It is one of the most beloved film franchises of all time, and now Star Wars has been examined and presented as a means to teach world history. A new book entitled Star Wars and History claims that the epic space story parallels many earthly historical events. Star Wars creator George Lucas has denied any intentional links to actual events, but admits that due to the films' overall narrative of good vs. evil and war and rebellion, it would be impossible to avoid any similarities.
Nonetheless, authors Nancy Reagin and Janice Liedl have created an interesting way to present world history to students via a pop-culture phenomenon that is almost universally loved. CNet sat down with Liedl for an interesting look behind the making of the book. Read the interview here.
Happy 200th Birthday to The Star Spangled Banner! September 14, 2014, is the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key's writing of the poem which became our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.
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Here is a possible bell-ringing activity:
Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." What do you think about his quote? Is it better to have a creative mind that thinks about possibilities or a mind full of information that can make possibilities into reality?
Have a GREAT SCHOOL YEAR!
Gail
Check out my resources at EdWorld Exchange:...
This past summer, I had the opportunity to attend Confratute, a week-long gifted education training at the University of Connecticut. On the final day of the conference, a panel of experts formed to answer questions on how to implement all the great ideas that participants learned and how to change the culture of a school regarding enrichment and talent development.
I thought it would be helpful if I used this week’s blog to summarize what each expert said, thus sharing their...
Selfies--everyone seems to be taking them these days…even monkeys. And, a big legal fight is going on over just WHO owns a particular monkey selfie.
A wildlife photographer taking pictures of black macaques on the island of Indonesia had his camera swiped by one of the monkeys he was photographing.The monkey took lots and lots of pictures, with its selfie being remarkably clear. It went viral over the Internet and one site, Wikipedia, posted the photograph without the photographer’s...
I had an experience this past school year that really got me thinking about whether the curriculum I was using was adequate to teach my gifted students to grow into creative, productive and responsible adults. As part of a research project, one of my students decided to start a teacher recognition program at the school, which would involve students each month voting on their favorite teacher and providing that teacher with a goodie bag and certificate. The project sounded innocent enough,...
Students have always asked me..."Why do we have to learn this stuff about ancient Greeks or the Middle Ages?" My answer: Much of what we have today was because of things developed by people who lived long ago.
I used to start the year by taking out of the attic a VERY sad-looking stuffed dog which I had as a girl and bringing it to class. Its button nose had been replaced several times over the years and it got run over when I dropped it in the street, so its stuffing was a bit...
Need a few minutes to collect homework, do attendance, etc.? Bell ringers are always a great use of time, especially when they involve topics in the news. Students at MIT have created a 3D printer that produces ice cream. Great opportunity to share facts about ice cream and if time, do some of the extension activities. Hope you find the information of value. It is also posted at my website for teachers: ...
I’d like you to try the following exercise. Write these four words on a piece of paper: Write Draw Perform Build
Now, rank them in order of most favorite. For instance, if you love to write, then rank “write” as number one, or if you’re like me and can just about change a light bulb, rank “build” as four. Make sure to rank all four, then circle your number-one choice. What you have done is essentially identified your preferred style of working and learning—...
Ideas are all around us waiting for us to notice them. I never thought when I took a photograph of a 1690 building in Lincoln's Inn Field, London, last month that it would spark me to want to learn more about the unusual shop. The shop with the unique shop sign was a jewelry store, A. Woodhouse & Son. It had a reputation in the 18th for its silver mousetraps! This caused me to stay up one night late into the wee hours because a woman named Mrs. Muriel Paddington was waiting for me to...
The school year is around the corner. I have found that students enjoy doing webquests. Perhaps you will find these of value. Grades 4 and up.
1. http://gailhennessey.com/index.shtml?nationallandmarks1.html
U.S. LANDMARKS (Webquest)
2. http://gailhennessey.com/index.shtml?worldlandmarks1.html WORLD LANDMARKS (Webquest)...