The 13 Best Science and Technology Books of 2013 by Maria Popova The wonders of the gut, why our brains are wired to be social, what poetry and math have in common, swarm intelligence vs. “God,” and more. On the heels of the year’s best reads in psychology and philosophy, art and design, history and biography, and children’s books, the season’s subjective selection of best-of reading lists continues with the finest science and technology books of 2013. Every year since 1998, intellectual impresario and Edge editor John Brockman has been posing a single grand question to some of our time’s greatest thinkers across a wide spectrum of disciplines, then collecting the answers in an annual anthology. In 2012, the question Brockman posed, proposed by none other than Steven Pinker, was “What is your favorite deep, elegant, or beautiful explanation?” In the introduction preceding the micro-essays, Brockman frames the question and its ultimate objective, adding to history’s most timeless definitions of science: Be still.
6 Free Online Resources for Primary Source Documents The Common Core Learning Standards describe the importance of teaching students how to comprehend informational text. They are asked to read closely, make inferences, cite evidence, analyze arguments and interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text. Primary source documents are artifacts created by individuals during a particular period in history. 1. The National Archives is a fantastic resource. 2. Also run by the National Archives, DocsTeach is full of activities for educators. 3. Spartacus Educational is a great resource for global history. 4. Fordham University is another good resource for global history. 5. Broken down by time period then listed in alphabetical order, the Avalon Project at Yale University also has primary sources for global history teachers. 6. Google and Life Magazine have a wonderful search engine that lets users search millions of images from the Life Magazine Photo Archive. Easy iPad Access Using iPads in your classroom?
Education Update:The Class Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Teaching "Controversial" Topics in Social Studies:The Class Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest February 2014 | Volume 56 | Number 2 The Class Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Teaching "Controversial" Topics in Social Studies Pages 1-4-6 Teaching "Controversial" Topics in Social Studies Rather than shy away from controversy in the classroom, teachers draw on edgy topics as an authentic opportunity to practice the critical thinking and social-emotional skills needed to debate sensitive issues. The phrase "ripped from the headlines" is often used to hook viewers into a TV show, but in the classroom, are similar topics off limits? Social studies class, in particular, can present a catch-22 for educators who want to engage students critically with complex issues from both current and historical events. Will parents storm the school board, or will classroom discussions devolve into shouting matches? Truth and Consequences