In This Issue

• Share Your Expertise
• Online Course for Educators
• Partner with Us
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Newspapers in Education Series
• Curriculum Highlight: "What’s In the News?"
• Action Idea: Become the News!
• Featured Partner: Kingwood Park High School
• Additional Resources

Quick Facing the Future Links

• Facing the Future Home
• Curriculum Finder
• Free Curriculum Downloads
• Standards Alignment
• What Educators Say about Facing the Future Resources
• Our Impact on Student Achievement
• Service Learning
• Professional Development

Share Your Expertise and Let Us Send You to a Conference
Continue your professional development by sharing your knowledge of global sustainability education with other teachers – and have your conference costs reimbursed! As a Facing the Future Peer Educator, you join a community of educators who present workshops about their teaching experiences using Facing the Future curriculum resources. Learn more about the Peer Educator Program and apply by September 15.

"The conference went very well and the teachers were extremely impressed . . . I was very proud to support Facing the Future and the work that you do. It was wonderful to see the teachers’ faces light up."
- Michelle Balfe-Keefer, Peer Educator, Tillamook Forest Center, Tillamook, OR

Now Enrolling: Online Course for Educators
We are pleased to announce our online continuing education course for teachers of grades 5-12: Facing the Future: Educating & Inspiring a Global Generation. Available through The Heritage Institute, the course encourages educators to build upon their teaching expertise to creatively integrate global issues, sustainability, and local solutions into their curricula. Learn more about the course and how to register. If you have questions, please contact dave@facingthefuture.org or call 206-264-1503.

Partner with Us in Evaluating Our Impact
If you plan to teach at least three lessons using Facing the Future resources in a K-12 classroom this year and would like to help evaluate the impact of these resources on students, we invite you to apply to be a Classroom Partner. Classroom Partners receive new Facing the Future resources, provide feedback on our programming, and serve as a network of leaders in global sustainability education. Learn more about the Classroom Partner Program. Applications are due September 15.

Professional Development Opportunities
Facing the Future staff and Peer Educators will be presenting fall workshops in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Visit our online workshop calendar for up-to-date information and links to conference websites.

Facing the Future staff are also available to come to your school or district to present a professional development workshop for teachers. Learn more on our website. This is a great time to schedule a workshop for the coming year! Please email dave@facingthefuture.org or call 206-264-1503.

"I have attended two of your teacher training workshops, and each time come away feeling more connected to good solid reliable resources and a good support system."
- 8th Grade Humanities Teacher, Bainbridge Island, WA

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Facing the Future Newspapers in Education Series
If you would like short, engaging readings for your students, check out our 20-article series on Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions. Written for grades 5-10, the series can be used in full or in part to study global issues such as resource use, media literacy, and quality of life. Each week features two articles on a particular topic, and all articles include a student activity and "take action" idea. Originally published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the articles are available to download on our website along with links to related Facing the Future lessons.

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Curriculum Highlight: "What’s In the News?"
With so much information coming at them from every angle, how do we help students sift through it all with a critical mind? This media literacy lesson provides practical tools for examining the economic, political, and social forces that drive current events and how they are reported in the news. Students analyze news articles using an "iceberg model" to diagram events, patterns, and root causes. For example, by analyzing the recent conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia, students are likely to discover several patterns and underlying structures that have not received attention in the mainstream U.S. media.

To broaden their perspective, have your students read about a current issue as reported by news sources in different countries. The Big Project and World-Newspapers.com are two sites featuring international newspapers in English.

Download "What’s In the News?" and other Facing the Future activity-based lessons. For a student reading on media literacy, see "Information Overload?" in week 9 of Facing the Future’s Newspapers in Education series.

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Action Idea: Become the News!
Have your students create their own news story, podcast, or documentary film about an issue. If you teach high school, your students can participate in the Global Debates put on by the UN Foundation’s The People Speak. This fall’s debate topic involves creating a plan to combat climate change. Students hold a debate at their school and submit a video or audio recording of the debate along with their plan to The People Speak. The top 16 debate teams are sponsored to attend the international Youth Leadership Summit in July 2009. The People Speak’s website contains a debate toolkit and examples of student-created Public Service Announcements (PSAs).

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Featured Partner: Kingwood Park High School
Longtime Facing the Future Classroom Partner and Peer Educator Freda Johnson uses lessons from Engaging Students through Global Issues and readings from It’s All Connected to kick off her 9th grade World Geography class in Kingwood, Texas. Students take Facing the Future’s 60-second tours to learn about various global issues. In groups, students then create podcasts to raise awareness about a specific issue, using the free software Audacity to develop their podcasts. Students also create documentary films about world issues, with the school year culminating in a documentary film festival.

Kingwood Park High is partnering with a school in Uganda through Invisible Children, an organization that uses documentary stories, community events, and a teacher exchange to draw attention to the plight of people living in areas of conflict.

As a Classroom Partner, Freda is actively involved in providing ideas and input on Facing the Future resources and evaluating the impact of Facing the Future materials on students. As a Peer Educator, Freda has shared her uses of Facing the Future resources with hundreds of teachers through her popular "Geography Diva" workshops at educator conferences in Texas.

You are welcome to contact Freda for more information about her inspiring lessons and her involvement with Facing the Future.

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Additional Resources
FAIR
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) is a watch group offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship in the U.S. To promote an independent and critical media, FAIR provides uncensored news stories and ways for people to take action in favor of a free and informed democracy.

Global Affairs Monitor
Investing in a subscription to World Savvy's monthly Global Affairs Monitor is a great way to gain a clear, well-rounded perspective on current global issues such as the situation in Sudan or the spread of democracy in the world. Each edition offers an "Issue in Focus" and relevant classroom resources.

Bioneers Conference
If the news feels dire, check out this fall’s Bioneers Conference for happenings and ideas to inspire your students about creating a positive future. The annual Bioneers Conference brings together people who seek innovative and practical strategies for restoring the environment and healing human communities. Find a Bioneers Conference event near you.

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