History on Tap

The “What Every 2nd Grader Needs to Know” workshop will be held next Tuesday, May 6th, at IRC in Conference Room 1 at 4:15. Please RSVP to Mrs. West so that Sarah and I have an approximate count!

I have found information on another travel opportunity.  This trip visits the Galapagos Islands for 12 days.  It is funded by the Toyota International Teacher Program.  For more information, visit 

http://www.iie.org/programs/toyota/galapagos/galapagos_main_w_links.html

This is NOT a summer workshop!  This trip takes place from November 22-December 6, 2008.  (Thanksgiving falls during that time.)  There is a form for principal/supervisor permission since the trip takes place during the school year. 

 It does sound interesting, and all disciplines are encouraged to apply. It would be neat if we had someone chosen for this trip.  Good luck!

Our April lead teacher meeting will be Monday, April 21st at 4:15pm at John Tyler.

I’ve just completed and uploaded Flyswatter games for USII.5,6, and 7 in the past couple of days.  They’re on the USII page under the appropriate SOL.  I’ll try to have USII.8 up soon!

I’ve just uploaded a Who Am I? review for all the key figures in VA Studies.  Check out the VA Studies page.  I know there isn’t much up there now, but I’ll get things organized and uploaded after SOL’s!

The NEH Landmarks of American History Landmarks Workshop, “James Madison and Constitutional Citizenship,” takes place on the grounds of Montpelier, a 2,700 acre estate located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Fifty teachers from across the country will be selected to participate in each of the two sessions, offered June 14-21, 2008, and June 22-29, 2008.  A variety of constitutional scholars and historians will lead discussions throughout the week focusing on Madison’s role in the creation, development, and maintenance of the new constitutional enterprise.  Each afternoon, Montpelier’s professional staff will lead tours of James Madison’s home and plantation.  Participants will be housed in the Constitutional Village at Montpelier and at hotels or B & B’s in the town of Orange.  The stipend provided by NEH will be used to pay for meals and accommodations for each participant.  Additional costs not covered by the stipend will be paid with other grants available to the Center.  A limited travel allowance will also be available for each participant.  For more information, please visit www.montpelier.org and click on “NEH Landmarks Workshops.”

Applications will be accepted until workshops are full. 

I’ve added a couple of new links to the 4th grade section of the portaportal. Sarah found links for study guides and study cards, which I added to both the Teacher and Student links.

I’ve already mentioned that Sarah has been selected to attend a two week institute in Ecuador this July. Two Simonsdale teachers, Donna Rowley and Shannon West-Turner have been selected to attend a two week institute in England, also in July. So we’ve got Europe and South American covered.

Now we can add Asia to the list.

I received notice today that I have been chosen to participate in the Korean Studies Workshop for American Educators. I will spend 12 days in Korea. I leave June 25, and will return July 9. I am of course very excited and looking forward to it. I also look forward to all of the new information and ideas that we’ll be able to present next school year!

I have just finished and added a “What Am I?” review to the USI page.  It covers the major concepts, documents, territories, events, etc.  It’s a pretty long powerpoint (161 slides!) but  you could easily cover a few slides a day for a warm up.  All the concepts are mixed up, I wanted the kids to really have to stop and think about what they’ve learned this year.

Just like with the “Who Am I?” review, if I left anything out please let me know!

The TRT at John Tyler shared this link with me.  It’s powerpoints for all subjects, on various topics.  It’s a Kentucky website though, so it is not exactly aligned with VA standards.  For this reason, I will not be adding this link to the portaportal.  But it may still be useful to you, so check it out! 

http://www.graves.k12.ky.us/powerpoints/elementary/