Pay It Forward Foundation Mini-Grants

"The Pay It Forward Foundation was established in September 2000 by author Catherine Ryan Hyde and others to educate and inspire students to realize that they can change the world, and provide them with opportunities to do so. By bringing the author's vision and related materials into classrooms internationally, students and their teachers are encouraged to formulate their own ideas of how they can pay it forward."

The Foundation offers mini-grants (up to $500) to educators to assist in Pay It Forward endeavors. Application reviews occur twice a year—September 15th and February 15th—but grant applications are accepted year round. Contact the Pay It Forward Foundation's Mini-Grant Explanation Website for more details.

Nevada Mining Workshop, April 6-8, 2009

The Nevada Mining Association & Nevada Division of Minerals will offer its annual Nevada Earth Science Education Workshop April 6th through 8th, 2009 at Cheyenne High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees will earn one PDE or UNLV credit and will receive:

• Free classroom materials
• Mine and Geology Tours
• Master Teacher Track – with new material for teachers who have
• attended the Workshop within the past four years
• Geology From the Ground Up – for those new to teaching earth science

Registration is $20 and REFUNDABLE at check in! If you are interested in receiving registration information for the Workshop, contact Joseph Riney or apply online.

A Conversation with Lincoln (2/27/09)

Celebrate Lincoln's Bicentennial by attending A Conversation With Lincoln at the Northwest Career and Technical Academy on Friday, February 27th from 5:00-8:00 PM. The program's theme is "Lincoln and Equality" and is open to the public. The celebration will include:

• President Lincoln re-enactor
• Lincoln scholar presentation by Bob Nylen (Nevada State Museum)
• Civil War soldiers
• Civil War artifacts, music, food
• Student art, essays, documentary films
• Opportunities to have photos taken with Lincoln

Tickets are $3.00 at the door. For more information, contact Jeff Hinton.

Teaching Primary Sources—A New Blog

Teaching Primary Sources is a new blog dedicated to teaching methods for using primary sources and providing information about primary source learning opportunities in Southern Nevada. The site will include primary source sets, primarily using the Library of Congress resources.

Battleground Nevada—The Lincoln Bicentennial and Nevada

Presented by the Nevada Council for History Education
with support from the Library of Congress (Teaching with Primary Sources) and University of Northern Colorado and The College of Southern Nevada

This conference will prepare teachers to use primary sources available through the Library of Congress website to engage in students in history instruction. Activities include investigating the Library of Congress website and developing Lincoln activities for your classroom. The conference will offer lectures on Lincoln and Nevada as well as appearances by Civil War re-enactors (including President Lincoln).

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2009
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: College of Southern Nevada—West Charleston Campus (New Library Building I-101)
Limit: 28 participants
Participants Receive: One-half credit from the Nevada Department of Education for re-certification, teaching materials, and lunch
Registration Ends: February 1, 2009
Registration Process: Email the below information to Dr. Linda Miller, State Coordinator for the Nevada Council of History Education

Preliminary Schedule of Events

8:00 Registration/Get in Groups
8:15 Welcome/Introductions (Dr. Linda Miller, Nevada Council for History Education State Coordinator)
8:30 Encountering Primary Sources/Project Overview (Dr. Keeler)
8:45 Examining Primary Sources using the Library of Congress Website (Jeff Hinton)
9:30 Interpreting Library of Congress Materials—Nevada Focus (Dr. Miller)
10:00 Break
10:15 Interpreting Primary Sources/Pony Express and Nevada Statehood (Robert Nylen)
11:00 Lunch/Paired project discussions (Determine inquiry question)
11:45 Civil War Tents Observation (Nevada Civil War History Association)
12:30 Senator Stewart Chautauqua (Robert Nylen)
1:15 President Lincoln Chautauqua (William Peck)
2:00 Break
2:15 Integrating Primary Sources/Work on Projects (Dr. Keeler)
4:00 Present Projects
4:45 Evaluations

TerraCycling: Recycling in the Classroom

TerraCycle collects trash that would otherwise find its way to a landfill and, instead, uses those items to create new products. By mailing recyclables to the company (preferably in used containers), schools can earn approximately $0.02 per item. Some of the items they collect include:

• Drink Pouches (e.g., Capri Sun)
  
• Cookie Wrappers (e.g., Oreo)
• Corks
  
• Yogurt Containers (i.e., Stonyfield Farms)
• Plastic Bottles (e.g., Coke)
• Chip Containers (e.g., Wheat Thins)
  

This sounds like a great way for schools to teach eco-friendly concepts while making money.

Schools sign-up to participate and are sent shipping labels and sometimes boxes in which they can mail the items to TerraCycle.

Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History Summer Seminars for Teachers (Applications due 2/15/09)

The Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminars are designed to strengthen participants' commitment to high quality history teaching. Public, parochial, independent school teachers, and National Park Service rangers are eligible. These week-long seminars provide intellectual stimulation and a collaborative context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom.

Seminars participants receive:

• Room and board
• Books and teaching resources
• Stipends of $400 (international seminar stipend of $500)

Seminars are limited to thirty participants by competitive application with preference given to new applicants.

To apply, visit http://gilderlehrman.org/teachers/seminars1.html.

Application Deadline: February 15, 2009