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Hi friends and fellows,

Have you been watching any of "New York: A Documentary Film", the Ric Burns
history of Gotham now being broadcast on PBS?

If so, you might have seen our very own GRETCHEN SORIN (99 institute facilitator
extraordinaire) in her national television debut! Gretchen talks about the ways
ethnic stereotypes were spread in popular cultural imagery - the very thing she
illuminated for us at the Institute.  She's terrific, of course.

I also wanted to tell you about a rich set of teaching and learning resources
connected to the series:  A website called "Learning Adventures in Citizenship."

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/index.html

The site is ideal for middle-school kids, and for supporting 'active' social
studies learning. It provides visual essays and primary documents relating to
themes from the series, and most important, well-designed student activities
that get kids investigating the history of their own town in small, do-able
ways.  It also has lots of contest-like opportunities for kids to submit their
own work (poems, pictures, drawings, local research) to a visible archive of
student products.

A disclaimer: I was on the Advisory Board for the project.  But that's all the
more reason I'd value your critique of it.  If you check out the site, let us
know what you think.

Cheers,  Bill Tally