|
AAM Electronic Newsletter
Published by An Adventure of the American Mind at Mars Hill College
Vol. 8 Issue 27 - April 13, 2007
April is National Poetry Month
Here are a few more features to celebrate poetry in your classroom.
Favorite Poem Project
In 1997, the US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky asked people to send in their favorite poems. During that one-year open call for submissions, 18,000 Americans wrote to the project volunteering to share their favorite poems -- Americans from ages 5 to 97, from every state, and of diverse occupations, education, and backgrounds.
From those thousands of letters and e-mails, the Library of Congress presents a number of people reading the poems they have chosen. A South Boston art student talks about how a particular poem ("We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks) woke him from a culture of drugs and suicide that was endemic in his community. President Bill Clinton reads "Concord Hymn" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Watch these moving videos and read the poems. There are special resources for teachers at http://www.favoritepoem.org/index.html.
Poetry 180
"Past cherry colas, hot-dogs, Dreamsicles, we came to the counter where bees staggered into root beer cups and drowned."
-- From "The Summer I Was Sixteen" by Geraldine Connoly
For literature buffs, teachers and students, the Library of Congress has a website featuring a daily poem called "Poetry 180".
It is assembled by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins, who says, "'Poetry can and should be an important part of our daily lives. Poems can inspire and make us think about what it means to be a member of the human race. By just spending a few minutes reading a poem each day, new worlds can be revealed." The site contains works by various artists for each of the 180 days of the school year.
Click on the link below and enter a number in the top right corner of the page to read a poem or explore the links at the bottom of the page.
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/
The LOC also has a poetry center with news, webcasts, and archives, and more at http://www.loc.gov/poetry/.
A Garden of Words
To help celebrate April as National Poetry month, the Library of Congress has updated its poetry page at http://www.loc.gov/poetry/.
Catch a webcast on Langston Hughes' work or check out Walt Whitman's' notebooks (and cardboard butterfly).
You'll also find a link to teacher resources and lesson plans on poetry. Tour the online exhibition of Anne Bradstreet (the first woman poet to be published in America), read some Dakota cowboy poetry, or listen to Native American women discussing Sister Nations, a book celebrating Native American women's prose, poetry, and fiction.
Last but not least, at the link below you'll find access to more items such as Official State Poems, Civil War Poetry, State Poets Laureate, and Presidents as Poets.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/lcpoetry/
Rethinking Jamestown
From Colonial Williamsburg, here is an interesting series on Jamestown, Virginia.
Though recognized as the first permanent English settlement in North America, Jamestown has been largely ignored in colonial lore in favor of Massachusetts' Plymouth Colony.
But today the banks of the James River are yielding secrets hidden for nearly 400 years that seem to tell a different story. Archaeologists working at the settlement site have turned up what they consider dramatic evidence that the colonists were not ill-prepared dandies and laggards, and that the disaster-plagued Virginia Colony, perhaps more than Plymouth, was the seedbed of the American nation -- a bold experiment
in democracy, perseverance and enterprise.
http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2005/january/jamestown.php
Note: You may need to copy and paste these links to get the whole link in your browser.
Primary Source of the Month: The Town of Pomeiooc
Since 1994, archaeological excavations at the site of the 1607 James Fort have revealed over one million artifacts that are helping archaeologists reconstruct what daily life was like for the English colonists. Reconstructing the lives of the Native Americans who lived in the region when the English colonists arrived has been particularly difficult. Powhatan Indian houses, tools, and many other objects were made from organic materials which decompose rapidly, significantly reducing the quantity of artifacts available for study. As a result, historians must rely on other primary sources -- most of which have a heavy European bias -- to understand what daily life was like for the Powhatan Indians.
http://www.history.org/History/teaching/enewsletter/volume5/april07/primsource.cfm
Teaching Strategy: Daily Life in Early Jamestown -- What is the Evidence?
Archaeologists use all available information to learn about life in the past. Archaeological artifacts tell an important part of the story, but careful research of the written records is also required. Only after the artifacts and the research are examined together -- and careful, thoughtful interpretation is applied -- are archaeologists able to accurately describe life in the past. In this lesson, students examine written sources and artifact evidence to determine what they reveal about the lives of the Jamestown colonists and the Powhatan Indians.
http://www.history.org/History/teaching/enewsletter/volume5/april07/teachstrategy.cfm
Earth Day Follow-Up
We gave you a few Earth Day resources a couple of weeks ago (AAM eNewsletter 8.25, March 30, 2007), and almost every website devoted to teaching and learning has Earth Day resources. Search your favorite or try some of these.
From the Wilderness Society's Teachers Lounge, here is a collection of lesson plans and activities for grades 4 through 6.
http://earthday.wilderness.org/teachers/earthday_lessons.htm
And from National Geographic, take a look at this lesson plan for third through fifth graders:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/18/g35/earthday.html
And don't forget the original site at http://www.earthday.net/.
Global Climate Change
From the Exploratorium, this site is an introduction to the world of scientific research on climate change. Learn about physical processes underlying the earth's climate, data on how the climate is changing and the role of human activity, and questions and uncertainties that researchers continue to explore. The site is organized in four parts: the atmosphere, hydrosphere (oceans and water), cryosphere (snow and ice), and biosphere (living organisms).
http://www.exploratorium.edu/climate/index.html
Learning About Fossil Fuels
This site, from the US Department of Energy, features lessons on coal, oil, and natural gas. Learn how coal is formed and used, and about technologies for cleaning up coal. Find out how oil is squeezed out of the earth and how natural gas is extracted from the ground and sea.
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/education/energylessons/index.html
Milestones in the History of Energy and Its Uses
Also from the US Department of Energy, this site features a timeline of energy developments and uses since the 1700s. Learn about biomass, coal, electricity, geothermal, natural gas, nuclear power, oil, solar power, wind turbines, and transportation. See biographies of individuals who contributed to energy and science. Read a history of energy in the U.S. from 1635-2000.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/history/timelines/index.html
How long does it take for landfill waste to disappear?
This is a little bit scary, but a great discussion starter.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/classactivities/LandfillPrimaryJuly2003.pdf
Spread the Word!
If the teachers in your school or AAM program are not receiving this newsletter, please send me their names and e-mail addresses. Also, feel free to share this newsletter with a colleague. And we encourage new readers to get their own subscription.
More input + greater diversity = better newsletter. Be part of the equation! Thanks to everyone who has sent submissions to me. Please continue to send your favorite resources and successes to your either of your editors, Liz Lang at elang@mhc.edu, or AnneMarie Walter at awalter@mhc.edu. I will feature them in coming newsletters and on the AAM program Web site.
Don't forget to contribute your favorite links to the Useful Links section!
Contact aam-teachers@aweber.com to be added to the mailing list.
AnneMarie Walter
AAM Associate Director
Mars Hill College
is made available through a grant funded by the U.S. Congress.
AAM is administered through
the .
For site-related problems, e-mail aam@ercwc.org..
|
