hersheybearlearns

Unlike the other day, I’m not actually procrastinating this time.  I was away without access to the signs of civilization, The New York Times and wifi.  On the plus side, there were lots of deer.

I set up my Netvibes account on Thursday, but only after spending lots of time browsing did I realize that I there is a public and a private page.  I’ve only worked on the private section, so no one can view it.  Not that it’s a work of art.

Last year, I began investigating how to make social studies more accessible to my students (elementary level).  To that end, I’ve been reading lots of history (New York/United States) for 4th-5th grade.  So, that’s what I looked at today.  I found a few interesting things.

http://www.newyorkhistoryblog.com/ I know, this is not a podcast, but I like it. Mix of various topics from around the state.  Some are in reaction to item in the press.

http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/ You can subscribe to their podcast through their blog.  I, personally, like the blog better, because it comes with images.  The topics are random and some are not suitable for kids (Mc Sorely’s tavern or Studio 54).  I would have to investigate more, but I think I could see using some of the podcasts to get kids to practice listening skills.

http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/podcasts/  This is really better for highschool, but I gives good background information, tips and primary documents.

I hope to have my public netvibes working tomorrow.