Hot Stuff: Media for EducatorsFree standards-based resources for arts integration, comic books that teach math, an online community curriculum, and scrapbooking projects that get art into the classroom.
Credit: William Duke
ArtsEdge Kennedy Center
free
Maintaining arts education in the classroom during the age of math, science, and technology isn't always easy. The groundbreaking, Web resource developed by the National Arts and Education Network (ArtsEdge), at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, continues to help. The network provides standards-based teaching materials, along with instruction guidelines, mentoring, Web resources, relevant articles, how-to's, and a lot more, which help integrate the arts into a range of academic subjects, while offering creative ways to use cutting-edge tools.
Credit: William Duke
Manga Guide series No Starch Press
$20 (U.S. and Canada)
Are your students more focused on doodling than math? A best-selling EduManga series copublished with Ohmsha Ltd., in Tokyo, and translated into English, engages students in math through manga art and a comic book-like story line. Students follow the characters as they learn mathematical theories and methods through real-world examples. The Manga Guide to Statistics and The Manga Guide to Databases are available in bookstores and online; guides to electricity, calculus, and physics are coming soon.
Credit: William Duke
Curriki
Free
Based on the idea of a community curriculum, Curriki offers educators the opportunity to delve into free resources while providing users with the option to contribute their own thoughts and proven classroom techniques to the global educational community. Learners, teachers, and experts share opinions, examples, experiences, and even their curriculum plans with one another through the site's Connect feature.
Credit: William Duke
ScrapandLearn
$20
Get art back in the classroom and keep it there by integrating it into any subject. With the materials provided in the ScrapandLearn packages, students make their own themed scrapbooks. The hands-on, visual nature of these projects means students are highly engaged in the lessons while also creating art and improving their writing skills. Explore the ScrapandLearn Web site for great student-generated ideas.
