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Spotlight: May and Beyond
Go on a Journey with Journey North
Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. K-12 students share their own field observations with classmates across North America. They track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, bald eagles— and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants; changing sunlight; and other natural events. Find migration maps, pictures, standards-based lesson plans, activities and information to help students make local observations and fit them into a global context. Widely considered a best-practices model for education, Journey North is the nation's premiere "citizen science" project for children. The general public is welcome to participate.
Webby Awards Honor The Habitable Planet
The Habitable Planet, a new multimedia series will premiere on the The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences has announced the selection of The Habitable Planet as an Official Honoree for the Education category in their Annual Webby Awards. This distinction requires a score in the top 15% of all work entered, including nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries. Explore the rich resources available on this Web site. In addition to full video programs, you'll find an online textbook, interactive labs and a wide selection of images and simulations from the course.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — an excellent time to explore our resources that teach about the history, cultural legacy, and unique perspectives of Asian Pacific Americans. Bridging World History looks at Asian civilizations within the broader context of global developments. Unit 26, "World History and Identity," includes a segment about the Chinese diaspora. The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century surveys contemporary geography of several Asian Pacific countries. Consider the cultural exchange between Asian Pacific cultures and America through media and industrial globalization with Human Geography: People, Places, and Change.
Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4-8)
We appreciate teachers! We exist to support excellent teaching in America's schools. If you haven't taken one of our teacher professional development workshops, take a look at the extensive list of available workshops. Perhaps you can work one in this summer. You can view workshop videos at your convenience, without charge, using Video on Demand.
International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22)
See how scientists measure biodiversity, how it benefits our species, and what trends might cause Earth's next mass extinction in Unit 9, "Biodiversity Decline," of The Habitable Planet (new in 2007.) The series' rich Web site includes a collection of interactive labs. In one, you can build "your own ecosystem", and explore the effects of the complex and delicate interrelationship between species. The Web site also links to a rich collection of images. A world map of "Biodiversity Hotspots," which cover a small fraction of Earth's surface but contain a particularly large number of species, is also available.
National Geographic Bee (May 20-21)
Each year, the National Geographic Bee's annual nationwide competition tests the world geography knowledge of students in grades 4 through 8. While the competition is going on in Washington, D.C., you can hold your own geography bee right where you are. Our resources can serve as a rich source of reference material.
Expand your knowledge with the documentaries of The Power of Place: Geography for the 21st Century. Observe effective teaching at the middle and high school levels, with an eye to meeting national standards, in our Teaching Geography workshop. Lesson plans, transcripts, maps, interactive slideshows, and other resources are available on the series Web site.
World Trade Week (May 19-23)
Go back in time to the early beginnings of global trade with Bridging World History Unit 15, "Early Global Commodities." Unit 8, "Early Economies," may also be of interest. For an historical look at the development of world trade within the context of increasing interactions between Native peoples, colonizers, and other groups in the Americas-leading to the Columbian Exchange-watch "Mapping Initial Encounters," Unit 2 of our series America's History in the Making. The page offers written material as well as video.
For ideas of how to introduce world trade topics to your students, watch The Economics Classroom: A Workshop for Grade 9-12 Teachers Program 5, "Trading Globally," is particularly relevant.
[next: Annenberg Channel Highlights]
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