Advance
excellent teaching
with Annenberg
Learner.
In the
Spotlight for May
Annenberg Learner
Announcements
Teacher Appreciation
Colorado State to
Offer CEUs for Annenberg
Courses
Learner Log Blog
Call for Submissions
Curriculum Focus: Summer
Professional Development on
Common Core
Current Events
Holding
Students’ Attention
New Strain
of Bird Flu in China
Connecting Learning with
Special Days
Latino
Books Month
Huntington’s Disease Month
Brown v.
Board of Education (May 17,
1954)
National
Mental Health Month
Asian-Pacific American
Heritage Month
Jamestown,
Virginia Founding Anniversary
(May 14, 1607)
Notable May
Birthdays
Niccolo Machiavelli (May 3,
1469)
Harry S.
Truman (May 8, 1884)
Ralph Waldo
Emerson (May 25, 1803)
More May
Birthdays
Annenberg Foundation
Update
Annenberg
Space for Photography
Presents “WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY”
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Annenberg Learner
Announcements
Teacher
Appreciation Week (May 6-10)
Teachers take on many roles
(educator, parent, guidance
counselor, nurse, etc) and
play such an important part in
the growth of every student.
We would like to say “thank
you” during Teacher
Appreciation Week (May 6-10).
On our blog,
we will be posting different
types of thank you’s each day,
including opportunities to win
prizes.
Colorado State to
Offer CEUs for Annenberg
Courses
Starting June 1, in addition
to offering graduate credit
for Annenberg Learner
professional development and
content courses, Annenberg
Learner and Colorado State
University (CSU) will begin
offering continuing education
units (CEUs)
for teachers, beginning
with the 10 most popular math
and science courses.
Teachers will be able to
register for either graduate
credit or non-credit
continuing education units on
the Annenberg’s Learner.org
Web site or through Colorado
State’s Online Plus Web site.
For a modest tuition fee –
$98 per credit plus $20
technology fee for graduate
credit, or
$50 per continuing education
unit – teachers
can access the course
materials available at no cost
at learner.org, register with
Colorado State, and earn CEU
or graduate credit on a
rolling schedule throughout
the year. Find
details and course listings on
this
CSU page, under “A new
opportunity – Annenberg
Learner noncredit
courses.”
Submit Your Lesson
Plans to Learner Log Blog
Do you have great teaching
ideas that you would like to
share with others? Submit
lesson plans and activities
you have created that include
the use of any video series,
interactives, or online
materials from Learner.org to
blog@learner.org. If we choose your
submission, we will notify you
by email before we post and
send you a free
DVD copy of a resource
of your choice from our
collection. Submit by
Friday, May 31st for
consideration.
Don’t forget to stop by
LearnerLog.org to see the
latest blog posts on current
education topics and useful
teaching tips. Comment under
posts to start or continue
thoughtful discussions on the
topics, and provide feedback
on our blog at blog@learner.org.
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Curriculum Focus: Summer Professional Development on Common Core
The Common Core State
Standards (CCSS), now adopted in
45 states, are reflected in the
school's curriculum and in
professional development. Take
some time this summer to review
videos and lesson plans that
illustrate the CCSS so you’ll be
ready to use them in the fall.
Common Core English Language
Arts
 Reading
— Two teachers from the
professional development
workshop Teaching Reading,
Grades 3-5 model
strategies and guide students
through complex readings. Dana
Robertson models his thinking
and reading for his fifth-grade
students in “Close
Reading for Understanding.”
Eleanor Demont’s fifth-grade
class completes a mini-lesson
using summarization as a
comprehension strategy for
reading non-fiction texts in “Summarizing
Nonfiction.”
Writing — Sixth-grade
students write editorials
on self-selected topics
using persuasive
techniques. Review teacher
Jenny Beasley’s lesson
plan from the Write
in the Middle
workshop, “Teaching
Persuasive Writing” and
watch her interact
with students in the
video.
Follow 5th graders as they
review primary source
documents from colonial
life in Virginia to
compare trades from that
time period with trades
today in “Using
Primary Sources”
from Social Studies in
Action: A Teaching
Practices Library, K-12.
Speaking and Listening —
Ninth-grade
students studying the
Vietnam War examine the
public’s support for the
war by reading Gallup
Polls from 1965-66,
watching evening news
footage, conducting
interviews, and
interpreting the lyrics of
popular music. See the
lesson “Public
Opinion and the Vietnam
War,” in Social
Studies in Action: A
Teaching Practices
Library, K-12.
Language — In Teaching
Multicultural Literature
Workshop 2, “Engagement
and Dialog: Judith Ortiz
Cofer and Nikki Grimes,”
students absorb and use
specific and formal
language when comparing
works of several
authors. View the
program here.
Common Core K-5
Standards in Mathematics
 Teachers
can easily access more
than 20 short video clips
that relate directly to
Common Core Standards in Learner
Express modules for
teaching and learning.
Sample a 6-minute clip “Attend
to Precision:
Circumference and
Diameter” from a
lesson in which students
define circles to
understand the
relationship between
circumference and
diameter.
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Current Events
Holding
Students’ Attention
 A
recent study
from Harvard University
looked at how well
students taking online
courses were able to
avoid distractions and
work through the
material. Not
surprisingly, the
researchers found that
with many other
electronic and physical
distractions, it was not
easy for students to
stay focused.
Classroom teachers face
the challenge of holding
students’ attention all
year, but especially
during the last month of
school. Neuroscience
& the Classroom
explains the role of
attention from a
neurocognitive
standpoint and also
borrows some tips for
teachers from those who
are master distracters –
magicians. See the video
“Attention and Magic” in
unit 4, “Different
Learners, Different
Minds.”
New Strain of Bird
Flu in China
The New York Times
reported on April 24
that a new strain
of bird flu (H7N9)
has spread in China and
now Taiwan since
February, sickening over
100 people and killing
over 20.
Governments in China and
Japan are preparing for
a larger outbreak.
 Rediscovering
Biology, unit 5, “Emerging
Infectious Diseases,”
takes you through the
different aspects of
this topic. Start with
looking at why the
diseases emerge.
Scientist Lukas K. Tamm,
Ph.D. discusses the
genetic make-up and
mutations of flu
variations and how
vaccinations are
developed in unit 13, “Genetically
Modified Organisms.”
More discussion of
microbes and their
ever-changing
relationship to disease
can be found in Unseen
Life on Earth: An
Introduction to
Microbiology,
program 12, "Microbes
and Human Diseases."
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Connecting
Learning with Special Days
Latino Books Month
Celebrate
the perspectives and
writing of great Latino
authors with your
students during the
month of May using the
following resources:
Americo
Paredes collected
“corridos,” songs that
narrate the struggles of
Mexican heroes against
Anglo oppression, and
wrote the novel, George
Washington Gomez,
about a Chicano growing
up in the
borderlands.
Gloria Anzaldúa’s
stories
challenge traditional
racial, cultural, and
gender boundaries.
Both writers are
featured in American
Passages, unit 2,
“Exploring
Borderlands.”
Julia Alvarez’s essay “I
Want to Be Miss
America,” from Something
to Declare,
describes her Dominican
family’s reaction to the
pageant and the cultural
and racial issues the
pageant raised for them.
See Teaching
Multicultural
Literature: A Workshop
for Middle Grades,
workshop 1, “Engagement
and Dialogue.”
In the video, watch
teacher Carol
O’Donnell’s students
discuss the work, then
share their own writing
about a family cultural
practice. See summary
#7.
Students read Graciela
Limón’s novel Erased
Faces about the
Zapatista uprising in
Mexico and interview the
author during a
classroom visit. See
this cultural studies
approach to interpreting
a text in The
Expanding Canon,
session 5, “Cultural
Studies: Ishmael Reed
and Graciela
Limón.”
More resources for
Latino Books Month
Invitation to World
Literature,
program 11, “One
Hundred Years of
Solitude” by
Gabriel García
Márquez
American Passages,
unit 12, “Migrant
Struggle,”
includes authors Rudolfo
A. Anaya, Alberto
Ríos, Tomas
Rivera, and Helena
María Viramontes.
American Passages,
unit 16, “Search
for Identity,”
includes authors Sandra
Cisneros and Judith
Ortiz Cofer.
Teaching
Multicultural
Literature: A Workshop
for Middle Grades,
workshop 7, “Social
Justice and Action,”
includes authors Alma
Flor Ada and Pam
Muñoz Ryan.
The Expanding Canon:
Teaching Multicultural
Literature in High
School, session 1,
“Reader Response,” My
Own True Name
by Pat Mora and session
3, “Inquiry,” Bless
Me, Ultima
by Rudolfo Anaya
Huntington’s Disease
Month
According
to the Huntington’s
Disease Society of
America, Huntington’s
Disease is an
“inherited brain
disorder that results in
the progressive loss of
both mental facilities
and physical control.”
The disease usually
emerges when a person is
between 30 and 50 years
old and can gradually
lead to death. There is
no effective cure for
the disease, but there
are ways to relieve the
symptoms.
 In The
Brain: Teaching
Modules, program
12, “Huntington’s
Disease,” watch as
Dr. Nancy Wexler
discusses her research
on the demographics and
causes of the disease.
Look at the moral issues
surrounding DNA testing
to determine an
individual’s risk of
developing the disease.
Gene therapy, replacing
defective genes with
normal genes, is a
technique researchers
have investigated to
treat diseases like
Huntington’s. Consider
the implications of gene
therapy along with other
types of genetic
engineering using the DNA
interactive.
Discussion questions can
be found here.
Brown v. Board of
Education (May 17,
1954)
In 1954, a legal team
led by Charles H.
Houston and Thurgood
Marshall persuaded the
United States Supreme
Court to decide in favor
of Brown in Oliver L.
Brown et al v. Board of
Education of Topeka (KS)
et al., which helped end
racial segregation in
schools and other public
facilities.
Before Brown v. the
Board of Education, the
federal case of Mendez
v. Westminister (1946)
challenged the
segregation laws of
California public
schools. Find out about
this case in America’s
History in the Making,
unit 20, “Egalitarian
America.”
See the historical
significance of the case
in the Archives.
Watch part 1, Ending
School Segregation: The
Case of Farmville,
Virginia, of the video
for Democracy in
America, program
5, “Civil
Rights: Demanding
Equality.”
In 1951, black students
staged a strike in
Farmville, Virginia to
end segregation in their
school. Their protest
may have been a catalyst
to significant change in
all American schools.
Use the questions
below the video to
discuss this case study
and Brown v. the Board
of
Education.
For resources on the
following special days,
check out the May
2012 update.
National Mental Health
Month
Asian-Pacific American
Heritage Month
Jamestown, Virginia
Founding Anniversary
(May 14, 1607)
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Notable May Birthdays
Niccolò Machiavelli
(May 3, 1469)
Florentine statesman,
philosopher, and writer
Niccolò Machiavelli
contributed to Western
political theory through his
seminal work, The Prince.
This political treatise
describes the use of craft and
deceit to achieve political
power. His name has become
synonymous with cunning and
deception.
In Democracy of America,
program 1, "Citizenship:
Making Government Work," read
Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses
on the First Ten
Books of Titus Livius
(pg. 34 of
download)
and look at how he describes
a republic. In program
13, “Elections:
The Maintenance of
Democracy,” read The
Prince (Chapter XXV)
and compare Machiavelli and
Thomas Jefferson’s ideas on
the role of the state in the
maintenance of
citizens.
Harry S. Truman (May 8,
1884)
 The
33rd President of the United
States saw the U.S. through
the end of World War II and
the start of the Cold War.
His term was marked by the
controversial decisions to
drop two atomic bombs in
Japan and send U.S. troops
to fight in the Korean War.
Students can participate in
an activity to decide
“Should U.S. Military Forces
Be Sent to Korea?” by taking
on the roles of President
Harry Truman, General
Douglas MacArthur, or
journalist Walter Lippman.
See Primary Sources,
workshop 8, “Korea
and the Cold War.”
A link to The
Truman Doctrine is
included in this
resource.
Grapple with Truman’s
decision to drop the atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki with the interactive
in A Biography of
America, program 23,
“The Fifties.” In
the video, academics also discuss
Truman’s decision to drop
the bombs and the
perspective of Truman and
the American public.
Case 2 in the video for Democracy
in America, unit 2, “The
Constitution: Fixed or
Flexible?” examines
what happens when Congress
and the President are at
odds. This case looks
specifically at Truman’s
veto of the Taft-Hartley act
of 1947, which permitted
states to legislate
right-to-work laws that
prohibited “closed shop”
contracts that excluded
non-union workers from
unionized plants.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(May 25, 1803)
Ralph Waldo Emerson
encouraged Americans to
think independently and
learn to rely on the self.
He inspired American writers
with his ideas about the
unity of nature, the
individual soul, and God.
See his influence on
American culture in the
video for American
Passages, unit 4, “Spirit of
Nationalism.”
Read about his life
in the author page.
During the early 19th
century, Emerson called for
Americans to embrace nature
and solitude. He said,
“Nothing can bring you peace
but yourself. Nothing can
bring you peace but the
triumph of principles.”
Watch A Biography of
America, program 8, "The
Reform Impulse, The
Second Great Awakening."
Find links to more resources
on Emerson on the Webography
page.
For more May birthdays,
including Christopher Paul
Curtis (May 10, 1953),
Edward Lear (May 12, 1812),
John Brown (May 9, 1800),
Malcolm X (May 19, 1925),
Gabriel Fahrenheit (May 24,
1686), Rachel Carson (May
27, 1907), and Walt Whitman
(May 31, 1819), see the May
2012 update.
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Annenberg Foundation
Update
Annenberg
Space for Photography
Presents “WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY”
See
the WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY:
Images of Armed Conflict and
Its Aftermath
photography exhibit at the
Annenberg Space for
Photography in Los Angeles,
organized by The Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston. The
exhibit runs now through June
2, 2013.
© Louie
Palu; U.S. Marine Gysgt.
Carlos “OJ” Orjuela, age 31,
Garmsir
District, Helmand Province,
Afghanistan, from Project:
Home Front (2008)
The
exhibit encompasses over 150
images going as far back as
1887 and is arranged by
themes presenting both the
military and civilian point
of view, including the
advent of war, daily
routines, the fight itself,
the aftermath, medical care,
prisoners of war, refugees,
executions, memorials,
remembrance, and more. There
are many iconic images in
the show such as Joe
Rosenthal’s Old Glory Goes
Up on Mount Suribachi, Iwo
Jima and Alfred
Eisenstaedt’s V-J Day, Times
Square, New York.
The Educator Resource Guide
for WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY is now
available for teachers and
students. The packet has
been created for teachers to
use in-class and/or during a
visit. Click
here to download the
guide. Due to the
nature of the content in
this exhibit, it is
recommended for ages 14 and
older.
Keep up with news and
information about the
Annenberg Foundation by
subscribing to one or more
of the Foundation
newsletters.
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