Considering the importance of the upcoming election, this newsletter is all about perspective and ways we can help students "see" the world differently. In the literal sense, some of the tools directly relate to content area activities. More conceptually, it is important that we consider ways in which our students explore topics like equity, empathy, and globalization. I hope the newsletter challenges us to embed activities that let our students "see" the world through different lenses, but most importantly that students "see" their lens as valued and empowering.

With the help of an affordable microscope or telescope attachment, cell phones can become a very handy tool, besides texting, tweeting, and music. The lesson plan I included is an introduction to microscope use. What do common objects look like up close? How can we get students to view items with devices they hold in the palm of their hand?

Sample item from Amazon - $10

Or, as the old adage goes, how excited are you to watch grass grow? You might be interested in watching the Live Stream of the International Space Station. Sometimes the astronauts are out moon walking, but most of the time you get the most amazing views of the planet. The video lets us see a very different picture of the universe.

One of my favorite projects developed by Google in the last few years is Google Arts and Culture. This site provides amazing resources through visuals, videos, and documents. You can also walk the halls of famous museums like the Uffizi in Florence, Italy or the wander through the Hall of Mirrors in the palace at Versailles.

Sometimes we talk about events, places, and art and hope our students can grasp the enormity of the topics in reality. The Google Arts and Culture project brings history, literature, and art to life as students can look through curated exhibits, visit remote locations all over the world, and create their own art gallery.

But there's more! More science museums and exhibits are being added. Want to visit the Natural History Museum in Belgium, just click on the link. You can also read articles about some of the scientific finds or even look eye to eye with a fly that can look around corners.

In a time where politics influence just about everything we see on television, we can step back and think about the impact advertisements have on our world view. This amazing website, The Living Room Candidate, is a collection of presidential election television ads from 1952 to the present. Representing the two major political parties, the ads portray very different perspectives through the use of strong rhetoric in images, words, and music. Media literacy is an essential skill students need in order to responsibly engage with the exponential growth of social media, digital media, and digital devices.

If you need a place to start, I recommend LBJ's "Peace Little Girl" from the 1964 election.

What happens when we crowdsource data and create visuals that represent the expanse and complexity of humanity and our thinking? Aaron Koblin takes data from flight patterns, rates of international tweets, and drawings of sheep to depict fascinating processes we might take for granted. He even developed a crowdsourced music video for a song by Bob Dylan's, the most recent Nobel Prize winner in literature.

This final resource is an excellent website dedicated to celebrating youth perspectives and youth voices through all types of writing. On TeenInk, there are posts about almost every topic from college admissions essays to film reviews and short stories. The site also hosts contests for writing, art, and photography.

One of my favorite sections is "Fan Fiction" where youth take a story they read as inspiration to re-imagine the world and characters already created by an author. An excellent novel that explains fan fiction is Rainbow Rowell's FanGirl (a favorite for many students...and teachers).

Youth can also submit their own writing to be published for a global audience. This authentic space where youth voices are celebrate highlights the way in which voice becomes a tool of empowerment.