Literacy for the iGeneration

Here is an example of a NY Times article that I might refer to in a blog or use in teaching.

Virus possible cause of killing honeybees You’ll need a free subscription to the NY Times to access the article.

I think this article is interesting because it really captures the interconnectivity of things. First, honeybees are not indigenous to the U.S.. They are imported. They were brought into the U.S. a long time ago. The other interesting thing is that many of the foods that we take for granted are dependent upon the honey bee (such as apples). Without honeybees, our agricultural system suffers a great loss. If our agricultural system suffers, so does the whole U.S. economy. Apples and honeybees are also a huge part of national identity (think of the story of Johnny Appleseed). It’s also a example of globalization. The world is so interconnected and one thing affects another. Of course there’s also the biology aspect of it with the virus, and the science aspect: how the virus has been isolated as a possible cause. And that pulls in math. So, as you can see, in this one little article there are so many cross curricular connections. Plus, it’s current, and just plain interesting. Students might not get it at first, but with guidance and scaffolding it could become part of a lot of really interesting lessons.