L.A. Latino Book & Family Festival at Cal State L.A. Oct. 10-11

"Los Angeles, CA – With 70 Latino authors, a children’s stage, poetry jams, folklorico, dance, panels and workshops in English and Spanish, and other activities, the Los Angeles Latino Book and Family Festival will be held at its new home – California State University, Los Angeles – Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11. The events will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days on Greenlee Plaza and in Salazar Hall, near the southwest corner of the campus. The festival is free and open to the public.

The festival’s “stories” sessions will explore literature emanating from borders, barrios and families. Various workshops will focus on writing screenplays, illustrating books and magazines, working with editors and agents, andwriting novels. Panel sessions will include “The Best of Latino Mystery,” “Latino L.A.: The City of Angels through Poetry, Journalism and Fiction,”and “The Positive Effects of Mariachi on the Education of Hispanic Youth.”

http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/newsrel/LBFF2009-medadv.htm

Inside Lascaux: Rare, Unpublished

"September 12, 1940. A warm afternoon in southwestern France. As two schoolboys hunt rabbits on a ridge covered with pine, oak, and blackberry brambles, their dog chases a hare down a hole beside a downed tree. Widening the hole, removing rocks, the boys follow -- and enter not merely another world, but another time. Underground, they discover "a Versailles of prehistory" -- a series of caves, today collectively known as Lascaux, boasting wall paintings up to 18,000 years old. In 1947, LIFE's Ralph Morse went to Lascaux, and became the first photographer to ever document the astonishing, vibrant paintings. Here, on the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the cave and its treasures, in a gallery featuring rare and never-published photographs, Morse -- still vibrant himself at 93 -- shares with LIFE.com his memories of what it was like to encounter the long-hidden, strikingly lifelike handiwork of a vanished people: the Cro-Magnon."

http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/48231/inside-lascaux-rare-unpublished

Downloadable Constitution Day Lessons from We the People

"The Center also offers fifteen free, downloadable K-12 lesson plans for Constitution Day. Lessons include the Constitution Day Rap, the Preamble to the Constitution, the role of the president, and more. Two new lessons examine the constitutional amendment process. These free lesson plans are offered in collaboration with the American Association of School Administrators."

http://new.civiced.org/resources/curriculum/constitution-day-and-citizenship-day

My Vote Student Mock Election

"Young people have the potential to be a force in elections, but only if they get involved and make voting a habit.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell are holding the 2010 MyVote California Student Mock Election to help high school and middle school students discover the importance of elections and the power of their votes in our democracy.

Working with the California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the MyVote California Student Mock Election gives students a chance to make their voices heard on the candidates and issues that affect them and their families, while an exciting election season is in full-swing. Once the votes are counted, students can compare their choices to those of their peers around the state, and then to the decisions made by adult voters in the statewide election held only a few days later.

The 2010 Student Mock Election will be held on Tuesday, October 26, 2010. High school and middle school students will have their say on who they think should be our next Governor and U.S. Senator, and on the ballot measures that will come before California voters in the November 2, 2010, General Election.

In 2008, more than 275,000 students from over 644 schools cast ballots in the MyVote California Student Mock Presidential Election. They joined millions of young mock election voters in other states in an impressive display of student opinion on the candidates and issues affecting the future of our state and nation. This year, Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell are inviting students, teachers, parents, school administrators and other education stakeholders to build on that historic groundswell of interest in voting.

With your involvement and support, many more students will take their first steps on the path to becoming lifelong voters as participants in the 2010 MyVote California Student Mock Election."

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/studentmockelection.htm

Constitution Game

Online game from Scholastic on the Constitution

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/constitution_day/constitution.asp?eml=TNL/e/20100831/68_NEW

September is Hispanic Heritage Month

Resources from Scholastic about Hispanic Heritage Month

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hispanic/?eml=TNL/e/20100831/68_NEW