Advance excellent teaching with Annenberg
Media.
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*** In the Spotlight for November ***
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- Linking to Current Events
- Upcoming Conferences
- National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month
- Connect Learning with Special Days
o World Television Day
o Thanksgiving Day
o Maize Day
o French Conversation Week
o International Drum Month
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*** LINKING TO CURRENT EVENTS ***
November 4th Elections
Follow up on the election with our resources about voting, elections, and the
presidency:
> On what basis do we -- or should we -- choose and support a candidate? This
question is explored in "Elections: The Maintenance of Democracy"
<http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_13/dia_13_video.html>,
Program 13 of Democracy in America. The program begins with a look at the 1960
presidential run of John F. Kennedy, initially considered an underdog as a
member of a religious minority.
> "Electoral Politics," the second program of Making Civics Real: A Workshop for
Teachers
<http://www.learner.org/workshops/civics/workshop2/>, focuses on effective
ways of teaching about the electoral process.
> Watch a discussion about the role and reach of the media in the last program
of Ethics in America
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series81.html>, "Politics, Privacy, and
the Press." Participants include journalist Mike Wallace and Geraldine Ferraro,
the first female vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket.
> Take another look at elections -- specifically the election of judges -- in
Ethics in America II Program 4, "Choosing Justice: Elections and Judicial
Independence"
<http://www.learner.org/series/ethics2/choosing_justice/index.html>.
> In this year's election cycle, with controversy surrounding Vice-Presidential
candidates, consider the facts and arguments raised by distinguished discussants
in "Nomination, Election, and Succession of the President," the third program of
The Constitution: That Delicate Balance
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series72.html>.
> With polls-a-plenty showing preferences and predicting outcomes, better
understand the math behind polls -- and the possible pitfalls -- with the first
session of Learning Math: Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability
<http://www.learner.org/courses/learningmath/data/session1/part_d/>.
> For more on opinion polls visit our interactive, Statistics--Polls: What Do
the Numbers Tell Us?
<http://www.learner.org/interactives/statistics/>. Participate in a poll
about polling, create a random sample, and learn more about what can go wrong in
the process.
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Conflict in Congo
Armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- connected with the
Rwandan genocide of 1994 -- has flared again, with hundreds of thousands of
refugees in the eastern part of the country and the U.N. attempting to pull aid
workers from the area.
> Find information on Congolese history in the context of global war, in Unit 22
of Bridging World History
<http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/unit_video_22-2.html>. Click on
Archive to find images related to the topic (such as this one
<http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/archive.html?f_itemNumber=3308&return=1-2>
of a Tutsi soldier), and don't miss this audio clip by Patrick Manning of
Northeastern University
<http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/unit_perspectives_22.html>
about the massacres in Rwanda and neighboring Burundi.
> Get important background on issues in the continent with the series The
Africans
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series8.html>, available for purchase.
Look for programs covering Zaire, a former name of the Democratic Republic of
the Congo.
--
Use Video on Demand to view programs free of charge -- go to our Web site
<http://www.learner.org/view_programs/view.programs.html> for general
instructions.
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*** UPCOMING CONFERENCES ***
Two educators won sets of The Habitable Planet video series and guide at the
North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) annual meeting in
Wichita. Paul Steury of Goshen College in Indiana and Brenda Weiser of
University of Houston Clear Lake entered our drawing to win a free set of DVDs
at the Annenberg Media exhibit booth and at a conference session. Come visit the
Annenberg Media booth at one of these upcoming conferences and you may win a
series, too!
o National Council for Social Studies, Houston, TX, November 13-16
o National Council of Teachers of English, San Antonio, TX, November 21-23
o American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Orlando, FL, November
21-23
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*** NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE HERITAGE MONTH ***
National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month began with the efforts
of Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian -- considered the first Native American
archaeologist -- who argued vigorously for recognition of Native Americans and
persuaded the Boy Scouts in the early 1900s to recognize a "First Americans"
day. F. Red Fox James of the Blackfoot Nation was also instrumental through his
campaign in 1914, traveling around the country on horseback to gain the support
of state governors for the idea of a national observance. In 1915, the Congress
of the American Indian Association put together a plan to establish American
Indian Day on the second Saturday of May. The first official state observance
was in New York in May of 1916. Other states followed.
However, it wasn't until 1990 that a national observance was formally
recognized. President George H.W. Bush proclaimed November of 1990 "National
American Indian Heritage Month."
> Try our interactive, United States History Map
<http://www.learner.org/interactives/historymap/>. Click on "Indians" to
link directly to brief historical information on several of the largest Indian
tribes in North America.
> Our Collapse interactive
<http://www.learner.org/interactives/collapse/> explores possible reasons
for the collapse of the Mayan and Chaco Canyon civilizations.
> America's History in the Making
<http://www.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/units/2/> looks at early
interactions between Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans. Look for related
activities on the series Web site.
> Bridging World History
<http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/> examines various aspects of
ancient civilizations of the Americas.
> "New World Encounters"
<http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog01/>, the first unit of A
Biography of America, presents a historian's view of civilizations of the
Americas and the deleterious effects of Spanish conquest on Native people.
> American Passages: A Literary Survey
<http://www.learner.org/amerpass/author_list.html> features Native American
authors Luci Tapahonso, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Simon Ortiz. Find information
on additional authors, the Chippewa Songs, and Ghost Dance Songs, plus many
Native American images in the archive (see link).
> Literature professors Greg Sarris and Laura Arnold Leibman demonstrate how
study of cultural artifacts can enhance students' appreciation of literature in
the programs "Ceremonial Artifacts" and "Domestic Architecture," respectively,
in the series Artifacts & Fiction: Workshop in American Literature
<http://www.learner.org/workshops/artifacts/>.
> Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades
<http://www.learner.org/workshops/tml/> introduces Native authors Joseph
Bruchac, Shirley Sterling, and Laura Tohe.
> The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature in High School
<http://www.learner.org/workshops/hslit/> presents Native authors James
Welch, N. Scott Momaday, and Mourning Dove.
> At the end of Literary Visions
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series41.html> Program 9, Author N. Scott
Momaday talks about his award-winning book "House Made of Dawn."
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*** CONNECT LEARNING WITH SPECIAL DAYS ***
World Television Day (November 21)
> Television has played a pivotal role in political campaigns. But what kind of
role should the media play? Watch "Understanding Media: The Inside Story"
<http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_10/>, Program 10 of
Democracy in America.
> The rise of the television industry and subsequent changes in Americans'
orientation toward film are chronicled in "Film in the Television Age," Program
8 of American Cinema
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series67.html>.
> "Contemporary History"
<http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog25/>, the 25thg program of A
Biography of America, features a commentary by television critic John Leonard on
how television has influenced Americans' cultural memory and perspective on
history.
> The elements of good TV news writing are covered in "News Writing"
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series44.html>.
> Read interesting interviews
<http://www.learner.org/catalog/extras/interviews/> with television news
personalities Charles Kuralt, Kurt Loder, and Andy Rooney.
> The program "Reflections on a Global Screen" in Human Geography: People,
Places, and Change
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series85.html> looks at television
broadcasting from a globalization perspective.
Thanksgiving Day -- U.S. (November 27)
> According to folklore, the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. reenacts a joint
feast of English settlers and the Native Americans who had helped them survive
the harsh winter. But what were those early encounters between European
colonists and the Native people really like? Find out with the second program of
America's History in the Making
<http://www.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/units/2/>.
> See the 1932 painting "The First Thanksgiving 1621"
<http://www.learner.org/amerpass/slideshow/archive_search.php?number=6326&fullsize=1>
by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris in the American Passages archive.
> Observe a "typical" American Thanksgiving dinner in the countryside, complete
with a traditional toast, in Episode 37 of Connect With English
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series71.html>.
National Maize Day (November 28)
> Read this Habitable Planet interview with Andy Aden, research engineer,
discussing corn as a biofuel source
<http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/scientist/transcripts/aden.html>. For
further discussion of corn and ethanol, see this section of the online textbook
<http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=7&secNum=8>.
> Find an explanation of artificial selection and domestication, with a picture
of teosinte next to its descendant modern corn, on the Web site for Essential
Science for Teachers: Life Science
<http://www.learner.org/courses/essential/life/session5/closer1.html>.
> See a series of early maize cobs
<http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/archive.html?f_itemNumber=1925&return=4-2>,
demonstrating agricultural development by societies over time, on the Bridging
World History Web site.
> Learn about genetic modification through the example of corn in the
Rediscovering Biology textbook
<http://www.learner.org/courses/biology/units/gmo/experts/dornbos.html>.
Also read this interview with prominent corn farmer Leon Corzine
<http://www.learner.org/courses/biology/units/gmo/experts/corzine.html>.
French Conversation Week (November 2-8)
> Learn to speak French with the "Capretz method" -- immersing yourself in the
language -- in French in Action
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series83.html>.
> Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices
<http://www.learner.org/libraries/tfl/> offers eight effective French
language classrooms to use as models in creating your own teaching environments.
International Drum Month
> Can you hear the shape of a drum? Delve into the mathematics of acoustics and
find out, with Mathematics Illuminated Unit 10, "Harmonious Math"
<http://www.learner.org/courses/mathilluminated/units/10/textbook/06.php>.
Look for the left-hand link to view the video online.
> Watch Science in Focus: Energy, Workshop 3, "Transfer and Conversion of
Energy"
<http://www.learner.org/workshops/energy/workshop3/>, to see how a bass drum
can be used to demonstrate the transfer of energy from one form into another.
> See a 1920s image of a Peyote drummer
<http://www.learner.org/amerpass/slideshow/archive_search.php?number=6781&fullsize=1>
in the American Passages archive. The archive also offers this image
<http://www.learner.org/amerpass/slideshow/archive_search.php?number=6262&fullsize=1>
of poet Allen Ginsberg playing bongo drums.
> Find images of drums of the African diaspora
<http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/unit_video_25-2.html> on the
Bridging World History Web site.
> See and hear various cultural forms of drumming in the programs of Exploring
the World of Music
<http://www.learner.org/resources/series105.html>. The programs
"Transmission: Learning Music," "Rhythm," and "Texture" offer good examples of
North Indian, African, and American drumming.
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