Welcome to the Teachers’ Toolkit e-Newsletter Issue 9. Term 4 means the run-up (or down) to end-of-year events! Thank you to all our subscribers for your support during the year.

In this e-newsletter you will find:

• Important Dates To Remember
  
• MacquarieNet: Australia’s Leading Online Reference Library
  
• United Nations
  
• Worldwide expeditions
  
• Getting around in a wheelchair
  
• Solar energy and solar cars
  
• Party time without plastics
  
• Dinosaurs can run—fast!
  
• Tropfest Jr
  
• 2006 Census
  
• Protecting students from online nasties
  
• Secondary schooling costs
  
• Sing! Something for teachers to enjoy, while supporting World AIDS Day
  
• Music Play for Life
  
• Debates and classroom discussions
  
• New resources
  
• Opinions
  
• Quotes

Important dates to remember

Here are some special dates (with hyperlinks) to consider for occasional classroom activities:

And as advance warning to help you prepare, 2008 celebrates the following International Years (IYs):

As always, we acknowledge the wealth of information to be found on the website of the Education Network Australia (EDNA), particularly its Australian Schools Calendar. For further details consult the EDNA website at www.edna.edu.au.

MacquarieNet: Australia’s leading online reference library

www.macquarienet.com.au
Have you taken up the free offer to access one of Australia’s best online reference sites? If not, then here’s something for you and your students to experience and enjoy: a free trial to MacquarieNet. MacquarieNet gives you and your students access to a wealth of information on Australian topics. Why not set up a free one-month trial for your school today? Contact support@macquarieonline.com.au to take advantage of this great offer.

With the first Tuesday in November just around the corner, the Melbourne Cup unit that appeared in Teachers’ Toolkit Issue 8, page 23, shows how students and teachers can use MacquarieNet’s online reference library to research this fascinating event.

United Nations

The United Nations website has a wealth of information that is both relevant and user-friendly. Visit:
www.un.org/unworks
www.un.org/works/ageing/mavis.html
www.un.org/works/sustainable/rita_story.html
www.un.org/cyberschoolbus.
Go to the Teachers’ Toolkit website and download the summary page of suitable UN websites.

Worldwide expeditions

Around the world by human power!
Jason Lewis recently completed a 13-year round-the-world trip? Jason’s 74 000 kilometre trip started in July 1994 and he was only ever powered by his own human body. Go online to discover all about this adventure, track Jason’s adventures and participate is some great classroom activities.
www.expedition360.com

Long way round
The actors/adventurers, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, have completed a three-month, 20,000 mile journey to New York by way of Eastern Europe and the hostile terrain of Mongolia, Siberia and Alaska—by motorcycle! The websites about the trip contain numerous activities that teachers can access.
www.longwayround.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Way_Round

There are s from the above, while exciting students to devise their own ‘round the world’ trip.

Antarctic Expedition
Schools from all over the world can follow the adventures of 45 scientists, two Tasmanian school teachers and a stuffed Polar bear named Polar Knutsen as they explore the ice around Antarctica. The Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem eXperiment (SIPEX) takes place during September and October this year and is one of Australia's major contributions to the International Polar Year.
http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq/
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go.

Getting around in a wheelchair

Here’s a plan of a different variety for your students to consider. Many people who are wheelchair-bound have to go to extraordinary lengths to be able to move form point ‘A’ to point ’B’. While many able-bodied people might find an occasional obstacle to navigate around, generally their foot journey can be completed with relative ease. Now spare a thought for those people who have to plan their trip in their wheelchair!

Discuss with your students what might be some of the obstacles that wheelchair-bound people encounter. Then organise students in appropriate groups, or else set out as a class group, and have students walk a particular journey, mapping and noting issues as if they were in a wheelchair. At the end of the expedition have the students create a map with an annotated list of obstacles that might challenge a wheelchair-bound person. Perhaps have a local council representative attend the school and have some students present their list of ‘wheelchair’ concerns, or else create a letter and send it with the list to their local council.

As background research you might find it useful to read a recent article published by Cynthia Banham, the Australian newspaper reporter who survived the Yogyakarta plane crash in March, in which she writes of the challenges of life in a wheelchair.
Cynthia Banham article.

Solar energy and solar cars

The World Solar Car Challenge (Darwin to Adelaide) commences on 21 October. Teachers’ Toolkit Issue 8, page 22 has a feature article. This science and technology unit takes a look at the importance of solar energy and how solar cars use this form of power.
World Solar Challenge 2007.

Party time without plastics

With the festive season nearly upon us, it is a good time to set your students off on some planning projects. Perhaps one that could be useful, while being environmentally sound, is to have students devise a plastic-free party. Carla Grossetti (Fairax) offers these 5 tips to help:
Be upfront and inform invitees that you are anti-plastic.

• If presents are to be included, have these as non-plastic.
• Include party games such as ‘Plant a Tree’ that will grow with the child.
• Instead of party bags, give children a slice of cake to take home or some seedlings they can plant.
• Choose food that is not individually wrapped.

Dinosaurs can run—fast!

Did you know that small dinosaurs could reach speeds of up to 65 kph, Tyrannosaurus Rex could manage around 30 kph, the Allosaurus 35 kph, while the Ostrich can run 56 kph and human sprinters can achieve around 40 kph!

Have students research a range of extinct animals to ascertain their land speeds while also creating a list of present animals and the speeds at which they can travel across land. Create some data analysis activities, including graphing work.

There are lots of web resources available — for example, google ‘dinosaurs can run fast’.

Tropfest Jr

Presented by The Australian Children’s Television Foundation, TROP JR is a short filmmaking competition open to kids aged 15 years and younger. So if you are a budding young filmmaker—or just want to have some fun with your friends—grab a camera and start shooting your masterpiece! Get cracking now as entries close 10 January 2008. View all the relevant information online, including entry guidelines, at Tropfest Jr.

2006 Census

In 2006, a national Census took place. Much of the data is now available to view online. Go to the Australian Bureau of Statistics website and search the very interesting data. A whole array of classroom learning activities can be created based on the Census data. Perhaps discuss with students the reasons why it is important to hold a national Census every four years.

Protecting students from online nasties

While it is imperative that teachers and parents should educate students to understand the dangers of predators while online (NetAlert is a very useful tool), perhaps parents should also become more involved in educating, rather than censoring, their children. As Howard Rheingold recently stated: ‘Parents need to trust and communicate with their children about what they are doing online, for them to adopt a critical attitude to information’. Learn more about what Howard Rheingold proposes using the following links.
www.educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/521
www.rheingold.com/

Secondary schooling costs

For those teachers who have children at secondary school, Australian Scholarships Group (ASG), an independent friendly society specialising in education benefits programs, has created a simple online interface resource to help parents calculate secondary schooling costs, without having to hunt around for additional information. ASG also offer checklists and tip sheets. Visit the Secondary Schooling Cost Calculator.

Sing! Something for teachers to enjoy, while supporting World AIDS Day

Whether you are an Annie Lennox fan or not, this might (at least) be worth taking a look at. Annie Lennox has released a new album, Songs of Mass Destruction. On the album is a track called ‘Sing’, which is devoted to the treatment of women with AIDS to prevent the spread of HIV to their babies. You can (or will be able to) download and sign up on her website. By downloading this track, money raised will go towards Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa (where Lennox is to perform the song on World AIDS Day, 1 December).
www.annielennox.com/
www.songsofmassdestruction.info/annie_lennox/en/

Music Play for Life

Were you part of the Music Count Us In: One Song One Day experience? Did you find the Music – Play for Life feature in Teachers’ Toolkit Issue 8 helpful?  Music – Play for Life really is Australia’s one-stop music-making resource. If you haven’t already discovered the richness of this resource, then go to www.musicplayforlife.org.
If you were part of the Music Count Us In: One Song One Day experience, perhaps you could take a couple of minutes to complete the online evaluation survey to assist with feedback that is to be provided to the Department of Education about what worked about the initiative, its impact from your perspective and what could be done differently next time.
NOTE: The survey is very short. Please be more expansive in the comment section if you wish. Click here to complete the survey now

Debates and classroom discussions

In Issues 7 and 8, Teachers’ Toolkit Magazine reviewed the topic of Australia’s parliamentary system. With the recent extended (and unofficial) election campaign, people have started to voice their opinions that Australia’s national parliament should adhere to fixed four-year terms. This already takes place in some states (e.g. NSW) and in some countries (e.g. USA), but the incumbent federal government can call an election whenever it pleases. After reminding students about our parliamentary system, hold a classroom discussion on the topic, followed by a debate: Should Australia’s national parliament have fixed four-year terms?

Are we over-governed? Should we have so many tiers of government? Which level should we abolish? The States? Local Councils? Federal Government? Australia, with just over 20 million people, has 15 houses of parliament and numerous local councils. Would one national government with community councils work better? How might such a change affect our way of life and our democracy? Have students set up arguments for and against this topic. Read Hugh Mackay’s recent article by way of background:

Should we just drink tap water or spend extra money buying bottled water? What are the pros and cons of this topic? Have students consider the human and environmental costs of this topic. Who stands to profit most from a given choice? Have students include the environmental issues of relevance.

Zoos can provide great support to education. However, should zoos be permitted as they as they currently operate? What purpose do zoos serve? What would happen if zoos did not exist? Discuss this topic with students and then have them divide into ‘for’ and ‘against’ groups to plan and present their arguments.

Did you know that 63% of Australian households have pets (as of 2005)?. Of the 38 million pets (20 million of these are fish), 3.8 million are dogs and 2.5 million are cats. Divide your class into ‘cat-lovers’ and dog-lovers’. Discuss the features and benefits of owning a dog or a cat as a pet. Then pose the question: are dogs or cats better for the environment? Debate the students’ arguments – and hopefully not too much fur will fly! NB: Take a look at the new book listed below.

New resources

We are continually adding information and weblinks about new educational resources. Some of these resources appear in the current issue of Teachers’ Toolkit Magazine.

Locally Wild: Keeping Native Animals as Pets Chris Cheng’s latest book explains the practicalities of looking after a range of native animals, from sugar gliders to native cockroaches. Published by Pluto Press. Available soon. Teacher’s notes will be available to help instructors utilise this book in the classroom. Stay tuned and you might get one of the free copies to be awarded and/or (for those in or near or visiting Sydney) passes to Sydney Wildlife World.

You Can Save the Planet This new book is packed full with smart, practical and fun things that students (and their teachers and parents) can do to make a real difference to the future of the planet. The ideas in this book really make you think about how much we all waste on a daily basis. This is the perfect book to demonstrate how, with just a few changes, one person (no matter what their age) can really can make a difference. Published by Hachette. Stay tuned and you might get one of 10 free copies to be awarded!

Gould Group: Teacher PD Program
Take a look at some great new online resources from The Gould Group.
Click here to access some important information or go to the Gould Group website.

Susanne Gervay wrote the story and her musician daughter wrote the lyrics!
This book is a coming-of-age story about an all-girl rock band in search of love, life and independence. That’s Why I Wrote This Song is more than a creative collaboration between a mother and a daughter; it explores the lives of four very different teenage girls and their relationships with their fathers, boys and each other. All this is set around the music scene and the girls’ passion for it. Susanne Gervay states: ‘There were lots of funny incidents and sad ones too and the talking continued through the two years it took to write That’s Why I Wrote This Song and to record Tory’s songs that are the soul of the book. The process of intertwining music and text was difficult, but special with my daughter who slowly, very slowly grew in confidence. As a mother, it has been a remarkable experience, one where I feel I know Tory even better and love her even more.’
Download the book’s unique soundtrack and film clip at:

Little Ears is a new storytelling magazine for Australian children, parents and early childhood teachers. Published bi-monthly, this magazine is intended to give busy parents and early childhood teachers a variety of Australian written stories to use with their children and/or students. For a free electronic preview of the magazine go to Little Ears and download the sample from the home page. You may also download an information sheet from the Teachers’ Toolkit Website.

Pearson Education Australia has announced a decisive move into the consumer market with the release of BOOST Maths — a total innovation in home practice books for the millions of Australian kids aged 4–12 years.
Click here to access some important information about this new series.

Global Learning with Plan
Plan Australia has a range of educational resources that are well-suited to classroom teaching and learning programs. Discover a world of opportunity for Australian students to learn directly from their peers in the developing world and act on global issues they really care about.
Download the latest Plan flyer at Teachers’ Toolkit Education Resource Links or else visit Plan Australia at: www.plan.org.au/beapartofit/childrenyouth

Teachers’ Toolkit has previously raised the topic of the over-crowded primary school curriculum and the teaching of subjects such as history and geography. While it is arguable that primary schools should concentrate on ‘the basics’ (while not wasting time filling in deficiencies in the student’s upbringing, such as instructing in manners), what are ‘the basics’? Some are well accepted (such as literacy and numeracy), while others cause debate, the latter including subjects such as history and geography. Surely teachers should have a greater opportunity to decide what is important for their students. Topics such as history and geography should not be ‘lost’ in some all-encompassing key learning strand but rather, given independent status as befits their importance to student development, as is the case in other countries (such as the UK).
Like many workers, teachers have experienced a massive increase in workload over the past few decades, which has resulted in them being less able to address what has become an over-crowded curriculum. Stay tuned.

Do you share Sherman Young’s view? Visit this newspaper weblink and read his recent article:

Quotes

‘I think the biggest challenge for us is human nature. As human beings in our society we are truly focused on the here and now and the things around us.’——Greg Bourne, CEO of World Wildlife Fund.

WWF’s key aim is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and create a sustainable future. Perhaps students could research some of the work that WWF does in Australia and internationally.
World Wildlife Fund

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