Are students turning away from pursuing careers in science and math because of books like The Hunger Games? Popular author Neal Stephenson thinks so. Stephenson argues that current science fiction writers depict such a dark and depressing picture of the future--like children being forced to fight to the death for the amusement of the ruling elite and for the subjugation of the laboring masses--that students are not inspired to be part of making that future come to be. If science, engineering, and math is going to create a future society like Panen in The Hunger Games, or the Realm in Incarceron, or post-apocalyptic Chicago in Divergent (gosh, haven't I written up that review? I'll have to do that), or dozens of other popular YA books, movies, and TV shows, why would students want to participate in that?
To Stephenson's mind, it all contributes to our society overarching problem, which is an inability to, in his word, "get big things done." So he has created an effort entitled the Hierarchy Project to convince science fiction writers to create some more optomistic visions of the future that would inspire students back into the world of science and math as a potential solution provider rather than a conveyor belt to our dystopic future. To hear more about his views on this topic, read his article on Innovation Starvation.
Stephenson is not the first person to raise these concerns. Indeed, my first-ever blog post, Are Bella and Edward LITERALLY Warping Your Adolescent's Brain, was about a conference at Cambridge that was examining whether dark themes in current YA literature were physically changing adolescent brains. But I thought it was a good follow-on to my earlier post this week about Neil deGrasse Tyson's concern that we have forgotten how to dream. I do think that perhaps the biggest problem is STEM education is our students lack of desire to pursue it, and I do think that these dark, science-enabled dystopias could be a part of the problem.
It also brings to mind a story about Martin Luther King, Jr. that I described in another earlier post. Nichelle Nicols, who played the African American communications officer Uhuru in the original television series of Star Trek, told of Dr. King telling her that Star Trek was the most important TV show at that time because it gave people a vision of the future world he was trying to create in his speeches--a place where people of all races (and even different planets) worked together in peace and respect to take on big challenges.
That was the time I was raised in. Star Trek may seem to today's eyes to be cheesy and bombastic, but it was unfailing optomistic about human potential enhanced by technology. Our children are growing up in times where it seems to be preferable to be vampires and werewolfs and zombies and such to becoming a scientist (unless you want to go into murder investigation, since I guess the numerous CSI shows require quite a number of scientist to analyze all that crime evidence the detective amass).
So I hope Stephenson and his Hierarchy Project help to encourage some writers to give our adolescent some less grim scenarios of their future. It may not be the biggest part of the solution to STEM education, but it sure couldn't hurt.
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Best Google Doodle of 2011
Yesterday's Google Doodle reminded me...how could I not have written about the Best Google Doodle of 2011 as part of my New Yearl's posts? There were so many wonderful Doodles that is is hard to choose. Some were really beautiful, some were educational (like the Nicolas Steno one yesterday), and some were so inventive, like the Jim Henson one where you could manipulate the Muppet puppets or the Freddie Mercury one? (was that it?) where you could actually play notes?
But one was the nearest and dearest to the hearts in our household, and that was the interactive submarine view for Jules Verne's birthday:
Visit my original post for a video of all the things you could find in this interactive display.
But if you aren't clear about the outstanding Google Doodle for the past year, you can watch this video for some reminders of all the great displays Google gave us this year:
So which one was your favorite Doodle for 2011? Add it to the comments below.
But one was the nearest and dearest to the hearts in our household, and that was the interactive submarine view for Jules Verne's birthday:
Visit my original post for a video of all the things you could find in this interactive display.
But if you aren't clear about the outstanding Google Doodle for the past year, you can watch this video for some reminders of all the great displays Google gave us this year:
So which one was your favorite Doodle for 2011? Add it to the comments below.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Christmas 2011 Blog: Have A Very Bryson Christmas
One of our favorite activities around the Christmas break is reading, either new books that we got as presents or the multitude of books we've been meaning to get around to but haven't had time. So we often spend time this week between Christmas and New Years lounging about, reading good books as we much on our Christmas leftovers or goodies from stockings or other presents.
This year, we are doing that as we all read the same author, if not the same book. This Christmas, we all received different books by Bill Bryson, the delightful essayist whose most famous book is A Walk in the Woods, but who has produced about fifteen other books as well on subjects ranging from travel to explaining the universe.
My husband received Bryson's latest book, which is called At Home: A Short History of Private Life, in which Bryson investigates a variety of items commonly found in a home to discover where they came from and why they developed as they did. You can get a sense of the book from this video:
My son got a older book, but another of the most famous ones of Bryson's collection: The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. As the title implies, this is Bryson's attempt to explain the many peculiarities of the English language by tracing its development over time. I read it and really enjoyed it, although it is hardly a definite exposition of all the quirks of our native language. But my son is always asking me about why things are spelled in strange ways, and why we say this instead of that, so I think this is a great book for him. He has been laughing aloud as he reads it, so I think he is finding it amusing as well as educational.
My gift was a follow-on to my son's book. It is Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States. It extends Bryson's Mother Tongue analysis to the ways the language grew in the United States over time. I've only begun it, but have found it interesting so far, although the first few chapters seem to be as devoted to dismissing myths about early American History as it is about the language of our Founding Fathers and Mothers. However, The Independent, an English newspaper, had what I thought was an excellent review of the book from the British perspective, which you can read here.
It is a cold, grey, and rainy day here in North Carolina--a perfect day for staying home and curling up with a good book. And we've got three good ones from Bryson. The exciting thing is that we can switch amongst each other when we get tired or done with the one we're reading now.
This year, we are doing that as we all read the same author, if not the same book. This Christmas, we all received different books by Bill Bryson, the delightful essayist whose most famous book is A Walk in the Woods, but who has produced about fifteen other books as well on subjects ranging from travel to explaining the universe.
My husband received Bryson's latest book, which is called At Home: A Short History of Private Life, in which Bryson investigates a variety of items commonly found in a home to discover where they came from and why they developed as they did. You can get a sense of the book from this video:
My son got a older book, but another of the most famous ones of Bryson's collection: The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. As the title implies, this is Bryson's attempt to explain the many peculiarities of the English language by tracing its development over time. I read it and really enjoyed it, although it is hardly a definite exposition of all the quirks of our native language. But my son is always asking me about why things are spelled in strange ways, and why we say this instead of that, so I think this is a great book for him. He has been laughing aloud as he reads it, so I think he is finding it amusing as well as educational.
My gift was a follow-on to my son's book. It is Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States. It extends Bryson's Mother Tongue analysis to the ways the language grew in the United States over time. I've only begun it, but have found it interesting so far, although the first few chapters seem to be as devoted to dismissing myths about early American History as it is about the language of our Founding Fathers and Mothers. However, The Independent, an English newspaper, had what I thought was an excellent review of the book from the British perspective, which you can read here.
It is a cold, grey, and rainy day here in North Carolina--a perfect day for staying home and curling up with a good book. And we've got three good ones from Bryson. The exciting thing is that we can switch amongst each other when we get tired or done with the one we're reading now.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Contest Helps Students Develop Reflective Writing Skills
Now that NaNoWriMo is over, it's time for us to refocus our writing classes on non-fiction writing. There is a national contest on a wonderful topic that may be just the thing to help us!
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores, is running a reading-writing competition called Letters About Literature. In it, students write a personal letter to an author of one of their favorite books to tell them why that book changed the way they think about themselves or the world. The book can be fiction or nonfiction, even poetry, speeches, short stories, or graphic novels, but it can not be a comic strip or song lyric (even if published in a book). Also, the author can be living or dead.
The competition is divided into three levels. Level 1 is for 4th-6th grade (students must be at least nine in order to participate) and letters are expected to be 100-400 words long. Level 2 is 7th-8th grade, with letters that are 300-600 words. Level 3 is for high schoolers (9th-12th grade) with a recommended 500-800 page length. Students can enter through their schools or as individuals, and homeschoolers are specifically encouraged to enter (apparently a number of winners have been homeschooled).
While the exercise is worthy just in itself, there are some great prizes for the winner. Two national winners for each level will get to choose a favorite library (school or community library) to receive a $10,000 grant from Target. Those winners will also each get a personal Target gift card for $500. There will also be four national honors awards for each level; the national honor awards come with a $1,000 grant to a favorite library and a personal $50 Target gift card.
The website also has a great 36-page Teacher's Guide with lesson plans and worksheets to help students write an appropriate reflective essay on their chosen book. The worksheets not only develop generic essay writing skills, such as crafting an engaging opening paragraph, but lead students to see the difference between a reflective essay and other types of writing, such as book reports, literary analysis, or a simple fan letter.
All in all, this looks like a wonderful project to me. I've already discussed it with my son, and we definitely plan to be working on it this month to be ready to submit something by the deadline, which is January 6, 2012. It combine something we love (books) with something we need to develop (nonfiction writing) with a focus on appreciation, which is a virtue that we trying to expand on during this holiday season.
We hope lots of you will join us in this competition. If you do, please enter the book that you (or your child/ren or student/s) choose to write about in the comments below.
The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores, is running a reading-writing competition called Letters About Literature. In it, students write a personal letter to an author of one of their favorite books to tell them why that book changed the way they think about themselves or the world. The book can be fiction or nonfiction, even poetry, speeches, short stories, or graphic novels, but it can not be a comic strip or song lyric (even if published in a book). Also, the author can be living or dead.
The competition is divided into three levels. Level 1 is for 4th-6th grade (students must be at least nine in order to participate) and letters are expected to be 100-400 words long. Level 2 is 7th-8th grade, with letters that are 300-600 words. Level 3 is for high schoolers (9th-12th grade) with a recommended 500-800 page length. Students can enter through their schools or as individuals, and homeschoolers are specifically encouraged to enter (apparently a number of winners have been homeschooled).
While the exercise is worthy just in itself, there are some great prizes for the winner. Two national winners for each level will get to choose a favorite library (school or community library) to receive a $10,000 grant from Target. Those winners will also each get a personal Target gift card for $500. There will also be four national honors awards for each level; the national honor awards come with a $1,000 grant to a favorite library and a personal $50 Target gift card.
The website also has a great 36-page Teacher's Guide with lesson plans and worksheets to help students write an appropriate reflective essay on their chosen book. The worksheets not only develop generic essay writing skills, such as crafting an engaging opening paragraph, but lead students to see the difference between a reflective essay and other types of writing, such as book reports, literary analysis, or a simple fan letter.
All in all, this looks like a wonderful project to me. I've already discussed it with my son, and we definitely plan to be working on it this month to be ready to submit something by the deadline, which is January 6, 2012. It combine something we love (books) with something we need to develop (nonfiction writing) with a focus on appreciation, which is a virtue that we trying to expand on during this holiday season.
We hope lots of you will join us in this competition. If you do, please enter the book that you (or your child/ren or student/s) choose to write about in the comments below.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Finding Your Perfect Sci Fi or Fantasy Book
NPR did a poll among listeners this year and came up with a list of the 100 best science fiction and fantasy books. Then SF Signal did this fabulous flowchart about how to choose among those 100 best books.
And then, since it is impossible to see the flow chart on our computer screens, SF Signal did another great thing--they made it into an interactive resource where you answer various questions, and it brings you to the perfect sci fi/fantasy book for your taste.
So I'll admit that most of these books are not really for the middle school reading/maturity level. But this was just such a cool thing I had to add it. Also, even if your middler schooler never uses this to find a book, it is a great example of a fairly large, but clear, decision tree.
And then, since it is impossible to see the flow chart on our computer screens, SF Signal did another great thing--they made it into an interactive resource where you answer various questions, and it brings you to the perfect sci fi/fantasy book for your taste.
So I'll admit that most of these books are not really for the middle school reading/maturity level. But this was just such a cool thing I had to add it. Also, even if your middler schooler never uses this to find a book, it is a great example of a fairly large, but clear, decision tree.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Curriculum Resource: Greg Tang Math Puzzles
Yesterday, Maria Droujkova of Natural Math had a web seminar with Greg Tang, the author of math poetry/puzzle books such as The Grapes of Math, Math-terpieces: The Art of Problem Solving, and other similar books. His books are really geared towards elementary students, mostly the 6-10 year old crowd, I believe. So while my son had enjoyed reading his books when he was younger, I hadn't really thought about Greg Tang for several years now.
But I tuned into the webinar, and discovered that Tang now has a website with some resources that I think are appropriate for middle schoolers. It appears that lately Tang has spent less time writing and more time programming some of the games and puzzles into interactive exercises on his website (which is apparently about to be taken over by Scholastic, which is also the publisher of his books).
The games on there, so far, at least, still focus on mastering basic mathematical computational skills. However, I know my son can still use some work on recalling those math facts quickly and accurately. But they are fun games, even though they based on simple mathematics. Some of them are kind of like Sudoku, where you have to figure out the right selections of numbers, but you have to add, subtract, multiply, or divide to choose the right one. I found them kind of fun and interesting to do as an adult, but my son enjoyed doing them as well.
Our favorite was a game called Kakooma, in which you are given a series of hexagons with six numbers in them, and you have to figure out which number can be created by adding, subtracting, or multiplying two of the other numbers in the hexagon. So it doesn't require a math savant, but you are racing against the clock and other players, a bunch of whom have figured out all seven problems in a set in less than 10 SECONDS! Unbelievable!
Anyway, if you buy a subscription, all the games have a bunch of different levels to make the game harder or easier, but there is a free version of each game that has been challenging enough for us so far.
So if your family likes math puzzles, or if you are just looking for a fun way to practice some basic computational skills, check out GregTangMath.com.
If you are interesting in finding out more about how Greg Tang develops the math books, games, and other materials he creates, you can access a recording of the entire webinar at:
http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/GregTangMath .
But I tuned into the webinar, and discovered that Tang now has a website with some resources that I think are appropriate for middle schoolers. It appears that lately Tang has spent less time writing and more time programming some of the games and puzzles into interactive exercises on his website (which is apparently about to be taken over by Scholastic, which is also the publisher of his books).
The games on there, so far, at least, still focus on mastering basic mathematical computational skills. However, I know my son can still use some work on recalling those math facts quickly and accurately. But they are fun games, even though they based on simple mathematics. Some of them are kind of like Sudoku, where you have to figure out the right selections of numbers, but you have to add, subtract, multiply, or divide to choose the right one. I found them kind of fun and interesting to do as an adult, but my son enjoyed doing them as well.
Our favorite was a game called Kakooma, in which you are given a series of hexagons with six numbers in them, and you have to figure out which number can be created by adding, subtracting, or multiplying two of the other numbers in the hexagon. So it doesn't require a math savant, but you are racing against the clock and other players, a bunch of whom have figured out all seven problems in a set in less than 10 SECONDS! Unbelievable!
Anyway, if you buy a subscription, all the games have a bunch of different levels to make the game harder or easier, but there is a free version of each game that has been challenging enough for us so far.
So if your family likes math puzzles, or if you are just looking for a fun way to practice some basic computational skills, check out GregTangMath.com.
If you are interesting in finding out more about how Greg Tang develops the math books, games, and other materials he creates, you can access a recording of the entire webinar at:
http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/GregTangMath .
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Happy Birthday Harry Potter!
The books may be done, and the last movie may have been released, but we will still be celebrating Harry Potter for years to come! Because his birthday is supposed to be July 31, it seemed that an observation of that occasion was in order.
We incorporated it into our science coop by fixing a Harry Potter meal and by continuing our work on Harry Potter genetics (which we started last week when we bred dragons). We started on our assignment, but all went home to re-read the books to fill in some of the question marks in our investigation, which I will describe in more detail in a future post when we have figured it out better.
However, in honor of Harry's birthday, we also did some cooking. First, we made our version of Cornish pasties, which are mentioned several times in the book, since they are a traditional English dish.
To make things even more festive, we washed our pasties down with the famous Harry Potter Butterbeer. There are lots of recipes for Butterbeer around, especially since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL, opened and started serving them cold. But the recipe I've always been inspired by was vanilla ice cream, laced with a caramel/butterscotch/butter brickle add-in, added to a warm mug of either boiled apple cider (enhanced with soda water if it was not of the effervescent variety itself) or heated cream soda.
Either way, the dish is a lovely drink. We started by making the caramel, then adding it to vanilla ice cream to liven things up.
A scoop of the icream then goes into heated (or not) cream soda or apple cider.
It makes a lovely frothy birthday treat.
We made that meal on Friday with our Science Coop, but the actual date is Sunday, July 31. We had some left-over butterbeer ice cream, so we used that to make another treat.
We made some Ginger Newts (the cookie or "biscuit" in Professor McGonagall's office in HP and the Order of the Phoenix, I believe...), and then layered them with some of the extra butterbeer ice cream.
It made a treat worthy of the birthdate of everyone's favorite wizard!
We incorporated it into our science coop by fixing a Harry Potter meal and by continuing our work on Harry Potter genetics (which we started last week when we bred dragons). We started on our assignment, but all went home to re-read the books to fill in some of the question marks in our investigation, which I will describe in more detail in a future post when we have figured it out better.
However, in honor of Harry's birthday, we also did some cooking. First, we made our version of Cornish pasties, which are mentioned several times in the book, since they are a traditional English dish.
To make things even more festive, we washed our pasties down with the famous Harry Potter Butterbeer. There are lots of recipes for Butterbeer around, especially since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL, opened and started serving them cold. But the recipe I've always been inspired by was vanilla ice cream, laced with a caramel/butterscotch/butter brickle add-in, added to a warm mug of either boiled apple cider (enhanced with soda water if it was not of the effervescent variety itself) or heated cream soda.
Either way, the dish is a lovely drink. We started by making the caramel, then adding it to vanilla ice cream to liven things up.
A scoop of the icream then goes into heated (or not) cream soda or apple cider.
It makes a lovely frothy birthday treat.
We made that meal on Friday with our Science Coop, but the actual date is Sunday, July 31. We had some left-over butterbeer ice cream, so we used that to make another treat.
We made some Ginger Newts (the cookie or "biscuit" in Professor McGonagall's office in HP and the Order of the Phoenix, I believe...), and then layered them with some of the extra butterbeer ice cream.
It made a treat worthy of the birthdate of everyone's favorite wizard!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Free History Book for Teachers
The History Channel is running a nice give-away for teachers. They are offering a FREE copy of the 412-page, companion book to their 12-part American history series, America: The Story of US, to teachers. While there is no cost for the book, which normally retails for $29.95, recipients must pay $3.95 for shipping (like I said, it's a 412 page book).
If you are eligible for this deal, you can receive your copy by calling 1-800-344-6336 during regular business hours.
The History Channel also has extensive teacher support materials available online, including teacher's guides, episode guides, and video clips. Click here to visit the Story of US website.
If you are eligible for this deal, you can receive your copy by calling 1-800-344-6336 during regular business hours.
The History Channel also has extensive teacher support materials available online, including teacher's guides, episode guides, and video clips. Click here to visit the Story of US website.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Curriculum Resource: Muhammad
Our World Religion class is now studying Islam, and, of course, a central topic in Islam is the prophet Muhammad. I found two books that are great for this age range in helping to understand this important man.
The first is the picture book Muhammad by Demi. Demi, a children's author and illustrator whose work mostly centers on ethnic folk tales and/or religious stories or people, has another winner with this book. As with all of Demi's work, the pictures are gorgeous and reflect the style of the culture of the person/story (in this case, Arabic). For example, in deference to the Muslim prohibition against having pictures of Muhammad (it constitutes a "false idol" in their religion), Demi puts him in the picture only as an outline, usually filled in with gold leaf.
But while it is a picture book, it also has plenty of substance for the middle school student. The book provides a good overview of Muhammad's life and role in Islam and Arabic culture. In our case, we read the book aloud, which kept the students absorbed in the story and left time in a single class for some good discussion as well (in our case, we also did a Venn diagram to discuss the similarities and difference between Jesus--the last prophet we studied--and Muhammad).
For more depth, however, I recommend the book Muhammad of Mecca: Prophet of Islam by Elsa Marston. This book goes into more depth about the events in Muhammad's life and tries to keep an even-handed approach about what is known and what is more conjecture. It does not deal with spiritual issues at all, but merely reports the best facts as we know them. However, I thought it was very helpful in explaining the culture of the times, which I think helps explain some of the practices in Islam that can be most confusing or difficult for students to understand (or even Christians/Americans in general). And it is geared toward the middle school level of reading/understanding.
We are using this two books as major building blocks as we try to create our foundation for our study of Islam.
The first is the picture book Muhammad by Demi. Demi, a children's author and illustrator whose work mostly centers on ethnic folk tales and/or religious stories or people, has another winner with this book. As with all of Demi's work, the pictures are gorgeous and reflect the style of the culture of the person/story (in this case, Arabic). For example, in deference to the Muslim prohibition against having pictures of Muhammad (it constitutes a "false idol" in their religion), Demi puts him in the picture only as an outline, usually filled in with gold leaf.
But while it is a picture book, it also has plenty of substance for the middle school student. The book provides a good overview of Muhammad's life and role in Islam and Arabic culture. In our case, we read the book aloud, which kept the students absorbed in the story and left time in a single class for some good discussion as well (in our case, we also did a Venn diagram to discuss the similarities and difference between Jesus--the last prophet we studied--and Muhammad).
For more depth, however, I recommend the book Muhammad of Mecca: Prophet of Islam by Elsa Marston. This book goes into more depth about the events in Muhammad's life and tries to keep an even-handed approach about what is known and what is more conjecture. It does not deal with spiritual issues at all, but merely reports the best facts as we know them. However, I thought it was very helpful in explaining the culture of the times, which I think helps explain some of the practices in Islam that can be most confusing or difficult for students to understand (or even Christians/Americans in general). And it is geared toward the middle school level of reading/understanding.
We are using this two books as major building blocks as we try to create our foundation for our study of Islam.
Monday, June 6, 2011
What Are Your Five (or Six) Most Influential Books?
Today I stumbled upon a wonderful website sponsored by Scholastic books. Entitled You Are What You Read, it asks the best question I’ve been asked in quite a while--What Five Books Influenced You the Most? You enter that information into your profile, and it connects you with other readers with similar tastes. It also has the lists of all sorts of celebrities, authors, educators, and other famous people, along with other reading resources.
But what a question! My whole family and I are such readers that it is really hard to pick the top five books that have changed my life. I also found it much easier to focus on the ones that have really altered the course of my life more recently than the ones that most influenced me as a child.
So I gave myself a little leeway (not being a rules-driven person in general, as those who know me already know). I decided to make two lists: my favorites as a child (up through high school), and the most influential from college to today.
But even so, I cut and cut from my many contenders, and I debated and considered, and I couldn’t get below six categories (some had more than one book...another fudge factor). Then I realized that today was 6/6. So obviously it was meant to be that I had two lists with six items apiece!
So here are my two lists of my six most influential books. They are more in sequential order than order of impact, because, again, I just couldn’t decide on that.
CHILD
Winnie the Pooh/The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Is there a better book for conveying that comforting world of friendships and relationships we had with our earliest toys?
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Before there was Harry Potter and the Lightening Thief, there was Narnia, covering many of the same fantasy world/good versus evil/family versus...whatever, not family themes. I think both of these were also influenced by the fact that I was born and raised through elementary school in London.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle/Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
So to most people these books probably seem really different (and, of course, on one hand they are), but they are bound in my mind as both having protagonists that were plucky young girls who do whatever it takes to take care of their families. Family was--and still is--a predominant value in my life.
Animal Farm by George Orwell/Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Maybe it was because I went to high school in the DC suburbs, but my teenage rebellion books dealt more with political and social power rather than personal liberation (which I would classify books like Catcher in the Rye, which is a popular book on the list). I have always been wary of following the masses and of the potential for the abuse of government, or increasingly in modern times, corporate power (which is why I still refuse to get on Facebook, despite the many pleas by my friends).
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Paradoxically, perhaps, I also embraced the idea of the social contract--the fact that we will willingly give up some of our independence so that we can live together. But I see that as a mutual agreement between individuals, not something imposed upon me by the government or other structure.
The Once and Future King by T.H. White/Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
These two are combined in mind, not only as books, but as their corresponding musicals (Camelot and Man of La Mancha). I remember writing my college application essays on these books. The main message they left me was to do the right thing, even if no one appreciates it, no one understands it, and no one accepts it at the time. You do the right thing, and it makes a difference, even if you aren’t around to see it. You do the right thing, and you can live and die with peace, even if others might judge you as a fool or a failure. If I had to pick one, this is probably the idea that has influenced my entire life more than any other I have ever gotten from books.
ADULT
The Republic by Plato
So I went off to college to an outstanding liberal arts college, The College of William and Mary, and took a philosophy course largely because my roommate’s boyfriend’s roommate was a philosophy major. I took my first class, and then my first test, and left thinking this was the easiest class I had taken for my entire college experience and wondered why it wasn’t on the list of “gut” classes that had circulated among my freshman dorm. Then I found out that other people actually thought the test was hard! These things that I had been thinking about my entire life were brand new to most of my classmates. So, anyway, I think it was reading this book that made me decide to major in philosophy and concentrate in political philosophy, with a minor in government.
Being and Nothingness/Nausea/No Exit by Paul Sartre
A little later in my philosophical career, I became an existentialist, mainly through reading Sartre. One of the things I loved about him was that he explored these ideas through more than just confounding philosophical treatises (Being and Nothingness), but also novels (Nausea) and plays (No Exit). Discovering existentialism provided the philosophical, and eventually the spiritual, foundation for my entire life.
Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe
I read this in college, and realized how my eating choices could contribute to world hunger--or not. I have so many allergies to alternative protein sources (allergic to eggs, nuts, and dairy at that time) that I couldn’t see being a vegetarian, but I did give up eating red meat for over 20 years after that book.
Guns, Germs, and Steel/Collapse by Jared Diamond
Both these books changed the way I viewed history. I had been raised in what I call the “Great Man” theory--that these extraordinary individuals created the course of history. Diamond makes a great argument that civilizations rise and fall based on environmental factors, not outstanding people. This only added fuel to my lifelong environmental activism. But perhaps more importantly, I am trying to incorporate this perspective into how I teach my son and my other students history and geography and world religion and such. I believe they need to see how decisions about natural resources have contributed to the success or failure of societies in the past, which I hope will help them make more intelligent decisions about our future.
Loving What Is by Byron Katie
This is probably the best book that describes my spiritual approach to life. As Katie says, “When you argue with reality, you lose 100% of the time.” It’s not an easy read, but it can be a life-altering book.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
This is such a fantastic book. This one, again, changed the way that my family and I eat (and influenced me to start eating red meat again). Pollan poses the question: Given that we humans can biologically eat anything, how do we know what to eat? He then looks at the economic, environmental, societal, and ethical costs of four types of meal: fast food; food from Whole Foods; food from local farms; growing, hunting, and gathering all your own food. He is a wonderful writer, and I, who thought she was relatively conscious about her food choices, was alternately horrified and inspired by the facts and stories about food production in this book. This is an incredibly important book that I recommend to everyone I know.
So there you have it. I’ve probably told you more than you wanted to know. But with so many wonderful, wonderful books left off my list, I felt I had to justify the ones that made it.
I would love to hear about some of your most influential books, even if you don’t want to do the whole “top five/six” or extraverted/here is my life thing. Please add your favorites to the comments below.
But what a question! My whole family and I are such readers that it is really hard to pick the top five books that have changed my life. I also found it much easier to focus on the ones that have really altered the course of my life more recently than the ones that most influenced me as a child.
So I gave myself a little leeway (not being a rules-driven person in general, as those who know me already know). I decided to make two lists: my favorites as a child (up through high school), and the most influential from college to today.
But even so, I cut and cut from my many contenders, and I debated and considered, and I couldn’t get below six categories (some had more than one book...another fudge factor). Then I realized that today was 6/6. So obviously it was meant to be that I had two lists with six items apiece!
So here are my two lists of my six most influential books. They are more in sequential order than order of impact, because, again, I just couldn’t decide on that.
CHILD
Winnie the Pooh/The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Is there a better book for conveying that comforting world of friendships and relationships we had with our earliest toys?
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Before there was Harry Potter and the Lightening Thief, there was Narnia, covering many of the same fantasy world/good versus evil/family versus...whatever, not family themes. I think both of these were also influenced by the fact that I was born and raised through elementary school in London.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle/Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
So to most people these books probably seem really different (and, of course, on one hand they are), but they are bound in my mind as both having protagonists that were plucky young girls who do whatever it takes to take care of their families. Family was--and still is--a predominant value in my life.
Animal Farm by George Orwell/Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Maybe it was because I went to high school in the DC suburbs, but my teenage rebellion books dealt more with political and social power rather than personal liberation (which I would classify books like Catcher in the Rye, which is a popular book on the list). I have always been wary of following the masses and of the potential for the abuse of government, or increasingly in modern times, corporate power (which is why I still refuse to get on Facebook, despite the many pleas by my friends).
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Paradoxically, perhaps, I also embraced the idea of the social contract--the fact that we will willingly give up some of our independence so that we can live together. But I see that as a mutual agreement between individuals, not something imposed upon me by the government or other structure.
The Once and Future King by T.H. White/Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
These two are combined in mind, not only as books, but as their corresponding musicals (Camelot and Man of La Mancha). I remember writing my college application essays on these books. The main message they left me was to do the right thing, even if no one appreciates it, no one understands it, and no one accepts it at the time. You do the right thing, and it makes a difference, even if you aren’t around to see it. You do the right thing, and you can live and die with peace, even if others might judge you as a fool or a failure. If I had to pick one, this is probably the idea that has influenced my entire life more than any other I have ever gotten from books.
ADULT
The Republic by Plato
So I went off to college to an outstanding liberal arts college, The College of William and Mary, and took a philosophy course largely because my roommate’s boyfriend’s roommate was a philosophy major. I took my first class, and then my first test, and left thinking this was the easiest class I had taken for my entire college experience and wondered why it wasn’t on the list of “gut” classes that had circulated among my freshman dorm. Then I found out that other people actually thought the test was hard! These things that I had been thinking about my entire life were brand new to most of my classmates. So, anyway, I think it was reading this book that made me decide to major in philosophy and concentrate in political philosophy, with a minor in government.
Being and Nothingness/Nausea/No Exit by Paul Sartre
A little later in my philosophical career, I became an existentialist, mainly through reading Sartre. One of the things I loved about him was that he explored these ideas through more than just confounding philosophical treatises (Being and Nothingness), but also novels (Nausea) and plays (No Exit). Discovering existentialism provided the philosophical, and eventually the spiritual, foundation for my entire life.
Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe
I read this in college, and realized how my eating choices could contribute to world hunger--or not. I have so many allergies to alternative protein sources (allergic to eggs, nuts, and dairy at that time) that I couldn’t see being a vegetarian, but I did give up eating red meat for over 20 years after that book.
Guns, Germs, and Steel/Collapse by Jared Diamond
Both these books changed the way I viewed history. I had been raised in what I call the “Great Man” theory--that these extraordinary individuals created the course of history. Diamond makes a great argument that civilizations rise and fall based on environmental factors, not outstanding people. This only added fuel to my lifelong environmental activism. But perhaps more importantly, I am trying to incorporate this perspective into how I teach my son and my other students history and geography and world religion and such. I believe they need to see how decisions about natural resources have contributed to the success or failure of societies in the past, which I hope will help them make more intelligent decisions about our future.
Loving What Is by Byron Katie
This is probably the best book that describes my spiritual approach to life. As Katie says, “When you argue with reality, you lose 100% of the time.” It’s not an easy read, but it can be a life-altering book.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
This is such a fantastic book. This one, again, changed the way that my family and I eat (and influenced me to start eating red meat again). Pollan poses the question: Given that we humans can biologically eat anything, how do we know what to eat? He then looks at the economic, environmental, societal, and ethical costs of four types of meal: fast food; food from Whole Foods; food from local farms; growing, hunting, and gathering all your own food. He is a wonderful writer, and I, who thought she was relatively conscious about her food choices, was alternately horrified and inspired by the facts and stories about food production in this book. This is an incredibly important book that I recommend to everyone I know.
So there you have it. I’ve probably told you more than you wanted to know. But with so many wonderful, wonderful books left off my list, I felt I had to justify the ones that made it.
I would love to hear about some of your most influential books, even if you don’t want to do the whole “top five/six” or extraverted/here is my life thing. Please add your favorites to the comments below.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Summer Reading Lists for Middle Schoolers
Summer is a great time to catch up on some of that good literature that we just never seem to get around to during the regular academic year. So here are some links to books recommended to middle school, mostly by some different school systems:
The Kinkaid School Middle School Summer Reading Lists 2011
Houston Area Independent Schools Library Network Recommended Reading Lists 2011
2011 Parkway Summer Reading List for Students Entering Grades 6-9
I'm sure that there are others, but here are some to get you started.
Even if we don't read any of these books, I like to get an idea of what different school are advising for their middle school students. Another way I use these lists is to pick up suggestions of historical fiction for the time period we will be studying in the coming academic year (in our case, 20th century history). I like to have my son read at least one historical fiction of the time period, and this is a good way to find one that some other educators have found to be appropriate.
The Kinkaid School Middle School Summer Reading Lists 2011
Houston Area Independent Schools Library Network Recommended Reading Lists 2011
2011 Parkway Summer Reading List for Students Entering Grades 6-9
I'm sure that there are others, but here are some to get you started.
Even if we don't read any of these books, I like to get an idea of what different school are advising for their middle school students. Another way I use these lists is to pick up suggestions of historical fiction for the time period we will be studying in the coming academic year (in our case, 20th century history). I like to have my son read at least one historical fiction of the time period, and this is a good way to find one that some other educators have found to be appropriate.
Monday, May 23, 2011
What Education is Supposed to Be About
It's getting to be that time of year when, whether you are student or teacher, homeschool or institutionalized school, we're all just ready for school to be over. ( Of course, most homeschoolers I know continue to homeschool over the summer as well, but usually in a more laid-back way, especially since most of the group classes, coops, and projects are suspended during the traditional school "summer vacation" period.) It is not a season when most of us wax eloquently about the wonders of schools, especially these days when the end-of-the-year focus is so fixed on standardized tests and numerical quantifications of our students' performance.
So it was such a treat last night when, as I was reading Gary D. Schmidt's latest wonderful book, Okay For Now, when I came upon a beautiful passage that reminded me what education is really supposed to be about.
In this book, set in 1968, 8th grader Doug Swieteck (who also appeared in Schmidt's Newbery Honor award-winning book, The Wednesday Wars) is the sole transplant to a new junior high in a new town who is attending a pre-school orientation for new students. Divided alphabetically, Swieteck is assigned to the principal's section, where he has to listen to rule after rule after rule of school regulations--being on time, boys keeping their hair short (1968, remember), girls keeping their skirts long, etc. He acts up a bit and is excused to go to the bathroom.
On the way there, he overhears what the science teacher, Mr. Ferris, is tell the other group of incoming students. Here is what Mr. Ferris tells them:
Thank you, Mr. Ferris, and thank you, Gary Schmidt, for reminding us all what it is that we teachers and students get to do together.
So it was such a treat last night when, as I was reading Gary D. Schmidt's latest wonderful book, Okay For Now, when I came upon a beautiful passage that reminded me what education is really supposed to be about.
In this book, set in 1968, 8th grader Doug Swieteck (who also appeared in Schmidt's Newbery Honor award-winning book, The Wednesday Wars) is the sole transplant to a new junior high in a new town who is attending a pre-school orientation for new students. Divided alphabetically, Swieteck is assigned to the principal's section, where he has to listen to rule after rule after rule of school regulations--being on time, boys keeping their hair short (1968, remember), girls keeping their skirts long, etc. He acts up a bit and is excused to go to the bathroom.
On the way there, he overhears what the science teacher, Mr. Ferris, is tell the other group of incoming students. Here is what Mr. Ferris tells them:
"Within a year, possibly by next fall," he was saying, "something that has never before been done, will be done. NASA will be sending men to the moon. Think of that. Men who were once in classrooms like this one will leave their footprints on the lunar surface." He paused. I leaned in close against the wall so I could hear him. "That is why you are sitting here tonight, and why you will be coming here in the months ahead. You come to dream dream. You come to build fantastic castles into the air. And you come to learn how to build the foundations that make those castles real. When the men who will command that mission were boys your age, no one knew that they would walk on another world someday. No one knew. But in a few months, that's what will happen. So, twenty years from now, what will people say of you? 'No one knew then that this kid from Washington Irving Junior High School would grow up to do".....what? What castle will you build?"
Thank you, Mr. Ferris, and thank you, Gary Schmidt, for reminding us all what it is that we teachers and students get to do together.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Curriculum Resource: Murderous Maths
I realized that I haven't written about one of our favorite math resources--the Murderous Maths series, developed in England and available in the US from Fun Books. The various books tackle different math topics, but in a humorous and applied way. Most of the problems are evolved from a situation or story discussed in the book. Plus they use that wonderful British sense of humor, which goes over really well with my son.
To give you some idea of how fun these books can be, here are some of the titles:
Murderous Maths: The Mean and Vulgar Bits (fractions, percentages, and averages)
Do You Feel Lucky? (probability)
The Phantom X (algebra)
Savage Shapes (geometry)
They are inexpensive paperback books with some cute illustrations, but pretty text dense. However, my son will just pick one up and read it for pleasure--which is saying something for the books, since math is not necessarily his favorite subject. They are not a traditional curriculum, but if your children like stories (and what child doesn't?), they are a nice supplement to the other math you may be doing.
To see a list of the math content in each book, click here.
To give you some idea of how fun these books can be, here are some of the titles:
Murderous Maths: The Mean and Vulgar Bits (fractions, percentages, and averages)
Do You Feel Lucky? (probability)
The Phantom X (algebra)
Savage Shapes (geometry)
They are inexpensive paperback books with some cute illustrations, but pretty text dense. However, my son will just pick one up and read it for pleasure--which is saying something for the books, since math is not necessarily his favorite subject. They are not a traditional curriculum, but if your children like stories (and what child doesn't?), they are a nice supplement to the other math you may be doing.
To see a list of the math content in each book, click here.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Curriculum Resource: Reconstruction
As I said earlier this week, teaching about the Civil War is tough for us. It is also hard to teach about Reconstruction, which was another non-stellar point in our history. However, in some ways Reconstruction is even harder because of the paucity of resources, especially compared to all the stuff that is available for the Civil War.
Here are some of the curriculum resources we found useful in covering the Reconstruction with our middle schoolers:
A History of US: Reconstruction and Reform 1865-1870 by Joy Hakim is a great overview of the specific time of the Reconstruction. This is a good book for middle schoolers.
Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow 1864-1896 by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier. This one covers a longer time span and is at a bit higher level, so it would probably be appropriate for high school as well as middle schoolers.
They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This is an excellent book that I reviewed last year when it came out; you can read the full review here. But the short version is that the book describes the evolution of the Ku Klux Klan from its earliest days as sort of a informal frat for ex-Confederates trying to feel better about their defeat to the powerful hate organization it was up through the 1960s, told mostly from first-hand reports. It is appropriate to both middle and high schoolers.
Black Voices from Reconstruction 1865-1877 by John David Smith. While not as engaging as the previous book, this one also contains personal and first-hand sources and covers some broader subjects of the time than were left out of the KKK book. Again, this could be used by middle and higher schoolers.
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet. A bit different from the previous titled, this is a fictionalized account of what life might have been like for a small group of freed African Americans, written by an author whose ancestors had been slaves of Robert E. Lee's. This is a middle school level book.
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow is the website for an award-winning educational documentary series that explores segregation from Reconstruction through the modern Civil Rights movement. I haven't seen the videos themselves, but they sound like they would be really good to watch. However, on the website, you can view a timeline of major events from Reconstruction up to the mid-20th Century, interact with maps and other online resources, read the stories of some significant black leaders from the Reconstruction on, and access lesson plans for both middle school and high school grades.
As always, if someone has some other good resources to add to this list, please put them in the comments below.
Here are some of the curriculum resources we found useful in covering the Reconstruction with our middle schoolers:
A History of US: Reconstruction and Reform 1865-1870 by Joy Hakim is a great overview of the specific time of the Reconstruction. This is a good book for middle schoolers.
Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow 1864-1896 by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier. This one covers a longer time span and is at a bit higher level, so it would probably be appropriate for high school as well as middle schoolers.
They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This is an excellent book that I reviewed last year when it came out; you can read the full review here. But the short version is that the book describes the evolution of the Ku Klux Klan from its earliest days as sort of a informal frat for ex-Confederates trying to feel better about their defeat to the powerful hate organization it was up through the 1960s, told mostly from first-hand reports. It is appropriate to both middle and high schoolers.
Black Voices from Reconstruction 1865-1877 by John David Smith. While not as engaging as the previous book, this one also contains personal and first-hand sources and covers some broader subjects of the time than were left out of the KKK book. Again, this could be used by middle and higher schoolers.
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet. A bit different from the previous titled, this is a fictionalized account of what life might have been like for a small group of freed African Americans, written by an author whose ancestors had been slaves of Robert E. Lee's. This is a middle school level book.
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow is the website for an award-winning educational documentary series that explores segregation from Reconstruction through the modern Civil Rights movement. I haven't seen the videos themselves, but they sound like they would be really good to watch. However, on the website, you can view a timeline of major events from Reconstruction up to the mid-20th Century, interact with maps and other online resources, read the stories of some significant black leaders from the Reconstruction on, and access lesson plans for both middle school and high school grades.
As always, if someone has some other good resources to add to this list, please put them in the comments below.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Earth Day Book Giveaway Winner!
I hope everyone has been enjoying all the Earth Day activities and blog posts. It has been a busy couple of days for us.
The winner of the Energy book by Kathleen Reilly is JONI! Joni, please contact me at ccross@mindspring.com with your contact information so that we can send you the book.
Thanks to everyone who entered, and hope you will enter one of our other upcoming giveaways.
The winner of the Energy book by Kathleen Reilly is JONI! Joni, please contact me at ccross@mindspring.com with your contact information so that we can send you the book.
Thanks to everyone who entered, and hope you will enter one of our other upcoming giveaways.
 |
| Joni gets a free copy of this wonderful book! |
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Reminder: Webinar Tonight on Teaching Hands-on Science
Just a reminder that tonight is our Earth Day webinar with author Kathleen Reilly about Teaching Science through Hands-on Projects. For complete details, see the original post. To participate, follow this link at: http://tinyurl.com/math20event to connect to the free Learn Central webinar room provided by Elluminate. It starts at 7:30 PM Eastern Time (GMT -5:00), but it takes a while to connect to the webinar room, so I suggest trying to get on 10 or 15 minutes before the event.
Also, you have through tomorrow to enter to win Kate's book:
UPDATE: The webinar is over, but you can access the recording at: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2011-04-21.1635.M.B41FC4AB0A3565F8BCAE1B600D6595.vcr&sid=2008350
Also, you have through tomorrow to enter to win Kate's book:
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| Win a free copy of Kathleen Reilly's book on Energy |
UPDATE: The webinar is over, but you can access the recording at: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2011-04-21.1635.M.B41FC4AB0A3565F8BCAE1B600D6595.vcr&sid=2008350
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Appreciate Your Local Libraries During National Library Week
I don't know about you, but especially as a homeschooler, I would be lost without my libraries. One of the local librarians looked up my account last year, and found I had checked out more than 4,000 books in the past 10 years--that's more than one book a day for every day for a decade! But that is just part of it. My son participates in three different book clubs sponsored by the libraries. We go to lots of talks, exhibits, and special programs put on by our libraries. We use the library computers to check our email when we're out, or sometimes hang out there for a half hour or so when we have time to kill between activities. And with BOTH of our local Borders closing (WAAAAA!), the library is becoming even more important as a place to hold our homeschooling and other community-based meetings.
So I don't want to let National Library Week (April 10-16) go by without letting our library system know how much we appreciate them. Librarians are the cutting edge of the information age, and constantly need to update their skills to include new media sources. Plus, like most government workers in these times of budget cutting, they are constantly being asked to serve more with few resources--less money, less staff, etc.
Today (April 12) is the day, National Library Workers Day, during National Library Week that is dedicated to recognize the people behind the books at our libraries. The American Library Association has set up an easy way for you to show your appreciation for your local librarians. They are creating a Galaxy of Stars--librarians who have been nominated by their local community for the outstanding service they provide. All you have to do is to submit a short form online to recognize your favorite librarian(s).
So I urge everyone to take 5 minutes to create a special recognition for your library. I was horrified to check the North Carolina listing to see that not one librarian in the entire state had been nominated! So we've added our favorites (which isn't shown, because it is only updated once a week), and hope that you will join us.
My son and I also got up early this morning and baked a fresh batch of our specialty--vegan (but they taste like regular) coconut chocolate chip cookies. He is now downstairs making a Thank You card for our local library while I write this post. We're going to drop off the cookies and the card this morning before we head out for our day of activity--history coop, science coop, errands, etc.
It doesn't have to be today, but I hope everyone takes an opportunity this week to show their librarians some love!
So I don't want to let National Library Week (April 10-16) go by without letting our library system know how much we appreciate them. Librarians are the cutting edge of the information age, and constantly need to update their skills to include new media sources. Plus, like most government workers in these times of budget cutting, they are constantly being asked to serve more with few resources--less money, less staff, etc.
Today (April 12) is the day, National Library Workers Day, during National Library Week that is dedicated to recognize the people behind the books at our libraries. The American Library Association has set up an easy way for you to show your appreciation for your local librarians. They are creating a Galaxy of Stars--librarians who have been nominated by their local community for the outstanding service they provide. All you have to do is to submit a short form online to recognize your favorite librarian(s).
So I urge everyone to take 5 minutes to create a special recognition for your library. I was horrified to check the North Carolina listing to see that not one librarian in the entire state had been nominated! So we've added our favorites (which isn't shown, because it is only updated once a week), and hope that you will join us.
My son and I also got up early this morning and baked a fresh batch of our specialty--vegan (but they taste like regular) coconut chocolate chip cookies. He is now downstairs making a Thank You card for our local library while I write this post. We're going to drop off the cookies and the card this morning before we head out for our day of activity--history coop, science coop, errands, etc.
It doesn't have to be today, but I hope everyone takes an opportunity this week to show their librarians some love!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Earth Day Webinar with Author Kathleen Reilly on Thursday, April 21
As I announced in my April 1st post (but it isn't a joke), our book giveaway this month, in honor of Earth Day, will be:
Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It by Kathleen M. Reilly.
We will combine the giveaway with a FREE webinar with author Kathleen Reilly, who will speak on "Teaching Environmental Science Through Hands-On Projects." Kate is a great person to speak on this topic because besides being an award-winning professional writer, she is homeschooling her two sons who are of middle schoolish age (on whom I am sure she has tested all of these projects). Kate will be drawing on information not only from her Energy book, but from at least a couple others among the six books she has had published so far:
The webinar will be held the evening before Earth Day 2011 on Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT -05:00). Our technical host will be Elluminate's Learn Central, which you can access that evening at: http://tinyurl.com/math20event .
Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It by Kathleen M. Reilly.
We will combine the giveaway with a FREE webinar with author Kathleen Reilly, who will speak on "Teaching Environmental Science Through Hands-On Projects." Kate is a great person to speak on this topic because besides being an award-winning professional writer, she is homeschooling her two sons who are of middle schoolish age (on whom I am sure she has tested all of these projects). Kate will be drawing on information not only from her Energy book, but from at least a couple others among the six books she has had published so far:
The webinar will be held the evening before Earth Day 2011 on Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT -05:00). Our technical host will be Elluminate's Learn Central, which you can access that evening at: http://tinyurl.com/math20event .
UPDATE: The webinar is over, but you can access the recording at: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2011-04-21.1635.M.B41FC4AB0A3565F8BCAE1B600D6595.vcr&sid=2008350
Friday, April 1, 2011
April Giveaway: Energy-25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It
A new month, a new giveaway! This month, our book to be given away relates to one of my favorite April holidays--Earth Day. And I am particularly excited because the book that you may get--IF you are the lucky winner--is a book written by a friend of mine who is in our local homeschool group!
Our special Earth Day giveaway book is entitled Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It, by Kathleen M. Reilly.
In this book, students nine years old and up learn about both nonrenewable fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc.) and renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind power) through hands-on projects that encourage active learning about the science behind ecology. Projects include such kid-friendly activities as creating music out of wind, experiencing the difficulty in cleaning up after an oil spill, cooking cupcakes that relate to geothermal energy, and making your own coal candy. The book won a Silver Medal in the 2009 Moonbeam Children's Book Award, and inspired Dan Kammen, Professor of Energy at the University of California at Berkeley and Founding Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory to say:
So, obviously, you want to win this book. How do you enter? Enter by posting a comment below. I would love it if you would add a favorite Earth Day-related book--some book that celebrates Nature or that talks about ways we can help save the planet. I will also give anyone who posts this contest on their blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed five additional entries; just send me an email with the information or a webpage link. (Last month's winner was selected from her five extra entries for passing on the information, so it does work!) The winner will be chosen by Random.com on Saturday, April 23 (the day after Earth Day).
So add your comments, spread the word through your social network, and check back on April 23 to see if you've won.
Also like last month, we will be having a webinar to discuss educational issues related to this book. Look for an upcoming post to find out more about that.
Our special Earth Day giveaway book is entitled Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It, by Kathleen M. Reilly.
In this book, students nine years old and up learn about both nonrenewable fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc.) and renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind power) through hands-on projects that encourage active learning about the science behind ecology. Projects include such kid-friendly activities as creating music out of wind, experiencing the difficulty in cleaning up after an oil spill, cooking cupcakes that relate to geothermal energy, and making your own coal candy. The book won a Silver Medal in the 2009 Moonbeam Children's Book Award, and inspired Dan Kammen, Professor of Energy at the University of California at Berkeley and Founding Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory to say:
This book is great fun, with energy education and visualization projects that will inspire middle-school to high school students and adults alike.My friend Kate is an award-winning author who has written for such popular magazines as Family Fun, National Geographic Kids, Parents, Family Circle, and the like. She has a great knack for explaining scientific topics in clear terms, along with demonstrating abstract concepts through experiential learning. On top of all of that, she is homeschooling two wonderful sons who are around the middle school age range.
So, obviously, you want to win this book. How do you enter? Enter by posting a comment below. I would love it if you would add a favorite Earth Day-related book--some book that celebrates Nature or that talks about ways we can help save the planet. I will also give anyone who posts this contest on their blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed five additional entries; just send me an email with the information or a webpage link. (Last month's winner was selected from her five extra entries for passing on the information, so it does work!) The winner will be chosen by Random.com on Saturday, April 23 (the day after Earth Day).
So add your comments, spread the word through your social network, and check back on April 23 to see if you've won.
Also like last month, we will be having a webinar to discuss educational issues related to this book. Look for an upcoming post to find out more about that.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Earth Hour 2011
It's going to be a short post tonight, because our house is celebrating Earth Hour--the world-wide campaign to shut off lights and non-essential electrical devices for the hour of 8:30-9:30 PM on the last Saturday of March as a reminder of our need for lifestyle changes to prevent climate change. We were rushing through the clean-up from our latest Presidential Palate dinner (details coming in a future post) so we could turn off all the computers and household lights, gather in one room upstairs in our separate sleeping bags, and read by the one light we left on. It was quiet time, and we've decided that we would leave the lights and computers off for the entire evening (other than short usages, such as turning on the light when we go into the bathroom and such).
The only problem is that this is usually the time I'm posting on my blog. So I'm writing this on my laptop using battery power, and am making it short and sweet.
My four favorite things about Earth Hour 2011:
1. Having a quiet evening of reading with my family
2. Being part of an international effort to make the world better (albeit in a tiny way)
3. Playing with the YouTube special Earth Hour light switch, which turns the YouTube background page from white (on) to black (off
4. Watching this Earth Hour video
It's a small thing. But that's something that I'm always telling my son--that small things add up.
So I'm getting off the computer now and shutting it down--WITHOUT even having checked my email! YIKES! That's a big deal for me.....
The only problem is that this is usually the time I'm posting on my blog. So I'm writing this on my laptop using battery power, and am making it short and sweet.
My four favorite things about Earth Hour 2011:
1. Having a quiet evening of reading with my family
2. Being part of an international effort to make the world better (albeit in a tiny way)
3. Playing with the YouTube special Earth Hour light switch, which turns the YouTube background page from white (on) to black (off
4. Watching this Earth Hour video
It's a small thing. But that's something that I'm always telling my son--that small things add up.
So I'm getting off the computer now and shutting it down--WITHOUT even having checked my email! YIKES! That's a big deal for me.....
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