Easter Crossword Puzzle

We are all eagerly anticipating Passover and Easter (and of course spring break). We have posted a great secular (non-religious), free, printable Easter crossword puzzle. This puzzle addresses the need for teaching students about religious holidays without conversion overtones.

The Ottoman Empire: Teaching Materials and Lesson Plans

For those of you currently looking at the Ottoman empire, its rise and fall, etc., we have great teaching materials for you. Our free online gallery of Ottoman empire maps and images can be used in PowerPoints and handouts, as well as viewed on a SmartBoard for discussion and activities. We also have an extensive gallery of photographs of Turkey immediately following World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman empire.

Apart from using our gallery images in your own materials, they can be used as primary sources in your lesson plans. Try assigning (either at computers or using printed images) student partners an image or group of images. Have the students examine the images, asking: What does this image reveal about the later Ottoman empire? What examples of technology do you see? What do the images and captions reveal about social attitudes? Based on your knowledge of history and social studies, was Turkey on par with the rest of the world (politically, economically, democratically)?

What are footnotes?

Footnotes are notes at the bottom (the "foot") of a research paper or essay. We have tried to explain the concept of footnotes, along with other citing styles like MLA and APA, in a single-web page guide for citing sources and using in-text citations. As it is, it's a great little explanation of all of the basics. Students (and teachers) can gain a lot of knowledge of the concept of citations (and how to do them) by reading the guide. We offer a lot of links to examples, as well. Enjoy, and let us know what you think.

Spring Is in the Air

We can hardly believe that there are only two weeks left until the official start of the spring season. Soon after that, we will be enjoying spring break.

In honor of the upcoming holiday, we have an Easter-themed crossword puzzle. As you can see from this puzzle, it is secular and history-based.

One issue that we see come up again and again is teachers' need to teach about religious holidays, and the reality that so many materials covering these topics approach the holidays from a faith-based standpoint. Certainly, there is a place for faith-based learning experiences. But what of the public school teacher who wants to explain to Jewish or Muslim kids what Easter is all about? What about teaching the non-Christian origins of the holiday?

We are attempting to address the lack of secular-based printables for religious holidays. These are handouts that are safe for use in public schools, and which simultaneously do not offend religious groups.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Why do you think teachers (and publishers) avoid religious issues, even when approaching them from a secular standpoint?

News for March, 2010

We have been very busy revamping the site. Regular visitors will notice that the internal links options (that list of web pages on the left) have been expanded. Also, galleries have been created based on historical themes (e.g., Ancient Egypt, Imperialism, World War I). For those of you interested in getting a head start on next school year, we have uploaded a printable (.pdf) 2010-2011 weekly planner for the school/academic year. Just click here.

We have a great St. Patrick's Day Story Word Search Puzzle ready for you to print.

Check out the Just for Fun pages for more puzzles covering upcoming holidays.