Announcements for Teachers!

New York Statewide Summer Reading Program. Be Creative:Explore New York.

Click here to visit the new 2009 New York Statewide Summer Reading Program website!

This year, in recognition of the 400th anniversary of the voyages of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, as well as the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s invention of the steam ship, the New York State Library has incorporated New York State history-related activities and reading material into the 2009 Statewide Summer Reading Program.
“Be Creative: Explore New York” has been added as the slogan to the 2009 Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) slogans* of “Be Creative @ your library” and “Express Yourself @ your library.”

Teaching the Hudson Valley: Explore a Place.  Discover Your World. 

Just in time for the Quad, THV’s new online lesson plan library opens a treasure trove of plans and activities developed by teachers from throughout the region.  Launched with more than 120 lessons and activities, all of the plans draw inspiration from a significant public destination – museums, historic sites, parks, waterways, and more – to teach standard academic subjects in grades K-12.  Access to the regional clearinghouse -- www.TeachingtheHudsonValley.org  -- is free to teachers, librarians, curators, environmental educators, and others.  Just register to find and share plans, learn about destinations near your home or school, and be part of a regional educational community.   Highlights of the new site include:

-FREE LESSON PLAN LIBRARY  – Full text and supplementary materials for lesson plans and activities featuring Hudson Valley destinations.

-SHARING  – Members can post new lesson and activities plus variations of plans already on the site.

-ADVANCED SEARCH/BROWSE  –  Plans searchable by keyword, grade, subject, NYS learning standard, specific location, or county.

-INTERACTIVE MAP  – Find destinations with and without lesson plans.

-MEMBER BENEFITS  – Membership is free and allows one to save plans to an account, export to Word or PDF, print, and e-mail plans.

-COMMUNITY FEATURES  – Rate and comment on lesson plans and activities.

-GRANTS  – Find out how and when to apply for a THV grant.

Free memberships are available at  www.TeachingtheHudsonValley.org.

Newspaper in Education Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial (The 400th) Features

The New York Newspapers Foundation’s Newspaper in Education Program is developing a 10-part series highlighting specific theme for the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial in partnership with the New York State Archives Partnership Trust. Beginning January 1, 2009, New York newspapers will run these features in-print and/or online to help educate and engage readers to get involved with cultural activities associated with the Quadricentennial. These features will also be made available on the New York State Archives website as well as other Quadricentennial partners.

The ten themes include:

Celebrations: 1909 to today

Native Tribes of New York

Henry Hudson and the Hudson River

Samuel de Champlain and Lake Champlain

West Point and the Great Chain

Fort Ticonderoga and the Battle of Plattsburgh

Robert Fulton and the Steamboat

Western Expansion and the Erie Canal

The Gilded Age

Albany Leadership

A teacher's guide with student worksheets is also being developed to help teachers easily incorporate these materials in their classroom.

New York Newspapers Foundation

291 Hudson Avenue, Suite A

Albany, NY  12210-1828

Hudson River Estuary Program Lesson Plans

To mark the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage, the Hudson River Estuary Program has developed sets of lesson plans about the estuary that are standards-driven, place-based, and interdisciplinary. They present the Hudson as context in lessons that build the understandings and skills required by state standards and tests.  English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies standards are all addressed and often linked. The efforts have been focused on Grades 3-5 to date.  Please visit the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program's website at  http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/25386.html

2009-2012 Statewide Learning Technology Grant Program

The NYSED has posted a request for proposals for the Statewide Learning Technology Grant Program on its website at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/funding/200912learningtechgrant.html   The purpose of this grant program is to provide progressive integration of instructional technology in classrooms and library media centers, and to provide sustained professional development to increase the skills of teachers in the use of instructional technology, in order to help students attain higher levels of performance in the New York State Learning Standards.  Proposals must be postmarked by January 16, 2009.

Program abstracts from the currently funded 2006-2009 Learning Technology Grants are available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/GrantInfo.html

Hudson River Estuary Program Lesson Plans

To mark the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage, the Hudson River Estuary Program has developed sets of lesson plans about the estuary that are standards-driven, place-based, and interdisciplinary. They present the Hudson as context in lessons that build the understandings and skills required by state standards and tests.  English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies standards are all addressed and often linked. The efforts have been focused on Grades 3-5 to date.  Please visit the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program's website at  http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/25386.html

NYSED E-Blast

The NYSED Curriculum, Instruction & Instructional Technology (CI&IT) Team's October 24, 2008  E-Blast is now available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/EBlasts/eblast.html   It is also available on the  NYSED CI&IT homepage, http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/, by clicking on the bold text, "CI&IT E-Blast