Free iPad apps: US Government March 15, 2011
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in iPad, US Government.Tags: iPad, US Government
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A majority of the apps on my iPad were free. The first US Government content-related apps I downloaded were the Constitution for iPad, the Declaration (of Independence) for iPad. Great reference for both US History and US Government. Both apps allow for exploration of the main document text, the biographies of the signers of each document, information about the parchment on which the documents are written, and the famous paintings of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The Constitution and Federalist Papers app is another that has background about the writing of the Constitution, the text of the documents, the Federalist papers and images of the pages of the Constitution.
For more current US Government-related content, MyCongress follows any senators or representatives by zip code and shows recent news, the Congressperson’s YouTube channel, and Twitter Feed (if s/he Tweets). NBC’s Meet the Press provides instant access to interviews on the current issues of the government with interviews, the roundtable, and audio podcasts. Politico is also helpful to keep up on the 2010 Presidential race and current activities of Congress and the Presidency. Finally, the msnbc.com Cartoons (with cartoons from the Cagle cartoon library, I love them) keeps up on the current funny.
Political Cartoon, Anyone? March 1, 2011
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in US Government, Webbased tools.Tags: Cartoons, US Government, US History
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ToonDoo is great, I love it for storytelling in many aspects of content, but this time it wasn’t quite right. My government students used the Library of Congress’ interactive exercise, “It’s No Laughing Matter” to learn about political cartoons and then, of course, the Cagle Cartoon Index to see and analyze on their own current cartoons. After that, I really wanted them to take a stab at creating their own political cartoons, black and white, pencil-sketched political cartoons. I was happy to find FunnyTimes Playground.
This website allowed by students to take a current issue and create via drag-and-drop their
own political cartoons. Sketches relating to current people and issues are available and, although my example does not show it, text and and callout bubbles can be added. No registration is required which is helpful and means any age can use this resource. The site does offer the opportunity to email the finished product to the cartoonist, but we had mixed success with that so I highly recommend taking a screenshot of the finished cartoon before closing the window. Happy ‘tooning!
Can we read today? February 28, 2011
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in US Government.Tags: Reading, US Government
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That was literally the quote that welcomed me to class today. I will admit, I was pretty happy. Last Friday we started reading in class. Students could choose any book which related in some way to the US Government and which they had not previously read, fiction or non-fiction, and we had reading time. We munched on popcorn (the popcorn maker was the only technology for the hour) and had about 30 minutes of quiet reading time. Everything from biographies of Abraham Lincoln, stories of the Secret Service, and Vince Flynn were cracked open and it was great to see. Granted, I have no idea what we’re going to do at the end of reading these books, and I don’t want a reading log (we’re just going for enjoyment), but I do want to find out their thoughts. If you have ideas, please share!
A Commemoration August 27, 2010
Posted by Wendy Wolfe in Educational Resources, US Government.Tags: 19th Amendment, Elections, US Government, Voting
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This week marked the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment securing the right of women to vote in all elections. With a contentious Minnesota gubernatorial race and an unusually large amount of attention being drawn to the upcoming midterm elections (even Jon Stewart poked at the usual attitude toward midterm elections in the 2002 election cycle), voting will surely be a topic of discussion soon in the classroom. In fact, it is difficult to remember a time when an upcoming non-presidential election has been such a hot topic this early in the election cycle.
To support the conversation of voting and the 19th Amendment, it was fun to put together this collection of resources. (It is also always fun for me to find more on Susan B Anthony as we share a birthday… 
The National Archives has an extensive lesson plan collection, “Teaching with Documents.” This lesson provides a script for a vignette for the classroom with suffragists and Woodrow Wilson, a great way to have students “live” history. There are also links to related lesson plans with the primary source documents relating to women’s suffrage and the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment is also part of the “Our Documents” online exhibit, another endeavor cosponsored by the National Archives.
If you’re not heading to Rochester, NY anytime soon, Susan B. Anthony’s Home website has a photo gallery/virtual tour, biographical information, a time line, information on the Susan B. Anthony coins, and more.
Scholastic comes through again! This website with excerpts from Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s autobiography has a unit plan focusing on women’s suffrage, a 6-day lesson plan for teachers of grades 3-5, and an interactive site on women’s suffrage.
The Encyclopedia Britannica published, “Happy 90th to the 19th Amendment,” the picture essay for the day. This “picture essay” has an interactive map looking at the history of women’s suffrage, and clickable names throughout the article which helps the reader gain a visual understanding of the history of women’s suffrage.
The PBS “Not For Ourselves Alone” site provides a multimedia exploration into the suffrage movement by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. It also links to primary source documents, biographies, and links to many additional sites on the internet focused on women’s suffrage and the 19th Amendment, and these suffragettes.
Looking at women in politics today? CBS News has this video on “Susan B. Anthony’s Legacy.”
And finally, this video is a great student project, not only to use as a discussion starter, but as an example/idea for similar assignments on the same or different topics.
With that, I wish happy learning and election-watching to all and happy voting to the 18+ crowd who are eligible to vote in the upcoming midterm elections – many worked hard so we can vote!
