Schools

Student Challenge: Who Changed the Course of U.S. History without Uttering a Word?

Posted on December 4, 2015

Good question, isn’t it?  Where can students go to find the answer?

Biography In Context for starters, where you’ll find a feature this month on the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks. Her quiet defiance of sitting in a “whites-only” section of a bus on December 1, 1955, galvanized support for the Civil Rights Movement, sparking Freedom Rides, boycotts, and sit-ins. Transport students back in time to visit this tumultuous era in our nation’s history – students can read about Parks and her work, hear her speak in a video, and look at her statue that President Obama unveiled in the Capitol.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and Student Resources In Context covers that legal precedent as well as recent challenges to it. While on the topic, Women’s Suffrage hit the big screen recently, and the fascinating stories behind that movement can be found in US History In Context. Read Susan B. Anthony’s “Speech on the Right of Women’s Suffrage,” from 1873, when she was arrested for the having the audacity to vote!  Look at photos of suffrage parades, read the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, as well as other primary sources from Carrie Chapman Catt, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others.

Read moreStudent Challenge: Who Changed the Course of U.S. History without Uttering a Word?

The Hunger Games, Classroom Lessons

Posted on November 20, 2015

By Traci J. Cothran

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 has finally hit the big screen, enthralling young minds with the drama, action and adventures of Katniss Everdeen. Nestled in with all the unfavorable odds and pageantry are real issues that students can explore – while flexing their critical thinking skills – under this pop culture umbrella.

Global Warming and Climate Change. In The Hunger Games, the US has collapsed following a devastating series of drought, fire and storms, resulting in a fight for the remaining limited resources. The resulting society, Panem, rose in its wake. Science In Context provides factual overviews as well as in-depth articles on global warming, air pollution, and their lasting effects.

Read moreThe Hunger Games, Classroom Lessons

Content Updates for Gale’s In Context (week ending 11/13/2015)

Posted on November 16, 2015

Take a look at the new resources now available in many of your favorite In Context products:

Biography In Context
New homepage spotlights were added in the past few weeks that include:

  • Country music star Carrie Underwood who recently co-hosted the 2015 Country Music Awards with fellow artist Brad Paisley.
  • Native American leader Geronimo, in recognition of Native American Heritage Month.
  • Actress Jennifer Lawrence will be appearing in the final installment of the Hunger Games series, Hunger Games Mockingjay, Part 2 opening November 20.
  • New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau
  • Journalist and author Ta-Nahisi Coates who won a MacArthur Genius grant this year and whose book Between the World and Me was shortlisted for the 2015 National book Award in Nonfiction.

New portal pages and a homepage video were posted including:

  • Notorious pirates Edward Teach (“Blackbeard”) and William Kidd (“Captain Kidd”)
  • Feminist writer and activist Mary Wollstonecraft, mother of Mary Shelly who is the author of “Frankenstein”
  • Stephen Curry, player for the Golden State Warriors
  • “The Walking Dead” actor Steven Yeun
  • Video “Out There: Einstein’s Telescope”: A nod to the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity

Read moreContent Updates for Gale’s In Context (week ending 11/13/2015)

2015 TEAMS Award Ceremony and Celebration

2015 TEAMS Awards

Posted on November 12, 2015

Congratulations to our 2015 TEAMS Award winners. Last week award sponsors Gale and Library Media Connection (LMC) hosted a celebration event at COSI Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, OH during the AASL Conference, to present winners with their certificates and award prizes. This year’s voting committee had amazing applications to review and discuss – from a school community garden putting a new spin on “farm to table”, to a 3D gallery walk featuring student artwork and videos, to a social action research fair with fundraising muscle – and all displayed exciting, creative ways in which teachers and media specialists are working together to promote learning and student achievement.

Winners receiving awards included:

Read more2015 TEAMS Award Ceremony and Celebration

Gale Technical Solutions: Think Like a User

Posted on November 4, 2015

By Scott Steward

Welcome back. Last time, I gave you the first tip for organizing your electronic resources: using context. Today, I’d like to help you think like a user.

It doesn’t really matter if your user is a patron, student, teacher, or facility. At the end of the day, they all need to be able to find what they’re looking for, and if they can’t, they’ll go somewhere else. So, let’s make it easier for them.

Read moreGale Technical Solutions: Think Like a User

Digital Solutions Promote Pre-K Literacy Development and School Readiness

Posted on November 1, 2015
By Diane M. Sweetwood

Many research studies have shown the positive effects of quality early childhood education on future academic development, educational attainment, and earnings later in life. Yet, 59% of preschool-aged children across the nation—approximately 2.5 million—are not enrolled in publicly funded preschool programs through state preschool, Head Start, and special education preschool services.
Although as many as 30% of three- and four-year olds are fortunate to attend private preschools and child care centers, hundreds of thousands of children have no access to the programs that can help them build literacy skills and prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. The U.S. Department of Education’s 2015 report, “A Matter of Equity: Preschool in America,” notes that “while both states and the federal government invest in early learning, these efforts have fallen short of what is needed to ensure that all children can access a high-quality early education that will prepare them for success.”

Read moreDigital Solutions Promote Pre-K Literacy Development and School Readiness

Gale and Google Together for Success

Google for Education Partner

Posted on October 30, 2015

With more than 45 million Google Apps for Education users worldwide and an average of over 40,000 Google search engine queries per second [1], Google is indisputably the place where people get their answers.

As the library seeks to continue to be a valued educational partner in communities, schools, and institutions, bringing trustworthy digital content into the natural path of the student or patron has never been more important. To make it easier for people to find and use this relevant, authoritative information, Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, has partnered with Google for Education in two ways: providing intuitive integration of popular workflow tools through Google Apps for Education and indexing content in Google Scholar.

This new relationship exemplifies Gale’s effort to be a leading provider of educational technology, instructional tools, and content to help our users be successful in school, work, and life.

 

Gale & Google Apps for Education

The ability for students to seamlessly login using Google Account credentials is now available through:

Read moreGale and Google Together for Success

Content Updates for Gale’s In Context (week ending 10/16/2015)

Posted on October 15, 2015

New content has been added and existing content updated in a number of Gale’s In Context products.

Global Issues In Context

  • A new portal page has been added featuring the South Sudan Civil War.
  • Over 25 portal pages have been updated including Dementia, Gun Control, Nobel Prize, Obama Administration: Foreign Policy, Political Corruption, Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Same-sex Marriage, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Read moreContent Updates for Gale’s In Context (week ending 10/16/2015)