The Vernal Equinox: Perfect Balance

Friday, March 20th marks the vernal equinox--the day on which Earth experiences a perfect balance. We'll have twelve hours of darkness and twelve hours of light.

In the northern hemisphere, we'll be moving into spring and summer, and so the light will grow each day (as it has been since the winter solstice, last December 21st). In the southern hemisphere, we'll be moving into autumn and winter, and so the dark will grow each day (as it has been since last December 21st).

Windows to the Universe offers great information, ideas, and lessons plans for introducing your students to the very global subject of astronomy. Lesson plans and resources are available in both Spanish and English. If you'll be teaching the vernal equinox, you can find information and diagrams suitable for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students.

National Geographic offers an activity with a fun scientific/cultural spin at A Reason for the Season on its Xpeditions site. Related activities for all grade levels are included.

Here's wishing you perfect balance! Happy Spring!

ePals: Connecting Classes Globally

If you're a global teacher who's tried to connect your class with a class in another part of the world, you've probably come up against three big challenges. The first is finding another teacher who's as committed as you are to making an international connection work. The second is making sure you've got a suitable match in terms of grade level, language proficiency, and interests. And the third (and this can be the kicker) is developing a project that gives the class connection meaning and direction.

The website ePals has a great reputation for working with teachers to meet the first two challenges, offering great ways to find teachers and classes to connect with all over the world. Since making its own connection with National Geographic last year, ePals now has the third covered, too.

Now ePals offers fully developed standards-based projects with lesson plans, resources, and even a schedule for the emails between classes. So once you're connected with a class internationally, you've got something very worthwhile to work on together.

Project topics range from cultural studies to habitats to maps (a natural for National Geographic). You can search for a class on ePals and choose a project together, or choose a project and then search for a class on ePals. The site offers built-in translation of Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and Spanish for classes that need it.

Great way to add a global dimension to your teaching. Find out more about getting started here.

And (did I mention?), it's free!