Welcome Back Teachers!

Monday, Septemeber 10, 2012:
1. 9/11 Memorial: Twisted steel from the World Trade Center wreckage turned into a work of art was dedicated Sunday as a memorial to honor the victims of 9/11 at High Rock Park in Saratoga Springs. Above, firefighters and police officers march past the sculpture, titled “Tempered By Memory,” during the dedication ceremony that also drew a large crowd to the city park. Click here for multiple lesson plans and learning tools for teachers who want to give memory to 9/11 this time of year.
2. Charter Schools: The children in uniforms swarm around the laptops as homemade pizzas bake in the kitchen and a chef cuts cabbages from the school’s garden. In some rooms, students are taking tests that their teachers will use to assess their skills and then tailor their teaching accordingly. In others, they gather around an interactive white board to practice counting or make art. Click here for a home economics lesson plan.
3.Uncle Sam Memorial: New stone benches were installed for rededication Sunday of the Uncle Sam grave site at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. The event, sponsored by the New York state chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, honored Sam Wilson, a 19th-century meat packer from Troy who helped supply American troops during the War of 1812, and whose image has become synonymous with the United States. Click here for a lesson plan on The War of 1812.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012:
1. Uranium Weapons Plant Study: A long-sought health study on hundreds of workers and neighbors of a former uranium weapons plant is set to launch this fall, according to the state Health Department. Click here to learn all about Uranium and its effects
2. New World Trade Center: Eleven years after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, the new multibillion-dollar World Trade Center once again dominates the lower Manhattan skyline. Hundreds of construction workers are at the 16-acre site every day, and tourists snap thousands of photos of the two towers that are nearing completion. Click here for a lesson plan on the World Trade Center.
3. Wind Energy: There’s enough energy available in the wind to satisfy the entire world’s energy needs, a new study says. “The available wind resources are much larger than that needed to supply the world’s power,” authors Mark Jacobson of Stanford University and Cristina Archer of the University of Delaware wrote in the study, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “This renewable resource could easily satisfy the global human energy demand.” Click here for a lesson plan on wind energy.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012:
1. Bridge Work: State transportation officials and the contractor working on the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Bridge are meeting this week to try to prevent a recurrence of construction delays that plagued the first weekend of work replacing its deck. Click here for a lesson plan on bridge engineering.
2. Gasoline Costs Rise: The peak summer driving season is over, but the price of gasoline keeps rising in the Capital Region, topping $4 a gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge report. Shouldn’t it be going down? Click here for a recent lesson plan on the economics of gasoline.
3. Pit Bull Abuse: Three injured pit bull puppies found by Albany railroad workers may have been intentionally nailed to the tracks in a “heartless” act of animal cruelty, according to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. Click here for a lesson plan on animal cruelty.

Thursday, September 13, 2012:
1. Arab Attacks: Mob attacks that killed the American ambassador and three members of his staff in Libya and breached the U.S. embassy compound in Cairo on the 9/11 anniversary are stirring concerns that the pro-democracy Arab Spring could backfire on the United States. Click here for a lesson plan on Libya.
2. Voting Booths: Voting machines are loaded on a truck Wednesday to be taken to polling places from the Albany County Board of Elections offices in Albany in advance of Thursday’s primaries. Voters enrolled in political parties will decide November candidates in the Albany County district attorney’s race and several state Senate and Assembly districts. Click here for an educational resource unit on the election process for 2012.
3. Sex Ed: Sex education in New York schools is rife with bias, inaccuracy and misleading information, according to a New York Civil Liberties Union report released Wednesday. That has created a dangerous situation for many students because they do not have access to medically or scientifically accurate information, NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “We all know what happens when young people don’t get the information they need,” she said. “They turn to pop culture or bow to peer pressure because they don’t know why to say no or how to say no.” Click here for multiple Sex education lesson plans.


Friday, September 14, 2012:
1. Republican Primary Vote: Sen. Roy McDonald and Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione fought to a virtual stalemate Thursday, separated by fewer than 50 votes in their Republican primary for the 43rd Senate District. B o a r d s o f Elections sent 1,706 absentee ballots, 1,137 of which had been r e t u r n e d b y Thursday. Click here for a lesson plans page on the State Election process.
2. Allergy Season: The end of an unusually long allergy season is proving to be a few too many sneezes away for local sufferers.
This year’s mild winter in the Northeast, followed by a hot, dry summer, was a recipe for puffy, red-eyed disaster, allergy experts said. Click here to learn all about ragweed--a major culprit behind this years allergies.
3. Burly Pig: It probably just slipped through the fence. That’s what animal control officials believe was the beginning of a five-mile, morning-long journey Thursday for a burly pig that escaped from a nearby farm and trotted down to the Northway. Click here tp learn all about pigs!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012:
1. Teacher Evaluations: Only seven local school districts have had their teacher evaluation plans approved by the state, despite a looming deadline that could eliminate some state aid. And while many districts have been slow to negotiate plans with their unions and then submit them to the state, a delay may also be coming from the Education Department. The state has been overwhelmed by the work required to go through the evaluations, said Valerie Grey, executive deputy commissioner, during a state Board of Regents meeting last week. “I think it’s fair to say we underestimated the time and resources that we needed to review these plans,” she said. Click here to learn more about teacher evaluations in NYS.
2. Pumpkin Picking: Kristina Hunt finds it takes both arms and hands as she puts the finishing touches on the Right Hand Only Maze at Liberty Ridge Farm in Schaghticoke on Monday. The farm switches seasons and will have its annual fall opening on Saturday, featuring an 11-acre corn maze and fresh baked goods, including their signature cider doughnuts, among many other attractions. Click here for an entire unit with multiple lesson plans and activities with pumpkins!
3. Winter Outlook: According to two different, recently released winter forecasts, the Northeast is in for one or the other. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says this upcoming winter will “be colder and drier than normal,” according to an article published Monday by The Associated Press.  Accuweather.com  , however, sees an El Nino-fueled outlook that will batter the area with a “snow dump this winter.” Click here for a lesson plan on forcasting an El Nino!

Wednesday, Septmeber 19, 2012:
1. Fat America: More than half of New Yorkers will be obese by 2030, according to a report released Tuesday by the Trust for American Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click here for a lesson plan on obesity and it's health risks.
2. Irrigation: As Jim Gade packed up green peppers for delivery to a local supermarket chain, he reflected on this year’s unusually dry summer. If not for irrigation on his 50-acre vegetable farm, he would have had precious little crop to sell. Click here for a lesson plan on irrigation.
3. Storms: A powerful storm battered the Capital Region Tuesday, causing record rainfall, power outages at more than 18,000 homes and businesses, flooding and road closings. Click here for a lesson plan on rain.

Thursday, September 20, 2012:
1. Vacant Buildings: The latest snapshot of the city’s battle against blight shows that more than half of the 1,750 vacant buildings listed since 2006 are no longer abandoned — because they’ve been razed or are occupied — but the new report cautions that as many as a third of the 809 remaining derelict buildings may have to be demolished. Click here for a lesson plan on architecture.
2. Garlic: Garlic is among the most widely used foods in history. There is mention of it in literature from the ancient Chinese, Egyptian and Greek civilizations; the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, in his epic “Natural History” encyclopedia from the first century, catalogs its medical benefits and garlic’s popularity among many of the known world’s peasant classes. Click here to learn all about Garlic!
3. Underground Explosion: Anni Cole was only a few feet away at the corner of Chapel and Columbia streets when the deafening sound of an underground explosion rocked the downtown neighborhood Wednesday, sending manhole covers flying with a fireball in the air. Click here for a lesson plan on volcanic explosions!

Friday, September 21, 2012:
1. UAlbany Growth: The state University at Albany has proposed building a $165 million Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex, increasing the school’s enrollment by 1,350 within five years and adding 800 jobs. Click here for a lesson plan on new technologies.
2. Hot Air Balloons: Tony Nassivera of Glens Falls and his daughter Amelie, 6, pretend to help blow up a hot air balloon at the Adirondack Balloon Festival on Thursday at Crandall Park in Glens Falls. Click here to learn all about hot air balloons and how they work.
3. The Civil War: The Civil War is a large house with many rooms, and the State Museum has dug into its vast warehouses of artifacts, the archives of other state agencies and two dozen museums and private collections across the state to build a narrative structure that can contain such a sweeping story. Click here for a lesson plan on the Civil War.

Monday, September 24, 2012:
1. Youthful Judging: Youth court bridges gap between youth, criminal responsibility in Albany. Click here for a lesson plan by youth and government programs in NYS.
2. Cancer Treatment: In findings that are fundamentally reshaping the scientific understanding of breast cancer, researchers have identified four genetically distinct types of the cancer. And within those types, they found hallmark genetic changes that are driving many cancers. These discoveries are expected to lead to new treatments with drugs already approved for cancers in other parts of the body and new ideas for more precise treatments aimed at genetic aberrations that now have no known treatment. Click here for a lesson plan on Cancer.
3. Diabetes Run: Erin Bush, 12, who has diabetes, approaches the finish line during the one-mile children’s run at the third annual 5K Run for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), held at The Crossings of Colonie. Click here for two lesson plans on Diabetes.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012:
1. Catholic Schools Closing: Charter schools, which were created as competition for traditional public schools, have been detrimental for parochial education, a new study contends. Click here to learn all about Catholic School Systems.
2. Natural Gas: Natural gas, propane likely to cost less due to increase in drilling, hydrofracking. Click here for a science lesson plan on Natural gas and hydrofracking.
3. Plan B: The New York City Department of Education is making the morning-after-pill available to high school girls at 13 public schools. The department says girls as young as 14 will be able to get the Plan B emergency contraception without parental consent. Click here for education on the Plan B pill.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012:
1. More Micro: GlobalFoundries is preparing to build a three-story, 565,000-square-foot manufacturing research center at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta, a significant addition to its Fab 8 computer chip facility that became operational in December. Click here for a lesson plan on micro chip manufacturing.
2. Pork: A United Kingdom group is warning that a bacon and pork shortage in Britain is “unavoidable” and may already be a global problem. Britain’s National Pig Association said in a news release that new data show that the European Union pig herd is declining at a significant rate, a trend mirrored around the world. In a statement, the group warns that pig farmers are losing money because of high pig-feed costs caused by reduced global maize and soya harvests. Click here for the National Pig Association website.
3. Bullying: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that a new world order needs to emerge, away from years of American “bullying” and domination. Click here for a lesson plan on bullying.

Thursday, September 27, 2012:
1. Harry Potter Author: J.K. Rowling plans to return to writing for young people — and the author says she doesn’t rule out another book set in Harry Potter’s magical world. Click here for a Harry Potter teaching unit.
2. Saratoga Springs: Saratoga Springs is pretty cool. The racetrack, Broadway, SPAC in the summer, the Victorian homes. Yeah, pretty cool. Or better. A new website that ranks communities as travel or relocation destinations named ’toga one of five dozen “super cool” cities around the world. Click here for a history on Saratoga Springs.
3. Egypt: Presidents of Egypt, Yemen say Islamic world has right to limit critics. Click here for a lesson plan on Egypt.

Friday, September 28, 2012:
1. Lake George: To protect the Queen of American Lakes from future infestations by invasive species, the Lake George Park Commission ought to impose a mandatory inspection system for recreational boats, a consultant recommended Thursday. Click here for a lesson plan on invasive species.
2. Ferris Wheel: The Big Apple is getting another “biggest”: the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, part of an ambitious plan to draw New Yorkers and tourists alike to the city’s so-called “forgotten borough.” Click here for a history of the ferris wheel.
3. The Vatican: The Vatican newspaper has added to the doubts surrounding Harvard University’s claim that a 4th century Coptic papyrus fragment showed that some early Christians believed that Jesus was married, declaring it a “fake.” Click here for a history on the Vatican in Rome.

Monday, October 1, 2012:
1. Birds: Click here for multiple lesson plans on birds and the conservation of birds.
2. Prematurity: Birth comes early for approximately 13 million babies a year. Click here for some health lesson plans on birth defects and why they may occur--for middle schoolers.
3. Heritage: Museum opens in Colonie to showcase contributions of Italian Americans. Click here to learn about the Italian heritage in Albany.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012:
1. Cancer doc: Dr. Fred Shapiro doesn’t stay still for long. It’s not surprising he likes to race motorcycles. He moves fast even on his feet. To learn more about cancer and the different types of cancer, click here. Click here or a great health lesson information and education on cancer prevention-- relates to biology.
2. Afghanistan: The White House, facing mounting pressure over Afghanistan, says pulling out of the Central Asian country is not an option that President Obama is considering. Click here for more on the culture, geography, and history of Afghanistan.
3. GlobalFoundries: GlobalFoundries chairman Hector Ruiz says that in addition to China, Russia and Brazil were vying for the $4.2 billion computer chip factory being built in Luther Forest. Click for more educational information on China, Russial and Brazil. Click here for information on the 2016 Olympics.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012:
1. Mayor Corning: Mayor Erastus Conring 2nd would have turned 100 years old today. The nation’s longest-tenured mayor, elected to a record 11 terms, who died in office in 1983 and whose legacy still casts a long shadow across the city’s political history, was born in Albany on October 7, 1909. Click here for a history and background on Mayor Corning.
2. Firefighters: The name of volunteer fire policeman David P. Meron, Sr., who died in the line of duty while serving as a member of the Hoosick Falls Volunteer Fire Department, will be inscribed on the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Albany. Click here for educational resources on fire prevention.
3. Energy: National Grid set to announce projected natural gas heating bills this winter, which will likely be lower due to lower commodity prices. Click here for what you can do to conserve this winter season.

Thursday, October 4, 2012:
1. 40 days: The 2010 Saratoga race meet is expanded to 40 days, the New York Racing Association announced today. How many days will that increase the length of the racing season by? How will that affect sales for NYRA? Click here for the direct answers. Click here for a great lesson plan that teaches how a business is directly corresponded to its revenue.
2. Civil War: A dedication ceremony for the new headstone for Civil War soldier William Francis, a sgt. With the all-black Massachusetts 54th Regiment who died in 1897 and was mostly forgotten until research revived the record of his service. Click here for an educational resource guide and lesson plans on the Civil War.
3. Food: Sen. Chuck Schumer will announce plans to introduce a bill requiring schools to have a standardized approach to dealing with students’ food allergies. Click here for more on food allergies and health lesson plans that help teach about them.
4. Athlete of the Week: This feature moves from Monday to Thursday – allowing for more focus on it. Click here for controversial article on athletic icons that could be used in the classroom.

Friday, October 5, 2012:
1. Voice of Myers: Six eighth-graders at Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School are vying to be the Voice of Myers – the student who makes the morning announcements each day. Click here for an interesting explanation for the science of linguistics.
2. Hudson: Schoolchildren from School 12 in Troy, along with the Rensselaer County Children’s Museum of Science and Technology, will be among environmental education centers and school classes all along the Hudson River estuary that will be collecting scientific information and share it to create a picture of “A Day in the Life of the Hudson River.” Click here for a brief synopsis on the Hudson River and here for an ecological lesson plan.
3. Genome: GE Global Research Center scientists receive $1.3 million in federal funds to develop ways to more quickly map the human genome. Click here for multiple genetic lesson plans including some that touch on ethics in biology.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012:
1. Stairway to Heaven: What city workers now call the “stairway to heaven” was once part of the Klondike Ramp, an eight-story circular walkway that carried General Electric workers to and from Hamilton Hill from the 1930s to 1958.  Artifacts from the heyday of GE — 40,000 people worked there during World War II — are still sprinkled throughout Schenectady, crumbling relics now silent at a time when it would be hard to find many employees who still walk to the plant off Erie Boulevard. Click here for a history on General Electric.
2. Asian Clams: Divers with Aquatic Invasive Management head out Monday onto Lake George. Crews with the company are laying down mats to cover over areas of invasive Asian clams, and using rebar and sandbags to keep the mats sealed. The mats are intended to kill the clams by denying them oxygen. At left, rolls of the rubber mats are seen on the shore as Kurt Bramer, a diver, carries some rebar to a boat. The tiny mollusks pose a major threat to the lake’s legendary clear waters, which drive vibrant tourism, boating and recreational fishing industries. Click here for a lesson plan on invasive species.
3. Destination North: Mapmobility, said to be one of the largest Canadian map publishers, offers its selection of that country’s Top 10 destinations. Click here for a lesson plans page on the Canadian region.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012:
1. HPV Virus: Shots that protect against cervical cancer do not make girls promiscuous, according to the first study to compare medical records for vaccinated and unvaccinated girls. The researchers didn’t ask girls about having sex, but instead looked at “markers” of sexual activity after vaccination against the sexually transmitted human papilloma-virus, or HPV. Click here for the official education page on HVP.
2. PTSD Studies: Mary Sise admits her method for treating patients with post-traumatic stress disorder looks a little wacky. Sise, who founded the Center for Integrative Psychotherapy in Latham, is among a growing number of therapists using Emotional Freedom Technique, which involves a series of eye movements and body taps. Click here for a lesson plan on PTSD.
3. Carrot Festival: Steve Lippmann, above left, from Louisville, Ky., looks over the produce for sale during the Congregation Agudat Achim’s 34th annual Carrot Festival on Sunday in Schenectady. Lippmann was in the area visiting family. Click here to learn all about the health benefits of eating Carrots!

Thursday, October 11, 2012:
1. Foliage: The federal government is funding a study at the University of Vermont to learn what kind of impact climate change will have on autumn colors in the Northeast. What causes leaves to change color? Click here for an educational answer to why this happens.
2. Saratoga Park: National Park Service names Saratoga Battlefield as one of the Top 10 National Parks for taking fall foliage photos. Click here for a history lesson plan on the Battle at Saratoga and the American Revolution.
3. Golf: First day of Section II golf tournament. Click here for a complete curriculum guide on the game of golf and how it works.

Friday, October 12, 2012: 
1. Weather: This weekend’s chill, and potentially snowy, forecast might leave residents wondering where fall went. Click here for an elementary lesson plan on the fall leaf life cycles.
2. Longhouse: Woodland Hills Montessori students in grades four through six will begin re-constructing their Longhouse, as part of their studies of the Iroquois. Click here for lesson plans and activities on Northern Native Americans and the Iroquois Indians.
3. Creepy places: A story about 10 unintentionally scary places. Click here Halloween happenings in the Capital Region this month.

Monday, October 15, 2012:
1. Trouble After School: The video cameras come out at 3 p.m., when the school doors swing open and students pour out onto Delaware Avenues. Click here for education on school violence and ways it can be prevented.
2. Global Warming: Activists lamenting Paterson's decision to use money elsewhere. Click here for educational resources and multiple lesson plans and activities on global warming.
3. Technology War: Disruptive technologies are devastating to established order. They underlic Congress` consideration of the most wide-ranging legislative challenges it has faced since the New Deal: health care and energy. Click here great educational resources on natural gas.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012:
1. Airport Access: Albany International Airport officials on Monday said they’ll continue to push for a direct link from the Adirondack Northway, a project that’s been in the planning stage for 50 years but now appears dead. Click here for a lesson plan on airplanes.
2. Hydrofracking: A critical deadline in the debate over hydrofracking in New York is less than two months away, but participants in Monday’s pro-drilling rally said they’ve already waited too long. Click here for a UAlbany Student Press Opinion Hydrofracking.
3. Barn Fire: Firefighters returned Monday morning to the scene of a barn fire that started around noon Sunday and rekindled the next day. Crews were called at 1:45 p.m. Sunday to 36 Hemstreet Road for the fire that eventually destroyed the barn on the property. Click here for USFA's education page on fire safety.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012:
1. Proctors: Proctors Theatre is getting into the television business. Click here for a history on Proctors Theatre.
2. Pine Bush: An environmental group is suing the state and the city of Albany to block the planned expansion of the city’s Rapp Road dump into the Pine Bush. Click here for biological education on the different habitats on Earth. Click here to learn about the Karner Blue Butterfly.
3. Girls, Inc.: More than 150 girls from the Troy City School District’s Doyle Middle School will participate in a day-long series of workshops hosted by Girls, Inc. Click here for a great educational resource that can be used for teachers who want to teach empowerment, self-reliance and independent thinking to students. Click here for a self esteem curriculum guide.here for some great educational resources that help teach gang prevention.

Thursday, October 18, 2012:
1. Earthquake: A small earthquake shakes southern Albany County. Click here to learn what causes earthquakes.
2. GE cancer: GE announces breakthrough in cancer research in partnership with Lilly. Click here for a great health lesson plan designed to teach how to maintain your overall health.
3. Amelia: An interview with Hilary Swank, the star of a new movie about Amelia Earhart. Click here to learn all about Amelia Earhart.
4. Grapes: Some wonderful recipes using the fruit – also New York is one of the leading grape producers in the country – though this year’s grape crop has been down. Click here for a whole educational resource guide to grapes!

Friday, October 19, 2012:
1. Corning: The Times Union and WAMC present a panel discussion Thursday to discuss the legacy of Erastus Corning 2nd, who served Albany as mayor from 1941 until his death in 1982. Click here for more information Corning.
2. Hugh Carey: The University at Albany Foundation presents the former Governor with its Citizen Laureate Award. Click here to learn about the responsibilities of a govener.
3. Bobsledder: A profile on a local man who is chasing his dream of becoming an Olympic bobsledder. Click here for a lesson plan on the physics of bobsledding.
4. Article Writing: Click here for a great lesson plan on article writing aimed at Middle School Students.

Monday, October 22, 2012:
1. Wind Power: Advocates say regulation will impede shift to key clean power technology in the Empire State. Click here for an entire curriculum guide to wind turbines and wind power energies.
2. Pumpkins: Sunday was the third annual Pumpkin Party at Rotterdam Square in Rotterdam. Click here for all sorts of great pumpkin activities and lesson plans for your classroom.
3. Torah: Morris Losice, a member of the board for the Maimonides Hebrew Day School, carries the new Torah scroll during a procession Sunday. Click here for education on the Torah and scroll writing.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012:
1. Budgeting: Gov. David Paterson’s call for the Legislature to return for a special budgetcutting session on Nov. 10 may be well-timed: It will likely come as the state enters what finance experts call a month-to-month “negative cash flow” situation for the first time in recent memory. Click here for a simple, yet effective budgeting lesson plan.
2. NASA: When he was 12 years old, Steve Davis got a hobby rocket as a Christmas present and immediately trudged over to a snow-covered cornfield near his home off Albany Shaker Road and fired it again and again until the can of fuel ran out and his fingers went numb. Click here for NASA's official education resource site-- loaded with lesson plans and classroom activities.
3. Unions: Finch Paper LLC came to a quick contract agreement with its two largest unions, highlighting what might be the best relationship between labor and management at the Glens Falls paper mill in decades. Click here for a curriculum guide on US labor union's and their history.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012:
1. License Plates: County clerks have launched a series of petition drives to protest the newest financial toll facing New Yorkers: a requirement that, starting in April, motorists must buy new $25 license plates when their vehicle registrations come due. Click here for multiple lesson plans on taxes.
2. Swine Flu: The H1N1 influenza virus has officially infiltrated the Capital Region, filling doctors’ waiting rooms and leaving some school desks empty. Click here to learn all about the H1N1 virus and ways you can prevent its spread.
3. Saving Pine Bush: Environmentalists trying to block a planned hotel in the environmentally sensitive Pine Bush got a half-a-loaf ruling from the state’s highest court. Click here for the Department of Environmental Conservation's teachers formation resource guide.

Thursday, October 25, 2012:
1. Hudson River: As the first season of the nation’s largest river-pollution cleanup project winds down, the biggest lesson learned has its roots in the Hudson River’s long-ago heyday as a center for the logging industry. Click here for ecology river lesson plans designed for the Hudson River.
2. U.S. Airways: Struggling US Airways said Wednesday it will cut some 1,000 jobs next year, shift nearly all of its flying to its three hubs and Washington, and suspend several international routes. Click here for several "physics of flight" lesson plans.
3. Halloween Cooking: Before you take your own family of goblins and their fiendish friends out for a hard night of trick-or-treating, be sure they start out with a nice meal. Click here for some fun Halloween recipes.

Friday, October 26, 2012:
1. Swine Flu: First it was the rush for hand sanitizer. Then it was the quest for the vaccine. Now, as increasing numbers of children are coming down with swine flu, more parents are facing yet another anxiety-provoking chase: the hunt for liquid Tamiflu for kids. What is Tamiflu? Where can it be found? Click here to find out everything about this anti-viral medicine.
2. Alcohol: The guys who worked at Savemore Discount Beverage Center in Halfmoon had a bet going that “Poppy,” an alcoholic and frequent customer, wouldn’t last two days as an employee. Click here for a great health lesson plan on alcohol and how to treat teenage abuse.
3. Tree-planting: Capital District Community Gardens and adult volunteers and students from Rensselaer High School and the Doane Stuart School join in a tree-planting project at Riverfront Park in Rensselaer Thursday. Click here for a lesson plan on forest ecology and the importance of trees in the "food web."

Monday, October 29, 2012:
1. Hurricane Sandy: Hurricane Sandy is projected to whirl its way onto the Atlantic Coast Monday afternoon, and forecasters say it appears as though the storm’s most powerful blows will stay south of the Capital Region. But while New York City and New Jersey steel themselves for pounding rains and massive storm surges, mighty winds that could gust at more than 65 mph pose the biggest threat to the Albany area. Come Tuesday morning, tens of thousands of homes and businesses could be without power, meteorologists, National Grid and public officials said. Click here for a lesson plan on the Super Storm.
2. Big Apple Prepares: New York City shut down its mass transit system, closed its schools and ordered hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes Sunday in the face of increasingly dire predictions about the wall of water that could hit the nation’s largest city as part of the super-storm bearing down on the East Coast. Click here for a lesson plan on hurricanes and their effects.
3. At Home Storm Preparation: With Hurricane Sandy expected to reach the Capital Region by Monday night, there is still some time to gather everything we need to be prepared. Consider the following when putting together your disaster plan.  Click here for a resource for hurricane preparation.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012:
1. Superstorm: Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline with 80 mph winds and hurled a record-breaking 13-foot surge of seawater at New York City on Monday, roaring ashore after washing away part of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Click here for multiple educational resources and pictures of this epic storm.
2. Halloween Safety: Children will soon be hitting the sidewalks to trick-or-treat. And while children are having fun on Halloween, police and parents will be watching for risks. Among those posing potential danger are sex offenders. In order to keep children safe, the Times Union used Pinterest.  com   to compile photo galleries of the registered Level 2 and 3 sex offenders in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties. With a glance, parents and guardians can scan the photos and addresses of registered offenders in their neighborhoods. Click here for a Halloween safety lesson plan.  
3. Eagle Renounced: “Once an Eagle, always an Eagle,” the saying goes, but it’s no longer true for some who attained the Boy Scouts’ highest rank. A small but growing number of Eagle Scouts have renounced Scouting’s most prestigious recognition over the last three months in protest over the organization’s policy to ban openly gay males from joining its ranks.  Click here to learn all about the Boy Scouts of America.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012:
1. New York City: Stripped of its bustle and mostly cut off from the world, New York was left wondering Tuesday when its particular way of life — carried by subway, lit by skyline and powered by 24-hour deli — would return. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the power company said it could be the weekend before the lights come on for hundreds of thousands of people plunged into darkness by what was once Hurricane Sandy. Click here for the devestation seen in NYC from Sandy.
2. Star Wars, Again: Disney is paying $4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm Ltd., the production company behind “Star Wars,” from its chairman and founder, George Lucas. It’s also making a seventh movie in the “Star Wars” series called “Episode 7,” set for release in 2015, with plans to follow it with Episodes 8 and 9 and then one new movie every two or three years. Click here for lesson plans that use Star Wars as a learning tool.
3. Halloween Night: Residents of Clare Castle Drive are bracing for their annual Halloween nightmare, when their small street is overrun by hundreds of teenagers. Click here for some fun Halloween recipes.

Thursday, November 1, 2012:
1. Climate Extremes: In the realm of man-made global warming and climate science, any link to an extreme hurricane, like Sandy, is often described by scientists with a baseball metaphor. A slugger on steroids hits more home runs, but attributing any single home run solely to steroids is not a simple matter. Click here for a lesson plan on climate change and global warming.
2. SuperHero Mania: A film festival in Georgia is honoring Stan Lee for helping bring superheroes to the big screen, but the Spider-Man cocreator showed he’s still got a soft spot for comic books. Click here for a lesson plan using famous comic characters.
3. Local Archeology: A century-old tree in New Haven was uprooted Monday afternoon by Sandy’s winds, exposing skeletal remains of unknown origin, reports the New Haven Independent. Click here for a lesson plan on archeological finds.

Friday, November 2, 2012:
1. Pasta Tradition: A tradition of the local political culture is to eat a spaghetti lunch at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on the afternoon before Election Day and return for dinner if you’re running for office. Food has a way of bringing people together, especially pasta. Click here for fun lesson plans on traditional Italian foods.
2. Kenwood Convent: For most of its 160-year history, the parklike property in south Albany has been a busy home for young women training to become nuns or retired sisters, along with students of the Doane Stuart School. Click here to learn what convents and other church-related buildings are used for today.
3. Ballots: Capital Region voters decide scores of local races as new ballot machines meet the test. How do the new ballot machines work? Click here to find out how they are all used. Click here for a social studies lesson plan on polls.

Monday, November 5, 2012:
1. Election Campaigns: Campaigns around the Capital Region spent their weekend in a final push to energize voters ahead of Tuesday’s elections. Volunteers knocked on doors, waved signs and made calls. Candidates became more frenetic in the pace of their schedules, but after months of fighting about taxes and Medicare, stump speeches were reduced to a simpler broth: get to the polls.
2. Fuel Shortages: The massive fuel shortage caused by Superstorm Sandy briefly extended out of the New York City area and toward the Capital Region over the weekend as Greene County officials warned that gasoline was running short at some pumps and that least one station was backed up with long lines.
3. Frigid Weather:  With many residents left homeless after the devastation from last week’s storm, New York-area officials began focusing Sunday on another weather-related factor that might make the problems even worse: colder weather that is moving into the region.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012:
1. DAY OF DECISION: Where to go. Not sure of your polling place? Check with your county board of elections. Click here for a history lesson plan on the very first election in history.
2. Presidential Election: The pundits are predicting a late night before we know who’s won the presidential election. But you may not have to wait until the wee hours of the morning to learn who Americans chose to lead the country or run the Congress. By looking at key races in states with early poll closing times, it’s possible to glean some important clues as to whether the American people are delivering a clear verdict in the presidential and congressional elections — or if the final results won’t be known until Wednesday morning or later. Click here for a social studies debate resource for the classroom.
3. GE: General Electric Co. has hired 200 blue-collar hourly workers and skilled tradesmen this year at its steam turbine and generator plant in Schenectady — the busiest hiring period it has had in the past five years at the plant. Click here for a lesson plan on turbines and wind generators.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012:
1. President Obama Wins: President Barack Obama on Tuesday won a second term in the White House, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney in a hard-fought election that served as a referendum on who could better ease Americans’ economic pain and uncertainty. Click here for a link to Barack Obama's National website.
2. Syria: The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria warned Tuesday that the country could become another Somalia — where al-Qaida-linked militants and warlords battled for decades after the ouster of a dictator — if the civil war is not ended soon. Click here for a lesson plan on Syria.
3. Dengue Fever: An epidemic of dengue fever in India is fostering a growing sense of alarm even as government officials have publicly refused to acknowledge the scope of a problem that experts say is threatening hundreds of millions of people, not just in India but around the world. Click here to learn all about Dengue Fever.

Thursday, November 8, 2012:
1. School Lunch E. Coli: The chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee wants an investigation into the risk of deadly E. coli getting into school lunches. Click here for a lesson plan which discusses food born diseases like E. Coli and Salomonella.
2. Watershed: As New York gears up for gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, state officials have made a potentially troubling discovery about the wastewater created by the process: It’s radioactive. And they have yet to say how they’ll deal with it. Click here for a teachers guide to watershed and its effect on the environment--includes multiple educational links and resources.
3. Click here for a great literature lesson plan using the classic text Catcher in the Rye.

Friday, November 9, 2012:
1. Storm Deficit: Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the latest cost estimate from the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy is $50 billion for the Mid-Atlantic Region — including $33 billion from New York. Click here for a lesson plan on deficits.
2. Science Workshop: There’s nothing like a firsthand look at science, as fourth-graders from the Middleburgh, Schoharie, Sharon Springs, Jefferson and Berne-Knox-Westerlo school districts discover during Science Day, above, at GE Global Research in Niskayuna on Thursday. At left, Middleburgh’s Will Churchill, left, and Hayden George examine a plasma discharge globe. Click here for a science lesson plan on global research.
3. Puppy Love: Think you’re puppy worthy? Prove it. You have 300 words. This is what the Mohawk-Hudson Humane Society is asking of the scores of dog lovers clamoring to take in a pair of doe-eyed pit bull puppies found in September, abandoned and abused near an Albany railroad track. Click here for an animal aimed english essay lesson plan.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012:
1.  Seniors Learn to Read Again: The shapes and patterns that guided Julie Proper for 45 years aren’t enough anymore. Women is a longer word than men, so she counts the letters on the bathroom door at the pizzeria before opening it. The long white pill eases her back pain and makes her sleepy. The red octagon means stop and the yellow triangle means yield. Click here for a reading lesson plan.
2. Veteran's Day: Joann Flanagan of Colonie and veteran Bob O’Keefe of East Greenbush, above, watch as the Albany Veterans Day Parade marches by them on Monday. Click here for a Veteran's Day aimed lesson plan.
3. Hazing: Seven University at Albany students forced pledges to lie face-down in a basement filled with water and then beat them with rubber hoses and paddles while demanding they beg “for mercy,” police said. Click here for a lesson plan on hazing.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012:
1. Clean Water: Aging sewer systems in the Capital Region are dumping more than a billion gallons of watered-down, untreated sewage into the Hudson River each year, according to a report by the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. Click here for a lesson plan on clean water and its extreme importance.
2. Animal Shelters: Capital Region counties have received a total of $142,075 in state homeland security funding to pay for explosive-sniffing dogs and animal sheltering equipment in case of a disaster. Click here for lesson plans and educational resources designed to engage teens (high-schoolers) in the drive to help abused/ mistreated animals.
3. Teacher Skill Assessment: The policy-making board will consider new requirements for incoming teachers to demonstrate knowledge of a subject and classroom skills that can be linked to effective instruction. Click here to view the current requirements and for other teacher's board resources.

Thursday, November 15, 2012:
1. Geography Awareness: Click here for a full curriculum guide to Geography Awareness Week. This includes great lesson plans, activities and materials for teachers and students.
2. Tires: The mounds of tires that covered 40 acres at the end of School House Road and fueled fires and lawsuits are gone. Click here for multiple lesson plans on recycling and reusing.
3. Cheese: Cheese maker, gourmet market owners make ideal pairing in Cohoes. Click here for information on cheese production.

Friday, November 16, 2012:
1. Sewage Spills in Hudson: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is throwing cold water on a plan by Capital Region communities to address municipal sewage spills into the Hudson River, saying the plan wouldn’t reduce the number of spills. A consulting business hired by EPA said the $110 million plan, which was filed with the state in June 2011 and took six years and $6 million to craft, was fundamentally flawed by failing to reduce sewage spills caused by heavy rains that overload aging sewer plants. Click here for a lesson plan on the environmental hazards of sewage spills.
2. Christmas Lights: Program Director Paul Stallings checks a string of lights Thursday as volunteers prepare for the Albany Police Athletic League’s annual Capital Holiday Lights in Albany’s Washington Park. Click here for Christmas coloring printables and worksheets you can do in the classroom.
3. Vampire Hype: Romantic fantasy more than supernatural danger lures girls into the “Twilight” realm. Click here to learn the history on the vampire legends and myths. 

Monday, November 19, 2012:
1. The Lightbulb: Renowned lighting designer Howard Brandston, a retired Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor and a founder of RPI’s Lighting Research Center, is leading a crusade to save the incandescent light bulb.
From his farmhouse in the Columbia County hamlet of Hollowville, Brandston is almost singlehandedly trying to preserve Thomas Edison’s iconic invention so it is not relegated to the dustbin of history. Click here for a lesson plan on Thomas Edison and the lightbulb.
2. Language Barrier: The eight students came from Jordan, Algeria, Sudan, Yemen and Iraq to Troy High School.
Whether it’s Areeg Khalil, 17, who arrived from Jordan to eventually rank among the top five academic students in the senior class, or junior Akram Meza, 17, from Algeria, who played on the school’s Section II champion soccer team, they’re among the 17 native Arabic speakers who’ve learned and perfected their English in the district’s English as a Second Language classes. Click here to learn all about teaching English as a Second Language. 
3. Energy: Turning off lights, turning down the heat and buying with an eye toward energy efficiency is saving New York more than $3.1 million so far this fiscal year. Click here for a green energy curriculum guide with multiple lesson plans.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012:
1. Heroin: The Albany County district attorney and a local drug treatment center say they are seeing more heroin problems in the Capital Region. District Attorney David Soares and leaders from St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center held a joint news conference yesterday to warn the community about heroin. Click here for a health lesson plan on heroin.
2. Thanksgiving: Volunteer Lori Myers, above, removes turkey breasts from cooking trays at the Capital District Rescue Mission in Albany in preparation for Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day dinner to be held at the Mission. Click here for useful Thanksgiving educational materials.
3. Solar Energy: The executive director of Family and Children’s Service of the Capital Region, on Monday unveiled the family counseling organization’s new 32-kilowatt solar electric system located on the roof of its building at 650 Warren St. Click here for educational material on solar energy power. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012:
1. To grandma’s house, and back: It’s the busiest holiday travel season of the year. And it’s well under way in the Capital Region. Albany International Airport is expecting its busiest day Sunday, when everyone returns from the holiday break. Click here for an educational history on Thanksgiving and its meaning.
2. Cathedrals: The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception hadn’t received a fresh coat of paint since 1946. This presented a special challenge for Jed Ellis, historic paint specialist, who has restored a dozen state capitols and 19th-century theaters to their goldleafed glory. Click here for educational material for kids on Cathedrals and their history.
3. War Drones: Barbara Murphy doesn’t believe having the military hunting down terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan with drone planes piloted from an air field in Syracuse is good for the country, even though it may be saving the lives of U.S. soldiers. Click here for material on drone planes and what they are designed for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 26, 2012:
1. Growth withers on farms: Younger farmers looking to expand have trouble finding suitable land and getting help with the search. Click here for an up to date lesson plan on farming.
2. Winter: Three Capital Region cities announced winter events, including the annual Victorian Stroll. Click here for a list of upcoming Albany events for the coming season.
3. Turbine Energy: In the early 1990s, the operators of natural gas-fired power plants were up against a major challenge: There was tremendous heat loss and inefficiency whenever temperatures soared beyond 2,300 degrees. Click here for a complete curriculum guide with great lesson plans on wind energy/turbines.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012:
1. Sandy Vs. Katrina: Superstorm Sandy may have a greater financial impact than Hurricane Katrina, Gov. Andrew Cuomo asserted on Monday during a news conference to lay out the state’s pending request for $42 billion in federal aid. Click here for a lesson plan on current Hurricane systems.
2. Empire Christmas: Robert Canady works from a bucket truck as workers from the Office of General Services string lights on the Christmas tree on the east side of the Capitol on Monday. George Stegmann, left, untangles a string of lights that will go on that Capitol tree. Two trees will be decorated for the holiday, the one on the east lawn and another on Empire State Plaza. Click here for some great holiday printables and activities for the classroom.
3. Homemade X-mas Treats: The simple fact that we need to eat to survive means most of us are at least a little handy in the kitchen. All it takes is a solid recipe and a few rudimentary cooking skills to turn a bunch of ingredients into something worth tying up with a bow. Click here for some homemade Christmas recipes kids can make.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012:
1. Medical Treatments: More than 6,200 clinical trials of new medical treatments have been conducted in New York state since 1999 — one-third of all clinical trials in the nation, according to an analysis released Monday by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Click here for a lesson plan on pharmaceuticals.
2. Guns: Arming children with the facts about guns. Dispute without clear answer arises over parents letting children handle firearms. Click here for a lesson plan on firearms for kids.
3. First Snow: Amber Nephew’s 18-week-old Bernese Mountain Dog, Sable, gets her first exposure to snow, above, at Onderdonk Lake in Berne on Tuesday and, not surprisingly for a breed that thrives in snow and cold because of its orgins in the Swiss Alps, heartily approves of it. Click here for a lesson plan all about snow!

Thursday, November 29, 2012:
1. Jackpot!: So you just won the $580 million Power-ball jackpot, the second highest in lottery history. Now what?
Click here for a lesson plan using the NY Lottery.
2. Ice Melt: An area of Arctic sea ice bigger than the United States melted this year, according the U.N. weather agency, which said the dramatic decline illustrates that climate change is happening “before our eyes.” Click here for a modern/recent lesson plan on climate change due to greenhouse gases.
3. Mining: Federal prosecutors investigating the West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 men widened their net Wednesday, filing criminal charges against a longtime Massey Energy executive who worked closely with former CEO Don Blankenship — a move signaling where their sights may be ultimately set. Click here for a lesson plan on mining.

Friday, November 30, 2012:
1.  Intestinal Infection: Hospital-acquired infection rates continue to drop statewide with the exception of C. difficile, a nasty intestinal infection often found in hospital intensive care units, according to the annual infection report released Thursday by the state Department of Health. Click here to learn all about the intestines.
2. NYS Constitution: You think New York state’s government is bloated? Take a good look at the blueprint. The state constitution has over the years grown into a 56,326-word behemoth that its critics say needlessly governs the most obscure minutiae of New Yorkers’ lives. Click here for a lesson plan on the Constitution.
3. Egypt: Islamists on Thursday rushed to approve a draft constitution for Egypt without the participation of liberal and Christian members, aiming to pre-empt a court ruling that could dissolve their panel and further inflaming the clash between the opposition and President Mohammed Morsi. Click here for a lesson plan relating to Egypt and its culture.

Monday, December 3, 2012:
1. Shen Students Mourned: ‘Numbness, like this is unreal; like this cannot happen’ Driver whose car caused crash may face vehicular manslaughter charges. Click here for a lesson plan on drinking and driving.
2. Victory, NY: As a teenager, Claudia Nevis’ favorite activity was paddling down the small tributary of the Hudson River that bisects her hometown, the tiny village of Victory in the town of Saratoga. Click here for a history on Victory, NY.
3. Kennedy Center Honors: Stars from New York, Holly-wood and the music world joined President Barack Obama at the White House on Sunday night to salute the comedian, the band, and their fellow recipients: Actor Dustin Hoffman, Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova. Click here for a lesson plan on cultural arts.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012:
1. New School: The private Saratoga Academy for the Arts and Sciences, which operates an elementary school in Half-moon, will launch a middle school next September in Schenectady County, officials announced Monday. Click here for lessons on arts and science.
2. Gift Giving: She wears comfortable shoes and browses with the strap of her Hannah Montana purse slung across her chest, the compartment containing her gift-buying list — in large elementary-schooler print — resting snugly on her hip. Click here for some great gift giving ideas kids can do from home.
3. Cat Shelters: Whiskers Animal Benevolent League always has animals for adoption. Click here for a lesson plan on felines. 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012:
1. State Ed Dept: Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Teachers Association President Matt Miller and an unnamed resident have filed a petition with the state Education Department to remove RCS Board of Education member and self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” Rodney Krzykowski from the board. Click here for the State Ed. Dept's official website.
2. Novel Prize: It’s the prize no author wants to win. Award-winning novelist Nancy Huston won Britain’s Bad Sex in Fiction award Tuesday for her novel “Infrared,” whose tale of a photographer who takes pictures of her lovers during sex proved too revealing for the judges. Click here for an English Literature lesson plan.
3. 70's Flashback: It’s been a trying year in Albany, and one that harks back to the extraordinary political events of 1975. Click here for a history lesson plan on 1970's politics.

Thursday, December 6, 2012:
1. Toys for Tots?: The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is scrutinizing the new leadership of the Capital Region holiday season campaign because the Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady, Troy and Southern Rensselaer County were rejected after years of being supplied with donations. Click here for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation website.
2. Shale Gas: An environmental review and new regulations for shale gas development are likely to be finished by the end of February, but additional obstacles will delay production until late next year even if Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives drillers a green light, an industry lawyer said Wednesday. Click here for a recent lesson plan on shale gas emissions.
3. NASA: Panel says NASA lacks clear direction. Mission statements “generic,” asteroid idea fails to spark excitement. Click here for a lesson plan on Asteroids.

Friday, December 7, 2012: 
1. NY. Courts: Every year, Family Court judges in New York state send an estimated 1,600 youths into private and public facilities, for offenses ranging from truancy to felonies, at a cost of $210,000 a child. Click here for the Advocates for Youth's popular family life education program. Life Planning Education: A Youth Development Program, includes chapters on sexuality, relationships, health, violence prevention, and community responsibility as well as chapters on skills-building, values, self-esteem, parenting, employment preparation, and reducing sexual risk.
2. Girls Inc: The 9-year-old fourth-grader from Keene Elementary School is one of about 200 girls who take advantage of the after-school programs offered by Girls Inc. of the Capital Region at its sites in Schenectady and Albany. Click here for information on Girls Inc. and the educational resources and material that goes along with it.
3. Sustainable Energy: Seeking to further combine architecture with advancements in renewable energy and energy conservation, officials at Albany NanoTech unveiled the trappings of its new National Institute for Sustainable Energy Monday. Click here for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's K-12 Curricula Units and multiple great lesson plans.

Monday, December 10, 2012:
1. NY Football: The New York Jets are one game behind in the wild card race after a 17-10 victory over Jacksonville. The Giants hold onto a one-game lead in the NFC East with a 52-27 win over New Orleans. Click here for a lesson plan on football.
2. Special Olympians training in Lake Placid: U.S. athletes make stop in Albany Sunday on way to facility; for many, trip is first time away from home. Click here for a lesson plan on the Special Olympics.
3. Festival of Trees: Lauri Amsden of Berne looks over a tree as she decides which one to vote for at the Festival of Trees and Wreath Auction in the Masonic Hall during the Victorian Holidays Celebration on Sunday in Altamont. Click here for a history on the importance of the Christmas tree during the holidays.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012: 
1. Wind Energy: General Electric Co. said Thursday it sealed a $1.4 billion contract to provide wind turbines to an Oregon wind farm that will be the largest in the United States. Click here for multiple science lesson plan on wind/alternative energy.
2. Flowers: There’s a fitting way to bury a florist. With lots and lots of flowers. Click here for a lesson plan on flower botany.
3. 70's Flashback: It’s been a trying year in Albany, and one that harks back to the extraordinary political events of 1975. Click here for a history lesson plan on 1970's politics.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012:
1. NY. Courts: Every year, Family Court judges in New York state send an estimated 1,600 youths into private and public facilities, for offenses ranging from truancy to felonies, at a cost of $210,000 a child. Click here for the Advocates for Youth's popular family life education program. Life Planning Education: A Youth Development Program, includes chapters on sexuality, relationships, health, violence prevention, and community responsibility as well as chapters on skills-building, values, self-esteem, parenting, employment preparation, and reducing sexual risk.
2. Girls Inc: The 9-year-old fourth-grader from Keene Elementary School is one of about 200 girls who take advantage of the after-school programs offered by Girls Inc. of the Capital Region at its sites in Schenectady and Albany. Click here for information on Girls Inc. and the educational resources and material that goes along with it.
3. Sustainable Energy: Seeking to further combine architecture with advancements in renewable energy and energy conservation, officials at Albany NanoTech unveiled the trappings of its new National Institute for Sustainable Energy Monday. Click here for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's K-12 Curricula Units and multiple great lesson plans.

Thursday, December 13, 2012: 
1. Muscular Dystrophy: There is a small boy with muscular dystrophy 3,000 miles away in Chulucanas, Peru, who has a new, $6,000 custom wheelchair thanks to the big hearts and generous natures of two local women. Click here for a health lesson plan on physical handicaps.
2. Holding Court: King Arthur demonstrator shows students how to make, share bread. Click here for a lesson plan on the legend of King Arthur and his court.
3. Retail: Following the burst of shopping that characterized Black Friday, activity fell off, the Retail Council of New York State reported Wednesday in its second Holiday Sales Watch. Click here for a lesson plan on retail and dollars and cents.

Friday, December 14, 2012:
1. Homeless Shelters: With an overnight low of 8 degrees Thursday, after all the beds and mats spread across the floor were filled with homeless men, late arrivals ended up in a place of last resort: a straight-backed chair borrowed from the chapel. Click here for a lesson plan on weather maps.
2. Milk: Dairy farmers who struggled this year to keep afloat amid record-low milk prices are about to get $290 million in federal aid under a plan that benefits smaller, often familyowned farms in the Northeast at the expense of large commercial dairies prevalent in California and Wisconsin. Click here for a lesson plan on dairy.
3. Make-A-Wish: The Make-A-Wish Foundation helped turn eight girls into Disney princesses Thursday at the Times Union Center. Click here for the Make-A-Wish Foundation's ways to help page.

Monday, December 17, 2012: 
1. R.E.A.C.H: Club looks to turn hours when teens are at risk into best time of day. Click here to find out what R.E.A.C.H does and for some other educational resources.
2. School Attendance: With schools trying to convince sick students in the age of swine flu to stay home, the Shenendehowa school district is abandoning awards that honor perfect attendance. Click here for a great student-involvement curriculum guide for teachers.
3. Habitat for Humanity: Family to move from city project unit into Habitat for Humanity house. Click here for the Habitat for Humanity houses teacher's website for great educational resources and ways to get involved.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012:
1. Law Ethics: The conviction of former state Sen. Joseph L. Bruno gives several lawmakers and government reform advocates plenty of material as they seek ethics and disclosure law amendmens, they said. Clcik here for a lesson plan on ethics in government.
2. New Appliances: Cash for Clunkers? Done and gone. The Great Appliance Swap Out? Ready to begin. Click here for a complete curriculum guide and great lesson plans on energy and energy conservation.
3. Property Tax: County property taxes will increase by 5.9 percent and more than 100 employees will not face layoffs under next year's operating budget passed Monday night by lawmakers. Click here for a percentages lesson plan.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012:
1. Vietnam: Steven Weinstein first thought something was amiss a few months ago when he pulled into a convenience store outside Saratoga Springs and noticed a vehicle that, like his own, was bearing a Vietnam veteran license plate. Click here for lesson plans and classroom activities on the Vietnam war.
2. Cathedrals: The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception hadn’t received a fresh coat of paint since 1946. This presented a special challenge for Jed Ellis, historic paint specialist, who has restored a dozen state capitols and 19th-century theaters to their goldleafed glory. Click here for educational material for kids on Cathedrals and their history.
3. War Drones: Barbara Murphy doesn’t believe having the military hunting down terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan with drone planes piloted from an air field in Syracuse is good for the country, even though it may be saving the lives of U.S. soldiers. Click here for material on drone planes and what they are designed for.

Thursday, December 20, 2012:
1. Pre K Programs: Albany school district to use new system to eliminate long lines of parents waiting to register students for pre-K programs. Click here for some great Kindergarten curriculum guides and lesson plans.
2. Music Nostalgia: It could takes days to reach him under all that vinyl. “Elvis in Memphis.” The Rolling Stones’ “Beggars Banquet.” A whole boxed set of Art Tatum’s solo piano. Click here a music-rock history lesson plan.
3. Strong Winds: Winds will persist this week, but will be calmer than the rough skies that blew snow into the roads and disrupted air travel throughout the weekend. Click here for a lesson plan on wind.

Friday, December 21, 2012:
1. Cyber Security: Over three days last month, about $3 million was drained by computer hackers from the bank account of the Duanesburg Central School District and deposited into overseas accounts. Click here for educational multiple great resources/activities/lesson plans on cyber security and computer defense.
2. Police Cameras: Albany police cruisers’ cameras may boost safety, reduce claims. Click here for the D.A.R.E website's educational resource page for guardians and teachers.
3. YMCA: The Washington Avenue YMCA lost more than $300,000 in each of the last three years and is on track for an even more red 2010, the head of its parent organization told a worried and angry crowd of more than 400 Tuesday night. Click here for the YMCA's educational curriculum designed to promote a healthy lifestyle!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Teachers!

Thursday, January 3, 2013: 
1. Chip Factory: Global Foundaries continues to grow. Click here to learn all about microchip production.
2. State Changes: Paterson says tough decisions ahead development plan to replace the Empire Zone system. His new initiative, the Excelsior Jobs Program, would be focused on expanding high-tech and cleanenergy employment through targeted tax credits. Click here for multiple lesson plans on cleanenergy.
3. Trash: Rigs equipped with separate bins for trash and recyclables part of firm’s $14M update. Click here for some great lesson plans and activities on "going green" and recycling.

Friday, January 4, 2013:
1. Cold Temps: As the Omaha, Neb., area battles ice and snow Thursday with most of the Midwest, above, the Capital Region will contend with below-average temperatures and some snow. Click here for a science lesson plan on temperature/weather.
2. E-Tronic Bookreaders: When most people think of electronic book readers, Amazon’s thin, white Kindle probably springs to mind. But that could be about to change. Click here for multiple literature/reading activities and lesson plans.
3. Clean Air: Air in the Capital Region would have to get cleaner under newly proposed smog control rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Click here for a lesson plan on clean air facillitation.

Monday, January 7, 2013:
1. Cadmium: Some Chinese companies skirt ban on lead in kids’ jewelry by using an even more dangerous substance. Click here to learn about cadmium metal and its effect on the human body.
2. Online History: After the New York State Military Museum’s latest expansion of its online databases, even director Michael Aikey located a relative using the new, improved site. Click here for a New York State lesson plan.
3. Car Reproduction: Local students on the Model A Team at the Saratoga Automobile Museum are getting a lesson in how to build a classic car from the frame up. Click here for a lesson plan on automobiles.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013:
1. Mark McGwire: Mark McGwire admits he used steroids when he broke baseball’s home run record in 1998. Click here to learn the damaging effects of using steroids.
2. Birth: Mergers and changes have led to concern and confusion with regard to maternity facilities. Click here for a health lesson plan on teenage pregnancy.
3. Dogs: After nine days on the lam, Luna, the deaf bulldog mix who broke out of her boarding pen at a veterinary hospital, was back in her owners’ arms Monday, a few pounds lighter but none the worse for wear. Click here for a lesson plan on canines/dogs.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013:
1. Budgeting: When times are tight, start reducing: That was the message Tuesday from Gov. David Paterson, who announced plans to merge some state agencies and consolidate work such as call centers to save money. Click here for multiple math lesson plans on budgeting including printable classroom activities.
2. Bridges: 93 structures worse than demolished Champlain; defect handling slow. Click here for an engineering lesson plan on bridge construction.
3. Clouds: Chelsie Schadewald, 16, of Clifton Park, above, puts the finishing touches on a sculpture that includes cloud formations Tuesday at Proctors in Schenectady. Click here for a weather/science lesson plan on cloud formation.

Thursday, January 10, 2013:
1. Hurricane Sandy Relief: Click here for KidScoop- a publication and resource site that offers information on how to help and teaching resources.
2. Ethics in Government: Hoping to step out of the shadow cast by recent ethical lapses by elected officials, legislative leaders announced an agreement Wednesday on a bill that would tighten disclosure requirements and reshuffle the entities that police state government. Click here for a great ethics lesson plan that focuses on student involvement.
3. Pork: Though pork shoulder may be tougher and take longer to cook, the payoff is economical, succulent versatility. Click here for information all about pork.

Friday, January 11, 2013:  
1. Historic Flags: state effort to conserve hundreds of fragile and worn flags carried by New York military units at historic battles will be cut back unless private funds are found. Click here for multiple New York State history lesson plans and curriculum.
2. Bags: People often refer to the contents of their purse (or murse) as “their life.” If you’re a bag lady (or man), your tote goes everywhere you go — from the gym to the men’s room to the office and more. Click here for a lesson plan on weaving/ art.

Monday, January 14, 2013:
1. Caffe Lena: The countdown begins to Caffe Lena’s 50th birthday. The intimate venue in Saratoga Springs, billed as the oldest continuously operating coffeehouse in the United States, will turn 50 on May 21, a Friday. Click here for multiple music lesson plans.
2. 1968 Campaign: Soul singer Donald Hyman, who has a flair for the theatrical and is a re-enactor of African-American history, mined his range of skills to produce a dramatic interpretation of the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968. Click here for multiple African-American history lesson plans and curriculum guides.
3. Pre-Paid Phones: The weak economy is driving thrifty consumers to prepaid wireless companies as they search for cheaper ways to stay connected on the go. Click here for math lesson plans on budgeting.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013:
1. State Spending: Governor asks $134B in his spending proposal, but lawmakers are already talking about major changes. Click here for a lesson plan on spending. Click here for an ethics lesson plan.
2. Save Convent: The Kenwood convent in Albany, formerly the Doane Stuart School, was recognized Tuesday by the Preservation League of New York State on its statewide Seven to Save list. The league also listed the Albany County hamlet of Rensselaerville, noting its many 19th century buildings. Click here for a history lesson plan on the 19th century.
3. Solar Electrcity: The Public Service Commission voted Tuesday to keep state incentive money flowing to solar electric and other renewable energy installations across the state. The commission approved $20.9 million — including $12 million for the state’s growing solar electric market — through the end of June. Click here for some great solar power energy lesson plans and activities.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013:
1. Republican Party: President Barack Obama grappled Wednesday with the fallout from the stunning Republican Senate election in Massachusetts, a stinging loss that could drive him to stay the course in tough times — like Ronald Reagan in 1982 — or tack toward the center and work more with the Republicans — as Bill Clinton did after 1994. Click here for lesson plans on Ronald Reagan and the Republican party.
2. Refrigerators: Lesson: Chill out in rush to buy refrigerator. Click here for a classroom curriculum on energy conservation.
3. Kiddie Dishes: In her 20s, Caroline Barrett fell in love with food. She and her husband, Paul, worked elbow to elbow in the kitchen, creating dishes like the ones they’d order when they went out to nice restaurants. Click here for a whole site dedicated to traditional kids food and healthy eating habits for kids.

Thursday, January 17, 2013:
1. School Evaluation: Albany High School has been named a “persistently lowest achieving” school by the state Department of Education and must now undergo a restructuring that could result in massive layoffs of staff. Click here for the NYS Department of Education's standards required in order to pass evaluation.
2. Toxic Emissions: A 1960s-era cement plant in Ravena must cut emissions under a national pollution settlement announced Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department and 13 states. Click here to learn what hazardous and harmful emissions could be doing to our atmosphere!
3. Marijuana: Investigators say they uncovered more than 66 pounds of marijuana while making three arrests in Colonie last week — most of it at a couple’s home on a tony Loudonville street. Click here to learn all about marijuana and its effect on the human body.

Friday, January 18, 2013:
1. Earthquakes: Earthquake numbers have been on the rise. Click here to learn all about earthquakes and how they form.
2. Religious Tapestries: Many churches and cathedrals have tapestries depicting religious scenes or Scripture. Click here for a lesson plan on tapestry making and on the history of tapestries.
3. Football: Click here for a lesson plan on the game.

Monday, January 21, 2013:
1. MLK Day: A program titled “King’s Dream is Our Mission” was held after the march in First United Methodist Church in Schenectady. Click here for some great educational resources, lessons and worksheets.
2. Humanitarianism: Prayers of thanksgiving and cries for help rose from nearby communities affected by the Hurricaine. Click here for a great lesson plan on societal humanitarianism.
3. Mercury: A citizens group formed to cut pollution from the Lafarge cement plant said a proposed first-ever state limit on mercury should be cut by more than half. Click here to learn the effects of mercury on the human body.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013:
1. Math: Little girls may learn to fear math from the women who are their earliest teachers. Click here for some great elementary math lesson plans.
2. Weatherizing Homes: If President Barack Obama is successful in passing his $10 billion “Cash-for-Caulkers” program, Hudson Valley Community College will be ready. Click here for a great all about weather website just for kids!
3. Stem-Cell: Stem-cell treatments can offer relief to arthritic animals. Click here for a science lesson plan on stem-cell research.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013:
1. Historic Preservation: Expect some state parks to be closed this season and others to have reduced hours under budget cuts proposed by the Governor, state Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Carol Ash told a panel of state lawmakers Tuesday. Click here for the National Historic Preservation's educational resource web page for those interested in teaching preservation and its importance.
2. NBA: Click here for multiple basketball lesson plans.
3. CDTA: New CDTA Web site tools make getting around on the bus, online smoother. Click here for a history on the bus.

Thursday, January 24, 2013:
1. American Debt: Acknowledging Americans’ frustration with the slow pace of the nation’s economic recovery, President Barack Obama dedicated more than half his first State of the Union address Wednesday night to pocketbook themes, from jobs to tax breaks to taming the national debt. Click here for some great economics lesson plans.
2. Taxes: Tax season is here. Click here the IRS Taxes teacher and student resource webpage.
3. Lake Champlain: The link across Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont has served us well. Click here for Lake Champlain's history.

Friday, January 25, 2013:
1. Colleges Plummet: Union, RPI among Capital Region schools bruised as private endowments hurt by last year’s economic slide. Click here for The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities webpage--motivational for high school prospects!
2. Slam Poetry: Fifth-graders in the Dual Language class at Delaware Community School in Albany perform slam poetry Thursday. Slam poetry is a form of spoken word in which poets perform their own work and are judged by the audience. The first recorded “Slams” were held in the late 1970s. Click here for a lesson plan on slam poetry.
3. Health: Over the past nine months, a West Hill senior citizen embarked on a healthier lifestyle. Click here for a great new health lesson plan on maintaining an overall healthy body and mind.
4. Sesame Street: I imagined it would be a pint-size nightmare: an ocean of drool, runny noses and Goldfish cracker crumbs with a Sesame Street soundtrack. Click here for a lesson plan based off of the classic educational show for kids: Sesame Street.

Monday, January 28, 2013:
1. Spending:  Click here for a PBS social studies lesson plan on economics.
2. Bilingualism: Middle-schoolers visit radio station to learn value of speaking two languages. Click here for a great ESL/Bilingual/Foreign Languages lesson plan and resource webpage for teachers.
3. Sex Crime: Proposed bill would place more offenders on the sex crime registry. Click here for multiple conflict resolution lesson plans.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013:
1. Budget: Obama urges quick passage of a tough budget plan that carries a record-setting deficit. Click here for practical money skills lesson plans for teens.
2.  Winter Weather: It’s been a weird winter. Even some of the snow has followed retirees south for the season. Click here for a great webpage dedicated to teaching on weather--includes weather jepordy and other learning activities.
3. Shingles: The pain of shingles can be so sharp that some mistake it for a heart attack. Click here to learn all about the painful-more popular virus.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013:
1. Ethics: The Govenor has followed through on his promise to veto an ethics reform package approved by the Legislature that he believes falls well short of real change. Click here for a lesson plan on ethics.
2. Black History Month: Church of Albany during the state’s kickoff event of Black History Month on Tuesday in Clark Auditorium at the State Museum in Albany. Click here for Black history month lesson plans, activities and printables.
3. TEC-SMART: TEC-SMART stands for Training and Education Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Alternative and Renewable Technologies. It is home to the college’s semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energy programs currently offered at the Troy campus. Click here for a lesson plan on renewable energy.

Thursday, January 31, 2013:
1. Toyota: Toyota has gotten a bad "wrap" in recent years. Click here for great lesson plans on engineering.
2. Head Injuries: Many of the patients were labeled with the same grim diagnosis: “vegetative state.” Their head injuries, teams of specialists had concluded, condemned them to a netherworld — alive, yet utterly devoid of any awareness of the world around them. Click here for a lesson plan on the workings of the brain.
3. The Arts: We confess: As a newspaper, we have given short shift to high school arts. That is changing. Click here for multiple elementary art lesson plans.

Friday, February 1, 2013:
1. State Tax: A state tax break program intended to encourage cleaning up and rebuilding on polluted land cost state taxpayers more than $362 million from 2008 to 2009. And about 90 percent of that money — or about $327 million — went to subsidize buildings. Click here for New York State's IRS page for students--includes activities, tax tutorials and simulations.
2. Education: The Albany school district is considering eliminating dozens of teaching positions, cutting a number of academic programs and possibly shuttering two elementary schools to try to close a projected $10 million budget gap. Click here for an elementary lesson plan on good character and cooperation.
3. Art Gallery: Not tongues of fire, plumes of smoke or streams of water could keep the three brothers, each christened with a conqueror’s epic name, from their dreams. Click here for the Crayola lesson plans page for teachers.

Monday, February 4, 2013:
1. Ravens Win: The city of New Orleans begins to party into the night Sunday after the Ravens upset of the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. While etouffee might be the party food of choice in the Big Easy, we all know the Capital Region’s favorite Super Bowl snack. Click here for a great history lesson plan on the SuperBowl.
2. Power Plant Blast: A devastating explosion that was heard and felt for miles destroyed a power plant Sunday morning as workers purged a natural gas piping system, killing at least five and injuring many more, emergency response officers said. Click here for lesson plans on natural gas energy safety and its importance.
3. Superbowl Champs: They could not just win the Super Bowl. Champions from unscarred places do that.TClick here for some great activities having to do with the superbowl.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013:
1. Snow: Children sled down a hill outside the Capitol in Washington on Monday as the District of Columbia and the mid-Atlantic region recover from a weekend blizzard that dropped more than 2 feet of snow on the nation’s capital. Click here for a lesson plan, activities and some printables on blizzards.
2. Indecent disposal: An environmental group has lost its lawsuit seeking to block the planned $41 million expansion of the city dump into the Pine Bush. Click here for an environmental lesson plan on dumping and recycling.
3. Community Sharing: Kaitlyn Wood stands holding her 6-month-old son Levi Wood in what was the firstfloor living room of her family’s home. “We have opened it for community programs that need space,’’ said Wood, 24. “It’s kind of exciting. It doesn’t feel like my old house at all,’’ the communications doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute said. Click here for multiple great community involvement resources for students.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013:
1. Winter Storm: "Snowmageddon” has an encore. But for the Capital Region, it could be mostly the same song. Click here for some fun winter classroom activities you can do in the classroom.
2. Historical Fire: Feb. 10, 1880, dawned frigid and gusty. By first light, one of the greatest calamities and perhaps most dastardly crimes in the city’s 324-year history was already at hand — and a middle-aged bureaucrat by the name of Wheeler B. Melius was well into his finest hour. Click here for a great 19th Century lesson plan.
3. RPI: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is no longer going to house companies at its famous business incubator off Peoples Avenue in Troy, which has produced some of the region’s biggest success stories, including MapInfo and Vicarious Visions. Click here for some great lesson plans on mapping.

Thursday, February 7, 2013:
1. Aqueduct: Lottery Division subpoenaed to turn over documents related to Aqueduct proposals. Click here for a lesson plan on Roman aqueducts.
2. River Rats: The River Rats have been sold. The question now is: Does another owner want to take a chance on making professional hockey work in Albany? Click here for multiple hockey lesson plans.
3. Valentines Day: Love your sweetheart? Then perhaps you want to do something for their heart this Valentine’s Day, so it can continue to pitter-patter for you for years to come. Click here for a history on Valentines Day and how it came to be.

Friday, February 8, 2013:
1. Health Care: As the nation struggled last year with rising health care costs and a recession, the five largest health insurance companies racked up combined profits of $12.2 billion — up 56 percent over 2008, according to a new report by liberal health care activists. Click here for multiple lesson plans on economics and developing money skills.
2. Curling: Combine bocce and shuffleboard and put them on ice and then you’ll understand curling. What is curling? Click here to find out all about this sport.
3. Horses: Horses work at the pleasure of their owners: from racehorses to trotters, dressage horses to polo ponies, plow horses to carriage horses. But at a farm in Greenfield Center, the horses are retirees. They will never be ridden again, never asked to run under the whip, never again trucked from place to place. At this farm, the horses are just horses. 

Monday, February 11, 2013:
1. Politics: Harold Ford Jr. and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — two political rivals — broke bread together Sunday evening, displaying a fleeting cordiality before Ford gave a speech about his vision for New York and how it is no different from his earlier elective service in Tennessee. Click here for a social/ political science lesson plan.
2. Curling: Combine bocce and shuffleboard and put them on ice and then you’ll understand curling. What is curling? Click here to find out all about this sport.
3. NASCAR: Click here for a lesson plan on Nascar. 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013:
1. PCB's: A panel of independent experts this week will begin sorting out two massive technical reports on the first year of PCB dredging from the Hudson River to offer a possible road map for the project’s future. Click here for a lesson plan on the environmental effects of dredging and PCB's.
2. Albany High School: Albany High School Principal David McCalla keeps watch over one of the school’s hallways as students move between classes. McCalla, who took over the top job at the troubled school last fall, has taken steps to instill a sense of order, such as requiring students to make it from class to class within four minutes. He has also reached out to parents to get their help in encouraging students to follow rules. Click here for a lesson plan for teachers who want to intill a sense of order and management in their classrooms.
3. Museum and Planetarium: Rose Petitti, 7, of Slingerlands, above, discovers the movement of electrical circuits during the February Break Week Astronomy and Science Activities on Monday at the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium in Schenectady. Click here for a curriculum guide on Astronomy.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013:
1. Olympic Twitter: Before reporters grilled him with questions and friends and family offered well-wishes, more than 500 strangers around the world received Trevor Marsicano’s quick thoughts on his first Olympic race. All thanks to Twitter. Click here for a lesson plan on integrating social media into your classroom.
2. Sleep: Sit by the window in school? Lack of the right light each morning to reset the body’s natural sleep clock might play a role in teenagers’ out-of-whack sleep, a small but provocative school experiment suggests. Specialists say too few teens get the recommended nine hours of shut-eye. Click here for a health lesson plan on sleep.
3. Saratoga Energy Park: Several area businesses and a local attorney have expressed interest in being part of a new “lifestyle” center envisioned for the Saratoga Technology + Energy Park in Malta. Click here for multiple green energy lesson plans. 

Thursday, February 14, 2013:
1. NYS Healthcare: New York state pension plan is the best funded in the nation, but lags when it comes to health benefits. Click here for a lesson plan on the American uninsured in heath care.
2. Hudson River: The financially-strapped Hudson River-Black River Regulating District’s plans to collect flood control benefit fees from counties that it receives now from five communities has local officials questioning its fiscal operations. Click here for a lesson plan on the effects of flooding.
3. Brown Rice: While still not as common as white rice, it is gaining in popularity and can be found in more grocery stores and on more menus than ever before. The reason: More people realize it’s healthy. Really healthy. Click here for a health lesson plan on whole grains and the food pyramid.

Friday, February 15, 2013: 
1. Iwo Jima: Iwo Jima veterans Fred Bassett, left, Al Huba and Sandy Berkman are joined Thursday by other Capital Region veterans to note their 36-day fight for the tiny island during a ceremonial raising of the flag at the Joseph E. Zaloga American Legion Post in Colonie. Click here for multiple history lesson plans including one on Iwo Jima.
2. Steroids: A state appeals court has reversed an Albany County judge’s ruling 17 months ago that dismissed criminal charges against five operators of an Orlando pharmacy and prohibited prosecutors from re-presenting the case to a grand jury. Click here for a health lesson plan on body image and steroids.
3. Floral Exhibit: For almost two decades the New York in Bloom fundraiser has helped raise money and awareness for the State Museum’s after-school programs. The event features over 100 floral exhibits, and various activities including demonstrations on homestyle floral arrangements, gardening, cooking and crafts with flowers. Click here for a science lesson plan on flowers.

Monday, February 25, 2013:
1. WWII Pilots: At 87, Colonie woman wins recognition for her service as a WASP pilot in World War II. Click here for a history lesson plan on the women aviators of World War II or "Fly Girls."
2. Methodist Church: The pastor said that they wanted the entry to the Remsen Street church, founded by Methodists 150 years ago, to be an “open door to the community.” Below, Colquhoun talks with Cohoes Mayor John McDonald in the church’s second floor sanctuary. Click here for a history on Methodists and their religion.
3. Bobsledding: U.S. bobsledder John Napier, already affected by the death of a Georgian luger at the Olympics, received a letter from an American solider wounded from an explosion in Afghanistan a few days ago. Click here for multiple lesson plans on the winter olymics including bobsledding.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013:
1. Improper Dumping: County Waste will pay almost $1 million for underestimating how much trash it dumped in the Colonie landfill and for improperly accepting “putrid waste” at its Clifton Park facility under a legal settlement announced Monday. Click here for a lesson plan on proper waste disposal and management.
2. Health Care: In a final effort to achieve historic health care changes, President Barack Obama unveiled his most detailed plan yet on Monday. Realistically, he’s just hoping to win a big enough slice to silence the talk of a failing presidency. Click here to learn about health care reform.
3. Rockefeller Drug Laws: A city man serving time for a nearly nine-yearold conviction became the second person in Schenectady County to have his sentence reduced under reforms to the Rockefeller drug laws, which critics say still need to be closely scrutinized. Click here to learn about the Rockefeller Drug Laws and what they do.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013:
1. Snow: Large flakes of snow started to arrive in the Capital Region on Tuesday afternoon, jolting us back to the reality that yes, it is winter, and yes, it snows. Today’s forecast includes more snow, and difficult driving conditions for the morning commute. Click here for some great classroom activities and lesson plans on snow.
2. Marijuana: In Capitol parlance, it’s known as an “evergreen” — a bill or idea that seems to sprout up each year, but never blooms into law. Click here for a lesson plan on medicinal marijuana.
3. Women Empowerment: Nicholas Kristof is surely the only journalist on the planet who submitted this on a newspaper expense form: Purchase of two girl sex slaves in Cambodia, $350. Click here for a lesson plans on women rights and movements.

Thursday, February 28, 2013:
1. Govenor Paterson: A burgeoning scandal involving one of Gov. David Paterson’s closest aides has paralyzed the Capitol, and is causing the governor to re-evaluate whether to continue his nascent campaign. Click here for a great lesson plan on historical White House scandals.
2. Nordic Gold: The U.S. never won an Olympic gold mdeal in Nordic combined, but that changed when Vermontville’s Bill Demong crossed the finish line in 2010. Click here for an educational nordic sports blogging website.
3. Indoor Excercise: Indoor action When it snows, try skates, more skates, dogs, tumbling and decluttering. Click here for some great indoor activities you can do in a classroom or during a snow day.

Friday, March 1, 2013:
1. Twitter: Through Twitter we learn an awful lot about public celebrities as well as friends. Click here for a great modern lesson plan on using social media in the classroom.
2. Earthquake: Heroism and banditry still mingles in Chile. The death toll climbed to 708 in one of the biggest earthquakes in centuries. Click here for a lesson plan on earthquakes. 
3. Garden Vegetables: Some students at Sand Creek Middle School want their classmates to eat their vegetables. That’s because the lettuce, tomatoes and carrots are their vegetables, grown by the school’s Germinators’ Club. For the first time this year, the club’s produce will be added to the sandwiches and salads in the cafeteria. Click here for multiple thematic units on the importance of eating vegetables and leafy greens.

Monday, March 4, 2013:
1. Wine: Two of the biggest and most politically powerful labor groups in the state — police and teachers — are squaring off over Govenor's proposal to allow wine sales in grocery stores. Click here for an ancient history on wine.
2. Myanmar Refugees: Refugees from Myanmar add their traditions to Albany’s ethnic mix. Click here to learn what Myanmar culture is like.
3. Bible Writing: The television screens flicker all day long at the senior citizens home in Philmont. Phillip Patterson barely notices — he’s down the hall, bent over his desk, 14 hours a day, writing out the entire King James Bible by hand. He calls this project, which he started in 2007 and hopes to finish next year, the “Serenity of Knowing.” Click here to learn all about sanskrit writing.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013:
1. Postal Service: The post office is renewing its drive to drop Saturday delivery — and plans a rate increase — in an effort to fend off a projected $7 billion loss this year. Click here to learn how mail delivery works.
2. Irish Roots: Michael Casey grew up in a tight-knit Irish clan on Van Schoick Avenue in the St. Teresa of Avila parish, where multiple generations put down roots and the passing of years is marked by a block party each September. Click here to learn the truth about popular Irish culture myths and traditions.
3. DNA: California authorities ID Guilderland man; family says wait was frustrating. Click here for a science lesson plan on DNA.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013:
1. State Pensions: If he were to call it quits, Gov. David Paterson would enjoy a tax-free annual state pension of well less than half his pay, perhaps as little as $60,500. Click here for a lesson plan on pensions and how they help retirement.
2. Jury: Twelve jurors — six men and six women— have been picked in the trial of Steven Raucci, and opening arguments will be presented Friday. Click here to learn what you do jurors do.
3. Dr. Seuss: Dressed as Dr. Seuss character Thing 2, Riley Albair reads Green Eggs and Ham as cousins Eden Barrett, 3, of Troy and Ava Peruffo, 2, listen during a Dr. Seuss birthday celebration at the Children’s Museum in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday. Click here for multiple Dr. Seuss lesson plans, activities and printables.
Monday, March 11, 2013:


Thursday, March 7, 2013:
1. Joblessness: Click here for a career exploration curriculum guide.
2. Inner-City Learning: The Xavier University students gave up a chance to go somewhere warm for spring break, loaded up two vans and drove 15 hours from Cincinnati to study gang violence in West Hill, one of the city’s poorest and most violent neighborhoods. Click here for youth violence instructional materials including lesson plans.
3. Gay-Rights: In March 1970, a group of men got together for coffee in Albany and ended up founding the local gay-rights movement. Click here for a lesson plan on gay rights in America.

Friday, March 8, 2013:
1. Siena Basketball: The Siena men’s basketball team could do well again this year. Click here for a basketball lesson plan.
2. Oscars: “The Hurt Locker” was the big winner Sunday at the 82nd annual Academy Awards, taking home six awards including best picture and best director for Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win the award. Click here for a complete history of the Oscars and Academy Awards.
3. Spring Weather: Temperatures in the upper 40s brought many people out to Washington Park in Albany on Sunday. Click here for a great educational hands-on activity that can be done outside!
4. Children's Books: Click here for a HarperCollins Children’s Books education link.

Monday, March 11, 2013:
1. Bipartisanship: After weeks of complaints by Republican lawmakers, the Democrats controlling both houses of the Legislature are scheduling bipartisan committees to hammer out a budget. Click here to learn all about bipartisanship and what it means.
2. Census: Census making effort to count college students wherever they may live. Click here for the U.S. Census Bureau's educational resource page with multiple lesson plans and learning activities based on how the census works.
3. Siena Basketball: If the Siena men’s basketball team is partial to superstition, it should be thrilled with its draw Selection Sunday. Click here for a basketball lesson plan.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013:
1. Broadband Plan: Many rural New Yorkers live in neighborhoods bypassed by the information superhighway. The Federal Communications Commission wants to change that. Click here to learn all about WIFI and how it works.
2. PCB's: Feds say work to remove PCBs from Hudson River will continue in 2011 even if it has to go it alone. Click here for a lesson plan on river economics and the harmful effects of PCB's.
3. SuperPower Wire: Specialized wire maker marks 10th anniversary amid hopes of wider market acceptance. Click here to learn what this wire technology is all about.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013:
1. Income Tax Refund: The income tax refund checks will be in the mail, but with a two-and-a-half week delay. Click here for a lesson plan on income tax and its importance.
2. YMCA: More than 100 supporters of the downtown YMCA branch rallied Tuesday to fight its closure, focusing their ire not just on Y leadership but on Mayor Jerry Jennings and others they said have failed to do enough to stave off the facility’s demise. Click here for a health lesson plan on the benefits of staying active.
3. Dairy Farming: Signs went up in the dairy section this winter at Hannaford stores throughout eastern New York urging shoppers to “Keep Local Farms.” Click here for multiple lesson plans on dairy farming.

Thursday, March 14, 2013:
1. Tulips: Greenery is evidence the thousands of bulbs planted in Washington Park in Albany will emerge in full bloom when the time is right. Click here for a fun spring lesson plan on tulips.
2. Human Genomes: Three scientists who led the effort to map the human genome will receive the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. Click here to learn all about the human genome and its importance.
3. Baking: Jankowich will have her own stove at the Pillsbury Bake-Off, one of the most noted cooking competitions in the United States. Click here for a home-ec lesson plan and hand-outs on baking.

Friday, March 15, 2013:
1. Traffic Bridge: With traffic on the Northway’s Exit 6 bridge now down to four lanes as a new bridge is built, motorists are finding new ways to get around. Click here for a lesson plan on bridge construction.
2. Electric Hybrids: General Motors Co. will keep making big trucks and SUVs because U.S. buyers demand them, but a major portion of them will be gas-electric hybrids in the near future, retiring Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Friday. Click here for a lesson plan on hybrid vehicles and how they work.
3. Dogs of Valor: Porkchop is a ham. The beagle-dachshund mix stands just off the ground but weighs 37 pounds. His bunny-soft ears flop around his head, and his big, brown eyes communicate kindness. Click here for Clifford's lesson plan page for teachers. 

Monday, March 18, 2013: