Gov Docs: Tuskegee Airmen

I'm back! Did anybody miss me? If you did, I apologize for my absence but I'm back and fully intend to send great resources your way OFTEN. So here we go...

First up in 2012, Government Documents about the Tuskegee Airmen! I love government documents. Many people think they are boring and only for politicians or government workers. But, in reality, they can be quite interesting and readable. Many are produced solely for us - the citizens of the U.S. Yes, you kind of have to dig for these but that's what's so great about the resource I'm about to show you.

Paula L. Webb, the Reference & Electronic Resources Government Documents Librarian at the University of South Alabama, has done all the digging for us and produced a wonderful list of resources about the Tuskegee Airmen - and just in time for Black History Month. The list includes a timeline of African Americans in the military, bibliographies of books, documents and articles on the subject, factsheets, commentaries, and online exhibits. There was at least one broken link - Legends of Tuskegee Online Exhibit @ National Park Service did not work for me but I believe this link will take you to the correct site.

I recommend this for high school students and teachers at lower levels to cull out information for their students.

The Political Graveyard

Okay, I have to admit that this is not a resource that I would, at first glance, give any credence to. It's unattractive, not incredibly credible looking and has (horrors!) Google Ads. That said, fortunately I took the time to look at this site long enough to realize its value.

I found it while working on a digital project at work. I was trying to describe an item that had the names of (what I assumed were) politicians, their district in Washington State and political party. No date! Nothing! What to do, what to do. I needed an accurate description for my meta data. If I hadn't been feeling lazy, I could have gone down two floors and found a reference book to help me out. But I didn't. I Googled it - (not Bing!, GOOGLE!). This is how I stumbled upon The Political Graveyard. This lovely site helped me figure out that the item I was researching was a list of candidates in the 1910 election of U.S. Representatives from Washington State. Awesome. It even told me who won. Didn't NEED to know but it was interesting none-the-less (apparently the Republicans were popular in Washington in 1910).

So what else can this resource do for you besides find information about politicians, judges and diplomats? Well, you can also look up places and cemeteries. Want to know what politicians are buried in your local cemetery? This is the site to use!

No, this isn't a one-stop-shopping site for political information, but it is a great jumping off point. Check it out. I bet you'll spend at least a half an hour looking up politicians of the past in your area.

The National Archives at Philadelphia and Villanova University's Public History graduate program invite you to an exciting interactive presentation

Following in their Footsteps: Exploring the Paths of the Early Civil Rights Movement will be presented on Monday, May 16th, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Eastern Time.
Here is the announcement:

In this program, hosted by National Archives Education SpecialistAndrea Reidell, Dr. Judith Giesberg's public history graduate studentswill introduce us to some of the nineteenth-century's Rosa Parks andMartin Luther Kings, telling the compelling stories of women and men ofcolor who demanded access to public spaces in the post Civil War era.
The students, who conducted groundbreaking research based onnineteenth-century civil rights court cases at National Archivesfacilities throughout the country, will also provide several suggestionsfor turning these fascinating stories into public history andeducational programs. We hope these remarks will begin a conversation that will link theNational Archives with other institutions and individuals interested inCivil War sesquicentennial programming ? and the important forgottenstories of civil rights after the Civil War. This presentation is being held at the National Constitution Center inPhiladelphia and will also be available nationally via webinar. To attend the event in person: Please RSVP to andrea.reidell@nara.gov Light refreshments will be served.
To attend the event online:- Go to http://constitutioncenter.acrobat.com/civilrights/ - Enter the room as a guest by typing in your name. There will bewindows for the presentation and for a live chat feature.- Please sign on 5 -10 minutes prior to the program start time.There are a limited number of spaces in the webinar room.- For the best online experience, please use a computer with awired connection. Wireless connections may cut in and out.- If you have any problems joining the webinar, please call267-312-9833. The program will be recorded and archived at the same website. To learn more about this program and see images from the presentation,visit the program roomhttp://constitutioncenter.acrobat.com/civilrights/ and enter as a guest.

Or visit the National Archives at Philadelphia Facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/NARAatPhiladelphia

NOVA Online: Teachers

Need a good resource for science, math and history? Wander over to NOVA Online: Teachers. This a free resource tied to standards and includes downloadable video, audio, flash interactives, and teacher guides. You can browse by subject or check out the 'Watch, Interact, Explore' section.

Project Vote Smart

It is, once again, voting season. Sign wavers are on street corners, smiling and trying to entice your vote. Everyone's candidate is the best candidate, apparently. So how can voters make an informed decision? There are quite a few resources that do their best to keep voters informed but, today, I will highlight only one - Project Vote Smart. This site contains information for voters on political leaders, their positions on issues, and campaign finance. It also has a special section for teachers, with lesson plans for elementary, middle and high school. The lessons use the Project Vote Smart website to help students explore the politicians of their state and what they stand for. This is a great site, not only to teach students about voting and their representatives, but for adults who want to get an unbiased comparison of the candidates.

A wonderful place to...

Back in January, I recommended the website for The Exploratorium and talked about it in a broad sense. Today, I want to focus in on the site's Explore page. There's so much on this page, I don't know where to begin...
Let's start with the hands-on activities. Students can learn about seasons and shadows using a basketball and paperclips, make a noisemaker called a sound sandwich , build a solar system , make a telescope ... and that's just a few examples.
Interactive activities include viewing the night sky , the secret life of flowers , and an investigation of what makes animals (and other things) cute.
All of the above come from a multitude of pages and websites they have created. At this writing, there are 523 Things to Make and Do and 146 websites. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you could probably use this site with the entire year of your science curriculum. If you haven't explored this site yet, please make time to do so. You won't regret it!

Constitution Day

First, let me apologize for not posting all summer. Did you even miss me or were you out having too much fun? I didn't mean to take a vacation from posting... it just happened. But I'm back at it and hope to be more consistent with my postings this school year.

Constitution Day occurs shortly after the beginning of the school year so it probably gets overlooked amidst the chaos. But, for those of you who are interested, there is a free live Webcast (brought to you by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt & HISTORY™ ) on Friday, September 17, 2010. According to the information I have received, it will be a 45-minute program featuring "leaders from government, news, and entertainment". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt & HISTORY™ will also provide primary source documents, activities, and other curriculum resources online to help you prepare for and follow up the Webcast. To see further information and/or register, please click here.

Hope you had a great summer!