ROSA REMEMBERED On Dec. 1, 1955, seamstress Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man. That act of defiance not only led to her arrest but also earned Parks a place in American history as the woman who helped usher in the death of Jim Crow society. The 50th anniversary of that day will be bittersweet, since Parks passed away less than two months before the commemoration. But her act remains a milestone in the fight for equality and human dignity. Visit www.teacher.scholastic.com/rosa for lesson plans, additional resources and an interview in which Parks offers her own insights about the moment that gained her the title “Mother of the Modern Civil Rights Movement.”

OLYMPICS CONTEST The DHL U.S. Olympic Spirit Cards Contest aims to educate children ages 8-12 about the ideals and lessons behind the Olympics. The program invites students to create a “Spirit Card,” an original expression that illustrates the youngster’s vision of the meaning of Olympic spirit. The cards will be delivered by DHL to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams upon their arrival at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Four regional grand prize winners will receive a trip to a contest awards ceremony and have their work displayed prominently at the U.S. Olympic Committee business center at the games. The deadline for entries is Jan. 20, 2006. Details, official rules and judging information are available at www.dhl-usa.com/olympicspirit.

THINKING TOOLKIT The Inventive Thinking Program is a joint effort to help motivate and inspire creative thinking about science, technology, engineering and math. Educators can visit the By Kids For Kids Web site, www.bkfk.com, to get a free Inventive Thinking Toolkit, which is the backbone of the initiative, sponsored by Xerox with guidance from Scholastic. The toolkit includes a teacher’s guide, 30 student guides, an interactive learning DVD with individual sections for educators, an Inventive Thinking game poster and more. The program materials build on the “Project XL” curriculum and was recently updated and aligned to national educational standards.

GULF COAST CHALLENGE Inspired by the plight of Americans hurt by this summer’s devastating hurricanes, the Christopher Columbus Awards have added a special Chairman’s Award to encourage students to apply their creativity and problem-solving skills to the many issues surrounding natural disasters. The awards traditionally have honored middle school students who develop problem-solving projects for their communities. The new Chairman’s Award will reward winning contestants with a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond and the opportunity to select a qualified disaster-related nonprofit group to receive a $5,000 cash donation. For details on the Christopher Columbus Awards, visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com. The deadline for entries is Feb. 13, 2006.

HOLOCAUST PROGRAM The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellowship Program is developing a national corps of skilled secondary school educators to serve as leaders in Holocaust education for their schools, communities and professional organizations. Each year up to 15 educators in grades 7-12 will be designated as Museum Teacher Fellows and will participate in a five-day all-expense-paid summer institute at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Fellows then create and implement an outreach project in their communities based on their training. The deadline for applications is Feb. 10, 2006. For details and an application, visit www.ushmm.org or e-mail pfredlake@ushmm.org.

MUSIC HERITAGE Pitt’s Center for American Music will hold a “Voices Across Time” teachers’ institute that will investigate materials and techniques to help weave American music into the curriculum. The institute, scheduled for June 26-July 28, 2006 on the University of Pittsburgh campus, is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. A faculty of education specialists, historians and songwriters will provide workshop participants with new classroom strategies to connect spirituals, populist movement songs and other music to major chapters in American history. The institute is designed for teachers in grades 7 through 12 but can be adapted for earlier grades. For details, e-mail the institute at amerimus@pitt.edu.

HP HELP Grants totalling $8 million in cash and technology equipment are available to K-12 public schools and higher education institutions through the Hewlett-Packard 2006 Technology for Teaching initiative. The grant program is designed to assist K-16 teachers who are using mobile technology in innovative ways and to help identify schools that HP might assist with grants in future years. Application forms, requests for proposals and other details are available at www.hp.com/go/hpteach.

FRANKLY FRANKLIN Jan. 17, 2006 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin. To mark the occasion, the Electric Ben Franklin Web site, www.ushistory.org/Franklin, has compiled a rich array of information on one of the most colorful and inventive of the Founding Fathers, including background on his diplomatic service to the new nation and many of his most memorable quotes.