Arizona Programs
K-8 teachers: Worlds of Words has global story boxes and culture kits that you can check out. And now, to save you the time and the expense of parking on campus, they are offering free delivery of the boxes to Tucson schools!
- First, learn more about World of Words.
- Then, to check out a language/culture kit, checkout a language/culture kit or check out a global story box.
The University of Arizona Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language & Literacy (CERCLL) has some great spring teachers’ events scheduled.
CERCLL’s biannual “Language Teacher Symposium (LaTeS): Literacy-based lesson planning, from Cherice Montgomery” will take place on April 4, 2020, on the University of Arizona campus. Attendees will learn strategies for integrating textbook materials into the classroom.
UA CERCLL is holding “Transdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Language in the 21st Century,” which will take place on April 24, 2020. Dr Gillian Lord will speak on revising teaching methods for Language courses.
There are many great, free opportunities through the Arizona Geographic Alliance. Some opportunities have travel allowances for people who don’t live in the site where the workshop is located. (CMES is telling you about this opportunity as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular program that has triggered this comment.)
Tucson teachers: Do you want a community partner in working on a project? Someone to host a field trip? A speaker for your class? Check out the CommunityShare website/database of free opportunities. Connect with someone or create your own project.
Professional Development and Summer Travel Opportunities
Secondary teachers: The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC has some amazing teacher fellowships. Whether or not you have any experience in teaching about the Holocaust, you can attend a session of the Belfer national conference. For educators more experienced with the Holocaust, there is the Museum Teacher Fellowship program. Follow the links below for more information:
“Echoes and Reflections” has free webinars for teachers – several times a week – on different topics related to the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and genocide.
The University of Texas/Austin has a great summer program each year, put on by centers on several different world regions (including their Center for Middle Eastern Studies). You have to pay a registration fee, but they also have very affordable housing for out-of-town people. CMES is telling you about this event as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular program that has triggered this comment.
GEEO (Global Exploration for Educators Organization) offers cost-subsidized Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer teacher travel programs to destinations that you might not go to on your own. The programs are not free, but you can be a full or part-time educator, AND a non-teaching adult other can sign up to go with you.
Partnership for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Folklore has some programs to Russia – during the summer and some other times. (CMES is telling you about this event as a courtesy and does not endorse the program. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about this particular program that has triggered this comment.)
Partnership for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Folklore
Other External Programs and Resources
Centropa is focused on “preserving Jewish memory – bringing history to life.” On this website, you will find interviews, short films (with educators’ guides), and other materials for teachers. There’s even a video about Jews during the Bosnian war of the 1990s!
The Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC) is an organization of educators interested in the Middle East. Groups of teachers and Middle East content specialists read recently-released books about the Middle East appropriate for K-12 students and give awards for those that are well-written, appeal to kids at the intended grade level, and give an accurate, nuanced portrayal of life in the Middle East (or of Middle Eastern-Americans). There are 3 categories of entries: picture books, youth literature, and youth non-fiction.
If you would like to become a member of MEOC, it’s free, but you pay a whopping $10 per year if you want to participate on the book awards committee or apply for funding to attend a MEOC workshop.
If you teach about world religions, you might find the website of the American Sikh Council to be useful. How better to learn about the Sikh religion/culture than to hear it from members of the religion themselves. There are recommended books for adults and children, info about the faith, and resources for teaching about human rights violations perpetrated against them. CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.
Witness to War is an organization dedicated to “preserving the oral histories of combat veterans.” Through the website’s video interviews, you can bring veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or other wars into your classroom. There are memoirs, photos, videos – and the website is constantly growing. CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.
- The Americas Awards (for books about Latin America or Latinos in the U.S.) from CLASP (Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs)
- CABA (Children’s Africana Book Awards) for books about Africa or African-Americans.
- SABA (South Asia Book Awards) for books about South Asia.
Qatar Foundation International, which has a lot of great cultural materials for teachers, has a free mosaic tile maker application that introduces students to fundamental concepts of Islamic art and architecture through the exploration and creation of mosaic tile art.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has an interesting short report on Islamophobia in the U.S. From there, you can also click on the links at the top of the page to find resources to combat hate and prejudice of all kinds as well as other materials/maps.
IEEE has a new program for history teachers/students: REACH (Raising Engineering Awareness through the Conduit of History). There are some very interesting lessons/videos and hands-on activities for history classes. For example, there’s a unit on “Triremes: How to Build Your Vessel” or a multimedia presentation “Lost at Sea: Early Maritime Navigation Inquiry Unit.” CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.
The University of Chicago has a great webpage “Chicago’s Muslims in Their Own Voices.” You can click on interviews with Muslims from all different countries, see a map to locate these people’s places of origin, and some resources.
Choices has some great curriculum units: some for free, some for which you have to pay a small amount. The newest paid one – not expensive – less than $30 for a fully reproducible set of 2 materials books – is “The Middle East: Questions for U.S. Policy.” One of the FREE ones is: “Syrian Refugees: Understanding Stories with Comics.”
The Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center (in Washington DC – with information from/about Oman) has a fantastic resource for teachers: the Indian Ocean in World History website. This has online lesson plans with maps, primary sources, and all kinds of information on the Indian Ocean trade in various historical eras, spanning the world trade between East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Far East.
The Pulitzer Center has some great lesson plans for upper elementary, middle school, high school, and community college classes.
Lesson examples:
CMES is telling you about these materials as a courtesy and does not endorse them. We are now required to provide a disclaimer for non-UA programs; there is nothing about these particular materials that has triggered this comment.
In additional to educator resources, the Abdelkader Education Project offers scholarships and competitions at various grade levels.