AMERICA: The Story of US!

Thanks to an alert from Eric Langhorst from the Speaking of History blog for the following:

The HISTORY Channel is providing a free DVD of its show, “AMERICA: The Story of US!” to schools whose principal fills out the form located here. The form is an online form. One DVD per school.

The HISTORY Channel provides the following summary of the show:

America The Story of Us is an epic 12-hour television event that tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented. With highly realistic CGI animation, dramatic recreations and thoughtful insights from some of America's most respected artists, business leaders, academics and intellectuals, it is the first television event in nearly 40 years to present a comprehensive telling of America's history. Elaborate, ambitious and cinematic, America The Story of Us will take you into the moments when Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress, from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental railroad--theinternet of its day--to triumphing over vertical space through the construction of steel structured buildings to putting a man on the moon. It is an intensive look at the people, places and things that have shaped our nation, and the tough and thrilling adventure that is America's 400-year history.

Also from the HISTORY CHANNEL site:

School principals, register for your school's free AMERICA The Story of US DVD!* America The Story of US — premiering on HISTORY™ April 25 at 9pm/8c — is a six week event that provides a fascinating look at the stories of the people, events, and innovations that forged our nation. It will provide you with an unprecedented opportunity to bring our nation’s;s history to life for your students. This 12-hour series will be supported by educational materials tied to curriculum standards and is copyright cleared for Fair Use in the classroom by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities.

* HISTORY is offering America The Story of US on DVD to every school in the United States. School must be an accredited public, private or home school, for grades K-12 and college. In order to receive your school's DVD, your school principal (grades K-12) or Dean of Students (college) should fill out the request form below. HISTORY strictly limits one request per school. DVD requests must be made prior to July 1, 2010. DVD's will be mailed around August 2010 and free shipping is included in this offer.

I would encourage you to share this information (and link) with your principal and get be eligible to receive the free DVD this fall.
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Journey of the Jewel of Muscat

Thanks to the heads up from the Medieval News blog, I got all excited about a historic cruise that is taking place now – and is accessible on the Internet!

The Jewel of Muscat is a replica of a 9th century Arab trading vessel. The crew is sailing from Port Sultan Qaboos into the Oman Sea, down through the Arabian Sea, along the western coast of India, around Sri Lanka, across the Bay of Bengal, and through the Straits of Malacca to Singapore. It is currently off of the coast of India.

The Jewel of Muscat website is FASCINATING!!!!! It contains a log of the journey, pictures, maps, the story of the ship, a 3D image of the ship, and much more. I’d encourage our teachers to check out the Jewel of Muscat website, and follow the journey with their students.

A sample of the information shared on the site: today’s journal entry….

13th March 2010
The winds have picked up but are now blowing in the wrong direction forcing Jewel down to a crawl as she approaches Cochin.

The ship design is based on a number of resources, including the Belitung Wreck – which was discovered in 1998.

Using this website in the classroom on a regular basis could lead to increased knowledge of geography, history, economics, and the adventurist human spirit.


YouTube has an interesting summary here.

Sort of reminds me of the voyages of the Kon Tiki, the Ra, and the Icelander.



PHOTO SOURCE:

Medieval News blog


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Women's History Month

March 1 marks the beginning of Women’s History Month, an annual celebration and recognition of the contributions of women to civilization and history – and pointing to the needs of the future.

The theme for this year’s Women’s History Month is “Writing Women Back Into History”, a theme designed to recognize the diverse accomplishment of women throughout history.

Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate how far women have come – and what contributions have been made that were overlooked in generations of history texts and teachings.

How much do you know about women’s history? Try the quiz on Biography – or better yet, project it in class onto the screen and have your class take the quiz.

Some other resources:

Library of Congress has a site with a number of specific topics, as well as lesson plans for use in the classroom.

The history of Women’s History Month can be found here.

The National Women’s History Project provides information and resources.

Time Magazine has a Time for Kids special section for Women’s History Month, including games, a quiz, and information.

There are many, many other resources. The above is just a sampling. Google ‘Women’s History Month” and you’ll see 26 million links.