Local History and OPB

I just finished a mock mini-unit on local history (surrounding Baker City) for my methods class. Oh the things you don't know until you research them! Baker has some pretty interesting history, and I was grateful to have an excuse/prompt to peruse it. Leo Adler is a very prominent figure in Baker's history, and there is an accompanying OPB special on him. OPB/PBS is a very useful website in the area of education if you haven't discovered it. I've used it many times to enhance my lessons, as they have lesson plans, videos to watch, and links to photos of historical happenings. When I looked up the special on Leo Adler, they even had links to Baker's local library with historical photos of the city! Thousands of them! I hope I get to teach a little local history one of these days, because it's too fascinating for kids to miss out on! Although, I might not have cared when I was their age...

All Things Literacy...

If you're looking for anything (and/or everything) to do with literacy, a great website is www.readwritethink.org It has so many lesson plans that could be relevant across a variety of disciplines. There is even a lesson plan that could be useful in a computers class to educate students as to what is and isn't reliable information on the "world wide web." I browsed through it today, and I will surely return!