Honoring Sen. Edward Kennedy 1932-2009

This evening Eight will be airing a special encore performance of American Experience's The Kennedys. It is an incredible documentary honoring the contributions of a political dynasty. Additionally, there is a whole host of educator resources available to connect students with this legacy. You can also view much of the broadcast online.

On the current site homepage today, you can rate your opinion and see public results of Sen. Edward Kennedy's contribution to several policy areas. Take some time to submit your own results. Share them with your students. Use them as a basis of discussion for issues going on today in our country. Where do they stand?

This content has direct connections to the Arizona Academic Social Studies Standard in the Civic strand. Share how you have put American Experience to use in your classroom and the discussions in your classrooms about the legacy the Kennedys have left us with today.

Pay It Forward

I saw this opportunity today in eSchoolNews and had to pass it on. As I hear from teachers across Arizona I am always looking for ways to encourage them to consider writing a grant. This seems to be a perfect "starter" grant for a classroom teacher with a group of students who have a good idea but need some funds to get started.

I hope you will consider applying -- and I hope you will keep me posted if you do apply as I would love to help publicize how you and your students are paying it forward!

Pay It Forward Mini-Grants are designed to fund one-time-only service-oriented projects identified by youth as activities they would like to perform to benefit their school, neighborhood, or greater community. Projects must contain a "pay it forward" focus - that is, they must be based on the concept of one person doing a favor for others, who in turn do favors for others, with the results growing exponentially - to be considered in the grant making process.

Learn more: http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/educators/mini-grant.html

Connecting Your Students...

"We know we aren't going to change minds entirely, but we want minds to be changed a little bit," said Stephen Brown, a contractor who manages and produces all the films created by the foundation.

"That's why we say in our introduction to this [project] that we want to ‘nudge' the conversation a little bit. And, if that's all we do, then I think we've actually accomplished what we want to accomplish. Because there are a lot of people on the fence. Just a little nudge could push them over."

Read more... Think about how you are involved... What are you doing to contribute to your 21st Century learners?

Mark Your Calendars! PBS Teachers Webinars are Coming!

FREE Professional Development Opportunity --- from the comfort of any internet connected computer... including one at home while you eat dinner and help kids with homework - depending on your multitasking ability :).

The new fall line up of PBS Teachers LIVE! webinars is now available. The fall PBS Teachers LIVE! webinar series kicks off with "Transforming Schools: P.O.V.'s 'The Principal Story'" on September 1 at 5 p.m. Arizona (8 p.m. EST). Topics covered in the fall/winter schedule of webinars include elementary and middle level science, geography, social studies, digital storytelling, education in the digital age, and online professional development.

• Sept 1: Transforming Schools: P.O.V.'s "The Principal Story"


• Sept. 21: Dig into Early Science Instruction With “Dinosaur Train”


• Oct. 7: Teaching About Place With Ken Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea"


• Oct. 22: Welcome to the new PBS Teachers site


• Nov. 10: Education in the Digital Age: FRONTLINE's "Digital Nation"


• Dec. 10: PBS TeacherLine: Online Professional Development for Educators


• Jan. 26 (2010): Middle Level STEM Education With "Design Squad," "Fetch," and DragonflyTV"

All participants who are online for the entire webinar and complete the feedback survey at the end will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

For more information visit: www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar.

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