Mattel Children's Foundation Seeks Applications for Second Round

"Deadline: September 30, 2005. The Mattel Children's Foundation, a philanthropic program of Mattel, Inc., has announced the recipients of its first round of domestic grants... Applications for the second round of grants are now being accepted. Charitable organizations in the U.S. that directly serve children in need are eligible for grants ranging between $5,000 and $25,000."

Afterschool and Reading Achievement Report

"A study published in the July/August issue of Child Development found that over time, children from low-income families who were enrolled in afterschool programs were reading at a higher level than their peers in any other kinds of afterschool care (being in the care of relatives, spending time alone, etc).

The abstract of the report, titled 'An Ecological Analysis of After-School Program Participation on the Development of Academic Performance and Motivational Attributes for Disadvantaged Children,' is online." [The full text is available for a fee.]

New Teaching Resources at FREE

"ELEVEN NEW RESOURCES in arts, history, language arts, & science have been added to FREE, the website that makes teaching resources from federal agencies easier to find."

Examples include: "Irving Penn: Platinum Prints"; "Coso Rock Art"; "Research in the Parks"; "Geologic Time: The Story of a Changing Earth"; "NSF Special Reports."

Media Smarts

"Most students spend more time each day watching TV, listening to music, and playing video games than they do attending class. Experts say it's time to give kids the tools they need to think critically about the media they continually absorb...Most American students remain poorly equipped to think critically about, and express themselves through, the media that defines them...Cue the herald trumpets, and enter the Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA), an organization that promotes media literacy as an essential life skill...Media literacy means various things to different people, encompassing everything from the basics of graphic design to critical analysis of advertising images and news broadcasts."

Teens spurn e-mail for messaging

"US teenagers prefer instant messaging rather than e-mail to stay in touch with each other, research shows. A Pew Internet and American Life Project study found online teens are increasingly tech-savvy. Nearly nine out of 10 teenagers say they use the net, up from 74 percent in 2000, according to the Pew study. While e-mail is seen as a tool for communicating with adults, instant messaging was proving the most popular way to chat with friends."

Best Buy School Technology Program

"Best Buy's ( http://www.bestbuy.com/ ) te@ch (teach) program is a national effort to reward K-12 schools that are using interactive technology to make learning fun for kids. In the past two years, more than two thousand schools have been awarded nearly $6 million through the te@ch program to help them expand or enhance existing programs that use the school's available technology to make learning more enjoyable for children."

Do Something Invites Applications for Fall 2005 Grants

"Deadline: September 2, 2005

Do Something awards $500 grants to change-makers and potential community leaders age 18 and under who identify problems in their communities and then create game plans to do something to change their world.

Grants are awarded in three areas: community building, health, and the environment. Young people can apply on their own, or on behalf of a group or team."

Kids In Need Foundation Teacher Grants

"The 2005-06 Kids In Need Teacher Grant applications will become available July 15. This year more than $105,000 is being offered in grants to certified K-12 teachers at any public, private, or parochial school in the U.S. The grants are from $100 to $500 for innovative classroom projects... The deadline to submit applications, which can be completed and submitted online, is September 30, 2005."

New On-Line Journal of Youth Development

"The National Association of Extension 4-H Agents (NAE4-HA) is pleased to announce the creation of an exciting new multidisciplinary applied research and practice on-line journal, Journal of Youth Development~ Bridging Research and Practice.  This journal will be focused on the development of school-aged youth through the transition to adulthood (ages 6-22)."

Designing Video Programs for Youth

"A youth video program can be a creative and powerful tool. In addition to technology and multimedia skills, programs encourage creative expression, teach youth to set achievable goals, create collaborative work environments, and build self-esteem. Read about ways to start your own youth video program."

Free Cmap software rivals Inspiration

"A research institute in Pensacola, Fla., is taking concept-mapping software designed in part to preserve scientists' knowledge and is giving it to schools worldwide at no cost, as a tool to help children learn.....

Cmap Tools can be used to assess student knowledge, encourage thinking and problem solving instead of rote learning, organize information for writing projects, and help teachers write new curricula, IHMC [Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition] officials say."

Online field trips boost reading scores

"A free collection of online field trips and other web-based learning materials has been shown to boost reading levels and help improve test scores among middle-school students, according to the results of a scientifically based research study from Maryland Public Television (MPT).

Though relatively small in size and scope, the study's findings could have national implications for educators who embrace the internet as a tool for learning, executives at the nonprofit television station believe."

Companion Tool Kit to Elements of Effective Practice

"MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership has just released a comprehensive tool kit that shows organizations How to Build a Successful Mentoring Program Using the Elements of Effective Practice. The new tool kit offers step-by-step instructions that programs can follow to implement and adhere to the four components of the Elements—Program Design and Planning, Program Management, Program Operations and Program Evaluation."

Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets, The Asset Lists

Whether you're familiar with these resources or not, they're good to keep in mind if you're involved in youth and/or child development programs. And, the Search Institute published a couple new lists last year:

The 40 Developmental Assets for adolescents. The two newest asset lists: 40 Developmental Assets for early childhood (ages 0-5); 40 Developmental Assets for middle childhood (grades 4-6). The original lists of age-specific assets: 40 Developmental Assets for infants; 40 Developmental Assets for toddlers; 40 Developmental Assets for preschoolers; 40 Developmental Assets for elementary-age children. Elementos fundamentales del desarrollo: The 40 assets for adolescents in Spanish

More Computer Classes Urged for Kids

"Even in a nation where most every school has Internet access and computer use often starts by nursery school, teachers of technology see a warning message flashing.

For students in elementary and secondary schools, states have few developed standards or required courses in computer science... Somehow, teachers contend, states must embrace the idea of training sophisticated computer users at a younger age."

P21: Rethink testing for future success

"Today's high-stakes tests are inadequate tools for measuring the kinds of skills students will need for success in the global, technology-driven workplace, according to a group of key business and education leaders. The group, called the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, has issued a new report calling on national and state policy makers to ratchet up efforts to design and implement new assessments that can effectively measure these skills.... "