic Earth http://academicearth.org/ Academic Earth offers video lectures from elite universities, and it allows viewers to grade the professors. Academic Earth also offers a “Playlists” feature based around themes.   Curriki http://www.curriki.org/ Curriki helps connect educators, parents, and students in the development of curriculum and other educational materials. With its open-source curriculum format, Curriki allows anyone to post their teaching ideas for others to view, download, use, reformat, and reshare.   PBS Teachers http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ Online professional development, TV programming and multimedia web content, lesson plan ideas, and ways to connect with other educators are all things featured on the PBS Teachers page. The website also features news and and webinars for teachers to view.   An official publication of the CPSB Technology Department For Technical Support:  help.cpsb.org Calcasieu Parish Homepage  Technology Department  Tech Help Site  Best on the Net Tech Guides  Computer Purchasing Information  Tech Connect Archive