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January 2010
Timely Topics | New Decade | Activities
Welcome to the new issue of ProQuest Teachable Moments.
This month, you'll find 21st-century, standards-linked lessons focusing on
water on the moon, the end of the world (2012?), U.S. Secret Service, fitness and obesity, Year of Biodiversity, The Volstead Act, poverty, financial literacy, Roe v. Wade, World Economic Forum, quality of life,
and more. (Lesson archives.)
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Enter to win a title from Linworth Books & ProQuest
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SIRS Discoverer
Financial Literacy for the 21st Century
Looking for a silver lining when it comes to the global economy? The crisis, which began in earnest in 2008, has provided education, business, and government leaders with a new imperative for focusing on financial and economic literacy in our schools and colleges. These skills will become fundamental to success for all citizens in this new decade (retrospective) and the ones to follow.
eLibrary
2012—End of the World?
On 12.21.12, the ancient Mayan "Long Count" calendar ends. Some have concluded this means that the earth will end on this date. There have been dozens of other predictions and prophecies of the apocalypse from both Biblical and occultist sources over the centuries.
Students: What are some of the prophecies about when the world will end, and what is their source? How does the Mayan calendar support the end of the world theory? How do scientists counter these prophecies of the apocalypse?
Answer these questions with the all-new eLibrary (short video).
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eLibrary Science
Water on the Moon
The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place is no longer valid. Secrets the moon has been holding, for perhaps billions of years, are now being revealed to the delight of scientists and space enthusiasts alike.
NASA opened a new chapter in our understanding of the moon. Preliminary data from the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the 10.09 impacts.
ProQuest has created a BookCart lesson to help students learn more about "Water on the Moon."
SIRS Decades
Women's Right to Choose
January 22 is the anniversary of Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade—women's right to an abortion.
The current health care reform bills passed by the House and the Senate contain provisions that would not allow private insurers to provide abortion coverage, under any circumstances, when they insure any female that is eligible for a government insurance subsidy.
Document-Based Questions: What were the arguments that convinced the Supreme Court to rule favorably on Roe v. Wade in 1973? What might happen to women and women's rights if the pro-life movement succeeds in reversing Roe v. Wade?
It's a research assignment tailor-made for primary source-rich SIRS Decades.
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SIRS Issues Researcher
Poverty in America
January is Poverty in America Awareness Month. The current recession has created significant joblessness and resulting poverty unlike any other time since the Great Depression.
The increase in poverty due to the recession may give the impression that there wasn't a major problem prior to the recession. The U.S. is the richest country in the world; but our poverty level, as measured by family income, is higher than most other major industrial economies in the world, and has increased during the decade just ended.
There are a variety of issues associated with poverty such as racism, lack of education, lack of healthcare, etc. SIRS Leading Issues provides a collection of these related issues that would be most appropriate for students to study during these troubled economic times.
Our SIRS Leading Issues—Poverty and Unemployment—are good places to start.
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ProQuest Platinum
International Year of Biodiversity
The UN declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). Throughout the year countless initiatives will be organized to disseminate information, promote the protection of biodiversity and encourage organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals to take direct action to reduce the constant loss of biological diversity worldwide.
Students: Why is conserving biodiversity important: four reasons? What are three of the current biodiversity strategies that are working? What will happen if biodiversity is not protected?
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eLibrary Elementary
Family Fitness & Obesity
January is Family Fitness Month. This is especially appropriate at the start of the new year because many adults and children gain unneeded weight during November and December starting with Thanksgiving and continuing through the holidays that include Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukah.
What type of foods are the healthiest to eat and snack on? Which foods lead to obesity and should be avoided? What types of exercise are the most effective and which would you choose and why? eLibrary Elementary has the answers.
eLibrary Curriculum Edition
Breach: U.S. Secret Service
A security breach at a White House state dinner in November has prompted questions about whether the Secret Service needs more staff, its strategies for protecting the President and other essential government staff, and what reforms may need to be implemented to eliminate such security breaches in the future.
ProQuest has created a BookCart learning activity (details) for students to learn more about this important federal law enforcement agency, "Secret Service."
Each model Cart we provide is a complete and one-stop learning activity for your learners.
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Grants for Educators @ Grant Wrangler
Learn how to publish this information on your website(s)
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Free Online Training Opportunities
Our ProQuest product trainers are standing by to help you get the most out of your subscription. Tap into this month's free training schedules (by class or date) then register for a course. (Get dates via email: sign up here.)
ProQuest's 2010 K-12 Catalog
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Enroll & Save: Vendor of Choice Program
At ProQuest, we know that many of our customers are facing budget cuts (ProQuest CEO message). With each passing month, it's becoming more difficult to afford all of the online research resources you would like to provide to your students.
In response, we've put a program in place to help you during these hard times. ProQuest's new Vendor of Choice program has already helped schools just like yours save thousands of dollars. Find out more and enroll today.
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eLibrary Story:
Save Time, Better Currency
"After one full year of using eLibrary with many of my Science and Humanities classes, I am finding that my students have a better understanding of what a reliable resource truly is."
"They are going to my BookCarts [details] instead of going to generic search engines on the Internet. Therefore, they are saving a considerable amount of valuable classroom and library time finding the information they need."
"With the use of eLibrary and my growing collection of BookCart learning activities, I can be confident that my students are using trustworthy sources in their investigations."
Midge Livingston, Teacher-Librarian
Harbour Pointe Middle School @ Mukilteo, WA
How are you using our solutions to educate students and empower teachers? Send us your story.
CultureGrams
World Economic Forum
From January 27-31, 2010, the World Economic Forum (lesson) will hold its fortieth annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Discuss with your students the role of the World Economic Forum (website), an organization that brings together some of the world's most powerful leaders and makes decisions with far-reaching influence.
Then have students prepare to greet people as though they were hosts at the World Economic Forum meeting. Divide the students into groups of three or four students. Assign each group one country, whose CultureGrams World Edition report the group members will study, paying attention to Language, Greetings, and Gestures.
For a twist on Inauguration Day, when the new U.S. president and vice-president are sworn in, have students become the "president" of a new, fictional country. To begin, give each student a copy of a CultureGrams World Edition report and read it before class.
World Conflicts Today
Focusing on the Quality of Life
January is International Quality of Life Month. Although there are multiple factors that influence a person's quality of life, sufficient access to the basic necessities of life—shelter, food, and water—is critical.
Since less than one-tenth of one percent of the world's water is usable and accessible—a fraction that is decreasing because of climate change—water scarcity is a problem in many places across the globe. One such place is the Middle East, a densely populated desert region with a phenomenal three percent population growth rate that will compound the scarcity of water in years to come.
Access to water is a significant factor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although it is one that is often overlooked in favor of more dramatic stories.
Have the researchers read the section on water in the Obstacles portion of the Palestinian Territories World Conflicts Today report.
Explore more timely, history-related themes inside Retroview and History Happenings, ProQuest's hands-on social studies email newsletters.
Spotlights & Challenge Quests
In 1924, France hosted the first Winter Olympics, then called "The International Winter Sports Week." Sixteen nations sent athletes to compete.
SIRS Discover wants you and your students to learn more about the 2010 Winter Olympics, and about the Canadian city in which the Winter Games are held,
in this month's Spotlight of the Month: XXI Winter Olympics @ Vancouver.
On January 11, 1935, Amelia Earhart became the first person to accomplish a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean.
SIRS asks:
Earhart departed from Honolulu, Hawaii, and landed in what California city?
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Prohibition & The Rise of Organized Crime
Ninety years ago, on January 16, 1920, the Senate and House overrode the veto of President Wilson and enacted into law a bill outlawing the production, sale, and transportation of all forms of liquor—The Volstead Act (18th Amendment).
Instead of reducing the consumption of alcohol as intended, Prohibition created the conditions that were ideal for criminal gangs to formulate an extensive criminal enterprise. Prohibition enabled organized gangsters to capitalize their profits from the new lucrative bootlegging industry and gave rise to some of the most notorious crime bosses in history.
Students: Who were the people and groups who pushed Congress to pass the Volstead Act? What were the benefits expected from the passage of Prohibition? Why did organized crime start and flourish during this era?
Top 3 Websites
Each month, our SIRS team scours the Internet for top-quality websites for schools and students. Dive into this month's selections: Dogs, Cigarette Anatomy, Galaxy Games. (More)
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