A Week of Very Special Days October 6, 2008

Okay, I’m saying that very tongue in cheek — some of the upcoming “holidays” are really pretty funny — but since this is the week the includes Yom Kippur and leads up to the Columbus Day weekend — it seemed reasonable to celebrate away.

Check out these fabulous reasons to celebrate!! (courtesy of the Annenberg Foundation)

National Poetry Day (October 9)

•  Literary Visions <http://www.learner.org/resources/series41.html> offers mini-lectures, dramatizations, and poet interviews to illustrate 
  the most important elements and devices of poetry. See Programs 11 
  through 17 to explore the role of imagery, tropes, symbolism, theme, 
  character, and much more.

• Consider different approaches to teaching poetry with Write in the 
  Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers, Workshop 3, "Teaching 
  Poetry" 
  <http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/middlewriting/prog3.html>.

• Teaching Reading K-2: A Library of Classroom Practices 
  <http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/readingk2/> presents ways of 
  working poetry into language arts lessons at the early elementary level.

• In Engaging With Literature: A Video Library, Grades 3-5, watch a 
  fourth grade poetry lesson based on poems from "Baseball, Snakes, and 
  Summer Squash" by Donald H. Graves and "Hey You! C'Mere: A Poetry Slam" 
  by Elizabeth Swados. See Program 3, "Starting Out" 
  <http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/engagingliterature/starting/>.

  World Mental Health Day (October 10)

• The World of Abnormal Psychology

  <http://www.learner.org/resources/series60.html> offers programs on the 
  most common mood and cognitive disorders, organic disorders, and 
  conditions affecting children -- as well as a program on prevention.

• The Brain: Teaching Modules

  <http://www.learner.org/resources/series142.html> provides mini-lessons 
  on brain anatomy and function.

• The clips of The Mind: Teaching Modules

  <http://www.learner.org/resources/series150.html> looks at brain 
  mechanisms, mind/body interactions, developmental topics, effects of 
  drugs and neurotransmitters, and more.

  Universal Music Day (October 11)

   
  Lots to see and do here

• On this second annual Universal Music Day, explore musical genres 
  from around the globe and the various musical elements with Exploring 
  the World of Music <http://www.learner.org/resources/series105.html

• Get the inside story on how innovative artists like Bill Viola and 
  the group Goat Island include music in their unique works, in A World of 
  Art: Works in Progress <http://www.learner.org/resources/series64.html>

• See how two teachers approach music at the elementary level in The 
  Arts in Every Classroom: A Video Library, K-5 
  <http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/artsineveryclassroom/video4.html>. 
  Explore the left-hand links for information, materials, and Video on Demand.

• Connecting With the Arts: A Teaching Practices Library, 6-8 
  <http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/connectarts68/> shows the role 
  of music in arts integration at the middle school level.

  Columbus Day (October 13)

   Last but not least!!

• The year 1492 is viewed as the start of globalization in "Mapping 
  Initial Encounters" 
  <http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/amerhistory/units/2/>, the 
  second unit of "America's History in the Making." The program looks at 
  how Africans, Native People, and Europeans began to interact in new ways.

• "New World Encounters" 
  <http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog01/>, the first program 
  of A Biography of America, offers an historian's account of the impact 
  of Christopher Columbus.