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08/10/11--05:34: Strike Zone Week 9 (chan 2091200)

Last year, Evan Longoria was voted Tampa Bay’s Most Popular Athlete in a poll by the St. Petersburg Times. Who is your favorite player this year? Check out the stats of your favorite Rays in the Times. Share your thoughts about who you think the MVP should be this year on the NIE Blogging Zone.




08/10/11--05:35: Strike Zone Week 10 (chan 2091200)

The Reading with the Rays program has come to an end, but the boys of summer are still playing. Be sure to keep tabs on the Rays throughout the rest of the season on the pages of the St. Petersburg Times. We want to keep reading your thoughts on the NIE Blogging Zone, too. This week, we want you to write a poem about your Tampa Bay Rays. Share your poem here on the NIE Blogging Zone.




12/31/11--08:00: Happy New Year (chan 2091200)

Happy New Year and welcome to the new and improved NIE Blogging Zone! We are changing the focus of the NBZ from student focused to teacher focused. As we enter 2012, we want to know what teachers are thinking and doing in their classrooms. What are your goals for the rest of this school year? What are some of the challenges you are being faced with?




01/06/12--05:23: Cyber bullying (chan 2091200)

     The Pinellas County School District has rescinded a three-day suspension against a 16-year-old student at Osceola Fundamental High School accused of making threatening comments on Facebook. You can read the article is in today's Tampa Bay Times or on Tampabay.com.

     There has been a lot of controversy about this particular issue. Have your students been discussing this? Do your students talk about social media in front of you? Do you talk to students about cyber bullying and social media? Do you engage with your students on Facebook or Twitter? Do your students seem to be aware of the consequences of posting personal information and/or posting negative information about others online?

     Is this a teachable moment? What are your thoughts?




01/06/12--05:39: The art of rhetoric (chan 2091200)

     Have you started teaching about the election in your classroom? There are some great critical thinking skill challenges you can present to your students using the articles and editorials in the Tampa Bay Times as well as using PolitiFact as a source. The most recent post by Polifact can be read here: 'Relax, dude, it was a rally speech'. Is it okay to lie or bend the truth in a rally speech? What is the difference between a 'rally speech' and a formal debate? What are the key points that caused PolitiFact researchers to rate this story false?

     How are you talking about the candidates, elections and caucuses in your classroom? We want to hear from you.




01/12/12--13:51: School prayer (chan 2091200)

In today's Gradebook blog, Jeff Solochek writes,  "After years of inaction, school prayer legislation clears another hurdle in Florida Senate". Read "School prayer bill continues to move through Florida Legislature" - http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/school-prayer-bill-continues-move-through-florida-legislature and tell us your thoughts about the issue. What do you think about school prayer? How do you feel about incorporating prayer in your classroom?




01/16/12--04:46: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (chan 2091200)

     As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is a good time to reflect on some of King’s principles. King said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” What are your thoughts about this message? Do you discuss Dr. King and his message in your classroom? Share your lesson plans focusing on King Day and your thoughts here on the NIE Blogging Zone.

     Your Tampa Bay Times NIE program has free curriculum focusing on Dr. King. Go to the NIE website. Go to the Resources tab. Click on NIE Institute. Then click on the Black History category.  Look for the supplement titled "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Celebrate Black History". Let us know your thoughts about this curriculum.




01/17/12--05:25: STEM education comes at a high price (chan 2091200)

     STEM education is being promoted by lawmakers and business people as "the key to future job creation and international competitiveness. In Florida, the pressure is on to push more kids into STEM. This session, lawmakers are considering a bill that would reward schools when students graduate with more math and science credits than currently required," write Tampa Bay Times staff writers Rebecca Catalanello, Jeffrey S. Solochek and Sherri Ackerman. "But as campuses move to aggressively bulk up their STEM programs, they are grappling with a perpetual question in K-12 education: How to pay for it?"

     Read "Bulking up STEM comes with a price tag, educators say" in today's Tampa Bay Times. What are your thoughts about the article? What are your thoughts about STEM? Should school districts spend more money on STEM than other areas? Share your thoughts here on the NIE Blogging Zone.




01/19/12--10:34: Pasco magnet schools (chan 2091200)

The Pasco school district is exploring the option of launching elementary magnet schools to meet growing demand for educational choices. You can read the story here. The school district is asking the public to participate in a survey to garner community feedback. Also, you can read "Should Pasco County start up magnet schools?" on the Gradebook blog. What are your thoughts about elementary magnet school programs? Do you think this would be a benefit to Pasco Schools, parents and students. Share your thoughts here on the NIE Blogging Zone.




01/26/12--04:48: To tax or not to tax (chan 2091200)

Teachers - today's Tampa Bay Times has a great debate topic for your classroom: "State weighs whether to tax Amazon's online sales or cut jobs deal".  Split your students into teams: pro and con. Have them come up with arguments and examples for this issue. Come back here and tell us how it worked out in your classroom.