in the front seat

You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving  is an interactive exploration of the facts and myths associated with the story of the First Thanksgiving. You can explore the facts and myths through the eyes of a Native American or an English Colonist. Through the eyes of each character you will discover the culture of giving thanks in the Native American and English cultures.  My favorite part is the "path to 1621".  In that part you can see the different  perspectives  about the same issue.   Students are encouraged to go through each step.  At the end "share what you've discover".  

These "50" words were originally posted on " Ave Maria Press" Engaging Press blog for religious educators.  It is part of a lesson plan on describing God's plan for salvation. The Bible in 50 Words God made Adam bit Noah arked Abraham split Joseph ruled Jacob fooled Bush talked Moses balked Pharaoh plagued People walked Sea divided Tablets guided Promised landed Saul freaked David peeked Prophets warned Jesus born God walked Love talked Anger crucified Hope died Love rose Spirit flamed Word spread God remained

Check out this infographic summarizing a  recent study at Brown University on dating and politics.  Pay close attention to the initial premise - that two of the most important criteria for a perfectly matched couple are their agreement on politics and religion or church attendance .  As you will see, the study indicates that most adult couples refrain from discussing and sharing their political opinions as they try to "win" the affections of their potential mates.   Why is agreement on political and religious positions so important for a perfectly matched couple? Why might we conceal our political and religious opinions when looking for a marriage partner? Is is dishonest to willfully withhold our political and religious opinions if they are so important to us?  What are your thoughts? Why is agreement on political and religious positions so important...

Read & Write for Google Docs is one of my favorite Chrome applications.  Once installed, a user will have a tab that opens a useful list of features including a dictionary, visual dictionary, fact finder, my favorite a text to speech reader.  Check out the many useful features.  If you are using Chrome, visit the Chrome Web Store and install this free application today .

A few days ago I came across Daily Infographic , a website devoted to publishing infographics.  The first time I heard the term infographic, I dismissed it as just a new educational term, a trend that simply re-packaged an old idea.  Well to some degree this is true.  An infographic visually presents complex information.  It is quite similar to an informational poster, a picture essay, and a digital poster.  In fact, if combine each of these you will have an infographic.   This infographic is about choosing a good password.  Most of us have many online accounts and with each new online service we are forced to create a new account with and password.  After reading this many of us may wish to rethink our existing passwords   

Today a recruiter from St. Patrick's came to address the eighth grade class.  St. Patrick's is a relatively new Catholic High School.  Originally, St. Patrick's' opened as an  elementary school which closed in June, 2009.  It re-opened that September 2009 as St. Patrick Academy and is transitioning into a four year, coeducational high school.     St. Patrick's is a small academy with a capacity of 100 students that means there are only 25 students per grade.  The average class size is 19, makes the teacher-student ration 1;6.  The tuition is roughly around $4000.  They offer a resource library, new science lab, academic support, a tutoring program career awareness, special education, and a mentoring program. Open House will be Sunday, November 4,  from 2:00 until 4:00 pm

Google, for whatever reason has chosen to create an interesting site with some very high quality images of their data centers.  What I find very interesting is that the traditional Google color scheme of blue, red, yellow, and green is carried on throughout some of the buildings. For more information visit this link Data centers – Google Data centers : 'via Blog this'

Political advertisements are coming at us from every media.  We see ads on television, radio, mail, newspaper (that is if you still read a printed paper), email, and web ads.  Your list may be longer but this is the media that I frequent.  Well, if you want to get a little experience and deepen your understanding about political campaign advertisements check out PBS Newshour's "Make Your Own Campaign Ads"   Unfortunately,  this is not for everyone, to use it you do need a Facebook account to log in.  I know, shame on PBS for limiting it to Facebook users .  For this reason, I will not be using it with my students, but eighth grade students are encouraged to give it a try. 'via Blog this'