Think Classroom
Villainy, Inc. Online Field Trip
Think Einstein
Think Numbers
Thinkport in the News
Instructional Television Service and Online Resources

Think Career
MPT TeacherLine and JHU Course Registration Open
New Teacher Support
Upcoming Career Calendar Events

Think Technology
2005 MICCA Award Winners
Graphic Organizers
Blythe Bennett's Recommended Site

Think Family & Community
Parenting Resources Added
Upcoming Community Calendar Events


Hurricane Katrina

How can your students help the victims of Hurricane Katrina? Thinkport has gathered lists of resources to help children understand this terrible tragedy and how they might be able to help. View video clips of messages from Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick MPT President & CEO Robert J. Shuman. View Resources >>

Thinkport Wants to Know...

Middle School and High School teachers of social studies, history, civics, geography or library/media services we need your feedback! Click to take a quick and easy survey. Thanks!
 

Electronic Field Trip: Villainy, Inc.
This field tripintegrates mathematical experiences and high adventure into a fun learning experience for middle school math students. In James Bond fashion, students use their problem-solving acumen to foil the plans of the evil Dr. Wick in animated missions that require critical thinking and math calculations in order to pave the way to a successful outcome. 

Think Einstein
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s miracle year and his publication of three papers which changed the course of modern physics. Bring Einstein’s ideas to life for your students...  Learn more here!  Also, request a free poster from this NOVA episode by e-mailing k12video@mpt.org

Think Numbers
This month Thinkport explores the wonderful world of numbers. Check out our homepage for lesson plans, field trips, activities and more to help get your students excited about math!

Thinkport in the News: Thinkport Helps Students Read and Achieve
An independent research firm released data showing that Thinkport's online field trips are helping students read and achieve. Research, conducted in two Maryland middle schools, showed that middle school students who used the online field trips scored higher on national standardized reading comprehension tests than those who used traditional learning methods alone. Find out more here!

Instructional Television Service and Online Resources
The ITV Service is now in full gear for the 2005-2006 school year! Click here to see what ITV has in store in October and here to see what's coming in November! You can see a preview clip of a show from this coming week.  If you have any questions or comments regarding ITV, please e-mail k12video@mpt.org.

MPT times indicated are accurate as of September 30, 2005 (http://mpt.org/schedule/). For additional information regarding taping rights for PBS prime-time shows, please visit the TV For Teachers section of PBS Teachersource at http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/tvteachers.htm.

Arts & Literature

The Sharp Wits - #122-133
MPT’s K-12 Instructional Television Service: Elem./Middle School
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 (1-3:30 am)
The Sharp Wits are a group of young detectives who embark on "educational" mysteries to learn more about writing and grammar skills. This week’s topics include runaway sentences, paragraph writing, letter writing, essay tests, points of view, characters, the writing process, endings, and quotation marks.
http://www.thinkport.org/Tools/Itv/SeriesDetail.aspx?SeriesID=c58176ae-d06f-4aa6-8582-bf2b1604a1e3

The Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: In The Heart Of Music
TV: Elementary / Middle / High School
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 (10:00 - 11:30 am)
This film documents the experience of three young pianists from different countries who vie to win one of the world's most prestigious piano competitions.

Great Performances "From Shtetl to Swing"
TV and Web site: Elementary / Middle / High School
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 (9 - 10:00 pm)
Between 1880 and 1924, two and a half million Jews had reached the breaking point. Fleeing persecution in Russia and Eastern Europe, they waved their small-town "shtetls" goodbye and emigrated to America. America would completely reshape Jewish identity and Jewish popular entertainment would take 20th-century American music on a joy ride to beat the band. Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Benny Goodman, Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers, Artie Shaw - these Lower East Side New York City performers all became cultural pioneers. Learn more about the artists and their music at the companion Web site.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf

 Art in the Twenty-First Century
"Play" (Part 4 of 4)
TV> PBSOL>
Middle / High School
Saturday, October 8, 2005 (10 - 11:00 pm)
Spontaneous, funny or subversive, play can take many forms. The artists in this episode -- Jessica Stockholder, Ellen Gallagher, Arturo Herrera and Oliver Herring -- improvise games, draw inspiration from dance and music, and employ color, pattern and movement to induce delight. Explore the series online through over 200 streaming video clips.
http://www.pbs.org/art21
 

Spanish/ESOL

Spanish Media Collection – Weston Woods - #101-115
MPT’s K-12 Instructional Television Service: Elem./Mid/High School
Thursday, October 6, 2005 (1-3:30 am)
The Spanish Media Collection features Spanish-language adaptations of 31 outstanding children's books which are familiar to any elementary school or public library. Useful with both students learning English as a second language and students learning Spanish, this series has multiple uses for the creative teacher who wants to introduce Spanish or English vocabulary, emphasize translation skills, and give students a rich language experience.
http://www.thinkport.org/Tools/Itv/SeriesDetail.aspx?SeriesID=739d0736-6212-47fd-9abb-c8d58a3a7876

 

Health & Fitness

ZOOM Activity: "Drinking Straw Pulse Measurer"
Web site: Elementary School
Measure the human pulse by counting the movements of a drinking straw attached with clay to the pulse point on the neck. Predict activities that affect pulse rate and compare your pulse with another person's pulse.
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/drinkingstrawpulseme.html

In The Mix Lesson: "Cliques, Friendship Groups Or Boxes?"
Web site: High School
Explore the social "boxes" students place themselves in or are put in by others and focus on how individuals judge one another.
http://www.pbs.org/inthemix/educators/lessons/schoolviol2/index.html

 

Math

The Eddie Files - #401-404
MPT’s K-12 Instructional Television Service: Elem./Middle
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 (1-2:30 am)
Through the eyes of "Eddie," a 5th grade student in the mathematics classroom of renowned teacher Kay Toliver, viewers find out just how people use key math concepts and skills in life and in exciting jobs. These episodes focus on ratios, variables, charts and graphs, and percents.
http://www.thinkport.org/Tools/Itv/SeriesDetail.aspx?SeriesID=7cbfe8c1-ce3d-4629-b2b0-ea3b15cbda9f

PBS Parents Guide to Early Math
Web site: Preschool / Elementary School
Log on to get ideas on how to encourage your child's natural interest in math. Plus, find out how to provide your child with a solid foundation for math learning. The site includes interactive games as well as hands-on, printable activities.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/earlymath

Cyberchase
Online Discussion: Elementary School
Log on to washingtonpost.com/liveonline to chat with math expert Fran Nankin and actor Matt "Harry" Wilson on October 3 at 2 pm ET.
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase
 

Science

Explore More - #1 & #2
MPT’s K-12 Instructional Television Service: Mid/High School
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 (2:30-3:30 am)
The Explore More video series is part of a balanced multimedia resource encouraging students to unravel timely issues and make informed decisions. This week’s topics are genetic engineering and the future of energy.
http://www.thinkport.org/Tools/Itv/SeriesDetail.aspx?SeriesID=d3827550-3f15-4b8c-bca6-b26e54f2a785

Nature "Deep Jungle: The Beast Within" (Part 3 of 3)
TV and Web site: Middle / High School
Monday, October 3, 2005 (8 - 9:00 pm)
What role did the jungle play in humanity's distant past and what can it tell us about our future? The final installment of "Deep Jungle" looks for clues among the primates of the rainforests, as well as traces of ancient civilizations that once thrived there, only to vanish mysteriously.
Download our lesson plans in which students explore why there is so much variety of life in the world's rainforests.
http://www.pbs.org/nature/deepjungle

Leonardo's Dream Machines (part 1 of 2)
TV: Middle / High School
Monday, October 3, 2005 (f10:00 pm - 12:00 am)
This two-part program follows the world's leading experts as they attempt for the first time to build some of Leonardo da Vinci's dream machines -- to his exact specification and scale -- 500 years after he first committed his ideas to paper. Were Leonardo's ideas the flights of fancy of a gifted artist or revolutionary designs hundreds of years ahead of their time? Tune in and find out.

NOVA "Sinking the Supership"
TV and Web site: Middle / High School
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 (8 - 9:00 pm)
Tune in for the tragic WWII story of the Yamato -- the largest battleship ever built. Log on and find out what made this super battleship both seemingly unsinkable and highly vulnerable to attack.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/supership

NerdTV
This Web-exclusive series features PBS technology columnist and industry insider Robert X. Cringely's interviews with personalities from the ever-changing world of technology. This week he talks to open source pioneer Tim O'Reilly, who once beat Netscape to the punch in the original browser wars of the mid-90's.
http://www.pbs.org/nerdtv

Maryland Public Television (MPT) "Outdoors Maryland"
Web site: Middle / High School
This Web site, produced by PBS member station MPT, celebrates the Mid-Atlantic region's diverse collection of ecosystems, people and places.
http://mpt.org/odm/home.html
 

Social Studies

Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip – “A Publick Education”
MPT’s K-12 Instructional Television Service: Elem./Middle
Thursday, October 6, 2005 (10-11 am LIVE)
Have your students travel to Colonial Williamsburg without leaving the classroom. This live, interactive broadcast traces the methods of education from the colonial period to the one-room schoolhouses of the 1840s for the purpose of universal education.
http://www.thinkport.org/Tools/Itv/SeriesDetail.aspx?SeriesID=67d14d58-0195-453d-94dd-77928a7182e2

Frontline "The O.J. Verdict"
TV and Web site: Middle / High School
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 (9 - 10:00 pm)
Join us for this investigation of the "perfect storm" that was the O.J. Simpson trial. Through extensive interviews with the defense, prosecution and journalists, "Frontline" explores the dominant role that race played in the most controversial verdict in the history of the American justice system.
Log on to washingtonpost.com/liveonline to talk about the program on Oct. 5 at 11 am ET.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oj/

Making Schools Work
TV and Web site: Middle / High School
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 (10:00 pm - 12:00 am)
No topic worries American families more than the quality of our schools. "Making Schools Work" with Hedrick Smith offers a rare and often surprising look at success in unexpected places, with enormous implications for public schools nationwide. The companion Web site follows our production team into classrooms from coast to coast to see how some American communities are creating a small revolution in our schools. Log on to washingtonpost.com/liveonline to talk with Hedrick Smith on Oct. 6 at 3 pm ET.
http://www.pbs.org/makingschoolswork

NOW
TV and Web site: High School
Friday, October 7, 2005 (1:00 am - 1:30 pm)
Through documentary segments and interviews with original thinkers, NOW goes beyond the noisy churn of the news cycle and gives viewers the context to explore their relationship with the larger world. Download our lesson plan "Motivating Youth to Get More Exercise" in which high school students investigate why the number of overweight youth in the United States is increasing.
http://www.pbs.org/now

Online NewsHour EXTRA "Holocaust Criminal-Hunter Dies"
Web site: Middle / High School
Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal, 96, spent his life tracking down Nazi war criminals and seeking justice for genocide.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra
 

Professional Development

Making Schools Work
MPT’s K-12 Instructional Television Service: Professional Development
Friday, October 7, 2005 (1-3 am)
This program focuses on educational success stories, highlighting the school reform models and district-wide reforms that have significantly raised student performance and closed achievement gaps for minority and poor students.
http://www.thinkport.org/Tools/Itv/SeriesDetail.aspx?SeriesID=090ba9e1-635c-40d2-a269-0ebd2bb9faf0

Engaging with Literature: A Video Library, Grades 3-5
MPT’s K-12 Instructional Television Service: Professional Development
Friday, October 7, 2005 (3-3:30 am)
This video library includes nine 20-minute videos that give language arts teachers and other educators an opportunity to observe firsthand how their peers are successfully guiding students in grades 3–5 toward becoming more active and involved readers of literature.
http://www.thinkport.org/Tools/Itv/SeriesDetail.aspx?SeriesID=e322ba3e-b17c-4a77-b013-e71b179a0fe5
 

PBS Kids Are Ready to Learn

From the Start: A Ready to Learn Resource for PreK-2 Educators "Parent Connections"
Web site: Preschool / Elementary School
Need information to pass on to parents? Take a look at these Web sites and bilingual printables. This month's featured printable is "Back to School Night."
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/prek2/pconnect/index.shtm

 

Our Fall 2005  course registration is now open. Upon successful completion of a course, learners will receive a certificate of completion, an MSDE credit form, and a FREE giveaway from Maryland Public Television. Courses offered include:

• Math in Everyday Life Grades K-5 (1 MSDE CPD Credit)
  Receive a free copy of the book “News & Numbers” by Victor Cohn and Lewis Cope. This book emphasizes clear thinking and commonsense approaches for understanding, analyzing and explaining statistics in easy-to-understand, non-technical language.
• Using Assessment and Evaluation (1 MSDE CPD Credit)
  Receive a free copy of the course recommended book “Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12” by Heidi Hayes Jacobs
• Searching and Researching on the Internet (2 MSDE CPD Credits)
  For registering and enrolling for this course through Thinkport, receive a free Thinkport lunch tote!
• Teaching and Learning with Graphic Organizers: Featuring Inspiration© (1 MSDE CPD Credit)
  Receive a free trial offer of Inspiration© Software

Johns Hopkins Fall Online Course Registration Now Open
Our fall courses are self-paced courses in which participants work at their own time and pace. You may finish the course at any time in the 8 weeks. The enrollment for the course is rolling so you may  register even after the course start date has passed.

• Becoming a Reflective Practitioner  - September 26 – November 28, 2005
• How to Use Digital Content In Your Classroom - September 26 – November 28, 2005
• Maryland Teacher Technology Standards: Build Your Teaching Portfolio - September 26 – November 28, 2005

Environmental Education Short Course
As part of the upcoming 26th Annual Meeting for the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North American (SNA) Conference Meeting being held in Baltimore, November 13-17, local educators will be offered an environmental education short course targeted towards middle and high school educators. The course is titles “Basic Aquatic Toxicity Testing Methods for Educators and Watershed Monitoring Organizations”. Check out this flyer for more information and go to www.setac.org/baltimore to register.

New Teacher Support
Over the past five years, Maryland has experienced significant and consistent increases in new and beginning teachers. MINT - Maryland Initiative for New Teachers supports these teachers through statewide and regional collaboration, resources, newsletters, incentives, and opportunities to socialize and participate in professional development. Explore MINT's lesson plans and other resources here! Be sure to visit our featured discussion topic - "Getting the New School Year Off to a Good Start!" - featuring hints and tips from Maryland's Teachers of the Year.

Upcoming Career Calendar Events
Our Career Calendar covers upcoming professional development events statewide. Once you've become a registered Thinkport user, you can choose events you're interested in and create a personal calendar — and even get email reminders of important events. Here are a few upcoming events from the calendar:

4th Annual C3 Conference: Cyberethics, Cybersafety, & Cybersecurity
The core mission of the C3 Conference is to inform the educational community about the ethical, legal, safety, and security implications of technology use. This year will include a special emphasis on Cybersecurity. Participants will hear from a number of National Educational Technology and Information and Assurance Technology Experts on topics including Netiquette, Acceptable Use of Computing Resources, Viruses, Hoaxes and Trojan Horses, Backing up, Anti-Virus protection and Firewalls, Intellectual Property, Privacy, Security and Safety, Educational Curriculum Options, and Security. Through a variety of case studies and group work, participants will give consideration to responses that can be applied in their own settings.
Date: October 6, 2005 - Pre-Conference Workshops October 7-8, 2005 - Conference Sessions
Location: Samuel Riggs Alumni Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Phone: (301) 405-8202
URL: http://www.edtechoutreach.umd.edu/C32005/
 

Blythe Bennett's Recommended Site
Herblock's History
Middle / High School
Herbert Block has been cartooning since the Depression. This Library of Congress exhibit, "Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium," features presidents from both parties, economics, social issues, big business and many other political topics.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock
 

Terrific Two's
Thursdays at 11:15 a.m.
For two-year-olds and their caregivers. A book-based program that includes basic rhymes, books, bubbles and bouncing balls.
Location: Enoch Pratt Free Library - Central Library, 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD.
Phone: 410-396-5430.

Poet's Ink Workshop
An all ages writing workshop, free and open to the public.
Time: Third Thursday of every month at 7pm
Location: Owings Mills Barnes and Noble, 1819 Reisterstown Rd., Baltimore, MD
Phone: 410-415-5758