Retracing the Steps of a Civil War Photographer

Last week marked the 150 year anniversary of the bloodiest day in American history the Battle of Antietam.  Photographer Todd Harrington retraced Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner's steps to present a "now & then" take on some of the most somber images from the war.

Read the full story here.  

Resources for Intermediate and Secondary Teaching

This resource comes for the April 2012 issue of Today's OEA.  Like Innovative Classroom for Elementary Teachers, the HippoCampus website offers 6-12+ teachers with a collection of digital media resources for the math, science, history and humanities contents.  Registration with a free account is required.  

Youtube Video of the Week!

I've been a fan of the Green Brothers since their pretty awesome viral ode to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007, since then they've teamed up with Youtube EDU to create their own channel: Crash Course.  The videos on this channel focus on World History and Biology...here's a respective sampling:

Youtube Video of the Week!

Kony 2012 has received a great deal of attention in the news, including local coverage at Sweet Home High School.  While this video is much longer than the videos we normally post for Video of the Week, it's thought provoking and worth the watch for intermediate and secondary students.

ITSC 2012: Gobsmack of the Day

10x10 - 100 Words and Pictures

Get a picture, well a hundred really, of world news updated hourly!  Take a look at this...

Historical Documents Available Online!

Fold3 (formerly FootNote.com) hosts an interactive clearinghouse of historical and military documents, photographs and primary sources.  While it is free to join, there are tiers of service and some documents are only available to premium members.  However, the site offers a free search through the entire collection of documents and a number of free documents to view, download, and print (look for FREE next to the document title).

 

Youtube Video of the Week!

 The Pinky Show (or Kitties discussing the issue of Illegal Immigration).  Thanks to Brian for showing this to me!

 

Guided-Notes Maker

Summer is a great time to get stuff done!  One of my goals this summer is to (at least) organize some reading interventions for Unit #1 in September, and here's a nifty device to help me do just that!!!

I've blogged before about the site Intervention Central, but their Guided-Notes Maker is pretty darn cool and simple to use. 

Just copy and paste your lecture or activity notes into the spaces provided and voilà! You've just created a PDF/Fill-In-The-Blank Version for your struggling students.  Teachers can also customize the "blanks" to provide more or less support as students need.

Freeology

One of my favorite 'go-to' websites is Freeology.  This site provides a whole host of free, download-able graphic organizers (PDF's) that are easily adaptable to any lesson plan.  Not only is the standard Venn Diagram available, but also KWLH, Fishbone, Spiderweb, Ladder, Chain/Sequence, Paragraph Hamburger, Open Mind, Vocabulary Exercises, Cause/Effect, and many more.

The website has a search bar, but I find it much easier (and quicker for some reason), to scroll down and zip through each page.  When I find an organizer that I like, I click on the picture and save it to my computer.  New stuff is added periodically.  Here's one that's just been added: