Newseum: Headlines Around the World

I know, I know...the newspaper is dead.

But Newseum is a useful tool to provide a visual look at what the media thinks is "front page worthy" across the United States and Internationally.  Just hover over the city or change the country to see a visual of the front page.

Classroom applications:

• Discuss the similarities/differences of headlines nationally or internationally - what causes these similarities and differences?
• Discuss what makes an event "headline" worthy? Who decides that? Create a list of criteria and analyze the choice of various front pages.
• Track key events regionally and internationally (ex. elections) and analyze the perspectives/language shown in the headlines

PBL Journey continues...

During the Buck Institute training for Project Based Learning (PBL), we discussed the four "21st Century Skills" that the BIE  model stresses:
1. Critical Thinking
2. Communication
3. Collaboration
4. Innovation

One very useful site I found to stress the "innovation" aspect is Challenge.gov,  This site provides information and links to government challenges to have the public problem solve around current issues.  Some of my favorites from the site:

• Raising Teen Substance Abuse through Music
• How do I become President? Challenge
• We Can! Video Contest

Citizenship Information

Via Larry Ferlazzo's blog today.....

A "Citizenship Resource Center" sponsored by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services provides student friendly resources on the naturalization process, a listing of classes, study resources and specifics on the various components of the citizenship test.

While designed for those students seeking US Citizenship, I always found it an interesting test of "natural born" citizen knowledge of our country and frequently included these questions on tests for my students.  Like this one:

What is the “rule of law”?

PBL Journey

Today was Day 1 of a Project Based Learning training for me and some colleagues using the Buck Institute Model.  In order to understand the process and help guide teachers through it - we have been working on developing our own PBL unit.

Note I said "unit." One of the big a-ha moments for me today was that PBL is not really anything new - we have all done projects.  Instead, it is reframing our thinking.  Instead of the project being the "dessert" at the end of a unit - the project is the unit.  And, in the process, the design mirrors much of what many of us already do: formative assessments, use of essential questions, teaching concepts - not just content, and authentic learning experiences.

We worked today on developing some "driving questions."  These were actually  much easier for me than I thought they might be  - perhaps in part because developing "big ideas" and using the UbD model has become second nature for me.  Anyway - nothing is perfect so here are the questions I developed and feedback is welcome!

•   What does art tell us about the values/beliefs of culture?
•   In what ways has science and technology helped humankind meet it's basic needs?
•   To what extent is the Industrial Revolution still occurring?