Traveling Trunks

Are you looking for resources to put some zing (short for hands on, primary documents, artifacts based learning experiences) in your teaching? Explore the world of traveling trunks.

Traveling trunks are offered by many non-profit organizations, commercial companies, and other entities who like to share their resources. Traveling trunks give the busy teacher the opportunity to access resources that might be too expensive to obtain otherwise. Usually these trunks come with lesson plan ideas to make your job even easier.

Today, I am sharing with you some of these resources. I have many more up my sleeve, so if you do not see something you might like to use, leave a message, and I might just have what you are looking for.

1. The National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/learn/trunks.htm)
The National Park Service has a variety of traveling trunks available for teachers. They require in most cases a refundable security deposit. Trunks pertaining to resources for each park are available from specific parks. Trunks include:
* Ellis Island: Five different "Park in a pack" trunks.
* Aztec Ruins National Parks: Different trunks containing numerous replica artifacts, the Hisatsinom video, and a teacher's guide. The teacher's guide includes background readings, lessons, and field trip advice.
* Geology or Archeology traveling trunks from the Delaware Water Gap
* Jefferson National Park Expansion Memorial in Missouri (10 different trunks available)

Investigate the website for more information. There are also other teacher resources on the "Parks in the Curriculum" page.

2. Civil War: Life of a Civil War Soldier
Friends of the National Park at Gettysburg will send you this trunk for a suggested donation. COntact them at tel. 717-334-0772 x 222, or email at
taltland@friendsofgettysburg.org.
You can find a lesson plan to use for this trunk online at http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/publichistory/sanders.html

3. Home for History Traveling Trunk
http://www.arkansaspreservation.org/preservation-services/youth-education/#trunk
This trunk is for 2nd through 6th grade and teaches about architecture and historical preservation. Contact them at tel. (501) 324-9880, email at
info@arkansaspreservation.org

4. Center For Diversity Education (CDE)
http://eduweb.unca.edu/diversityed/
This education center offers several trunks:
*An Unmarked Trail (Stories of African Americans in Bumcombe County 1850- 1900)
*Choosing to Remember from the Shoah to the Mountains (Shoah is Hebrew for catastrophe)
*Coming to the Mountains (Immigration and Western North Carolina)
* It’s Only a Game? (portrayal of Native Americans in sports)
* Lest We Forget (WW II)
* The Power of Words
*Treasure of Diversity

Contact them at tel: (828) 232-5024

5. Holocaust Information:
Florida Holocaust Museum
http://www.floridaholocaustmuseum.org/Trunks/trunks2.cfm
Contact them at tel: (727) 820-0100 ext 221 or email at:
trunks@flholocaustmuseum.org
They have 10 trunks available for 1st grade through 12th grade levels
A variety of topics related to the holocaust, human rights, tolerance, etc.
*Different and Same (for 1st-2nd grade)
*Creating Community (3rd-4th grade)
*Beginning Holocaust Studies (5th grade)
*Investigating Human Behavior (middle school)
*Historical Perspective of the Holocaust (high school)
*Arts Trunk (either elementary or secondary)
*Human Rights and Genocide (middle and high school)
Holocaust Museum of Houston (http://www.hmh.org/ed_cur_trunk.asp)
Contact them at tel: 713-942-8000
*Elementary School
*Middle School
*High School Social Studies
*High School Language Arts
*Advanced Placement High School Language Arts

6. Lewis and Clarke: Montana Lewis & Clark Bicentenial http://www.montanalewisandclark.org/resources/travelingtrunks.htm
Contact them at tel: 406) 443-2109 or email at rcortright@mt.gov
*The Expedition
*Natural History
*Montana’s First People

There are many regional centers who also offer trunks. Contact your local natural history museum or the art museum to see what they have available. Since I live in Alabama, here are some Alabama resources also.

7. Mobile Museum of fine arts (http://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/)
Contact them at tel: (334) 343-2667
They have: * An African Trunk
*A Native American Trunk
*A Preschool trunk

8. Alabama Power Science Suitcases (http://www.southerncompany.com/alpower/community/sciencesuitcases.asp?mnuOpco=apc&mnuType=sub&mnuItem=oc)
They have many resources for teachers, including over 300 suitcases:
Nutshells - Grades 2 - 6
Delta Science Corners - Grades 2 - 6
Delta Science Modules
Delta FOSS (Full Option Science System) Modules Cuisenaire-->
Carolina Biological
Insights (Kendall/Hunt) Kits
Wabash Instrument Corporation
Water Assessment Kits
Enviroscape - Grades 3 - 8

9. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery http://www.archives.state.al.us/teacher/architrunk.html
Contact them at tel: (334) 242-4435
ArchiTrunk: Alabama History Teaching Kit. This kit is aligned with fourth grade Alabama teaching standards and contain Artifact reproductions, Books, Videos, Maps, Lesson Plans, and Activity Sheets. Costs only shipping.

10. Burritt on the Mountain (www.burrittmuseum.com/pages/education_programs_out.htm)
Contact them at tel: (256) 512-0146
They offer: *Grandmother’s trunk (TN Valley)
*Gifts from the earth (Native Americans and early Europeans of Southeast)
*Animals (skulls, pelts, etc)
*School Days (school items from 1800s)

My thanks to Debbie Carden for help with the research on this topic.

Does this not excite you? If students can touch and see, they will enjoy learning much more, they will remember much more, and you might just inspire a budding scholar to investigate further. Apart from the benefits to students, changing the everyday into a special day will help you enjoy your work more!

Have fun!

Taming the Beast (in other words, How to navigate internet resources)

The internet contains a wealth of information and very usable tools. The problem is finding those tools and that information in a timely manner, and keeping track of them so that you don't have to find the same things over and over again.

So, you say, that is what BOOKMARKS or FAVORITES are for. Yes, that's true. But what if you have more than one computer? The bookmarks and favorites are stored on your computer, not the email account (unless you have an internet-based account). That means if you save a bookmark on one computer, it will not be on the other, and so forth. I have a solution further down.

The other great help in finding good websites, is to find a good HOTLIST. Today I share some of my own favorite hotlists with you.

1. Backflip (http://www.backflip.com/login.ihtml)
Backflip is an internet-based bookmarking site. Membership is free and once you are registered, you can add your bookmarks or favorites from your computer, and add a toolbar button to "Backflip" any site you wish to add to your favorites list. Your bookmarks can be organized in categories, and it even has a "daily routine" section for websites you access everyday. It is easy to use, and it keeps your bookmarks/favorites organized and accessible even on someone else's computer. There are also public folders, where other people post useful links. I love this tool and use it every day.

I learned of this tool from Ken Wiseman.

2. Wiseman Tech (http://www.wisemantech.com)
One of the most useful educational technology sites I've come across. Mr. Wiseman has beginner level, and more advanced tutorials on digital photo, digital video, web collaboration, searching the internet effectively and efficiently, and even a wonderful resource on Guidance, put together by Mrs. Wiseman. Don't take my word for it. If you want to know how to do anything related to technology, try Wiseman Tech first.

3. District Administration Journal's Dr. Hotlist (http://www.districtadministration.com). Scroll down and you'll find the Dr. Hotlist icon on the left.

This hotlist of education websites is managed by Gil Dyrli, retired but very active professor of education from the University of Connecticut. Look for the Online Resources button. Explore the
Curriculum Hotspots, Professional Resources, Emerging Technologies, and Dr. Dyrli's technology column, The online Edge.

4. Filamentality (http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/)
Do you want ready made differentiation material? Looking for tiered assignments on anything?The Filamentality website offers thousands (77142 at last count) of mini-webquests on any subject you can imagine, created by teachers for their students.

Search Filamentality for "Ancient Greece," and you find 2943 different files created by teachers. Some are hotlists of student safe websites, some are webquests. A great resource if you need information on a subject quickly. I have not searched on any subject without finding some good resources.

Be prepared to plow through the filamentalities to find one that suits your students' age and ability. Usually it is worth the effort.

5. Webquests (http://bestwebquests.com)
As far as I can figure, the first webquest was written by Tom March (1995) at the San Diego State University, co-teaching with Bernie Dodge. The "Best Webquests" website is administered by Tom March, and on his site, he gives the following webquest resources:

Portals:
Tom March.com The central location for all Tom's "Bright Ideas for Education"
BestWebQuests Celebrating the Best in WebQuests
WebQuests for Learning WebQuests and materials created by Tom March
The WebQuest Portal Interactive WebQuest Community from Bernie Dodge

Online WebQuest Makers, of which Filamentality is one; WebQuest Design Guides; and Articles about Webquests.

Happy hunting. Next time, I plan to talk about trunks and suitcases offered by museums, non-profits, and organizations for checkout by teachers.

Taming the Beast (in other words, How to navigate internet resources)

The internet contains a wealth of information and very usable tools. The problem is finding those tools and that information in a timely manner, and keeping track of them so that you don't have to find the same things over and over again.

So, you say, that is what BOOKMARKS or FAVORITES are for. Yes, that's true. But what if you have more than one computer? The bookmarks and favorites are stored on your computer, not the email account (unless you have an internet-based account). That means if you save a bookmark on one computer, it will not be on the other, and so forth. I have a solution further down.

The other great help in finding good websites, is to find a good HOTLIST. Today I share some of my own favorite hotlists with you.

1. Backflip (http://www.backflip.com/login.ihtml)
Backflip is an internet-based bookmarking site. Membership is free and once you are registered, you can add your bookmarks or favorites from your computer, and add a toolbar button to "Backflip" any site you wish to add to your favorites list. Your bookmarks can be organized in categories, and it even has a "daily routine" section for websites you access everyday. It is easy to use, and it keeps your bookmarks/favorites organized and accessible even on someone else's computer. There are also public folders, where other people post useful links. I love this tool and use it every day.

I learned of this tool from Ken Wiseman.

2. Wiseman Tech (http://www.wisemantech.com)
One of the most useful educational technology sites I've come across. Mr. Wiseman has beginner level, and more advanced tutorials on digital photo, digital video, web collaboration, searching the internet effectively and efficiently, and even a wonderful resource on Guidance, put together by Mrs. Wiseman. Don't take my word for it. If you want to know how to do anything related to technology, try Wiseman Tech first.

3. District Administration Journal's Dr. Hotlist (http://www.districtadministration.com). Scroll down and you'll find the Dr. Hotlist icon on the left.

This hotlist of education websites is managed by Gil Dyrli, retired but very active professor of education from the University of Connecticut. Look for the Online Resources button. Explore the
Curriculum Hotspots, Professional Resources, Emerging Technologies, and Dr. Dyrli's technology column, The online Edge.

4. Filamentality (http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/)
Do you want ready made differentiation material? Looking for tiered assignments on anything?The Filamentality website offers thousands (77142 at last count) of mini-webquests on any subject you can imagine, created by teachers for their students.

Search Filamentality for "Ancient Greece," and you find 2943 different files created by teachers. Some are hotlists of student safe websites, some are webquests. A great resource if you need information on a subject quickly. I have not searched on any subject without finding some good resources.

Be prepared to plow through the filamentalities to find one that suits your students' age and ability. Usually it is worth the effort.

5. Webquests (http://bestwebquests.com)
As far as I can figure, the first webquest was written by Tom March (1995) at the San Diego State University, co-teaching with Bernie Dodge. The "Best Webquests" website is administered by Tom March, and on his site, he gives the following webquest resources:

Portals:
Tom March.com The central location for all Tom's "Bright Ideas for Education"
BestWebQuests Celebrating the Best in WebQuests
WebQuests for Learning WebQuests and materials created by Tom March
The WebQuest Portal Interactive WebQuest Community from Bernie Dodge

Online WebQuest Makers, of which Filamentality is one; WebQuest Design Guides; and Articles about Webquests.

Happy hunting. Next time, I plan to talk about trunks and suitcases offered by museums, non-profits, and organizations for checkout by teachers.

The Wonderful World of Newsletters

I have discovered that some people spend a lot of time gathering information and publishing it in the form of newsletters. If you search long enough, you can probably find a newsletter on just about any subject. Often, a newsletter will be a collection of news articles on a particular subject. I use those to scan through a large amount of information quickly. Usually, these newsletters have the title and an introductory paragraph for a number of news articles. If you want to read the full article, the newsletter gives a link for you to click on and voila! Sometimes, a newsletter on a particular topic gives helpful hints. Other newsletters, often for commercial ventures such as bookstores, give new release information and special offers.

Today, I give you links to my favorite newsletters.

1. ASCD Smartbrief (http://www.smartbrief.com/ascd/)
This newsletter contains "E-Mail news for the K-12 education profession." It is one of those collections of news articles pertinent to K-12 education. It keeps you up to date on trends and issues in education. You can choose to follow a particular news story, and the Smartbrief will give you alerts when more about a particular topic is published. They also periodically give links to special reports on specific topics. There is always information about new publications for educators, and they have a "Who's Hiring" feature advertising available jobs.

Subscription is free.

2. CEC Smartbrief (http://www.smartbrief.com/cec/)
Same format, often some of the same content, but content is specific to matters of interest to members of the Council on Exceptional Children - special education issues. It includes gifted education issues.

Subscription is free.

3. eSchool News (http://www.eschoolnews.com)
Newsletter covering issues with technology in schools. Currently, they are running a report on technology and its impact on Formative Assessment (http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/reports/formative_assessment/index.cfm), as well as a resource center on Multimedia Instructional Tools http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/reports/Multimedia_Instructional/index.cfm

If you are interested in technology, try this newsletter. It's free.

4. Dave Paradi - Thinking Outside The Slide
(http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/newsletter.htm )
Each Dave Paradi newsletter contains a great Powerpoint Tip. He has written a book on the effective use of MS Powerpoint and offers online conferencing training sessions on specific Powerpoint skills. I have attended one of those and it was practical and helpful and worth every penny I paid. The training sessions are not free, although he will throw in a free ebook, and his free newletter is chockfull of practical hints. It is worth your time to read this!

Free subscription.

5. Gifted Child Education Newsletter (http://www.prufrock.com/)
Published by Prufrock Press, this newsletter has little articles, news items, and of course, special promotions from Prufrock on their new releases. While you are about it, look at their catalogue - special internet deals. They have a few interesting teacher resource books available for as little as $2.95. They also have 2 blogs: a Gifted Education blog, and a Gifted Child Info blog.

Free subscription.

6. The Annenberg Media Newsletters (http://www.learner.org/mailman/listinfo/updates
This organization has an excellent educational resource website (http://www.learner.org) with videos and a TV broadcasting schedule of educational programs. You can choose from a total of 37 discussion lists. Examples include: TEACHING GEOGRAPHY, ARTS IN EVERY CLASSROOM, LEARNING SCIENCE THROUGH INQUIRY, and PRIMARY SOURCES.

Free subscription.

If you can contribute more helpful newsletter ideas for those interested in education and specifically gifted education, let us know.

Hello (in other words, Introduction)

Today, I am starting on a new adventure - my own blog. I hope you will join this journey and enjoy the ride. Who knows where it will go and where we will end. It will be interesting.

I am doing this primarily to create a space where I can share ideas, resources, and questions about the world of gifted education. I trust this will be a helpful space. Remember though, this is a personal view of my world. This blog is designed for the exchange of ideas. Some of these ideas may be grounded in theory and research. Others may very well be wild and woolly.

I invite you to respond. Agree with me if you can. Set me straight if you think you need to.

Welcome!