Women's History Month

Today marks the beginning of National Women’s History Month. The theme for 2008 is “Women’s Art: Women’s Vision,” which highlights amazing women artists whose accomplishments were celebrated during their lifetimes but lost to history.

Check out this website to learn more about five amazing women who changed history. Are any of you doing your Famous American report on any of these heroes?

Source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=452
Image: cnnstudentnews.cnn.com

Challenger Explodes - 1986

In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, 74 seconds after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All seven astronauts on board were killed, including teacher Christa MacAuliffe, who was to have been the first U.S. civilian in space. Hundreds of millions of people around the world watched the explosion on television.

You know how there are those events in your life that you will always remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when it happened? Well, the Challenger explosion was one of those moments for me. I was a junior in High School in Los Angeles, California and I was home sick from school. The launch was a huge deal because of the fact that it was going to be the first time a civilian would go into space, and I was watching it live in my family room. I couldn't believe what I was seeing as the shuttle exploded and broke into pieces. You could still hear radio transmissions coming from people at mission control with status reports as the pieces were falling to earth.

Leave a comment if there is an event you'll never forget.

Mr. C.

(Source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=406)
(Image courtesy of www.answers.com)

Robert Burns' Birthday - 1759

Considered Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns was born to poor tenant farmers in 1759. The author of “Auld Lang Syne,” Burns became famous after he published his first volume of poetry, written in the Ayrshire dialect of Lowland Scots. When he died at age 37, 10,000 people turned out for the funeral of their beloved “Rabbie” Burns. Every year on this day, many Scots celebrate his honor with a ritual dinner of haggis and scotch whisky.

One of Burns' most popular ballads is called Auld Lang Syne, which means "Old long ago". Many people sing this at midnight on New Year's Eve to celebrate the end of another year gone by. Click here to see it. Click here to hear it.

Here is an entire pate devoted to the life and work of Robert Burns.

(Source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=425).

Gold Discovered in 1848!

James Marshall discovered gold on January 24, 1848, at Sutter’s Mill, beginning the California Gold Rush. The New Jersey carpenter was working at John Sutter’s Sacramento River settlement when he found the nugget. The discovery lured more than 90,000 people to California in the two years following his find and more than 300,000 people by 1854. James Marshall died penniless in 1885.

Check out this site to learn more about the gold rush.

(Source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=403)

Save the Animals

Naturalist Joy Adamson’s novel Born Free made people aware of the dreadful loss of habitat and wildlife in Kenya, where she and her husband George lived. She pledged all the money earned by her books to wildlife preservation.

Check out this creature feature on lions at National Geographic for Kids. Then try your hand at raising your very own cyber tiger at this site.

(Source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=401)

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday - 1929

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on this day in 1929. Following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, he was ordained as a minister in 1948. Dr. King became one of the most important leaders of the civil rights movement in the U.S., advocating a nonviolent approach to fighting for equal rights. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.


Click here to hear a recording of Dr. King's famous "I have a dream" speech.

(source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=396)

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhardt, Garden City, LI, 1936
Originally uploaded by QBPL-LID.

On this day in 1935, Amelia Earhart became the first person—male OR female—to fly solo (all by herself) from Hawaii to California. This was a monumental achievement in the history of aviation, and it helped make Earhart a national hero by showing that a woman could do things men hadn't been able to.

What's your definition of a hero? Is it someone with superhuman strength or the ability to fly, like Superman or other comic book characters? Is it a firefighter who rushes into a burning building when everyone else is rushing out? Is it a father or mother who works multiple jobs to ensure a better future for their kids? The fact is, anyone can be a hero, and a hero to one person is not necessarily a hero to another.

For your assignment, due next Thursday, I'd like you to ask three different people these questions:

1. Who is someone you think of as a hero?
2. Why do you think that person is a hero?

If possible, ask someone who is younger than you, someone who is your age and someone who is older than you to see what kind of different answers they give. If you'd like, have them read and respond to this post themselves by leaving a comment (click link at bottom of post). Have them include their name, their age (optional), their responses, and your name (so you can get credit). Remember, first names only.

Other options for completing this assignment could include:

Writing down the responses and typing them as a comment to this post

Writing or typing the responses and bringing them in to school/emailing them to school

Recording the responses (audio, video or both) and bringing/emailing

Presenting the responses orally for the class

Or come up with your own way (check with Mr. C. or Mrs. C. first to make sure it's o.k.)!

Click here for more info on Amelia Earhart.

(source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=394)

Two famous Smiths share this birthday

Two famous Americans, John Smith and Jedediah Smith, were born on this day, January 6. Both these famous men were known for their exploration of different parts of North America. John Smith, famous for his presidency of Jamestown and interactions with the Algonquin, explored and mapped the Chesapeake Bay. Jedediah Smith, an explorer in the west, used the “South Pass” through the Rocky Mountains to lead some of the first white settlers to new lands. Born over 200 years apart, both shared a love of exploration, experience with Native American relations, and—a common last name.

Learn more about Captain John Smith here.

Learn more about Jedediah Smith here.

Did you know the surname (last name) Smith is the most common in the United States (more than 3 million people, or 1% of the U.S. population)? The name Smith means “a worker at the smith—a metal-worker, blacksmith or farrier.” Visit this site to see what your last name means. Once you've done that, check out this site to see where your name ranks among the most popular in the U.S.

(Source: http://readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=623)

Anne - History Site

I found this website when I was looking for dates of the Great Depression for my Me Book it has some cool things on the colonial times and history dates like that, check it out! On my birthday in 1492 Columbus saw land in the morning, and I was born in the morning!!!

Anne D.

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb

242 years ago today...

On May 29, 1765, Patrick Henry bitterly denounced the Stamp Act in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Thanks Patrick!

Learn more about Patrick Henry here.

Learn more about the Stamp Act here.

Thanks to Will for originally posting this site:

http://www.factmonster.com/onthisday

Loyalist or Patriot?

Which side are you on?

Click on the comments to state your case!

Will - What Happened on this day...?

I would like to post a What Happend on this Day Thing. Here is the website:


http://www.factmonster.com/onthisday