Big Book Deals

June 1, 2009
Timely reminders, fabulous freebies, best sites & more 'worth the surf'
In This Issue
Grants and Other Funding Opportunities
Awards, Competitions and Other “Winning” Opportunities
Free and Inexpensive Resources
Of Special Interest
“Worth-the-Surf” Web Sites
In Partnership With:
Grants and Other Funding Opportunities

Boost Your Classroom Resources DonorsChoose.org is a simple way to provide students in need with resources that you may lack. At this not-for-profit Web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need in order to learn. These ideas become classroom reality when concerned individuals—Citizen Philanthropists—choose projects to fund. Proposals range from Magical Math Centers ($200) to Big Book Bonanza ($320), to Cooking Across the Curriculum ($1,100). From January through May of 2009, donors funded $6,704,265 worth of resources for students in need. This generosity has encouraged 97,151 teachers in 28,055 public schools to submit 218,907 project proposals for their students. Most of these students come from low-income communities. Deadline: OngoingClick Here for More Information

Develop Visual Literacy with Digital Technology Adobe’s Software Donation Program, managed in partnership with both Gifts In Kind International and TechSoup, provides K–12 schools with the tools they need in order to provide digital technology and visual literacy to the community. Donations will be evaluated against the eligibility guidelines and matched while supplies last. Organizations may apply once a calendar year for a donation. Deadline: OngoingClick Here for More Information

Balance Technology Use and Environmental Preservation Each year, The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation provides grants of up to $10,580 (a symbolic amount representing the cost of the Spirit of St. Louis) to men and women whose individual initiative and work in a wide spectrum of disciplines furthers the Lindberghs’ vision of a balance between the advance of technology and the preservation of the natural/human environment. Deadline: June 11, 2009 for funding beginning in July 2010Click Here for More Information

EBOOK DESTINATIONNEW Look! MORE Savings!
Join the growing list of teachers enjoying the eBookDestination Rewards Program. On the first day of each month, a digital coupon (representing 5 percent of your total purchases in the previous month) will be added to your shopping cart. You’ll then be notified via email of the presence (and amount) of this coupon.There’s no application to complete, no points to collect, no cards to carry, no codes to enter and (most important) no fees to pay. Quite simply, you are repaid for your loyalty with a 5 percent credit toward future purchases. It’s as easy as that!Browse the eBookstore now! You’ll receive an automatic discount on thousands of ebook titles, many of which are bundled with downloadable audio MP3 files, from major educational publishers. Plus, there’s always a selection of the most popular titles on sale!

Find Solutions for Helping English Language Learners Sign up at The Big Deal Book Web site for hELLo!, a free monthly ELL e-newsletter that includes information about new grants, upcoming contests, the latest educational research and a wealth of information on interactive print and online resources for students, teachers, librarians, principals and others involved in the education of English language learners. Click Here to Sign Up for Free Newsletter
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Awards, Competitions and Other “Winning” Opportunities

Collaborate to Develop 21st Century Skills The Gale/Library Media Connection TEAMS Award recognizes and encourages the critical collaboration between the teacher and media specialist to promote learning, increase student achievement and develop 21st century skills. All K–12 public and private schools in the United States and Canada are eligible for the award. Three winners will receive a $2,500 (U.S.) cash award; Gale products (approximate value $500 U.S.); a one-year subscription to Library Media Connection and choice of professional publications from Linworth Books (approximate value $800 U.S.). Deadline: une 15, 2009Click Here for More Information

Support Young Women’s Social Enterprises Youth Service America (YSA) is launching its first annual Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards to recognize young female social entrepreneurs whose initiatives serve the common good. The award includes $2,000 for the winner’s social enterprise, travel to and registration for Youth Service Institute, an invitation to serve on the executive board of Girls Helping Girls and access to YSA’s resources to support and expand the social enterprise. To be nominated, girls must be between the ages of 14 and 17 (as of December 31, 2009), reside in the United States and have their own social enterprise. To access the eligibility quiz and the nomination form, visit http://newsletter.bigdealbook.com/link.aspx?id=633789279413736468&url=http://ysa.org/AwardsGrants/tabid/58/Default.aspx or email http://newsletter.bigdealbook.com/link.aspx?id=633789279413736468&url=mailto:coccia@ysa.org. Deadline: June 15, 2009 to begin an online nomination; June 30, 2009 to complete a nominationClick Here for More Information

Express Thoughts Through Photography Adobe Youth Voices and What Kids Can Do invite youth around the world to submit photographs based on the theme of Crisis and Hope, expressing themselves on both what is challenging and what gives hope in today’s difficult world. Winning photographs will be showcased online, in a traveling exhibit and in a book. All young people—anywhere in the world—between the ages of 12 and 19 are eligible to submit their photographs. Deadline: July 31, 2009Click Here for More Information
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Free and Inexpensive Resources

FREE ONLINE ACCESS toBIG DEAL BOOKS
Get free unlimited online access to all the print content in The Big Deal Book of Technology for K–12 Educators. Explore the many opportunities to fund your special programs, access timely reports and articles, locate free and inexpensive resources and identify engaging interactive Web sites.Register online to download the Spring 2009 Big Deal eBook for Educators of English Language Learners. Inside this free eBook, you’ll find links to resources, strategies, best practices and interactive Web sites to engage your English language learners. You’ll also find a rich variety of funding sources to bring sustenance to your programs.

Create Math Content for Interactive Whiteboards In June 2009, SMART Technologies will make available the beta version of SMART Notebook Math software. Educators from around the world can sign up to download the beta version and provide feedback on their experience with the product. Designed for teaching math on an interactive whiteboard, the software provides the digital tools needed to create content and to recognize and graph equations within the context of a lesson. The application also features a handwriting recognition function that recognizes individual math symbols and full equations and can then solve equations. Click Here to Enroll in Program

Tap into Science Learning Spigot Science Magazine is published online five times per year in September, November, January, March and May. It is a free magazine designed to help students become more aware of science and to encourage them to pursue study in this field. Download Spigot’s Changing Earth issue (May/June 2009) and Trickles, the accompanying teacher’s guide, for free. In the changing Earth issue, you’ll find articles and activities about earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciers, ringing rocks, cave paintings and much more. Spigot’s table of contents makes it easy to link science with other subjects, so you can bring Changing Earth into language arts, math, geography, social studies, health and the arts. You can also download earlier issues on Water, Trees, The Universe, Simple Machines, Patterns, Energy and Ecosystems along with their teaching guides. Click Here to Subscribe to Free Magazine

Spring into Summer School Heinemann’s free Summer School Literacy Guide offers a rigorous literacy program and introduces you to teaching tools you can use all year-round. Written by Heinemann authors Judy Wallis, Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis, the Summer School Literacy Guide serves as a professional orientation for establishing an intensive 4- to 6-week summer school program for kindergarten–grade 2 and grades 3–5. Weekly lesson plans, laid out day by day, integrate select lessons from Heinemann’s Comprehension Toolkit series and Teaching the Qualities of Writing. The lessons include strategies and forms for tracking and assessing learning. Click Here to Download Free Literacy Guide

Explore Africa Today The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, the United States Agency for International Development and the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership have partnered with Discovery Education to make the film Africa Today available for free for classroom use by teachers and students. Capturing the journey and experiences of six teachers and students from Los Angeles who travel to Uganda to engage in a cultural exchange with African teachers and students, Africa Today documents frank and open discussions regarding stereotypes and preconceived notions about both cultures. Teachers and students from both continents learn how their counterparts handle cellphones in the classroom, discover familiar slang terms through exchanges between Ugandan and American students, and hear Ugandan and American students discuss their favorite types of music, highlighting connections to their respective cultures. To help teachers maximize this resource, Discovery Education has created a series of companion lesson plans correlated to topics presented in Africa Today. Suitable for use in high school classrooms, these lesson plans aid educators teaching topics such as arts and culture, media and politics, science and technology, and the environment. Click Here to Access Free Video and Lesson Plans

Map Your Way Wayfaring is an extremely powerful mapping tool. Besides adding points to your map, you can upload videos and photos. You can also add notes to areas of interest. And if you want to see who’s tracking the map, the tool lets visitors create a profile and add their location to your map. Click Here to Set Up Free Account

Design a Cool School Web Site Professional-looking Web sites have become easier for many schools to implement with School Loop Standard, a free Web-building tool that uses drag-and-drop capabilities and WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) technology so that users can design page layouts and navigation even if they don’t know HTML. A variety of professionally designed page templates and color schemes allow districts to create a consistent look and feel across all schools in the district and schools to create their own public Web presence. The system also offers drop-and-drag content tools, such as tables, directories, calendars, news sections, images and more. To celebrate the launch of this content management system, and to help districts with the budget crunch, the company is giving the School Loop Standard version to 100 districts, free of charge. To take advantage of this free offer, complete the online form or call (866) 929-LOOP (5667). Click Here for More Information
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Of Special Interest

SPOTLIGHT! On STEMSCIENCE – TECHNOLOGY – Engineering – MATHEMATICS
Connect Science and the Human ExperienceWindows to the Universe includes images, movies, animations and data sets that explore Earth and space sciences and the historical and cultural ties among science, exploration and the human experience. The site is written in three levels, approximating elementary, middle school and high school reading levels, and is accessible in English and Spanish.Click Here to Visit Web SiteDevelop Students’ Technology SkillsScratch is a simple programming language designed by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology specifically for children. The free, open-sourced program makes it easy for youngsters to create their own interactive stories, animations, games, music and art—and share their creations on the Web. Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create and share Scratch projects with other “scratchers,” young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively. Scratch is available free of charge.Click Here to Download Free ProgramThwart a Plot Through MathematicsVillainy, Inc. integrates 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.Click Here to Visit Web Site
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“Worth-the-Surf” Web Sites

Post Remembrances on a Virtual Wall The Virtual Wall is a commemorative Web site created to extend the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The site allows families, friends and veterans to post photo, text and audio remembrances to those who lost their lives in the war or remain missing in action. The Virtual Wall features more than 100,000 messages, anecdotes and photographs and provides visitors with the ability to print digital name rubbings similar to those at The Wall in Washington, D.C. Click Here to Visit Web Site

Create Multimedia Flashcards Flashcards are not just for memorizing vocabulary words anymore. On FunnelBrain.com, a student-driven academic question-and-answer community, students create and share multimedia flashcards to enhance their learning experience. On FunnelBrain, flashcards don’t have two sides anymore: students can add a third side to any flashcard to explain a difficult concept or to share a favorite mnemonic device. They can also include videos, photos, voice recordings and math equations. FunnelBrain users can then share their questions—and collaborate on creating complete sets of flashcards on any topic of interest—with classmates and other students around the world. Click Here to Visit Web Site

Follow Presidential Footsteps People to People Ambassador Programs has announced Presidential Leadership: In the Footsteps of Presidents Obama and Lincoln, a new summer travel program that provides students the opportunity to learn important leadership skills by following the political footsteps of Presidents Obama and Lincoln. The program features unique insight from NBC News correspondent Luke Russert, who reports on youth issues for NBC Nightly News, The Today Show and MSNBC; and political strategist David Plouffe, best known as the chief campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Students taking part in this historic travel experience will also participate in a community-service project with Chicago Cares, the city’s largest hands-on volunteer organization that serves the needs of children, adults, seniors, the environment, the hungry and homeless. The program takes place August 2–8, 2009 on the campus of The University of Chicago with a day-trip to Springfield, Illinois. The program is available to students from the sixth grade up to juniors in college. Students can earn 10 service-learning hours during the program with an additional 55 classroom hours for high school students or one social studies credit for college students. Click Here to Visit Web Site

Go on a Summer Cyber Nature Walk Head for an online camp that offers a summer’s worth of facts, fun, crafts and activities for kids. At World Book Encyclopedia’s CyberCamp, students can take a nature walk through a forest or a wetland, learn cool things about plants and animals, visit the craft cabin and make things with their own hands, go to the dining hall and make easy recipes for summertime treats—and more! Click Here to Visit Web Site

Find Out What Your Friends Are Reading Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world. Goodreads members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, form book clubs and much more. A place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads currently has more than 2,100,000 members who have added over 40,000,000 books to their shelves since the site’s launch in December 2006. Membership in Goodreads is free. Click Here to Visit Web Site

www.bigdealbook.comInteractive Experiences for the 21st Century Classroom
Check out the new look of The Big Deal Book Web site. And be sure to explore the Web Wednesday feature, which offers resources and activities for integrating technology into your classroom. Here you’ll find new interactive experiences and resources that incorporate 21st century themes and skills into the study of core subjects.Also explore the EarTHursday feature, which offers intelligent approaches to “going green” in your classroom. You’ll find interactive ideas that will help you encourage your students to weigh in and take action on some of the biggest environmental issues in our world today.Appropriately named, these features change mid-week, every week!
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