We Give Books

Welcome back! It's hard to believe that the first full week of school is almost under our belts! With that being said, I've got a pretty cool site to share with you.

Source: http://www.wegivebooks.org/

Geared more towards grades K-5, We Give Books is site where you can read books online or download them to your e-reader. And the best part FREE! All you have to do is sign-up for an account, which consists of an email address and user name. When you visit the We Give Books site, click on the Read link which is at the top of the page almost to the middle.  Once here you can search or scroll through the available books.  There are classics such as the The Little Engine that Could.  Others include Llama Llama Misses Momma and History Dudes.  

Source: http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/goodnight-ipad

A new title that I came across was Goodnight iPad. Based off of  Goodnight Moon, this is a cute rendition of "unplugging" at night.  I urge you to take a look at the site and sign up. You could easily read this story with your class using your Interactive Whiteboard. 

Iditarod 2013

Iditarod 2013 starts in t- 4 days 23 hours and counting. On March 2,  mushers and their dogs will start the 1, 150 mile race. The Iditarod trail was historically used as a mail, supply, and gold route from coastal towns such as Seward and Knick to the interior mining camps of Flat, Ophir, and Ruby. The trail continued to the west coast communities of Unalakleet, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain, and Nome.

The Iditarod trail became famous in 1925, when a diphtheria epidemic threatened the community of Nome. A dog sled relay transported life-saving serum from Anchorage to Nome.

Why teach about the Iditarod?

Even if you aren’t in Alaska, the Iditarod makes a great lesson! Teaching about the race is an opportunity to incorporate geography lessons, map skills, science concepts, and literacy skills into a real-world context. And there’s no denying the appeal of hundreds of hard-working, lovable dogs to children and adults! 

Additionally, the common practice of having each student follow a musher through the race provides invaluable practice in reading  texts (newspaper accounts) and using the real-time data available online.

Incorporating the Iditarod race can meet standards in a variety of content areas. 

The official Iditarod web site offers many resources for educators, including lesson plans and activities.

Other sites:

 Scholastic’s Iditarod web page includes many articles and interactive features.

Education World also devotes an entire page to integrating the Iditarod across the curriculum. 

Technology Resources

The Iditarod web site also includes many technological features:

 Zuma’s Paw Prints is a student-friendly blog written from the perspective of four sled dogs: Zuma, Gypsy, Sanka, and Libby. 

The Iditarod Insider, requires a subscription and features videos, trail fly-bys, and updated race content. 

State of the Union 2013 Address

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12th, at 9:00 p.m. ET, President Obama will deliver the State Of The Union address to Congress. I've highlighted the State Of The Union address before, (here) but I felt the need to blog about it again.  Typically the speech includes an optimistic outlook on all the opportunities for the coming year as well as a list of proposed legislation. It's expected that the 2013 address will focus on a push for new gun regulations and also climate change regulations. Of course the address isn't during school hours but you can watch it the next day via the official White House streaming feed.  Here you'll see TV shots along with supporting data, graphs, and charts making it more visual for students. Be sure to check out my post from last year, State of the Union 2012, for more resources and information. 

This year President Obama will also take part in a series of "Fireside Hangouts" - which is the 21st century take on FDR's famous radio addresses- to talk about his State of the Union Address. The virtual conversation will be hosted by Google, and the President will answer questions from Americans across the county about issues and policies from his speech. You can submit a question for the President and Vote on your favorites on the White House YouTube channel.  Then, be sure to watch the hangout live on Thursday, February 14th @ 4:50p.m. ET Whitehouse.gov, the White House Google+page, and YouTube.com/whitehouse. 

Everyone always says it but it's important more than ever to be aware of what's happening in our country. 

Bear Tracker

Polar Bear's Oh My!

 Polar Bears International is the site for  the conservation group  dedicated to saving polar bears.  There are numerous resources on the site that teachers and students can use to learn about these magnificent creatures.

But what I really want to tell you about is Bear Tracker which is part of the Polar Bears International site. Bear Tracker plots the journey of polar bears in the Hudson Bay and the Beaufort sea north of Alaska.  You can view the travels of a single bear or all.  Bear Tracker also offers you option to "play" the bears journey that has been recorded over time. It's a pretty cool site if you are studying polar bears. 

If you are looking for videos on polar bears or other animals, check out Explore.org, which has a wide array of videos and even live webcams.