Saylor Foundation Launches Independent "Courses" for K-12

The Saylor Foundation recently announced the launch of one of their new initiatives, independent courses. In the title of this post I put quotation marks around courses because it's a stretch to say that they're actually courses. Rather they're more like big outlines for independent study. The outlines include alignment to Common Core standards, suggested learning activities, and collections of tutorials and reading materials. The Saylor Foundation's courses currently include geometry, calculus, algebra, American Literature, and SAT prep.

Applications for Education
I wouldn't set students off to use The Saylor Foundation's new courses as a replacement for direct instruction. I would feel comfortable having students consult the courses for independent review after going through lessons with a teacher.

Great Gatsby Crash Course Part 2

Yesterday, I shared John Green's new Crash Course video about The Great Gatsby. Today, Green released part two of that course. You can watch the video as embedded below or on YouTube. If you watch it on YouTube, take note of the "spoiler alert" for students.

Crash Course - The Great Gatsby

Earlier this month I shared the news that John Green had started a new Crash Course series on English Literature. The latest addition to the course gives us a look at The Great Gatsby. The video is labeled as part one so it's probably safe to assume that part two will be released shortly. These videos won't replace actually reading and discussing the works with teachers, but they can provide students with some help in understanding the major plot lines of The Great Gatsby. Watch the new episode below.

Pin-a-Tale - A Map of British Literature

The British Library recently started a crowd-sourced mapping project. Pin-a-Tale is a map of places that have influenced British literature over the last 1,000 years. The pins on the map contain images and short stories about how places in the British Isles have influenced writing.

Applications for Education
Pin-a-Tale could be a good resource for lessons in British literature. Beyond that it is a nice model for a Google Maps project that your students could do for any other genre of literature. Teachers of American Literature might have students map the places that have influenced famous works in American Literature.

H/T to Google Maps Mania. 

Video - Surviving the Dust Bowl

As some readers know, I don't have a television at home so all of my "leisure" screen time comes through the web in the forms of Netflix, Hulu, Google Play movies, and occasionally PBS Video. Last night I was browsing through PBS Video when I came across an American Experience episode that I often use parts of when teaching about the Great Depression.

Surviving the Dust Bowl is an hour-long documentary of the stories of people who survived the Dust Bowl. I have found that the first-person accounts and archival footage captivated some of my students. Toward the beginning of the video there is one story of a family that refused government aid that really speaks to the resolve of some of the Dust Bowl survivors. 

Watch Surviving the Dust Bowl on PBS. See more from American Experience.

Applications for Education
If your students read The Grapes of Wrath, Surviving the Dust Bowl is a good companion resource that  tells "the rest of the story" so to speak. In fact, a six years ago an American Literature teacher and I teamed together and we did use The Grapes of Wrath and Surviving the Dust Bowl together.