What's in It for You?

Well, maybe nothing.

Viewing this web log every so often may be of no benefit to you at all. However, you may find out about another workshop you never thought of attending, and maybe you'll connect up with somebody who writes something that really strikes a chord with you. In that case, if that contributor has shared their e-mail address with us, then we can put you in direct contact with them.

Additionally, it has been our experience that students really get more involved with a topic when they know their teacher has invested some of their own time and energy to explore it. There may be times when you will be able to hook up with somebody who has some photos of a workshop you attended, and you might get some photos you would not get otherwise.

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

At every workshop my wife and I have attended, there have been various attitudes voiced about every other workshop, with one exception: any discussion of Gilder Lehrman workshops is always very positive and enthusiastic. We have not yet had an opportunity to attend a GL workshop, and may never get to attend one, but their web site is worth a look.

At the very least, it will point out valuable historic sites throughout the country.

Souvenirs at Starved Rock Lock and Dam (2005)

While attending the "Last Great American Canal" workshop at Lockport, Illinois, which was great in every way, we went on a tour of a number of historic places, including Starved Rock Lock and Dam.

This site has a gift shop, of course, and my wife and I bought a stuffed American Eagle. We gave it to our grandson, who was 20 months old at the time, and he carried it everywhere for a long time. Now, you might think that this souvenir, at a site run by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, would be home-grown, but this one is made in China!

It might be interesting to have students in appropriate grade levels write letters to their members of Congress and make them aware of how ironic this seems.

Social Studies Teachers - Constitution Day, September 17

If you are new to teaching, or if you are just new to teaching social studies, you may not know about the Youth Leadership Initiative, and its efforts to assist you to teach about the Constitution; as http://www.youthleadership.net/ indicates, federal legislation requires that on Constitution Day, which falls on September 17 each year unless that day is a Saturday or Sunday, schools receiving federal funds present a program on the Constitution. The information is as follows:
The Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) at University of Virginia's Center for Politics is a civic education program that provides teachers with quality, technology-based resources and projects FREE OF CHARGE. You may request a free copy of a campaign simulation CD-ROM, A More Perfect Union, sign up to participate in YLI's e-Congress or student mock elections, and access dozens of fantastic lesson plans. Sign up at
http://www.youthleadership.net/ and then pass this link along to other teachers you know. Another good source of teaching materials (free, as well) can be found at http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/teach/freeresources/constitutionday/.

Microsoft Office Suite Clone

Many of you probably have access to Microsoft Office Suite on a computer at your school. However, many of you may not have the same access on a computer at your home. If you don't have that luxury, and don't want to pay for it, you can check out openoffice.org and download a suite that performs very well as a substitute for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and is without charge or obligation; what's more, these products read Microsoft Office files and write them back in that format if you set it up that way.
The only thing you have to do is experiment a little; if you use a Microsoft Suite feature that is somewhat new and involved, it may not read perfectly into Open Office. Good luck.

Speech Recognition Could Make Your Life Easier

If you have been around for a while, like me, and therefore your hands bother you when you type, or you never learned how, there is a solution, if you have a PC with enough memory and processor and hard drive capabilities: Dragon Naturally Speaking. This software cost only $49.99 recently and allows me to dictate at a pretty good rate and have my PC recognize my speech and convert it into text.

Copyright for Kids (and Harried Teachers)

If you don't have a formal document for students and their parents to sign before they access internet sites while in school, or you want a simpler introduction as to what kids can and cannot do from a legal standpoint, please read on:

I have encountered three sites that help explain the ins and outs of using internet (and traditional) resources without running afoul of copyright regulations. They are appropriate for various levels, but they should probably be used as follows:

• elementary level - http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf

• middle school level - http://www.copyrightkids.org/

• high school level - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. Aoccdrnig to rceaserh at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are; the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

The Puzzle Analogy Lesson

I am sure that all of you have heard about the puzzle lesson plan. Linda and I first heard about it from a colleague we met while attending a National Endowment for the Humanities workshop in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 2004. Of course there are variations, but the version we heard about goes something like this:

The American History teacher displays a large puzzle for all students to see; it is very intricate and obviously will present a challenge to put together. Then, the teacher states that when this puzzle is completely put together, the students will have completed their work to receive credit for their course. She announces, “We are going to learn more about putting history together by putting the puzzle together.” Of course, the students accept the challenge.

First, the teacher grabs a handful of puzzle pieces and puts them in a drawer. When she is asked why she did that and made their task much more difficult, or impossible, the teacher explains that it is harder to put the puzzle together in a coherent fashion because some pieces were lost along the way, so we just have to do the best we can at interpreting what remains.

Then, the teacher grabs another handful of pieces and puts them in the waste basket, explaining that some pieces of the puzzle never were discovered because maybe a person who knew what happened never told anyone else about the person or event being studied, and maybe the key to unlock the sequence of events went to the grave with the person who would otherwise have provided what we call primary source documents.

Then, the teacher grabs another handful of pieces and puts them aside, explaining that some pieces of the puzzle may have been lost in a fire or ship wreck or other disaster, or remain stored in someone's attic or safety deposit box, perhaps to be brought to light after being purchased in a garage or estate sale.

Then, the teacher adds pieces from another puzzle, obviously distinct from the first (a wooden puzzle's pieces being added to a heavy cardboard puzzle, for example), because maybe there is information that is not historically accurate, either because of error or other circumstances, that contradicts much of what we know, or think we know.

Well, we're sure you get the general idea.