HIGH STANDARDS Drawn from more than 350 award-winning manuscripts, “The Best Teen Writing of 2003” is a compilation of some of the best student writing from the 2003 Scholastic Writing Awards. The publication showcases 45 talented young writers ages 12-18 from across the country in a 272-page paperback that is being distributed free of charge to English teachers and students nationwide through the National Council of Teachers of English and through regional sponsors of the writing awards.

NEH SEMINARS The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for K-12 teachers and school librarians to study across the United States and abroad through its summer seminars and institutes. NEH offers stipends to pay for transportation, accommodations and other expenses. Offered are such programs as a two-week study of Mozart in Vienna and an examination of Dante’s Commedia in Siena, Italy. Application deadline is March 1. For details, visit www.neh.fed.us.

ONE MORE DAY Feb. 29, 2004, leap year day, is a good opportunity for students to examine the history of the calendar and survey the different calendars in use now and throughout history. The “WebExhibits” site has compiled much of this information in a special “Calendars through the Ages” section. Included is information on the connection between calendars and astronomy as well as details on more than a dozen calendars, both ancient and modern. Visit www.webexhibits.org.

LEWIS AND WHO? Scholastic is marking the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition in March with a number of online resources that not only help students trace the events of this legendary expedition but also to recreate many of the specimen-gathering activities that were part of the expedition. Visit www.scholastic.com for details on how to help students set up their own “specimen boxes” for spring and summer travel, along with lesson plans and activity guides about the expedition. Also featured is background information on the Louisiana Purchase and Thomas Jefferson.

ENGINEERING EXPLORED “Design and Discovery” is a free curriculum and resource site designed to interest students ages 11-14 in careers in engineering and design. Students are introduced to fundamental engineering concepts and follow a design process that allows them to build a prototype. Also offered are ways for students to present and explain their projects at a science fair. “Design and Discovery” is featured on Intel’s Innovation in Education Web site, www.97.intel.com/education/index.asp. 

SEND ’EM BACK On Feb. 1-2, schools, libraries and communities are slated to participate in the “African American Read-In,” an effort to make literacy a major focus of Black History Month in February. Feedback is an important component of this event, and groups are encouraged to send in their Read-In Chain Report Card to the event’s sponsor, the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English. Participants can download copies of the report card, along with activity guides, by visiting www.ncte.org.

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