Sheree
Shown
7/7/03
Web Review: New York
Time’s Learning Network
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html
The New York Time’s Learning Network is a rich site for teachers, students and parents. I was very impressed with the wealth of information and activities on this page that could be use with a variety of age levels.
There is an interesting hodge-podge of short activities and discussion starters. "Word of the Day" and the "Test Prep" links offer students the opportunity to hone their vocabulary skills in preparation for the SATs. Various standardized test formats are used on these links to familiarize students with such tests. "On This Day in History" was an interesting link, as were the crossword puzzle and the news snapshot. The questions that accompanied the daily news snapshot were thought provoking. I would definitely consider looking at this link as a sponge activity to get students thinking and open discussion in class.
There was a Campus Weblines section that was also impressive and usable, particularly for journalism teachers and students. This section followed several visiting student newspaper editors who met at a workshop in New York. These students put together a fantastic set of web pages detailing their experience and teaching the basics of journalism.
But the most valuable section of this web site was definitely the lesson plan pages for various content areas. Of course, I chose Language Arts, and found "The Sorcerer’s Shown" (how appropriate), which asked students to pit same genre characters against each other in fictionalized competitions. Students started with discussion questions on the nature of character, genre, heroes, etc., then read a James Goodman article on wizardry. The article was excellent, as were the discussion questions. Students then put together their competition. Examples might be child geniuses: Harry Potter and the like, wizards: Gandolf, Micky Mouse, Potter’s teachers, etc., or women of power: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Xena, warrior princess. The interactions between such characters (near and dear to middle school and high school students) help students to explore the nature of characterization.
More "serious" lesson plans were also available. In fact, the archives were outstanding: everything from persuasive techniques and propaganda to historical ethical dilemmas were entertained. Additional links were always supplied, as were N.Y. Times articles that supplemented the discussion. Links to the authors of these lesson plans were also available, and content standards were always addressed.
This webs site contains a wealth of possibilities!