CHAPTER 2 StoryCorps, the largest oral history project in the nation’s history, entered its second year in December with visits to Gulfport, Miss., and Las Vegas, Nev. The tour, sponsored by National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, details the lives and struggles of ordinary Americans. Past tours have formed the basis for public radio documentaries. You can hear these programs at www.soundportraits.org or visit www.StoryCorps.net to make reservations or listen to excerpts of stories told in the project’s oral history booth.

RELIGION AND ETHICS The PBS series “Religion & Ethics Newsweekly” has marked its eighth season with new Web  materials for high school and college educators. These include lesson plans for every grade level dealing with such issues as stem cell research, separation of church and state, and women in Islam. Visit
 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics and select the “Teacher Resources” link.

LIFE ESSAY The “Listen to a Life” essay contest challenges students ages 8 to 18 to interview grandparents or “grandfriends” about the older person’s hopes, goals, achievements and obstacles they have overcome. The contest, part of the national Legacy Project, offers free activity kits filled with interview ideas and curriculum connections. Also offered is a complete planning guide for a school Grandparents Day event. The contest deadline is March 13; the grand prize is a ThinkCentre computer and a $500 gift certificate from Books Are Fun. Twenty runner-up prizes of $200 certificates also are available. For contest details, activity kits and more, visit www.legacyproject.org or call 800/772-7765.

COOL CITE Dealing with online sources in research papers can be  tricky, but answers.com has developed a number of tools and resources to help students tackle the chore. The site offers a downloadable pdf poster explaining the basics of online citations, along with lesson plan tools. And information found through answers.com can include a fully formatted citation in MLA, Chicago or APA styles.

AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES In February, PBS will debut a new four-part series that will trace the lineage of eight prominent African Americans, including neurosurgeon Ben Carson, actress Whoopi Goldberg and musician Quincy Jones. “African American Lives” combines science and history, harnessing expert genealogical research and DNA analysis to track ancestry through American history and back to Africa. Consult local listings for dates and times.

DEPRESSION INFO The Consumer Reports Medical Guide, is providing free information on its home page on depression in children. Nonsubscribers can access reports on risk factors and prevalence in different age, gender and cultural groups. Also available is an easy-to-read chart differentiating depression in children from other mental health conditions with similar symptoms. The Web site is located at www.consumerreportsmedicalguide.org.

BEARABLE READING There is still time for preschoolers to participate in the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Beginners program, which in 2006 features the Berenstain Bears. The program, which was launched before the death of Stan Berenstain, offers a tribute opportunity to the co-author of the popular children’s book series.  Enrollment in BOOK IT! Beginners runs through Feb. 10. The program encourages teachers to read aloud to students in preschool and prekindergarten and boasts more than 36,000 participating preschool and child care facilities. For details, call 800/4-BOOKIT or visit www.bookitbeginners.com.

START THE PRESSES The Institute for Interactive Journalism is seeking proposals for its New Voices Initiative, an effort to encourage middle and high schools to start their own local news ventures. Projects should run for two years; winners can receive a $12,000 start-up grant and a $5,000 continuation grant for the second year. The deadline for proposals is Feb. 8. New Voices is administered by J-Lab at the University of Maryland and supported through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For details, guidelines and applications visit www.J-NewVoices.org.

OKLAHOMA CITY LESSONS The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is offering a national essay contest for students in grades 5-12, providing young people an opportunity to explore the lessons behind the memorial and to remember those touched by the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The contest is divided into four grade levels and asks students to submit essays of no more than 500 words on such themes as social activism in the pursuit of peace. Winning essays will become part of the museum exhibit and cash prizes will be awarded to the top three essayists in each level. The deadline for entries is March 1. For complete contest details, visit www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.

HUMANITARIAN VOICE The Harry Chapin Foundation offers school grants of up to $10,000 for education programs promoting better understanding of the problems of disadvantaged people. Grants focus on projects that foster community outreach, arts in education, agricultural programs and environmental initiatives. For details visit http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/harrychapin.

HIT AND MISSES Questia Media recently launched a new program designed to point students to librarian-recommended resources for their projects and papers. Visit www.questia.com/library/rl_cat for a variety of librarian-selected articles and books on popular topics organized by subject and grade level. Included in the search tool are books, magazines, journals, newspapers and general encyclopedia.