Copyright Regulations for Kids

It has been my experience over the last few years that students will find information on the internet, and then, somewhat innocently, do a copy and paste with the material they find.

An important point for students to understand is the set of rules they need to follow to avoid copyright violation. This is necessary so that they can follow accepted conventions, and also avoid negative repercussions if their teachers determine they are cheating because they did not give credit to sources they have used.

I have encountered three sites that help explain the ins and outs of using internet (and traditional) resources without running afoul of copyright regulations. They are appropriate for various levels, but they should probably be used as follows:

• elementary level - http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf

• middle school level - http://www.copyrightkids.org/

• high school level - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

American History Workshops

My husband and I have been fortunate to attend Landmarks of American History workshops over the past five summers. They have been jointly sponsored by a local entity and by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Much of the material from these workshops (including photos) is incorporated into lesson plans whenever possible. The workshops attended are:

2004:

• “The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson, and America 1801-1861”

• Plymouth, MA - “Encounters and Change: Expanding Perspectives on Natives and Colonists in 17th Century Plymouth”

2005:

• "Becoming American: Trade, Culture, and Reform in Salem, Massachusetts, 1801-1861"

• Lockport, IL - "America's Last Great Canal: How the I&M Canal United 19th Century America"

2006:

• Lowell, MA - “Inventing America: Lowell and the Industrial Revolution”

2007:

• Kalamazoo, MI - "The American Farm in U.S. History"
• Dearborn, MI (Greenfield Village) - "America's Industrial Revolution"

2008:

• A View from Mount Vernon: Shaping the Constitution 1783-1789

By the way, here is a photo of our friend from Indonesia, Sopyan Kosasih; he is shown sitting between my husband and Mr. David Passman, a good friend from Chicago who also attended the Mt. Vernon workshop. We hope we will be corresponding with his students this school year.



2009:

• War of Invasion—War of Liberation: Occupied Nashville and the Civil War and Emancipation in the Upper South. As part of this workshop, we took a trip to Chickamauga National Battlefield near Chattanooga, Tennessee. We discovered that a statue in honor of Union Lieut. Col. Melvin Mudge of the 11th Michigan was seriously vandalized (see below). I will be attempting to involve students in a campaign to write letters to various Michigan and national organizations to determine if funds can be procured to repair the damage to this monument.

Constitution Day, September 17

Federal legislation requires that on Constitution Day, which falls on September 17 each year unless that day is a Saturday or Sunday, schools receiving federal funds present a program on the Constitution.