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Star Wars Can Teach History?

x wingIt 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.

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Enlightenment: Remember Why You Started...

  1. I am fortunate enough to work in an environment that encourages me to link academic problems to life-struggling questions. By partnering with experts in an area~ we are solving the realistic issues that academic exercises yield. This is more than a "flipped classroom" I can assure you!
  2. My students are creating a literary magazine from conceptual ideals to realistic challenges. Making our work with life links is exciting indeed! Researching~ reading~ selecting options~ and making...

Good Grief, Charlie Brown- Pumpkin...

A pumpkin grown by Tim and Susan Mathison,Napa, California, has smashed the record for its mammoth size. The giant pumpkin weighed in at 2032 pounds! Grown in 105 days, the pumpkin surpassed the 2012 record pumpkin of 20089 pounds. Photograph from http://napavalleyregister.com

Pretend you are a pumpkin sitting on a front porch on...

A Rubric for Research

Teaching elementary students, as young as first grade, to research is no easy task. It requires enormous patience, persistence, and a belief in your students.

Training children to be young researchers provides them with all kinds of skills, which will help them succeed in college and the workplace.
Research skills have found their own place in the national Common Core English Language Arts standards, which requires students to conduct short and sustained research projects....

Enlightenment: Gamification Essentials...

  1. Autumn is a time for the bright colors and crispness of a season that I always associate with learning. Each day awakens us to possibilities, change, and bright new beginnings.
  2. In that spirit, my students and I are seeking to apply the principles of a new way of learning to this season's academic challenges: gaming! We are enlightening our work in Washington DC with our project called, "Monuments, Memorials and Museums". The project won us an Unsung Heroes Award from ING. The $...

Educator Preparation and the Common...

One of the greatest challenges that the education community faces in implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative is ensuring that the education workforce is ready to help students succeed under these new, higher standards.

Facing this challenge requires providing the current workforce with high-quality professional learning opportunities, something we talk about a great deal at the national level. But it also...

Study: Twitter Talk Reveals Suicide Risk

Researchers from Brigham Young University have found that people who mention suicide in their Twitter posts are likely to attempt the act in real life.

What seems like an obvious conclusion is being interpreted as evidence that teens use the social media platform for more than just posturing. Rather, in many cases, teens take...

Schoolwide Programs--Lessons Learned...

" Go big or go home. Because it's true. What do you have to lose?"
Actress Eliza Dushku

This school year, I implemented a school wide enrichment cluster program---and boy, did I learn a lot.

Anytime, you roll a program out to the entire school population, you better be ready for some things to go wrong. In fact, after I expanded this enrichment program, the problems seemed to grow exponentially.

The good news is that the benefits to students and the...

Technology: Parents-Inspect What You...

  1. Parenting is not easy in the age of instant access. Parents need help and teens need boundaries and supervision. Parents however cannot continue making excuses for their own limitations; the risks are too high for absentee parenting!
  2. An article by Bill Daley in the Tribune Newspapers makes this warning all to clear: "Sexting and Teens-increasing occurrence of risky behavior". The consequences for this...

Technology: Twitter Extension-...

  1. Technology is something we clearly want our students to know how to use extensively and responsibly. However~ I am discovering lately that more and more young students are unable to use social media wisely. In a recent conversation in my Constitutional Law class~ I realized that the most media savvy generation in the world may need teacher guidance on the use of Twitter. More than a social media for the exchange for personal opinions and silly gossip~ we as their teachers need to use...

Student in Trouble Over 'Madden...

Madden 12A teenage broadcaster is in trouble with his school after using a phrase borrowed from a popular video game while calling a middle-school football game. 

The Sandusky (Ohio) Register reports that the unnamed boy was serving as the play-by-play talent during the broadcast...

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