Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices by Ralph Fletcher

We hear anecdotes and read news articles sounding the alarm for boys in our schools. Are they being left behind? Why do their scores drop in middle school, especially their writing scores, when compared to girls. A recent book by Ralph Fletcher tries to address these questions and offer some tools and tips for helping boys as writers.

Fletcher is a respected staff developer and children's book author. His books on teaching writing and using the writing workshop, such as Live Writing: Breathing Life Into Your Words and What a Writer Needs, are widely read and valued by teachers of writing. In Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices, he tries to show teachers what the classroom and writing workshop are like from the perspective of boys. And it's not good. Boy writers often feel rejected by teachers when the topics they choose or like most, such as war or bathroom humor, are disapproved of or received with no enthusiasm. Some teachers emphasize handwriting which hampers some boys (and girls) and makes writing a chore at which they are sure to fail. Regardless of the exact whys, many teachers find themselves struggling to reach boys and help them develop as writers, especially as they move into the middle school grades.

The chapters discuss various topics like "The Gender Filter," "Rules of (Dis)Engagement," "Drawn to the Page," and "Boy-Friendly Territory." Each chapter ends with a section called "What can I do in my classroom?" with practical tips and options to try with male students. At the Stenhouse Publishers' website, you can see the table of contents and read the first chapter, "The Trouble with Boys," in PDF format.

In that chapter, Fletcher discusses what he's seen as a writing workshop consultant and what he has heard from some writing teachers. He also outlines what he learned from Tom Newkirk's book Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture, published in 2002. What Fletcher got from Newkirk is that "we don't really understand the boys in our classrooms. We misunderstand their crude humor. Especially after the tragic shootings at Columbine High School, we fear their apparent thirst for violence, which is reflected in what they choose to read and write. Instead of trying to understand these boys we treat them as a problem to be managed." No wonder some boys are sullenly disengaged from the classroom.

Fletcher hopes that his book will help break down the barriers between boys, their writing voices and their teachers. Hopefully, with his guidance, we can inspire boys and "widen the circle" of writing workshop to make them feel welcome and ready to take a chance and participate at all ages.

SOURCE: "Stenhouse Publishers: Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices" 2008
photo courtesy of GypsyRock, used under this Creative Commons license

More with Google: Lit Trips

Suzie Boss reports in Edutopia about one teacher's blending of literary "road trips" with Google Earth to enhance his literature teaching. Though he teaches and uses his Google lit trips in high school, they can certainly be adapted for middle schoolers.

Jerome Berg is an English teacher and technology-integration coordinator at Granada High School in California. His site, Google Lit Trips, features ready-made "lit trips" that can be downloaded and used with Google Earth. The trips are interactive and multimedia by nature. To start, you'll need to download Google Earth and spend a few minutes getting used to the navigation tools. They're relatively easy but if you prefer formal guidance, you can use the Google Earth tutorial.

With the interactive tools, students can follow the journey a literary character or non-fiction author takes or describes in a text. At Berg's site, you can see the potential of these lit trips with the one he created for The Kite Runner. The KMZ file, what Google Earth files are called, has placemarks in key locations, color coded to link them to exact chapters in the book. Students can zoom in to see terrain or buildings. They can also "fly" virtually from Afghanistan to California and back just as the character Amir did.

The placemarks also include embedded supplementary information on the Pashtun people, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and other details to enhance students' understanding or enjoyment of the book. Some of Berg's popups feature questions to encourage students to think about the story, characters or issues raised. Students can add placemarks themselves that help them relate to or better understand the story.

At the end of the article, Boss gives instructions on how to make your own lit trip and offers examples of ones made by middle school and elementary school teachers, both of which can be seen at the Google Lit Trips site. Students can also create their own lit trips. You can see a lit trip created by 2 seventh-graders for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants at Berg's site. A lit trip can be a great supplement to studying a text or can serve as an engaging end-of-term project.

SOURCE: "Google Lit Trips: Bringing Travel Tales to Life" 06/12/08
photo: screencapture of the Google Lit Trips homepage

Diane Heitzenrater: Finalist for PA Teacher of the Year!

Rich Pietras reports for The Intelligencer that one of the 12 finalists for Pennsylvania's Teacher of the Year is from Keith Valley Middle School in the Hatboro-Horsham School District. Diane Heitzenrater has taught technology to sixth, seventh, and eight graders for the past 8 years and if the praise from her peers is any indication, she has a great chance of winning.

Heitzenrater incorporates technology into middle school studies to show students how these tools can help them learn and make learning more fun. She really enjoys middle school: "I especially love teaching middle-school students. At that age they are all about changing. They are very exploratory and very clever. They are really starting to find out what their interests are."

Heitzenrater was nominated by fellow teachers, parents, community members and students. A committee of former finalists and PA Teachers of the Year chose 30 semifinalists then the 12 finalists, including Heitzenrater. She says she was "honored and thrilled" to make it through the process. It's no cakewalk -- the committee takes several months to make its decisions.

The principal of Keith Valley, Jonathan Kircher, calls Heitzenrater "an outstanding, student-centered educator" and a "teacher leader" who "works hard to help students be successful in their learning." He praised Heitzenrater and the whole technology department at Keith Valley for the help they have given teachers and students over the past four years to integrate technology into the curriculum.

The Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year will be announced in October at a celebration ceremony in Harrisburg. The winner will be the state's nominee for the national Teacher of the Year. The winner will also serve as a spokesperson for fellow teachers in PA.

Break a leg, Diane!

SOURCE: "Keith Valley teacher finalist for state's top honor" 06/19/08
photo courtesy of Wesley Fryer, used under this Creative Commons license

A Virtual Experience of China

Mike Wendland reports for the Detroit Free Press on a new interactive game that teaches students of all ages Chinese language and culture. Zon/New Chengo teaches through fun, interactive activities and can be used alone or in a classroom setting.

Yong Zhao, a distinguished professor of educational psychology and technology at Michigan State University, is also a respected researcher in Chinese education. He is originally from a poor area in the Sichuan Province. Zhao started working on the game in 2001, intending it to be "fun and educational" and to give players "a vicarious, virtual experience of China."

Zon/New Chengo is a multiplayer role-playing game that gets players to move up through Chinese society from "tourist" to "citizen." At each stage of the play, quests and challenges are encountered. Players also have access to educational material, including tutors in Chinese, and can create and join in social activities. The game is Web-based so nothing needs to be downloaded. It is free for now but in the future, Zhao plans for there to be a small monthly fee.

Zhao hopes to create future editions aimed at specific audiences or groups, like business people, students at varying levels, travelers, and more. To play Zon/New Chengo, go to the game website and register. Once you enter your information and create an avatar, your avatar will appear in the Beijing airport and your first quest will begin. This is a great game for students interested in Chinese language and culture, especially after the dreadful earthquakes in Sichuan and before the coming Beijing Olympics.

SOURCE: "MSU professor creates online game to teach Chinese culture, language" 06/16/08
photo courtesy of McPig, used under this Creative Commons license

Middle School | Second Life

Virtual worlds like Second Life have grown a lot in recent years and educators are participating in larger and larger numbers. Andrew Trotter reports in Education Week that though many of the current educational users are at the university level, more and more K-12 educators are tuning into to Second Life and its safer portal for teens, Teen Second Life or "Teen Grid."

Education is important to Linden Research, Inc., the company that owns Second Life. Educators are offered a discounted price. Linden Research has also started a listserv for Second Life in Education where educators can share ideas and methods.

Second Life is not an easy thing to start, though. There is a steep learning curve. Fortunately, there are places to get help inside and outside Second Life. Kevin Jarrett, who teaches in the K-4 computer lab at Northfield Community School, in Northfield, NJ, took a six-month sabbatical to explore the potential of Second Life for educators and now volunteers his time at an "island" in Second Life to help newbies. Other obstacles for many K-12 educators include the inability to transfer anything from another virtual world into Second Life and the technology required. Second Life also needs a lot of video processing capabilities that some school networks or computers simply do not have.

But there is a lot of potential in Second Life for educators, for classroom use and professional development. Some educators are using islands in Second Life to give lectures and seminars and more informal gatherings like coffeehouse chats and balls. K-12 schools are using the more restricted Teen Second Life to create "walled-in private 'estates'" for exclusive use by their school's staff and students. Some of the things being done with Teen Second Life:

• Creating virtual structures that mimic real-life spaces and buildings

• Conducting virtual science experiments

• Making short videos, called "machinima," in which students write scripts and shoot at virtual locations

• Talking to peers in other countries

• Constructing working volcanoes and avalanches

• Purchasing virtual land or other items to learn "market math"

• Service projects, like raising money for humanitarian aid in Sudan

Aaron E. Walsh, director of the Immersive Education Initiative of the Grid Institute, a Boston-based company that focuses on virtual worlds, believes that schools will only use virtual worlds extensively when they can host them on their own servers to increase safety and performance. There's also the problem of the expense, a tough thing for many schools right now. Another potential problem is using Second Life at random, as if anything will be better if it is done virtually. The advice for educators is to proceed slowly and thoughtfully to use the best of what virtual worlds can offer.

SOURCE: "Educators Get a ‘Second Life’ " 06/18/08
photo courtesy of HVX Silverstar, used under this Creative Commons license

Great Sites for American History

Hazel Jobe at Education World wrote about some of the best sites in their archives for American history. These sites are reliable stopping points for enriching American history or any related social studies lesson or curriculum.

Of several sites, Jobe chooses the top five then lists other useful sites. The top five:

• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids is produced by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office. It has resources for learning about the workings of government for students, parents and teachers.

• History Detectives is a companion site for a PBS series of the same name. Here, students can access interactive features and activities that help them learn about investigating historical mysteries. The site also has lesson plans for middle and high school.

• History Wired is a virtual tour of selections from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

• The Underground Railroad is a site produced by National Geographic Online that uses multimedia and interactive features to explore the stories and history of the Underground Railroad.

• Teaching with Historic Places has lesson plans and other resources for teaching American history. The focus is on properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. There are also professional development opportunities for teachers.

Links in the article send you to Education World site reviews from the archive that address content, organization of the website, and aesthetics along with a review that highlights main and especially notable features.

At the end of the article, Jobe lists other sites from the archive worth mentioning, such as the National Constitution Center; American Notes: Travel in America, 1750-1920; and History and Politics Out Loud, an archive of "politically significant audio materials for scholars, teachers, and students." The article was last updated in 2005 so watch out for broken or moved links.

SOURCE: "Sites to See: American History" 05/25/05
photo courtesy of Weaselmcfee, used under this Creative Commons license

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #9: Rise of the Golden Cobra

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #9:
"Egyptian History"

Subject: World History
Age Range: 11-15
Grade Level: 6-10

Contents:
- Reading
- Assignment
- Quiz
- Discussion Questions
__________________________________________________

READING:

"A Traitor in the Temple at Thebes"
an excerpt from the book
RISE OF THE GOLDEN COBRA
by Henry T. Aubin
Published by Annick Press
Reprinted here with permission.

~ Introduction ~

In the excerpt, below, teenage Nebi survived an attack from the traitorous Lord Nimlot, who had joined the enemies of Egypt's throne, the northern Mesh. At the time -- 734 BCE -- South Egypt was ruled by King Piankhy from the southern Kingdom of Kush. Piankhy's sister, Amonirdis, reigned over South Egypt from the temple at Thebes. As the excerpt opens, Nebi, found barely alive after crossing the desert, is taken by goatherders across the Nile River to the temple at Thebes. He carries a message for princess Amonirdis, "the Divine Adoratrice."

~ The Road to the Temple ~

Nebi took in the spectacle through half-closed, feverish eyes.

Thebes had few fortifications, yet its appearance from midriver awed him even more than North Egypt's capital, high-walled Memphis, which he had sailed past with Master Setka.

Here, signs of great wealth were spread everywhere. Estates and villas spread out from the city. Obelisks towered over the center. As the Temple of Amon at Karnak came into view, his eyes widened. It was said to be the biggest building anywhere. Monumental pylons rose above a protective wall. In the rich afternoon light, the yellow stone looked golden.

The villagers lugged the boy through streets lined with open-air stalls and teeming with farmers, slaves, civil servants, and children. Nebi's deprived senses sprang back to life. Aromas of spices and flowers filled his nostrils. He bathed in the sounds -- snatches of animated banter, the cries of vendors, and the giggling of girls.

From knee level, he could see swirling about him tan Egyptians, black Kushites, pale traders from the Middle East, and, here and there, still paler traders such as he had seen in the Delta. He had heard they came from a thickly forested area emerging from barbarism -- Europe.

~ The Captain of the Guard ~

The peasants wove their way up an avenue lined with stone sphinxes the size of horses. It led to the entrance of the Karnak temple's outer walls. Carved in limestone above the gate was one of the symbols of the faith, the disk of the sun carried on two great wings.

Guarding the immense bronze doors were a few bare-chested soldiers in red kilts, their number evenly divided between Kushites and Egyptians. At the ends of the tall pikes they held upright, red pennants drooped in the breezeless heat.

The villagers set Nebi on the dusty ground. Bowing and stuttering, the goatherd timidly asked for the captain of the guard.

It took so long for the Kushite officer to emerge from his little office that Nebi wondered if he had to be awakened. But he was a striking, large-boned man, fully a head taller than his soldiers, and broad-shouldered as well.

The captain wore an officer's standard kilt of white pleated linen; two red stripes down each side denoted his rank. His eyes turned downward at the outer corners, giving him a melancholy expression.

Hands on hips, the big man examined the humble trio but said nothing.

Nebi propped himself on an elbow. "Please, sir, get word to Her Holiness the Divine Adoratrice that a messenger from His Excellency Setka is here to see her."

The captain cocked a skeptical eyebrow at the scrawny, blistered speaker. To be a messenger, and particularly a messenger for the royal family, was as prestigious as it was demanding. It was not a job for a ragamuffin.

"Setka?" drawled the captain. "Who is Setka?"

"Her Holiness will know."

The captain looked him in the eye. Nebi held his stare. And held it.

"I'll see," the captain finally said.

When the lanky office returned, he was striding quickly. He clapped for the guards. "Pick him up and follow me," he told two of them.

Nebi put one bony arm over each guard's shoulders. When he turned to thank the goatherd and his neighbor, their mouths were wide open with astonishment. The guards followed the captain through the gate.

~ The Temple of Anon at Karnak ~

Inside the walls, it was Nebi's turn to gape. After passing through courtyards and corridors, they entered a hall into which his whole village of 80 houses could have fit. Here, all was dim, cool, and restful.

The guards followed the captain through a forest of pillars, each adorned with colorfully painted carvings of gods, lions, lotuses, and past pharaohs. Nebi craned his neck to look up. Each of the pillars was the equivalent of seven stories high. The sweet haze of incense made this colossal scale seem dreamlike.

They entered a smaller, ornate chamber off to one side. On a raised platform in the room's center, a woman sat on a throne. Next to the platform, with their backs to Nebi, stood three men and two women. A shaft of sunlight angled down on them.

The guards halted in front of the seated princess. She was middle-aged and sturdy, with earnest eyes. Hand cupping her chin, she was presiding over a discussion of some affair of state. A bejeweled collar of many colors spanned her shoulders, and a blue sheath dress left her ebony arms bare. But what caught Nebi's eye was a peculiar gold ornament over her forehead that glinted in the sun shaft. Attached to the gold band encircling her head, it looked rather like a curled index finger.

The guards placed Nebi in a chair in front of the princess. Desiring privacy, she waited until both guards and their captain had departed. Then she said, "What is this about Setka?"

~ The Interrogation of Nebi by Princess Amonirdis ~

"Most Holy One," Nebi Said, "His Excellency Setka's last words were that I should see King Piankhy."

"Last words?" she said. "Tell me what has happened to the king's oldest friend!"

"Your Holiness, my master was killed by a traitor after his real mission was discovered."

She leaned forward. "We can trust my advisors and courtiers," she told the youth, gesturing to those on either side of her. "I knew of Setka's mission, but I need to know much more. Explain to me who you are and why you have come to me." Her voice was kind but commanding.

"My name is Nebamon. I am from North Egypt -- from Damanhur, a village in the Delta. My father was Egyptian, a farmer, and my mother is Mesh. I worked for His Excellency."

"In what capacity?" she asked.

"I was his servant -- at first. I felt from the beginning that my master was more than just a merchant from Kush exploring trade possibilities. He came to trust me, and he told me that King Piankhy had commissioned him to uncover what was really happening in North Egypt."

A murmur of interest came from Amonirdis's entourage.

"I know the Delta and its dialect, so I began to act as his guide and interpreter," said Nebi. "I would take him from village to village. He learned that Lord Tefnakht was quietly drafting young men into a large new army."

The princess's eyes widened.

Nebi went on: "Master Setka heard that Tefnakht was meeting other Delta warlords, some of whom had been Tefnakht's enemies until then. He learned that these new allies had amassed a fleet of ships with which they planned to invade the south. In the evening, he would dictate to me his notes for a report intended for the king."

"You can write?" she asked.

"I have received training as a scribe at Sais, Your Holiness. Events kept me from completing my studies."

Amonirdis nodded. "Yes, I thought you sounded well-spoken for a peasant." She looked at him with respect.

Only one of every hundred Egyptians could read and write. Almost all scribes were from privileged backgrounds; they were an elite group who looked after records, one of the most precious things for any administration. No profession was more exalted -- or more challenging. Scribes had to memorize more than a thousand hieroglyphic and cursive characters. Even the powerful "viziers," who ran each Egyptian domain on behalf of its ruler, always came up through the scribal ranks.

"Master Setka's report was for King Piankhy himself. He was murdered so that it could never reach the king."

"Who slew him?"

"The Mesh. They attacked him as he was preparing to return to Napata to give King Piankhy his report. The other witnesses were killed, including the police chief of Khmun and his wife."

The princess glowered.

Nebi plunged on. "Lord Tefnakht has North Egypt's lords on his side, and now he has made one major ally in South Egypt."

"Who?" said Amonirdis with alarm.

"Count Nimlot of Khmun." Nebi did not try to hide his bitterness as he almost spat out the name. "He has abandoned King Piankhy and joined Tefnakht. The person leading the Mesh thugs who murdered Master Setka and his companions was Nimlot himself."

A hush fell over the group on the platform. After a moment a loud sound erupted from among them -- a confident, sarcastic cackle.

The source of the laughter had been standing out of the light and behind the others, so that Nebi had been hardly aware of him.

Now this slender figure strode forward, hands on hips. A cape embroidered in his family colors, brilliant stripes of yellow and green, hung from his shoulders.

It was Nimlot.

# # #

Copyright 2007 by Henry T. Aubin. Excerpted from the book, Rise of the Golden Cobra. Published by Annick Press, ISBN 9781554510603 (library binding), ISBN 9781554510597 (paperback). Reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit http://www.annickpress.com. Thank you.
__________________________________________________

ASSIGNMENT

"Family Tree"

Henry T. Aubin, author of RISE OF THE GOLDEN COBRA, was inspired to write about the Kush civilization by his adopted son. Henry is Caucasian and one of his four children is Black. A Harvard-educated journalist, former reporter for The Washington Post, and currently a columnist for The Montreal Gazette, Aubin put his research skills to work looking for historic role models for his adopted son.

What Aubin found was an advanced civilization living along the Nile River in Africa that has been nearly forgotten by history books. Kush was known for racial tolerance and advancements in government, the arts, and the sciences. The greatest of all Kush rulers, King Piankhy, was Black, as were most Kushites.

Your assignment is to research your own family's history and tell us about someone you discover who has an interesting story. You don't have to become a genealogist -- chasing down birth and death records -- if you don't feel like it. You can find the story of someone with your same family name and tell their story -- even if they're not related to you.

Who did you find? What kind of life did they lead? What are the most interesting facts you uncovered about him or her? Does learning about this person's life inspire you to try something new? What? Did you discover any other interesting people or family facts during your investigation?
__________________________________________________

QUIZ:

NOTE: Quiz answers are available to teachers upon request from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com. Quiz answers will also be revealed during LIVEbrary chats and made a part of chat transcripts.

1) Which word, below, most closely matches the definition of the word, "vizier," as used in the reading?

A. Vizier = a seer, one with clear vision into the future
B. Vizier = an "advisor," one who analyses and reports to the king
C. Vizier = a member of royalty, descended from Amon
D. Vizier = a goatherder

2) Multiple Choice: What race was princess Amonirdis?

A. "White" -- most likely European
B. "Light" -- most likely from North Africa or Arabia
C. "Brown" -- most likely Egyptian
D. "Black" -- most likely from Kush

3) Multiple Choice: Where is Thebes, in relation to Memphis and Napata?

A. Thebes is south of Memphis and north of Napata
B. Thebes is south of both Napata and Memphis
C. Thebes is north of both Memphis and Napata
D. Thebes is north of Memphis and south of Napata

4) Multiple Choice: Can you guess the meaning of the word "Amon" from close examination of the reading?

A. Amon = King, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kush
B. Amon = Priestess. Amonirdis = "high priestess"
C. Amon = Prince. Prince Shebitku is the Amon of Kush
D. Amon = The god who gives the King the right to rule

5) Multiple Choice: What race are the Mesh?

A. "White" -- most likely European
B. "Light" -- most likely from North Africa or Arabia
C. "Brown" -- most likely Egyptian
D. "Black" -- most likely from Kush
__________________________________________________

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Amonirdis ruled South Egypt from the temple at Thebes. She was a Kushite -- a black woman. It was not uncommon to have women holding positions of power in Kush society. Can you name some countries that have had female heads of state? How about Black heads of state? How many can you name?
  
  
• In the reading, 14-year-old Nebi is taken to Princess Amonirdis to tell his story. He is called a liar by Count Nimlot -- a member of the royal family. Has anyone accused you of lying when you know you didn't? How did you defend yourself? How did it work out? What advice do you have for Nebi, who must convince the Princess he is telling the truth? His life depends on it.
  
  
• In the reading, Nebi says the ruling class of "viziers," or advisors, were drawn from the class of scribes -- those who know how to read and write. Don't you think it's unusual that the rulers were chosen from scribes rather than from military officers, priests or clergy, or blood relations of the current rulers? What profession do most world leaders come from today: teachers, clergy, military, business, lawyers? What's your guess? How can you find out?
  
  
• In the reading, Nebi is carried to Thebes by goatherders. Do you remember what it was like the first time you saw a really big city or gigantic skyscraper? How did you get there? What did it feel like? Have you ever been on a working farm where someone tended livestock, such as goats, cows, or chickens? What was that like? If you had to choose between living on a farm or living in a skyscraper, which would you choose? Why?
  
  
• In the reading, when Nebi is laid at the temple gates, the people who brought him are silent. Nebi must speak up and ask to see the Princess, even though it's a preposterous request, before the Captain of the Guard retreats back behind the temple gates. Can you remember a time when you did not want to speak up but you had to find the courage to say something, even though you were scared to death? Did you speak up? What happened next? Did it work out okay for you?

__________________________________________________

Copyright 2008 by Annick Press. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher. Please request permission from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com before posting this lesson plan in any public place. Thank you.

The Empowered Education Awards Finalists!

To make the case for educational technology to skeptics in Congress and elsewhere, eSchool News joined with leading experts to create the Empowered Education Awards (EEA). Meris Stansbury reports for eSchool News on this contest which asks those most affected by educational technology -- students -- to make the case for it.

EEA, with funding from the Pearson Foundation, challenged elementary, middle and high school students to create three- to seven-minute videos on "How Technology Helps Me Learn," a theme meant to show how schools are using technology to complement and enhance student learning. The winners from each grade category, plus their teachers, get free trips to Washington, D. C., with guided tours in D. C., recognition at an awards ceremony, prizes for the winners and their schools, and more. The biggest part of the prize is getting a chance to meet with state representatives and senators on the importance of technology in education and its boon to learning.

The entries have been narrowed down to three finalists in each category: elementary, middle and high school. In the middle school category the finalists are:

• "Satellites and Us" from Yokota Middle School, Tokyo, Japan -- "Student reporters from Japan give a glimpse into the world of satellites at the Miraikan Museum of Innovative Science and Technology."

• "One Pretty Cool Movie" from Creative Connections Art Academy, CA -- This video"shows how students in California use technology to create classroom magic."

• "How We Use Technology to Learn" From Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, VT -- "Reporters for South Burlington Network News (SBNN) travel back in time to 1983 to show the differences technology has made in the classroom."

You can see the middle school finalists, plus the finalists for the elementary and high school categories, at the EEA webpage. You can also rate them and help eSchool News decide on the winners. The winners will be chosen and announced in September.

SOURCE: "Student videos demonstrate ed-tech's value" 06/13/08
photo courtesy of brockvicky, used under this Creative Commons license

Writing Matters for Middle School

There's been recent concern about middle schoolers and writing, especially boys, and what schools can do under some of the real and difficult conditions they face. One nonprofit has created a program it thinks will help middle schoolers, especially boys, with writing and teachers with the teaching of writing. Writing Matters promises an engaging interactive curriculum that uses humor and models to help middle schoolers with their writing and professional development for teachers to help schools keep up a consistent program of best practices even under difficult conditions.

At the Writing Matters website, you can take a guided tour through the features. The program is based on three specific challenges in education: how to engage middle schoolers at a time when performance tends to drop; how to engage boys in writing, especially as boys continue to be less likely to meet state writing standards than girls; and how to prepare teachers to effectively teach writing especially as schools experience rapid teacher turnover. An important part of using Writing Matters is the professional development offered. Teachers are offered a one-day workshop that addresses the writing process and the most effective use of Writing Matters in the classroom. Literacy specialists and coaches take a multi-day workshop.

Writing Matters basically has four components:

• Eight writing genre study units that are research-based and address specific genres of writing, like editorials, test prep, and responding to literature. The units are "developed by nationally-recognized author-educators," like Georgia Heard for poetry and Heather Latimer for short fiction and memoir. Each genre contains multiple mini-lessons on craft and mechanics specific to the genre and the writing process in general.

• Animated Story-Based Lessons are a second component. These are meant to make the abstractions of the writing process more concrete through modeling and humor. Two students, DD and JT, model the thinking process and ways to approach writing projects, specific challenges and concepts.

• The Interactive Online Writing Room is a place where student writers at any part of their process can get peer and teacher feedback. Each student can develop a portfolio that can be accessed from any computer with Internet access. It's a collaborative environment also and includes tools for teachers to track student progress.

• The Class Publishing Tool is a class e-zine where student writing can be published. Teachers design the e-zine and decide whether to keep it private or allow other classes to also access the e-zine.

There's a guided tour at the Writing Matters website but it has no controls, so you can't pause, rewind or fast forward. The Program Overview page is pretty informative and has links to demo lessons and clips of animated lessons.

I'd love to hear from teachers using Writing Matters or who have experience with it.

SOURCE: "Program Overview" 2007
SOURCE: "Guided Tour" 2007
photo: screencapture from the Writing Matter's Guided Tour

Marshall Space Flight Center Comes to Nevada

Amanda Sanchez of 13 Action News in Las Vegas reported on an interactive videoconference between a middle school and NASA late last month. It was a dream come true for many of the students who got to attend.

Thirty-seven sixth-graders in a computer literacy class were able to take part. The lesson was led by a staff member at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama and took students through a general overview of what happens at NASA. It ranged from space science to astronauts and rockets. Video, graphics and other tools were used in the lesson.

Students loved the experience:

• "It was a great experience especially for sixth graders, I know that probably not even students in high school could do this back then."
• "I liked that we got to learn about what people do at NASA, it is pretty cool."
• "I am really into space stuff, because I like to float."

The Wells Fargo "Grant A Wish For Your School" Program and the Nevada Public Education Foundation paid for the videoconference and this amazing chance to get close to the goings-on at NASA. There's hope that this program and others in the future will help students make future choices that will benefit them and the world around them. It's also another great example of what NASA offers to students wherever and however it can reach them.

SOURCE: "Valley Middle School Students Video Conference With NASA" 05/27/08
photo courtesy of jurvetson, used under this Creative Commons license