Online Annual Events
How
do I participate in annual events like the Iditarod?
What kinds of activities can my class do during these events?
What hardware and software do I need to participate in events?
Annual events are a great way to help students reach
outside their school and participate an important activity. From following
the Iditarod to tracing the path of Monarch butterflies, annual events
provide an easy way for teachers to get involved with using technology
for a practical project.
Read An
Interview with Mark Ahlness and Jean Carmody About the Earth Day
Groceries Project in Reading Online (2002, March).
Read Space
Age Thinkers by Diane Curtis from edutopia online. Watch the
online videos. Learn about student experiences for Space Day.
You'll need a Windows or QuickTime player to watch the movies.
Consider ways to build annual events into your curriculum to meet standards. For example, you could read the book Stone Fox in conjunction with the Iditarod. Explore the following three websites for ideas: Iditarod, Stone Fox Unit, and Stone Fox CyberGuide.
Annual Event Websites
Arbor Day
http://www.arborday.com/
Activities for all ages.
Banned Book Week
http://www.ala.org/
Every year the last week of September.
Earth Day Groceries Projects 
http://www.earthdaybags.org/
Decorate and reuse grocery bags for Earth Day in April.
Earth Day Network
http://www.earthday.net/
Contains information about ways to celebrate Earth Day. Also include other
events. A Teacher's Corner is provided.
Elections
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/election2004/index.asp
Presidential election materials. Also, check out Democracy
at Work.
Groundhog Day
http://www.groundhog.org/
Celebrate February 2 each year. Activities at website. Also, go to Ground
Hog Day Project for annual activities.
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race
http://iditarod.com/
Every year in early March.
International Education
Week
http://exchanges.state.gov/iew/
Celebrated in November.
Journey North and Journey
South
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
This project is a global study of wildlife migrations and contains projects
throughout the year. The Monarch butterfly project is the best known, but they
also have projects on the migration of whales, hummingbird, whooping cranes
and other creatures, as well as seasonal changes such as flowers and tree.
Read For...
http://teacher.scholastic.com/readfor2004/index.htm
Sponsored by Scholastic, the "Read For..." program focuses on developing
a passion for reading. Includes a guide for planning and activities.
Read In
http://www.readin.org/
Annual event with online interaction with children's authors and illustrators.
Space Day
http://www.spaceday.org/index.html
Celebrate in firth Thursday of each May.
Technology Blackout Day
http://www.technologyblackoutday.com/
The annual "Imagine a Technology Blackout Day!" is a month-long event in which classrooms around the country to examine how technology permeates our world by imagining one full day without it in our lives.
Try It
Explore one of the annual events above. Brainstorm
ways you could integrate this event with specific grade level and subject
area standards.
| Exploring Projects | Locating Projects | Selecting Projects | Adapting Projects | Creating Projects | Creating a "Call for Participation" | Implementing the Project | Doing a Travel Buddy Project | Online Collaborative Projects |