Learn how an autistic teenage girl unable to verbally communicate used the computer and the word "hurt" to communicate with her family for the first time in 11 years. Her story is truely inspiring and will likely change your understanding of autistic and developmentally handicapped children.

Benjamin Franklin turns 306 years old on the 17th of this month. Set aside some time to celebrate his inventions and influences with your class.

We all know the story of Benjamin Franklin flying a kite in a thunderstorm, but who knew that the kite was made of silk or that it had a wire attached to the top of it? With so many accomplishments it is impossible to learn all the fascinating details of Benjamin Franklin's life. Here is an 8 min video we liked which discusses the variety of Ben's influences, while throwing in some neat deteails that you may have never heard.

A quick bio on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which only skims the surface of his immeasurable contributions.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is just a week away so we put together an activity idea for your students (which can double as a bulletin board).

Give your students a hands on project which will help them understand the significance of the Civil Rights Movement and how it still effects them today. Start by having your students decorate a cut out person as themselves (as seen in the picture above). Once everyone has completed their cut out let them hold their project up for eveyone to see how differnt each one looks. Then on a sheet of paper have them all place their cut out in a circle linking feet with the one next to them. This will show them how people with many different backgrounds, looks, and interests can come together to form one class, one community, and one country. Go on to tell them how each one of them can use their own differences and strengths to help one another. You can also explain to them that Civil Rights is an ongoing movement of people with differences learning to help and love each other. For older students read parts of Maritn Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream Speech" and ask them to tell you what they dream will make the world a better place.

Items used in bulletin board: Multicultural People Kit, Martin Luther King Portrait Poster, Edupress Border: African Kente Cloth