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Student Blogs to Effect School Change

saladTired of being forced to eat what she felt were nutritionally sub-par meals at school, a 9-year-old student took to her blog in an effort to draw attention to the issue. It didn’t take long for that attention to go viral as Martha Payne's blog, Never Seconds, was eyed by several media outlets in her native Scotland. The attention grew to the point of a nationally-televised interview with the BBC. She explained how she would take pictures of the meals presented to her with a digital camera and write up a summary of the food including a Food-o-meter rating of how much she likes it, a mouthful count, a health rating and a number for how many pieces of hair were in the food.

She started in April and by May 15, school and town officials were seen leading journalists on tours of the school’s dining area. It was then that Payne blogged that there was a new system for ordering food, and that "cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrot and cucumber shreddings," began appearing in the meals.

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Supreme Court Returns to Session the...

 

Teachers, you may find this of interest to introduce students to the Supreme Court, the highest court in our country. Check out this free resource on the newest Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson: 
 

Oyez, Oyez...The Supreme Court begins its new session the first Monday of October. Used by the...

Learn about the Vikings: Leif Eriksson...

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Sharing Geography Activities to Foster...

BACK to School. Sharing some geography activities I used with my students to foster geographic Awareness. Perhaps you will find some of interest as you start the school year.

1. A fun way to show our Globally Interdependent World: Assign a partner and have the students check the labels on their tops to see where they are made. Do the same for their shoes. Have the students do a safari search with their partner looking for where things in the room were made...

Back to School Activity: Everything has...

Perhaps, teachers may find this activity of interest:
A Back to School Activity.

Why Study History:
Show students that everything has a history, even them!

I started the activity by bringing in my childhood toy. It is rather sad looking after all these years. I shared memories about the stuffed animal, a dog, and how I remember...

In the News: Bayeux Tapestry to be...

 

The Bayeux Tapestry, actually an embroidery, was  made more than 900 years ago, depicts the famous 1066 Battle of Hastings. For the first time, in the fall of 2026, the tapestry will be on display at the British Museum in London, England, due to an agreement between the countries of France and Great Britain. The French are loaning the tapestry as a gift to honor the upcoming 1000 birthday of William the...

Using the News in the Classroom: VERY...

 

SHOES!
Gail Skroback Hennessey

The oldest shoes ever found are thought to be about 8000 years old.

IN THE NEWS:(2025)

A soldier’s shoe being discovered may not seem newsworthy until you learn it belonged to a Roman soldier who wore it more than 2000 years ago! Found in Northumberland,...

Tour de France 2025

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Flag Day 2025

 

                             
FLAG DAY 2025 is June 14th
 
If you check out the 195 world flags, there is a color not found except on TWO world country flags. Did you guess the color purple?  The reason dates back to ancient history when the color purple was very rare and very expensive. The people known as the Phoenicians (present day Lebanon) were credited with making the first purple dye.  The dye, called...

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