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Space Travel and Moon Landing 40th Anniversary
The year 2009 has been designated as Year of Science and Year of Astronomy — and also marks the 40th anniversary of NASA's dramatic moon landing by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the Sea of Tranquility, viewed on television by an estimated 500 million people worldwide on July 20, 1969. Observe this major anniversary with Annenberg Media resources related to the moon and space exploration.

See a picture of the Apollo 11 moon landing in the American Passages archive. The page mentions connections to the literature of Thomas Pynchon and the shifting lines of demarcation between science and science fiction.

Mathematics Illuminated Unit 13: The Concept of Chaos explains how mathematics made space flight and moon missions possible in the past and how an understanding of chaos can propel the next generation of space travel technologies.

Increase your understanding of the moon and our solar system — and learn strategies for addressing children's own conceptions of the heavenly bodies — with Essential Science for Teachers: Earth and Space Science Sessions 7 - 8.

Watch a dramatization of the formation of our solar system, as well as footage from space missions and actual interplanetary photography, in Tales From Other Worlds from the series Planet Earth. Learn about the features and histories of the moon, Earth and other heavenly bodies.

Have a Foreign Language Summer
Summer is a good time to make use of a foreign language for travel or for pleasure and the Annenberg Media website offers a great opportunity to learn.

Teaching Foreign Languages K-12 Workshop, Person to Person, focuses on interpersonal communication and how teachers can encourage more student interaction in the target language. Workshop 8, Engaging with Communities, presents opportunities for students to use language skills with native speakers in their local communities.

In Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices, unit 2, an Italian class shares email descriptions of their homes and schools with students in Cagliari on the island of Sardinia.

Don't miss the food related episodes: Fokus Deutsch episode 15, shows a dinner scene and reviews vocabulary about food. Episode 34 features words related to modern German cuisine. Destinos episodes 12-18 look at the Spanish words for naming and describing food found in shops. French in Action episodes 24-26 discuss food and restaurant interactions.