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Thematic Teaching
in the news: related resources
Activity Ideas | Related Resources
Find Below: PBS Web Sites, Other Recommended Links, Recommended Books
pbs online
NewsHour Extra
Find extensive coverage for students of the week's top stories.
Washington Week
Examine current events through the eyes of the nation's top journalists.
NOW
Analysis and perspective on current events, issues and ideas.
Frontline
Find video and accompanying lesson plans for public affairs documentaries that don't shy away from complex stories or controversial issues.
Wide Angle
Examine the news taking place around the world.
recommended web sites
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm
With avian flu in the news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site has a frequently updated page about bird flu risks and infections among humans. They provide key facts, current situation, answers to questions, prevention from spread to humans, and information for specific audiences. Information is available in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese.
Subject: Science & Technology
More Recommended Science & Technology Links
Dangerous Decibels
http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/virtualexhibit.cfm
How loud is too loud? This online exhibit from the Oregon Museum of
Science and Industry hosts games, activities, and demonstrations to show
what some sources of dangerous sounds are, the effects on your body, how
to protect yourself from them. An interesting aspect to this site is that
there is audio for people with and without hearing loss. Games to play are
guessing which sound goes with a specific photo and how to protect your
hearing in different situations with loud sounds. Flash is required. There
is a teacher's guide for elementary and middle school students.
Subject: Science & Technology
More Recommended Science & Technology Links
Science Buzz
http://ltc.smm.org/buzz/
Dig deeper into science headlines. The Science Museum of Minnesota hosts a
news and blog about science discoveries and what they may mean to you.
They would like us all to be better consumers of science information, and
are supported by the National Science Foundation. Recent features have
been avian flu, hurricane science, and global climate change. Permanent
features are the Scientist on the Spot, where scientists in a wide range
of fields talk about their work and answer some questions from readers.
Subject: Science & Technology
More Recommended Science & Technology Links
Nanotechnology: Small Science, Big Deal
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/nano/
How can nanotechnology help cure disease? Help your golf game? Design a
better running shoe? Visit this exhibit to learn about advances in tiny
structures and then you have to take time to help Duckboy in Nanoland. Duckboy is at an amusement
park that is at first normal sized, then becomes nano-sized. For example,
at the "Stuck with the Duck" ride, you help him navigate through water
chutes to get to the end of the ride, but then in the nano-sized water,
the molecules are so huge that it is like swimming through treacle (very
thick liquid) and you have to adapt to the conditions. Other "rides"
demonstrate other properties of the nano-world.
Subject: Science & Technology
More Recommended Science & Technology Links
Petroleum Data, Reports, Analysis, Surveys
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/info_glance/petroleum.html
The Energy Information Administration provides energy statistics from the
U.S. government. They have summaries of the weekly supply estimates,
prices, crude oil reserves and production, and refining and processing
outputs. There are charts for weekly retail prices of diesel fuel and
gasoline, indicating the increase from last year to this year. Additional
information includes a petroleum primer on gasoline prices, consumer
information on home heating fuel, and sort term and annual energy outlook.
Subject: Science & Technology
More Recommended Science & Technology Links
International Coalition of Historic Sites of Conscience
http://www.sitesofconscience.org/eng/
Museums or historic sites participating in this project include the
Japanese American Museum, District Six Museum (Cape Town, South Africa),
Gulag Museum (Russia), and the Workhouse Museum (England). Each one is
related to one or more contemporary human rights issues such as children
as victims of war, genocide, human trafficking and slavery, sweatshops,
totalitarianism, and state terrorism. Each featured museum has a brief
overview, how the people represented by the museum are remembered, and
resources about where a similar human rights issue is occurring today. The
site is also written in Spanish, French, Russian, and German.
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
recommended books
What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty
by John Brockman
Published March 2006
Grades: 6-8; 9-12
Subjects: Science & Technology
Science is about knowing, right? Often the process of science starts with an insight. In this collection, 109 scientific thinkers write about ideas they believe to be true but cannot prove, at least not yet; for example:
Richard Dawkins on design and evolution, Paul C.W. Davies on extraterrestrial life, and Janna Levin on external reality.
More Recommended Science & Technology Books
New Approaches on Energy and the Environment: Policy Advice for the President
By Richard D. Morgenstern and Paul Portney
Published Novemeber 2004
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: Science & Technology
If you had the President's ear, what policy recommendation would you make?
This collection of twenty-five earfuls takes on the big issues: energy and climate; environment, health, and safety; and natural resources. A fourth section examines the use of information and statistics in decision making.
More Recommended Science & Technology Books
Embedded: The Media at War in Iraq
By Bill Katovsky and Timothy Carlson
Published March 2003
Grades: 6-8; 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies
Embedded journalists accompanied U.S. and British troops during the Iraq War. This book collects more than 60 accounts of the war related by men and women shortly after returning home. Their recollections are personal and frank descriptions of reporting under fire. An appendix includes the Department of Defense Embedment Manual.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
Bad Stuff in the News: A Guide To Handling The Headlines
By Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman
Published February 2002
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: Social Studies
One unfortunate outcome of mass communication is the overwhelming mass of bad news encountered everyday. The authors examine terrorism, child violence, hunger, accidents, domestic violence, hate crime, pollution, drug abuse, disease, and more. Each chapter gives kids stuff to understand and stuff they can actually fix. Learning how to deal with bad news, argue the authors, is healthier than hiding from it.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
By Lester R. Brown
Published January 2006
Grades: 6-8; 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies
If China's economy continues to grow at its current rate, its per capita income will reach the U.S. level in 2031. In that eventuality, China would consume 99 million barrels of oil a day. The current world production is 84 million barrels a day. Earth cannot sustain this kind of growth. In this updated edition of Plan B, Brown examines the problem, presents the response, and offers a plan for structuring a new economy.
More Recommended Social Studies Books