Critical Thinking and Current Issues October 7, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources.Tags: Current Events, Lesson Plans
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Teachable Moment, a project from the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, is focused on helping educators improve students’ critical thinking skills through the use of current issues and topics. With lesson plans and activities for every grade level, elementary, middle and highschool, as well as other ideas, it is a great idea generator for discussing topics of the day with students.
Happy First Monday! October 5, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, US Government.add a comment
Recovered from Kazakhstan, it seems that the blog is the last thing to pick up. How fortunate that it is the First Monday of October and the Supreme Court’s session begins again. In honor of the Supreme Court’s 2010 term, CSPAN is highlighting the Court in “Surpeme Court Week.” The website offers a virtual tour of the Court, highlighted videos from the week, an interactive timeline of the Court including video clips and events, and more.
Also in the spirit of First Monday, you will find the American Constitution Society’s panel discussion of the 2010 term in preview is available here online and NPR has a great interactive Supreme Court site addressing major cases of the 2010 term.
Happy First Monday: “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez…God save the United States and this Honorable Court.”
Amsterdam: Seven Hours turns into Eight September 7, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, Kazakhstan.Tags: Amsterdam, Anne Frank
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The original plan was for seven hours on the ground in Amsterdam which was stretched into eight as we had an amazing tail wind. After securing a locker for our luggage, it was a breeze through customs, followed by a train ticket purchase and subsequent ride into Amsterdam City Center. We had a great walk around the city, saw a zillion bulbs and other plans for sale (some I am quite sure would never clear US customs), and enjoyed a delightful lunch which also allowed us to duck out of the most substantial of the rain showers.
The walk would not have been complete without a stop at Anne Frank’s house. We did not have the chance to go through the tour, however, as we learned when attempting to purchase tickets, we were informed that they had been sold out for quite some time – just one example of how the internet changes things. (In 1992, my friends and I simply walked up to the door, purchased tickets, and went through the tour. This time the tickets which were sold out more than a month in advance were accompanied by the long line stretching down the street.
If you are addressing Amsterdam or Anne Frank in your curriculum (or perhaps find it interesting on your own), the following links are:
The Anne Frank House – The Official Website – has a history of Anne, images and video relating to Anne and her family, numerous lesson ideas and applications, and information about the museum itself.
A virtual tour of Amsterdam with a focus on Anne Frank-related places (this is not an officially endorsed site).
Out of country… September 6, 2009
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources.Tags: Math, geography, Actuary, Kazakhstan
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Request: Please indulge a week-long parallel purpose for this blog. This week I am in Kazakhstan with Tim as he presents on the design and risk management of pension plans as part of an international actuarial seminar hosted by the Actuarial Society of Kazakhstan.
It is my intent to share cultural observations, some pictures, and, in keeping with the original focus of this blog, include curricular connections to our trip. I hope you enjoy the information.
If you teach courses that address banking, investing, and/or finance, the Actuarial Foundation offers free content in the form of e-books which are able to be downloaded from their Organization’s education site. (They have additional curriculum also.) This summer they also offered a free copy of the materials in print to the first 1000 teachers who emailed them. (In August I did send the email on behalf of our business teacher and still received the curriculum so if you are interested, it is worth sending the inquiry).
