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Funding

Youth Service America Disney Minnie Grants
"Youth Service America and Disney are offering Disney Minnie Grants to youth
across the globe. These grants of $500 each support youth (ages 5-14) in
planning and implementing service projects in their community. Teachers, older
youth (15-25), youth-leaders, and youth-serving organizations are also eligible
to apply, provided that they engage younger youth (5-14) in planning and
implementing the service event. A significant component of the project must
take place on National & Global Youth Service Day, April 20-22, 2007...
Applications are welcome from all countries." Deadline: January 24, 2007
URL: http://www.ysa.org/awards/
Referred by: Foundation Center

Sparkplug Foundation Grants
"The Sparkplug Foundation supports start-up projects primarily in three areas of
focus: music, education and grassroots organizing.... In all areas of focus,
Sparkplug is interested in making one-time grants for activities which create
sustainable organizing and communities." Eligible applicants: 501c-3 organizations;
Organizations with 501c-3 sponsors; Individuals with or without sponsors. "The
first step is to call them for a talk-through of your proposal, to assess whether
you should submit an application. Please be aware that they only consider
applications that have been discussed with them in advance. Next application
deadline: May 16, 2007"
URL: http://www.sparkplugfoundation.org
Referred by: Charity Channel/Don Griesman's Grant Opportunities

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Resources

Designing Worthwhile PBL Projects for High School Students
"A project-based-learning teacher and coach with nearly fifteen years of
experience writes about 'the most effective tool for organizing content and
motivating students to think hard.' ...What constitutes a worthwhile project for
learners of this age group? What do educators mean when they say 'project?'
And what exactly is project-based learning (PBL)? Surprisingly, given how
common the terms are, there appears to be no common understanding of their
meaning, much less consensus about when a project approach should be the
tactic of choice. It seems the PBL moniker may have become too big a tent by
accommodating all methods related to hands-on learning....I define project as
'an authentic performance-assessment task in which students must apply the
knowledge and skills learned in class to solve a genuine problem outside the
classroom.'"
URL: http://www.edutopia.org/1723
Referred by: Edutopia

CASE STUDY: Handhelds are Making for a Whole New Kind of Science Lesson
By Linda L. Briggs
"Kellie Doubek doesn't mince words: Full-size computers don't belong in the field.
'You can get a handheld to do the same thing for a fraction of the cost,' says
Doubek, an educational consultant who advises Midwestern schools on implementing
technology....The Palm-based devices with wireless probes are tremendous student
motivators, according to teacher Pam Miller, who also serves as science department
chair at Seaside. 'We're able to get much more meaningful data, and we're better
able to share access to the data.' The sophistication of the data-gathering devices
makes a real difference, she says. 'Kids like to feel like they're doing real science,
and this is real science.'"
URL: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/19171
Referred by: THE Journal (SmartClassroom)

National Afterschool Association Conference
"The National AfterSchool Association's 19th Annual Conference will be held in
Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday, March 21 - Friday, March 23 in 2007 with
PreConference events on Tuesday, March 20. The NAA Conference is the premier
education and networking gathering of the afterschool professional community...."
URL: http://www.naaconference.org/

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Activities

Worldwide 24/7 Student Project Curriculum and Activities
"The America 24/7 Student Project is based on the book America 24/7, by Rick
Smolan and David Elliot Cohen. The book's images, submitted over a one-week
period by both amateur and professional photographers, paint a powerful picture
of everyday life in the diverse communities that make up the United States. The
book's grass-roots look at who Americans are and how we live inspired the use
of this book as a classroom guide to visual literacy and to developing student
web photo galleries that tell the unique stories of their own communities.... It
includes lessons in Social Studies, Geography, History, Art, Language Arts, and
International Studies. To extend the scope of learning, students post their images
to a web gallery to share with other schools."
URL: http://www.adobe.com/education/instruction/curriculum/exchange/america.html

Zany Zoom Ins, a YouthLearn Activity in Photography
Are you and your kids getting into photography in this new year? Check out
'Zany Zoom Ins: Fun With Close-Up Photographs', an activity in the YouthLearn
collection. Even if you're introducing photography as part of a larger project,
you'll want to spend time over several sessions introducing photographic
techniques to help kids understand elementary concepts like distance, angle
and framing. "Zany Zoom Ins" is an intermediate activity you can use along the
way. In this activity, the kids take ultra-close-up photographs of common objects
to identify what they are.
URL: http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/activities/multimedia/eyeball.asp

We welcome your feedback!

_______________

YouthLearn
http://www.youthlearn.org

This newsletter is produced by the YouthLearn Initiative at EDC especially for
members of the YouthLearn discussion group. Every two weeks, the newsletter is
compiled from the entries in the YouthLearn News Blog, including summaries
from various sources that YouthLearn staff periodically review.

Past newsletters are archived at http://www.youthlearn.org/resources/newsletter/index.html.

YouthLearn is a project of the nonprofit Education Development Center, Inc.
Designed for youth development professionals, teachers, educators, and other
caring adults, YouthLearn provides resources and tools for developing effective
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