Advance excellent teaching with Annenberg Media.

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*** In the Spotlight for October ***
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 -  Linking to Current Events
 -  This Month on the Channel
 -  Connect Learning with Special Days
    o World Teachers' Day
    o National Poetry Day
    o Columbus Day
    o Halloween
    o Energy Awareness Month

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*** LINKING TO CURRENT EVENTS ***

On September 27, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a "detainee bill," which, if signed into law, would allow the military to interrogate and prosecute terror suspects.

> "Ethics in America" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/ethic1.html> Programs 6 and 7, "Under Orders, Under Fire" Parts 1 and 2, explore issues related to war ethics, such as the use of military tribunals and dealing with enemy combatants. General Brent Scowcroft, news correspondent Mike Wallace, Chaplain Timothy Tatum, and Reverend J. Bryan Hehir are among the distinguished discussants.

> Equally relevant is "The Constitution: That Delicate Balance" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/const2.html>; in particular, see Program 4, "Criminal Justice and a Defendant's Right to a Fair Trial," and Program 6, "Crime and Punishments."

> Teachers at any grade level would benefit from "Social Studies in Action: A Teaching Practices Library, K-12" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/sslib3.html> Program 31, "Dealing With Controversial Issues."  Find coordinated materials <http://learner.org/redirect/october/sslib4.html> on the series Web site.

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As the aspen, a common tree of the American West, is rapidly dying off due to mysterious causes, new reports strengthen claims that the ivory-billed woodpecker -- previously thought to be extinct -- is still alive and well in the South.

> In "Woodpecker Habitat," Program 29 of "Teaching Math: A Video Library, K-4" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/math5.html>, observe Tim Sears's first and second grade probability lesson in which students use sampling to study an endangered woodpecker's habitat.

> "Rediscovering Biology: Molecular to Global Perspectives" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/bio6.html> discusses the implications of species extinction in Unit 12, "Biodiversity" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/bio7.html>.

> If you are addressing these issues with elementary students, "Essential Science for Teachers: Life Science" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/life8.html> provides models for using inquiry teaching methods.

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Controversy continues to swirl around Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman's solution of the Poincaré Conjecture -- his nonacceptance of the coveted Fields Medal prize -- and disputes surrounding other mathematicians' attempts to verify the proof.

> Cut straight to the math behind the drama by introducing your students to topology. See this hands-on lesson based on the well-loved Mobius strip <http://www.dpgraph.com/janine/mathpage/topology.html> or these lesson plans on knot theory <http://www.c3.lanl.gov/mega-math/workbk/knot/knot.html> as a starting point.

> Broaden your spatial thinking -- and ideas about how to teach it -- with "Learning Math: Geometry" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/geom9.html>.

> If you're interested in the shape of the universe, you might also like "The Mechanical Universe...and Beyond" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/mech10.html>, which explores related big questions from a physics perspective.

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With a broadband Internet connection, the video programs linked above can be viewed FREE of charge through Video on Demand. Visit this page <http://learner.org/redirect/october/view11.html> for general instructions.


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*** THIS MONTH ON THE CHANNEL ***

The following series begin this month on the Annenberg Channel. Be sure to scroll down on the linked pages for specific broadcast dates and times. Consult the full broadcast schedule <http://learner.org/redirect/october/sched12.html> for many more programs and partial series airing in October.

MATHEMATICS
> "Learning Math: Data, Statistics, and Probability" (K-8) <http://learner.org/redirect/october/data13.html>

SOCIAL STUDIES & HISTORY
> "Bridging World History" (high school/college) <http://learner.org/redirect/october/bwh14.html>
> "The Constitution: That Delicate Balance" (college/high school) <http://learner.org/redirect/october/const15.html>
> "Growing Old in a New Age" (college/high school) <http://learner.org/redirect/october/old16.html>

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Find general information about the Annenberg Channel at <http://learner.org/redirect/october/chnl17.html>. For free licensing, go to <http://learner.org/redirect/october/lic18.html>.

Our downloadable Channel Program Guide is available at <http://learner.org/redirect/october/guide19.html>. The Guide contains satellite and signal information, plus daily and month-at-a-glance program schedules.

Watch the online Channel simulcast at <http://learner.org/redirect/october/watch20.html>, closed captioned at <http://learner.org/redirect/october/cc21.html>.


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*** CONNECT LEARNING WITH SPECIAL DAYS ***

World Teachers' Day (October 5)

> "The Merrow Report" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/mer22.html> looks at the lives and work of teachers from many perspectives. New teachers will particularly enjoy Program 8, "Teaching: The First Year," and "Making the Grade," Programs 43 through 48. Also watch Programs 41, "In the Spotlight: Linda Darling-Hammond on Teacher Training," and 51, "Teachers Wanted: No Experience Necessary," which air on the Channel in October. See the broadcast schedule <http://learner.org/redirect/october/mer23.html> for details.

> This World Teachers' Day, celebrate yourself by registering for a course or workshop, such as "The Learning Classroom: Theory Into Practice" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/theor24.html>. Our complete list of courses and workshops can be found at <http://learner.org/redirect/october/list25.html>.


National Poetry Day (October 5)

This year's theme for National Poetry Day is "Identity."

> Explore the rich, identity-related poems included in our workshop, "The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature in High School" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/canon26.html>. Read -- and listen to -- the works of poets such as Russell Leong <http://learner.org/redirect/october/canon27.html> and Lawson Fusao Inada <http://learner.org/redirect/october/canon28.html>.
For complete works, click on the left-hand links to the Session Guide.

> "Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/tml29.html> offers insight into the thought-provoking works of poets including Naomi Shihab Nye <http://learner.org/redirect/october/tml30.html>, Barbara Chase-Riboud <http://learner.org/redirect/october/tml31.html>, and more.

> Consider issues of identity presented in "Voices & Visions" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/vv32.html> -- beautifully produced full-length documentaries about 13 renowned American poets and their work. Featured poets include Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Sylvia Plath.

> Programs 11 through 17 of "Literary Visions" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/litv33.html> explore various aspects of poetry, such as theme, rhetorical figures, and symbolism.

> "Write in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/writ34.html> focuses on poetry in Workshop 3. Find lesson plans, sample student work, and more on the series Web site <http://learner.org/redirect/october/writ35.html>.

> "American Passages: A Literary Survey" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/apass36.html> Program 10, "Rhythms in Poetry," explores the modernist poetry of Langston Hughes and William Carlos Williams.


Columbus Day (October 9)

> Christopher Columbus is more than an historical figure. "Bridging World History" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/bwh37.html> Program 2, "History and Memory" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/bwh38.html>, considers the social and political significance of the collective memory of Columbus in the Americas and around the world.

> Learn more about Christopher Columbus and what he brought to the New World with "New World Encounters," the first program of "A Biography of America" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/boa39.html>. The series Web site offers a list of interesting Web links related to Columbus <http://learner.org/redirect/october/boa40.html>.

> "American Passages: A Literary Survey" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/apass41.html> presents the fascinating literature of early Spanish colonists and Mestizo writers in Program 2, "Exploring Borderlands." Find images related to Columbus in the artifact archive <http://learner.org/redirect/october/apass42.html>.


Halloween (October 31)

> In "Teaching Foreign Languages: A Library of Classroom Practices" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/tfll43.html>, watch Margita Haberlen's third grade German lesson comparing Halloween to the German celebration of Fasching in Program 7, "Holidays and Seasons." Visit the series Web site <http://learner.org/redirect/october/tfll44.html> for coordinated materials.

> To find out what was "haunting" America in the 1850s, watch "Gothic Undercurrents" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/apass45.html>, Program 6 of "American Passages: A Literary Survey." Be sure to read the related article, "The Spirit Is Willing: The Occult and Women in the Nineteenth Century" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/apass46.html>.

> Draw on the ideas presented in "Teaching Visual Art," Program 6 of "The Arts in Every Classroom: A Video Library, K-5" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/arts47.html>, to connect your Halloween mask-making activity with the deeper dimensions of emotion, culture, and artistic expression -- and even a little math.


Energy Awareness Month

The theme for Energy Awareness Month 2006 is "Energy Independence Depends on US -- Choose Wisely, Use Wisely."

> "Economics U$A" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/econ48.html> Program 21, "Pollution," explains how both the costs of pollution and economic concerns have been factored into policy decisions. The Clean Air Act and its impact on automobile emissions and gasoline lead regulations provide illustrative examples. Also find segments about the history of the oil industry in Programs 16 and 19.

> "Science in Focus: Energy" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/energ49.html> for K-6 teachers looks at common ideas about energy and explains the laws that govern how energy actually works. The final workshop in the series focuses on the need for conservation and the importance of making wise energy choices.

> "Energetics and Dynamics," Workshop 3 of "Reactions in Chemistry" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/react50.html>, demonstrates how sunlight is converted into electrical current and discusses light and nuclear energy. Observe excellent teaching on these topics in several high school classrooms.

> The origins and uses of fossil fuels are covered in "Earth Revealed" <http://learner.org/redirect/october/earth51.html> Program 26, "Living With Earth, Part II." The program considers the consequences of over-reliance on fossil fuels and discusses alternative energy sources such as hydropower, wind farms, solar cells, and geothermal energy.


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